All the following printers can connect to a computer via USB and have a maximum print width of 62mm. They all use the Brother P-Touch Editor software which is a free download from the Brother website.
The Brother QL-500 label printer is the most basic label printer and is currently the cheapest. It prints quickly and has a manual cutter. This means you have to slide a thumb-sized tab to the right to cut between labels. This isn't required but it helpful to separate labels or cut the continuous rolls to the desired size.
The Brother QL-560 Label Printer is the same as the QL-500 but has an automatic electric cutter instead. Again this isn't required and can be switched off in the P-Touch Editor software. The Brother QL-650TD Label Printer has USB and serial (RS232) connection. It also has built-in memory to save label templates to the printer to be printed without a computer connected. It also has a built-in clock to print labels with the current date and/or time. The dates and times can have calculations for use as expiry labels such as a car park expiry time or a “use by date” on food.
The Brother QL-700 Label Printer is the cheapest in the newer range. It prints very quickly and has a built-in automatic cutter. It also has the P-Touch Editor Lite software built-in to its memory so no installation is required for using the printer but for more advanced options the software can be downloaded quickly and easily from the Brother website.
The Brother QL-710W Label printer is the same as the QL-700 but has wired Ethernet connection to print from multiple computers on a network and from a compatible smartphone with Brother's "iPrint&Label" App. The Brother QL-720NW Label Printer is again the same as the previous QL-710W but with the additional serial connection and Wi-Fi to connect wirelessly to a network for multiple computers to access at any time allowing it to be moved around and with one less cable to lose. Please note that some printers have been discontinued and replaced with the following:
| Discontinued model | Replacement model |
| QL-500 | No replacement |
| QL-560 | QL-570 |
| QL-650TD | No replacement |
View the complete range of new QL printers here