iDprt SP320 Review

As with every other iDprt printer we've tested recently, the SP320 is both a solid performer and badly in need of a new manual. The one it comes with is missing any mention of the software you should be using, and gives installation instructions instead for a second set of software that you're better off ignoring. If you can get past the inevitable issues with getting the label maker installed and working, however, it will give you fast speed and good output quality for labels up to 3.15 inches wide. And although the list price is $154.99, it's frequently available for far less.

The SP320 is a basic black box, though it does offer slightly beveled edges around the top to make it look a little spiffier. A small blue release button on each side enables opening the body to insert a roll, and a form feed button resides on top. For stacks of fanfold labels or rolls that are too big in diameter to fit inside the box, a slot in the back feeds them through. For either choice of paper feed, the SP320 can print on labels from 0.98 to 3.15 inches wide.

The printer itself is 5.3 by 6.1 by 8.1 inches (HWD). However, if you want to take advantage of an external roll or stack for a lower cost per label and less-frequent loading, you'll need some additional free space behind it. External label-roll holders vary in size and price, but are easy to find online.

Physical setup is straightforward. Connect the supplied USB cable and power cord, then open the top cover to either insert a label roll in the printer or feed labels from an external roll or stack into the rear slot, and then thread the labels through the guides near the output slot in front. The top doesn't stay open on its own, so you have to hold it up even while using both hands to feed the labels, but that's a minor annoyance at worst, and something you need to deal with only occasionally.

The SP320 comes with a small starter roll of labels you'll run through quickly, so be sure to order more when you buy the printer. The price on Amazon at this writing for iDprt's 1.25-by-3.5-inch mailing labels is $13.99 for two rolls of 300 labels, or about 2.3 cents per label. However, you can also choose thermal label stock from most other manufacturers, as I confirmed using labels I had on hand from Brother and from some less-well-known sources. For my review, iDprt also supplied another manufacturer's roll of 1-inch-diameter round labels, which its software has templates for. The cost per label will obviously vary depending on whose labels you buy, and in what sizes and quantities.

In my review of the iDprt SP420, I mentioned various issues I ran into when installing the software, including a choice of two Windows drivers, which can't exist on the same PC, and one of which doesn't work with the label program you'll most likely want to use. Having learned about these issues the hard way, I first confirmed that the SP320 had the same software, and then ignored the instructions in the user guide (which will guide you through installation of the wrong software and driver). Briefly, you'll want to go to iDprt's website and download the Seagull version of the driver as well as Seagull BarTender.

The Seagull setup program lets you install the free UltraLite version of BarTender, a capable basic label program, that—as the name suggests—includes barcodes, including QR codes, in its feature set. As I've discussed in other iDprt reviews, I found the program both easy to learn and easy to use. Note that the iDprt site also offers drivers for macOS and Linux, as well as the HeleLabel app for Android and iOS devices, which can connect to the printer to print via Bluetooth. Although I looked at HeleLabel's label-creation and -editing features, I chose not to test how well it printed, after getting the warning that if I did, it would "collect information data, even if the application is closed or not in use."

My only other complaint is that the app requires defining label size by millimeters (mm), so you may need to keep an inches-to-mm conversion site open when defining new labels. That's a lot easier to manage on a big screen than on a phone. I wound up sitting at my desk doing the conversions on my desktop PC.

Another choice for creating labels is iDprt's own Label Designer, which is the name for both a Windows app and a web app that you can use directly from a browser window. You can also connect to the online Label Designer from the Windows app or the HeleLabel mobile app. Both the PC and cloud aspects of Label Designer are easy to use. When I first tried them with another iDprt model, they took only a little trial and error to learn.

However, I also saw the same issues with them when testing the SP320 that I've seen when testing it with other iDprt models. The online app didn't print correctly from the cloud in my tests using Firefox, Chrome, or Edge. Among other issues, it added headers and footers to each label in all cases. To print correctly, I had to download the label to my PC first. Having been through this issue with iDprt's tech support for an earlier review without getting it solved, and not finding a FAQ on the website to address it, I didn't ask about it this time.

In principle, because a Windows driver is installed, you can also use almost any standard program on your PC to print labels. I've had problems finding settings that would let me do that with other iDprt models, but with the SP320, the printer worked without problems using the Labels feature in Microsoft Word.

The SP320 is one of the fastest printers we've tested using our current set of label printer tests. It's rated at 180 millimeters (mm) per second, or 7 inches per second (ips). Using Seagull BarTender and 1.25-by-3-inch labels, I timed it at 1.6 seconds for a single label and 14.6 seconds, or 5.13ips, for 60 labels. Only the iDprt SP420 was faster on our tests, at 5.5ips, also using a USB connection. However, the SP420 was tested using 4-by-6-inch labels and different text, so the results aren't directly comparable. As another point of comparison, the Rollo X1040—our top pick for a 4-by-6-inch label printer—managed only 3.4ips using a Wi-Fi connection for the same-size labels as the SP420.

Output quality is standard for the printer's 203dpi resolution, making it more than good enough for printing addresses, barcodes, and other similar kinds of labels. Both text and barcodes were a suitably dark black, and text was easily readable.

The iDprt SP320 earns lots of points for its fast performance, more for its ability to print on most other manufacturers' label stock, and even more for the rear slot and cloud app. But if you want a printer that's easy to set up and has tech support you can reach immediately by phone or chat, this isn't it. The manual is missing important information for setup, and in my experience it takes a day or more for tech support to respond to emailing a question through the "Send An Inquiry" option on the website—the only choice. Either would be forgivable by itself, but taken together they add up to potential frustration for setup and solving problems.

If you don't need to print at widths larger than 2.3 inches, consider the Brother QL-800, one of the few paper-label printers that can print in both red and black on a single label, and our top pick for up to that width. And keep in mind that the 2.3-inch-wide print path also works for Brother's 1-by-3.5-inch address labels, for example, thanks to the labels being oriented the right way on Brother's rolls.

If you need wider labels than the Brother model can handle, consider the Rollo X1040, our top pick for printing at up to 4.1 inches wide, including on 4-by-6-inch labels. That said, if you want fast speed, a rear slot to let you use fanfold labels or large rolls, the freedom to chose from a wide range of labels from different manufacturers, plus the ability to print from mobile devices as well as PCs and share labels among devices through the cloud, the iDprt SP320 can still be the right choice.

The iDprt SP320 label maker can be frustrating to set up, but a lightning-fast print speed almost makes that forgivable.

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