The 5 Best Pricing Guns Reviews in 2019

Gone are the days where retailers would scribble out hand-written prices on little tickets. Now a whole range of special pricing guns can print out tags and labels at the speed of a soldier firing a machine gun.

What are the best price guns on the market? It depends on your needs really. It is surprising just how many different models there are for a relatively simple function.

How many characters do you need? Do you need decimal places? Do you want to display the currency symbol e.g. $? Do you need to print more information than price alone? Let’s have a look at some....

The size of label with which this model works is 7/16 x 7/8 inches (11mm x 20mm). The gun although one of the more basic in the range, certainly delivers and is one of the less expensive in the Monarch range. The gun’s dimensions are 9.69 x 12.19 x 3.2 inches.

It also has forward slash characters, which means that dates can be printed. The size of labels used is 7/8 inch x 6.5/10 inch (18mm x 16.2mm). The dimensions of the gun are 3.2 x 9.5 x 12.4 inches, making it easy to handle.

Even the needle is pre-loaded so that it is only when you have to replace it, that you need to work out how to fit the needle into the gun.  

The Gun Kit includes 5 replacement needles should a needle get broken in use. It includes 1250 tags and fasteners.

The color of this unit is bright purple and considering the similarity of this and the AMRAM Comfort Grip, final choice might boil down to something as arbitrary as color preference.

This particular model is higher in price than the 1131 which is something that should be taken into account. The overall dimensions are 3 x 9 x 8 inches – a more compact unit that might be preferable to some people.

What possibly makes buying a Pricing gun difficult is the similarity of products. The key thing you need to consider is the amount of information that you need to display. Ask yourself:

One of the great things about modern technology is that there are You Tube Instructional videos on how to do just about anything. So whichever Pricing gun you buy have a look at the video instructions for loading labels into your price gun. Here is a link to an instructional clip for the 1136.

You will need to do this when you first receive your Pricing Gun and also when it runs out of labels. The whole process is as easy as loading a paper roll into a large calculator. You just need to know “how” and this is where the video comes in useful.

To open, you need to push two knobs at the end (the video will show you exactly where these are situated) and then pull the top open. You place the roll into the space that can receive them and then thread the roll of labels along the appropriate runners as shown in the video.

You then pull the label strip out for 10 inches or so and peal the adhesive labels off this protruding part before threading the backing part past the last runner as shown in the video and click the Gun trigger till the paper becomes taught and start ejecting printed labels.

Price gun machines are very easy to use. You need to be sure that your gun is loaded with ink and labels. You need to set the characters that you want to print.

Your print gun will have specific instructions for setting the characters on your particular model, but typically you will be able to see the character roll for each column and there will be a knob that you pull out till your required column is highlighted (perhaps with a bar showing over it) then you turn the knob till you reach the character you want and pull the knob further to the next column.

When you are done you push the knob right back to its starting place and you are ready. Squeeze the trigger and a label will be spat out.

How do you Use a Tagging Gun?

Now a tagging gun is a bit more complicated. In some guns the needle will already be in place. In others you may have to install it – or you may need to replace a broken one. The needle will generally have a protective cover which you will need to remove.

The gun will have some kind of needle locking device which you need to set to the unlock position to remove an old needle and insert a new one. You then need to set it to the locked position to keep the needle in place.

You will also need to install a cartridge of plastic fasteners into the slot that has been designed to receive them.

You are then ready to use the gun. Place your tag against the fabric to which you want to attach it. Pierce the tag and the fabric with the needle and squeeze the trigger. That’s it. The plastic fasteners will loop through and attach the tag to your material.

One point to bear in mind is that if you are not attaching to an existing fabric tag (such as one showing the size) you need to choose an area of the fabric that won’t make a hole. A seam is a good point.

So, you’ve bought your pricing gun. You’ve installed your label roll, you’ve set the characters you want to print, and you are tagging away.

How do you keep your gun in tip-top condition? It is very important to keep it clean, both to avoid nasty microbes building up and to make sure that your gun continues to give you years of good service. 

It is a good habit to clean a print gun every time you have used it. There are three simple things you need to do:

And that’s all there is to it.

Pricing guns and tagging guns are relatively simple modern inventions that have become a boon to retailers and clothing stores.

I fact in the days of mass production and large stores they can now be considered something of a necessity. We hope this article has helped you in understanding and choosing the best pricing guns for your needs. 

The key consideration on which you should reflect beforehand is the amount of information you want your products to display – How many characters should your labels print and over how many lines and whether you only want to print prices or other information such as dates also?