Label Link

Overview

Label Link is a first-class portable sight tape printing solution from Precision Cut Archery.

Label Link prints sight tapes directly from your PCA mobile app to a compatible Epson or Brother label printer over Bluetooth. No desktop computer, no PDF documents, no manual scaling in a third-party app.

As far as we know, this is the first direct label-printer integration in any archery software, and it's finally a portable sight tape printing solution we can genuinely recommend.

Which Printer Should I Buy?

We've tested Label Link with five handheld label printers: two from Epson and three from Brother. All five work well. The right choice comes down to tape width, resolution, and budget.

Comparison table

Print-quality comparison

Here's the same exact sight tape printed on four of the printers, side-by-side, so you can see how resolution affects legibility. (The PT-E720BT prints identically to the PT-P710BT shown here.)

The leftmost picture is our standard desktop printer recommendation (Brother HL-L2420DW laser printer), for reference.

Our pick

The Epson LW-C610PX is probably the overall pick. Resolution is king for sight tapes, and at 360 DPI the print quality is the best of the bunch.

That said, the Brother PT-P710BT is a very close second. The print quality is comparable, and it has one meaningful advantage: an integrated rechargeable Li-ion battery (no AAs to swap or carry spares for). The Brother PT-E720BT is the industrial-grade version of the PT-P710BT, with the same specs, same print quality, and same recommendation. Pick whichever you can find at a better price.

The Brother PT-P300BT and Epson LW-C410PX are both fine budget options if you already own one, but we wouldn't buy either specifically for sight tapes. Resolution is the limiting factor.

Recommended Labels

Whichever printer you pick, buy the manufacturer's own label cassettes. Both Brother and Epson have a large selection of materials, colors, and widths.

Epson

Epson offers three main materials worth considering for sight tapes. All are weatherproof; the choice mostly comes down to print quality and feel.

Vinyl

Flexible, weather-resistant, and in our testing the prints look noticeably better compared to polyester. This is our default pick for Epson sight tapes.

Black-on-white examples:

• 212VTBWPX (~1/2", 12mm)
• 218VTBWPX (~3/4", 18mm)
• 224VTBWPX (~1", 24mm)

Polyester / PET

Durable polyester with a gloss finish and industrial adhesive. Fully workable for sight tapes. The prints aren't quite as crisp as on vinyl in our testing, but it's a solid option if you already have polyester cassettes on hand or prefer the finish.

Black-on-white examples:

• 212BMWPX (~1/2", 12mm)
• 218BMWPX (~3/4", 18mm)
• 224BMWPX (~1", 24mm)

Strong-adhesive variants are also available if you want extra stick. We have not tested these yet, but they should also be solid options worth consideration.

• 212IBWPX (~1/2", 12mm)
• 218IBWPX (~3/4", 18mm)
• 224IBWPX (~1", 24mm)

Extra-Tough Nylon Cloth

We have not tested this option yet.

Black-on-white examples:

• 212NYLBWPX (~1/2", 12mm)
• 218NYLBWPX (~3/4", 18mm)
• 224NYLBWPX (~1", 24mm)

Brother

Brother doesn't have nearly as many label options as Epson.

We've only tested the standard laminated TZe cassettes, and they work well for sight tapes. That's what we recommend.

Black-on-white standard laminated examples:

• TZe-231 (~1/2", 12mm)
• TZe-241 (~3/4", 18mm)
• TZe-251 (~1", 24mm)

Their Premium Laminated or Extra Strength variations should be solid options as well, but we do not have hands-on experience with them yet.

White-on-Black

One fun option is to print with white-on-black labels. Here's an example with a Brother PT-P710BT.

Both manufacturers offer several color options for their label cassettes!

Prerequisites

• A supported label printer, powered on, with a label cassette loaded
• Bluetooth enabled on your phone
• The PCA mobile app (iOS or Android)

Pairing a Printer

This is a one-time setup for each printer.

Step 1: Pair the printer in your phone's Bluetooth settings

Label Link uses your phone's standard Bluetooth connection, so the printer needs to be paired at the operating-system level first.

iOS:

1. Open Settings → Bluetooth
2. Tap your printer in the list to pair

Android:

1. Open Bluetooth Settings (or tap Open Bluetooth Settings from the Label Link pairing screen)
2. Tap your printer in the list to pair

Step 2: Connect inside PCA

1. Open a sight tape and scroll down to the Label Link section.
2. Tap Pair a New Printer.
3. Tap Scan. Your printer should appear in the list within a few seconds.
4. Tap the printer to connect.

Feed Calibration

The first time you connect a new printer, we will walk you through a Feed Calibration. This is an important step, don't skip it.

Why calibrate?

Sight tapes need to print at an exact size to be accurate. Label cartridges feed slightly differently from unit to unit, and the feed rate changes slightly as the roll is used up. A quick calibration corrects for this so every tape comes out at the right scale.

Print Reference Line

To start, we will print a 4.0", 10.0cm, or 100.0mm line (depending on your unit preferences).

Measure Line

Use calipers end-to-end and enter the measurement. (A ruler or tape measure can work in a pinch.)

In this example, the line was a few thousandths short at 3.996".

Enter this in the application.

Verify

We will apply a correction factor and print a second line so you can confirm the size is right. Save to finish.

This time it should be spot on.

Printing a Tape

Once a printer is paired and calibrated:

1. Open any sight tape. The preview at the top of the page is exactly what will be printed.
2. Scroll to the Label Link section.
3. Pick a Sight tape trim line style:
   • Full: a dashed border around the entire perimeter of the tape.
   • Corners: small markers in each corner only.
   • None: no border or trim line at all.
4. Tap Print Tape.

Verifying the print

Under the Print Tape button you'll see a Scale Check note. It lists two marks on your tape (for example, 20–80) and the distance that should fall between them on the printed tape.

After printing, measure that distance on the actual printed tape with calipers. If it matches, you're good to go. If it doesn't, recalibrate the printer feed.

The 20–140 gap measured EXACTLY 3.591", just as it should:

Managing Saved Printers

Paired printers appear at the top of the Label Link section. Tap a card to open the management sheet, where you can:

• Connect / Disconnect: tap to toggle the connection
• Calibrate: rerun Feed Calibration any time
• Forget: remove the printer from PCA entirely

The card also shows connection status at a glance. A green check means connected and ready to print. A warning triangle means the printer needs calibration or has an unsupported tape loaded.

Tips

• Always check the scale of the printed tape to ensure it is correct.
• Always recalibrate after swapping label tape cassettes.
• For the absolute crispest sight tapes, a desktop printer is still our top choice. Label Link is about portability and convenience: a printer you can toss in a bag and take to the range.
• For the bigger picture on printers and paper, see the Printers overview.