FIGURE A

This is the Seiko Instruments Smart Label Printer 220 (SLP220). Click picture for a larger image.

The SLP220 is a small serial printer that packs a lot of features, including:

• Full, integrated database with enhanced import and export functions, also allows additional information and notes to be stored;

• Automatic capture and place of address information in database fields (from Word processors and the like);

• Ability to mix font types and sizes on the same line;

• What Seiko calls an object oriented user interface; up to 10 separate objects can be included on a label;

• Barcode capabilities;

Because PalmPower is devoted to all facets of Palm devices, I was more interested in exploring the capabilities of the Smart Label Printer in conjunction with the Palm Desktop. It was less important to me to explore all the features of the software that comes with the Smart Label Printer, most of which is designed for integration with desktop applications like word processors.

The SLP220 is very easy to set up. It comes with CD-ROM based Smart Capture software, a transformer (which is almost as big as the printer itself), and a double-headed serial cable with both a DB-25 and a DB-9 connector. The most difficult part of installing the SLP220 was adding a 2-port serial card to my jam-packed computer, so I'd have an available port for it. If your computer isn't already at serial port capacity, you won't have to go through this extra effort. I used a SIIG HighSpeed/Hi-IRQ I/O board. This low-tech board uses jumpers, but it is designed specifically to use interrupts above 9, which are often available. You could probably use a serial switchbox if you're short of ports, but I prefer having the ports built into the machine.

I'd like to see some other connectivity options: a serial version with a pass-through similar to a Zip drive, a parallel version, or a USB version for people who aren't able to upgrade their PCs themselves. The coolest wish-list item would be an IR port that would allow us to beam our addresses directly to the label printer from the Palm device.