A compact thermal printer for your first few hundred labels.
Typical price
£70 to £110
Why we pick it
- Typical price
- £70 to £110
- Works with
Costs less than most thermal printers and fits on a shelf. It prints the same 100 x 150 mm labels, so your label stock carries over if you upgrade later.
Good for
- A part-time eBay seller
- Printing eBay labels one order at a time
- Mostly QR drop-offs with the odd label
- Storing on a shelf between clear-outs
- Your first few small shows
Not for
- Batches of 40 or more labels
- Weekends with 30 or more labels at once
- Big shows with dozens of buyers
Our approved alternative for the same job: MUNBYN thermal label printer
The guide
Each step in the order you'll need it.
A first printer for a few parcels a week
You are starting out, posting a few parcels a week from Vinted, Depop or eBay, and you want to stop folding A4 labels into plastic wallets. The Phomemo sits on a bookshelf or the end of a desk, and at £70 to £110 it costs about the same as other 100 x 150 mm thermal printers.
It also suits you if you buy postage on a phone. The PM-241-BT model pairs over Bluetooth with iOS and Android, so you can print a Vinted label from the app while standing at the packing table.
PM-241-BT resolution, speed and label widths
Phomemo lists the PM-241-BT at 203 dpi and 150 mm per second, the same resolution as most desktop shipping printers. It takes labels from about 25 to 117 mm wide, which covers 100 x 150 mm shipping labels and smaller product or address labels.
The body measures around 213 x 80 x 95 mm and weighs about 720 g, so you can move it between rooms. Both a Bluetooth version and a USB-only version sell under similar names; read the listing to see which one you are buying.
Getting your first label out
Plug the printer in and load labels before you install anything on the phone. Feed the labels through the rear slot, let the printer find the gap, then pair it in the Phomemo app or install the desktop driver for a laptop.
A stack of 100 x 150 mm thermal labels, 500 fanfold, behind the printer gives you months of labels at low volume. On a tight desk, a 250 roll on a holder works too. Print a test from each marketplace, scan the barcode with your phone camera, and save the print settings.
Kit for this step
MUNBYN, Click & Drop and the Zebra
The MUNBYN thermal label printer costs a little more and handles more labels a week; pick it if you already post daily or expect to soon. Both print the same label, so stock carries over if you upgrade.
Royal Mail Click & Drop is free software that pairs with either machine. Past 100 parcels a week, move to the Zebra ZD421d, a printer built for that pace.
Square stacks and a clean print head
Smaller printers jam more often when a label stack feeds in at an angle. Line the stack up square behind the slot and leave room for it to unfold.
Wipe the print head with an alcohol pad if you see pale lines through the barcode. A clean head and quality labels cut most reprints, and each reprint wastes a label and a minute.
Common mistakes
Each one costs you money or reviews, and each has a fix.
- The USB-only listing cannot print from a phone. Confirm the model says Bluetooth before you pay.
- Set 100 x 150 mm and 100 percent scale in the print dialog; the wrong scale leaves a barcode too small to scan.
- Thermal transfer labels come out blank, because this printer needs direct thermal stock.
- Pair inside the Phomemo app. A printer paired in the phone's Bluetooth settings may not appear.
Ranked in
Where it places in our rankings, and the reason.
- #3Ranked #3Best label printer for eBay UKA cheaper start for a part-time eBay seller clearing a loft. Slower on big batches, but it takes the same labels as the pricier two.
- #1Ranked #1Best label printer for VintedPick this first printer if most of your Vinted sales go by QR drop-off and you print a label now and then. It is small enough to store on a shelf, and you keep using the same 100 × 150 mm labels if you outgrow it.
- #3Ranked #3Best label printer for WhatnotFine for your first few small shows. Expect a big batch to take longer, and keep a spare roll near the desk so a batch doesn't stop halfway.
- #2Ranked #2Best label printer UK for home sellersThe cheapest way into thermal printing. Slower, but it uses the same labels when you upgrade.
Setups that use it
Complete kits this product is part of.
Guides that use it
Step-by-step help where this product does a job.
Questions
Is the Phomemo good enough for eBay and Vinted labels?
Yes. Both platforms produce a 100 x 150 mm label, and the Phomemo prints it at 203 dpi, which scans fine at Royal Mail and the other couriers, Evri included.
Can I print from an iPhone?
The Bluetooth PM-241-BT pairs with iOS and Android through Phomemo's app. Save the label PDF, share it to the app and print.
Will my labels still work if I upgrade?
The same 100 x 150 mm direct thermal labels fit the MUNBYN and Zebra printers, so leftover stock carries across.
Does it need ink?
It prints with heat on heat-sensitive labels, so the label itself is the only consumable.
Can it print smaller labels for stock or prices?
It accepts labels from about 25 mm wide, so small product labels work once you recalibrate for the new size.
Alternatives
Other picks for the same job, cheaper and pricier.
MUNBYN thermal label printer
It takes the standard 100 x 150 mm labels that eBay, Vinted and Whatnot all generate, and generic labels work, so the running cost stays low.
Typical price£55 to £85
See on AmazonZebra ZD421d
Once you print hundreds of labels a week, the faster prints and fewer jams are worth the higher price.
Typical price£200 to £260
See on Amazon