The FreeX WiFi thermal printer is designed for printing 4 x 6 inch shipping labels (or smaller labels if you provide design software). It is suitable for USB connection, but its Wi-Fi performance is poor.
If you need to print 4 x 6 inch shipping labels for your home or small business, it is best to connect your PC to the label printer via USB. The FreeX WiFi thermal printer worth $199.99 is specifically for you. It can also handle other label sizes, but you have to buy them elsewhere because FreeX only sells 4×6 labels. It comes with a standard driver, so you can print from most programs, but there is no FreeX label design application (at least not yet), because FreeX assumes that you will print directly from the market and shipping company systems. Its Wi-Fi performance is not good, but it runs smoothly via USB. As long as your needs exactly match the printer’s capabilities, it’s worth seeing. Otherwise, it will be surpassed by competitors, including iDprt SP410, Zebra ZSB-DP14 and Arkscan 2054A-LAN, which won the Editor’s Choice Award.
The FreeX printer looks like a less square box. The body is off-white. The dark gray top includes a transparent window that allows you to see the label roll. The round left front corner has a light gray paper feed switch. According to my measurements, it measures 7.2 x 6.8 x 8.3 inches (HWD) (the specifications on the website are slightly different), which is roughly the same size as most competing label printers.
There is enough space inside to hold a roll with a maximum diameter of 5.12 inches, which is enough to hold 600 4 x 6 inches shipping labels, which is the maximum capacity sold by FreeX. Most competitors need to install such a large roll in the tray (purchased separately) behind the printer, otherwise it is impossible to use it at all. For example, ZSB-DP14 does not have a rear paper feed slot, limiting it to the largest roll that can be loaded inside.
Early printer units were shipped without any label material; FreeX stated that newer devices will come with 20 small starter rolls, but this may be fast, so be sure to order labels when you buy the printer. As mentioned earlier, the only label sold by FreeX is 4 x 6 inches, and you can buy a folded stack of 500 labels for $19.99, or a roll of 250 to 600 labels at a proportional price. The price of each label is between 2.9 and 6 cents, depending on the stack or roll size and whether you take advantage of quantity discounts.
However, the cost of each printed label will be higher, especially if you only print one or two labels at a time. Each time the printer is turned on, it will send a label, and then use the second label to print its current IP address and the SSID of the Wi-Fi access point it is connected to. FreeX recommends keeping the printer on continuously, especially when you are connected via Wi-Fi, to avoid waste.
The company said that it is very advantageous that you can print on almost any thermal paper label from 0.78 to 4.1 inches wide. In my test, the FreeX printer works well with various Dymo and Brother labels, automatically identifying the end position of each label and adjusting the paper feed to match.
The bad news is that FreeX does not provide any tag creation applications. The only software you can download is the print driver for Windows and macOS, and the utility for setting up Wi-Fi on the printer. A company representative said that it plans to provide free iOS and Android label apps that can be printed over Wi-Fi networks, but there are no plans for macOS or Windows apps.
This is not a problem if you print labels from an online system or print PDF files that have been created. FreeX stated that the printer is compatible with all major shipping platforms and online markets, especially Amazon, BigCommerce, FedEx, eBay, Etsy, ShippingEasy, Shippo, ShipStation, ShipWorks, Shopify, UPS and USPS.
In other words, if you need to create your own labels, especially when printing barcodes, the lack of labeling procedures is a serious obstacle. FreeX says that the printer is suitable for all popular barcode types, but if you can’t create the barcode to be printed, it won’t help. For labels that do not require barcodes, the print driver allows you to print from almost any program, including desktop publishing programs such as Microsoft Word, but defining the label format requires more work than using a dedicated label application.
The physical setup is simple. Install the roll in the printer or feed the folded paper through the rear slot, and then connect the power cord and the supplied USB cable (you need to set up Wi-Fi). Follow the online quick start guide to download the Windows or macOS driver and install it. I installed the Windows driver, which follows the absolute standard manual installation steps for Windows. The quick start guide explains each step well.
Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi configuration is a mess, with a drop-down list of unexplained options and a network password field that does not allow you to read the input. If you make any mistakes, not only will the connection fail, but you must re-enter everything. This process may only take five minutes-but multiply by the number of times it takes to get everything done in the same attempt.
If the setup is a one-time operation, the unnecessary clumsiness of the Wi-Fi setup can be forgiven, but it may not. In my test, the printer stopped feeding the label into the correct position twice, and once started printing only on a limited area of the label. The fix for these and any other unexpected problems is a factory reset. Although this solved the problem I encountered, it also deleted the Wi-Fi settings, so I had to reset them. But it turns out that Wi-Fi performance is too disappointing and not worth the trouble.
If I use a USB connection, the overall performance in my test is only reasonably fast. FreeX rates printers at 170 millimeters per second or 6.7 inches per second (ips). Using Acrobat Reader to print labels from a PDF file, I set the time of a single label to 3.1 seconds, the time of 10 labels to 15.4 seconds, the time of 50 labels to 1 minute and 9 seconds, and the running time of 50 labels to 4.3ips. In contrast, Zebra ZSB-DP14 entered our test at a speed of 3.5ips, and its print job was done via Wi-Fi or the cloud, while Arkscan 2054A-LAN reached a level of 5ips.
The performance of the printer’s Wi-Fi and the PC connected to the same network via Ethernet is poor. A single label takes about 13 seconds, and the printer can only print up to eight 4 x 6 inch labels in a single Wi-Fi print job. Try to print more, only one or two will be printed. Please note that this is a memory limit, not a limit on the number of labels, so with smaller labels, you can print more labels at once.
The output quality is sufficient for the type of label applicable to the printer. The resolution is 203dpi, which is common for label printers. The smallest text on the USPS package label I printed is dark black and easy to read, and the barcode is dark black with sharp edges.
FreeX WiFi thermal printers are only worth considering if you plan to use them in a very specific way. Wi-Fi settings and performance issues make it difficult to recommend for network use, and its lack of software makes it difficult to recommend at all. However, if you want to connect via USB and print strictly from an online system, you may like its USB connection performance, compatibility with almost all thermal paper labels, and large roll capacity. If you are an advanced user who knows how to adjust the format in Microsoft Word or some other favorite program to make it print the labels you need, it may also be a reasonable choice.
However, before you buy a FreeX printer for $200, be sure to check out the iDprt SP410, which costs only $139.99 and has very similar features and operating costs. If you need wireless printing, please consider using Arkscan 2054A-LAN (our editor’s recommended choice) to connect via Wi-Fi, or Zebra ZSB-DP14 to choose between Wi-Fi and cloud printing. The more flexibility you require for label printers, the less meaning of FreeX.
The FreeX WiFi thermal printer is designed for printing 4 x 6 inch shipping labels (or smaller labels if you provide design software). It is suitable for USB connection, but its Wi-Fi performance is poor.
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M. David Stone is a freelance writer and computer industry consultant. He is a recognized generalist and has written credits on various topics such as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of top companies in the gaming industry. David has extensive expertise in imaging technology (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (magnetic and optical), and word processing.
David’s 40 years of technical writing experience includes a long-term focus on PC hardware and software. Writing credits include nine computer-related books, major contributions to the other four, and more than 4,000 articles published in national and global computer and general interest publications. His books include Color Printer Underground Guide (Addison-Wesley) Troubleshooting Your PC, (Microsoft Press), and Faster and Smarter Digital Photography (Microsoft Press). His work has appeared in many print and online magazines and newspapers, including Wired, Computer Shopper, ProjectorCentral, and Science Digest, where he served as a computer editor. He also wrote a column for Newark Star Ledger. His non-computer-related work includes the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Project Data Manual (written for GE’s Astro-Space Division) and occasional science fiction short stories (including simulation publications).
Most of David’s writing in 2016 was written for PC Magazine and PCMag.com, as a contributing editor and lead analyst for printers, scanners and projectors. He returned as a contributing editor in 2019.
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Post time: Nov-25-2021
