Even thermal printers that brag of being small and mobile devices aren't usually as portable as you'd like. The Niimbot D110 really is a tiny label printer that can be dropped in your bag alongside your mobile phone.
There are currently a lot of good thermal printers around at the moment, and you can find the best label makers in our guide. Where the Niimbot D110 sits is somewhere in the lower end in terms of tech – this is a 203 dpi label printer – but that needn't mean it lacks uses or fun.
In fact, if you're looking for a basic and easy to use label printer for school, college for a child then the Niimbot D110 could be for you. Take a look at my Epson LabelWorks LW-C610 review for a more technical label maker, but read on to see why sometimes a basic printer can be best for you.
The Niimbo D110 design offers true mobility
At 10 x 7 x 2 cm and weighing just 200 grams the Niimbot D110 is genuinely tiny and portable – it's smaller and lighter than the mobile phone you'll use to pair it with, for instance. It uses a USB-C to USB-A connection, which means there's no heavy battery buy does mean Apple users will need a converter.
The Niimbot D110 is made from white plastic and feels good to the touch. Despite being a cheap and portable thermal printer it feels like a quality product. There are some nice design touches such as slightly angled bevels around the edges and a circular blue LED that flashes to signal battery and Bluetooth statuses.
The top of this label maker flips up and you simply drop in the small roll of tape and close it down. There are no fiddly clamps or adjustments to make you literally drop the roll in, fold the end of the tape over and pop the lid down.
The device doesn't have an auto cutter like some other thermal printers, and you will have some waste if you're regularly replacing the tape type – Niimbot has a range of styles – as each time you need to fold and tear off one tape sticker.
The small design of the Niimbot D110 also means you're restricted to 12.5 to 15 mm tape widths (you can vertically arrange words in the app for longer messaging), which means it's not ideal for many professional spaces, although the tag style tapes are very useful.
How is the Niimbot D110 to use?
The Niimbot D110 is very easy to setup and use; simply download the brand's app, connect your mobile (iOS or Android) to the printer over Bluetooth and you're off. The Niimbot D110 uses the maker's own tape and can automatically detect the kind of tape being used. I tested this thermal printer using a variety of sticker tapes, including clear vinyl and white vinyl, small vinyl tags and the bespoke pre-illustrated stickers.
The automated setup makes it easy to get going but also limits you to Niimbot's own-brand tape labels, so be aware this could get costly. You can customise a blank label in the app settings to use non-Niimbot tape, but you're getting away from the ease-of-use that is this label maker's strength. Likewise, as mentioned in my Niimbot B21 review, the app has a lot of content locked behind a subscription model.
After playing around with various prints the results are decent. The label printing is clear and visible but the low-resolution nature of the Niimbot D110 does mean there's an element of pixelation and breaking around the edges. The speed of printing is excellent but if you're looking for a professional label maker you may want to look elsewhere.
But for around the home and just having fun with it, the Niimbot D110 is a good choice. The mix of tape and sticker styles will suit most jobs, from labelling cables to tagging your friend's laptop with a cheeky message. The tape quality is good – these are tear, oil and water resistant – but that print quality is a little poor. If you're looking to give your craft projects a finishing touch for Etsy or craft market sales I'd suggest the Epson.
Should you buy a Niimbot D110?
The Niimbot D110 isn't bad, but it's also not the best label maker. But this comes with a huge caveat, the Niimbot D110 is one of the cheapest thermal printers I've tested, and at $39.99 / £36.99 it's a bargain. You can actually find the Niimbot D110 for even less if you hunt around, with it selling on Amazon US $23.99 and Amazon UK for £23.99. At this price the Niimbot D110 is excellent value for money, and those slightly jagged edges to its prints can be overlooked. (Though also consider, unlike Epson range of thermal printers, you may eventually need to buy in-app purchases.)
The Niimbot D110 is an easy, fun and practical label maker that will do for most everyday tasks and its ease-of-use means it's a fun sticker maker for kids. While professional crafters and creatives may want something with a little more polish and adaptability, for the price I wouldn't overlook the Niimbot D110. See our guide to the best thermal printers for more choice, or read my Epson LabelWorks LW-C410 review for a similar style of mobile label maker.
