Pros & Cons
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- Inexpensive
- Prints from mobile devices via Bluetooth
- QWERTY keyboard with number and Shift keys
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- No backlight on LCD
- Only one width and type of label supported
- Requires AAA batteries and/or AC adapter, both sold separately
Brother P-touch PT-N25BT Specs
| Color or Monochrome | Color |
| Connection Type | Bluetooth |
| Cost Per Page (Color) | N/A |
| Cost Per Page (Monochrome) | Varies with label length |
| LCD Preview Screen | |
| Maximum Scan Area | N/A |
| Maximum Standard Paper Size | 12mm roll |
| Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum) | Not rated |
| Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended) | Not rated |
| Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks | 1 |
| Number of Ink Colors | 1 |
| Printer Input Capacity | 1 Cartridge roll; 13.1 feet |
| Printing Technology | Thermal Transfer |
| Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color) | NA |
| Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono) | 0.47ips |
| Scanner Optical Resolution | N/A |
| Scanner Type | N/A |
| Standalone Copier and Fax | N/A |
| Type | Printer Only |
The Brother P-touch PT-N25BT is a solid contender for light-duty labeling. Compared with the Epson LW-PX300, the Editors' Choice-winning label printer that it most closely matches in features and price, it doesn't offer as many different types of labels. It is also limited to using half-inch-wide tapes—12mm wide, to be precise—instead of a range of sizes. However, at $39.99, it's less expensive than the Epson model. Even better, it is faster, according to our tests, and along with offering standalone printing as the LW-PX300 does, it adds the ability to print from your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. So, although the PT-N25BT doesn't offer choices in tape width or type, it does a good job for the labels it can print.
Design: Limited Label Choices
The key advantage the PT-N25BT offers compared with the LW-PX300—as well as with the similarly priced Brother P-touch PT-D202—is that it's not limited to standalone printing. You can use it as a standalone model easily enough, thanks to the QWERTY keyboard and the one-line, 16-character LCD on its front panel. But you can also take advantage of Brother's Design&Print 2 app to connect to your Android or iOS mobile device, and print via Bluetooth. Both standalone printing and the app are reasonably easy to use, and both worked well in my tests.
The PT-N25BT measures 2.8 by 5.9 by 5.9 inches (HWD), but it's about an inch shorter in height near the front than the back, so if you rest it on a flat surface, the top sits at an angle for easy two-finger typing. And thanks to both the shape and the 1.1-pound weight, it's also a comfortable fit to hold in both hands for thumb typing, at least for my large hands.
(Credit: M. David Stone)The basic setup is simple, but although you can use it with either six AAA batteries or an optional $23.49 AC power adapter, it doesn't come with either. So be sure you have enough fresh batteries on hand, or order the printer with the adapter.
You may also want to order some additional tapes. The only one that comes with the printer is about half the length of the standard tapes, which means it can run out pretty quickly, particularly if you're getting the printer with a specific project in mind that you want to tackle right away. (More on tape choices shortly.) Note: The same printer is available as the PT-N25BTV3, which adds two additional sample-length tapes and costs essentially the same as the PT-N25BT plus a standard-length tape.
With everything in hand, the setup consists of removing the bottom cover, snapping in a tape cartridge, potentially loading six AAA batteries, closing the cover, and—if you're not using batteries—plugging in the AC adapter. To print from your mobile device, you can use the QR code in the one-page setup guide to find the app online and download and install it. You then use the app itself to connect via Bluetooth. I used my Android phone for testing, but Brother says the same steps (and same QR code) will work for iOS devices.
(Credit: M. David Stone)The single most important issue for picking a label printer is whether it works with the types and sizes of labels you need. The tapes for the PT-N25BT don't offer any variations other than color and the ability to cut the continuous tapes to any length. But if a 12mm plastic label is what you need, that won't be a problem. A Brother spokesperson wasn't able to confirm what the printer's thermal transfer technology is—dye, resin, or something else—but the printed labels are highly readable and also durable according to Brother: resistant to water, fading, temperature, and washing in the dishwasher.
There are a total of 17 tapes for the PT-N25BT: eight that print in black on various colors plus a clear background, four that print in white, three that print in blue, and two that print in red. All the standard-length tapes (as opposed to the sample-length tapes) are just over 13 feet (4 meters) long. How many labels you'll get per cartridge, as well as the price per label, will depend on how long the labels are. However, all the tapes are $6.99, so the cost for any given label will be a reasonable 4.4 cents per inch.
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Testing the PT-N25BT: Easy to Use and Reasonably Fast
Using the PT-N25BT as a standalone device can be as easy as typing in some text on the keyboard, hitting the Print button, then pressing the manual cutter on the upper-left-hand corner when it's finished. The keyboard includes Shift keys, a Shift Lock key, a key for modifying characters with accents and other diacritical marks, and buttons to change the font, font size, and font type (bold, outline, italic, and more). You'll also find a key for adding frames and one for adding symbols and emoji. There's also a menu button that, among other features, will let you save up to 10 label definitions for repeated use. When printing, you can set the number of copies as high as 20. The PT-N25BT will automatically add two small dots between labels as a guide for where to cut with scissors later.
The Design&Print 2 app adds more features and options. It lets you insert up to two images in your labels. It also lets you save up to 99 labels for reprinting and print up to 99 copies of a label with a single command. Most important, I find it even easier to use than the printer's built-in features, thanks to templates for a variety of common home needs and options that are nicely designed to be easy to understand and easy to use.
(Credit: Brother/PCMag)One potential issue for standalone use is that the LCD lacks backlighting. However, it's readable in most lighting conditions, and the lack of a backlight presumably adds to battery life, although Brother couldn't confirm that. And if you use the app instead, it won't matter at all.
Brother rates the PT-N25BT's speed at 0.47 inch (12mm) per second. In my tests for printing as a standalone unit, a 3.8-inch label with the text "PCLabs Label Test" printed in 8.9 seconds, or a 0.42-inch-per-second (ips) speed, while 10 copies of the same label came in at 80.6 seconds, or 0.47ips. Printing using Bluetooth was only a little slower: 9.7 seconds (0.38ips) for one label, and 87.6 seconds (0.43ips) for 10. (None of these speeds includes the time for manual cutting.)
In comparison, the LW-PX300 managed only 0.23ips for a single label, and we couldn't run the second test, because that printer limited us to a maximum of nine copies at once. The PT-D202 was notably faster than the PT-N25BT, at 0.72ips for a single label. However, for printing a few labels at a time, even the slowest of these printers is fast enough by most people's standards.
Verdict: A Solid Choice for Simple Labels
The PT-N25BT offers enough that if Brother offered a wider range of label types and sizes for it, it would likely be our top pick for a new category defined by being limited to a maximum 12mm width. However, there's no point in choosing any label printer if it can't print the types and sizes of labels you need. While the PT-N25BT is the only printer in this group that offers both standalone printing and printing from a connected device, it has the most limited variety of label-tape choices.
The PT-D202 offers tapes in various types and sizes, including iron-on fabric labels and labels with an acid-free adhesive, so you can use them on a photo without damaging it. The LW-PX300 remains our Editors' Choice pick for low-end label makers because it has the widest variety of tapes, with the largest number of choices, the largest range of widths, and the largest number of specialty tapes, even including magnetic tape (similar to flexible refrigerator magnets).
All that said, these extra tape choices won't matter if you don't need them. If a 12mm-wide standard tape with no options beyond color choices is what you need for all the labels you print, the PT-N25BT is likely the printer you want.