Once you slip the label into the little slotted too, bend the label so it's curling over the tool. It's almost like you're rolling spaghetti on a fork.

They will pop right open.

I'll try to post photos later if my instructions are too muddy! LOL

I love my P-Touch labeler. It's been a lifesaver.

That should read...

"slip the label into the little slotted tool"

I used the little tool for awhile (with varying amounts of success), and then I finally figured out that the label roll I bought has the backing split down the middle. So all you really have to do is bend the label horizontally to get hold of half of the backing. If the cartridge of labels you bought says "Crack & Peel Tape" on it, it's probably the same. Instead of bending the label from side to side like the little tool does, I just bend the label between my thumb & forefinger from the top and bottom, and then I can get hold of the backing where it's split in the middle. I'm not sure I'm explaining this very well, but hopefully you get the idea!

silvercomet - that sounds so much easier! I'll take a look at my tape - and maybe buy a different one.

caroline - Hmmn, maybe that's not quite what I've been doing, i.e. bending it back once, then pulling it out. DH did find that sometimes it takes a few times to get it to separate. If you get a chance to post pics, I'd appreciate it. I must be doing it differently.

silvercomet beat me to saying, the newer rolls do have the backing split down the middle; just gently fold horizontally.

I used the P-touch at work, and fought with the end, then when I peeled it away, only the top half of the backing came, bcs of the split. I felt sort of silly.

My P-touch didn't come w/ the little tool (that's how long ago I bought it), and I fiddle with the tape, too. Bcs I still have some old tape.

caroline - I guess I don't need the photos after all. I tried my next roll. While it doesn't have the horizontal split, it does separate using the "tool" on the P-touch. I think my first roll was just an extra PITA for some reason. At $10 per roll, they certainly ought to work better! Oh well, the difficult tape was the one that came in the machine, so it was sort of a freebie.

Where is the "tool" you guys are referring to? I just looked at mine and I don't see anything. I got so frustrated trying to remove the backing that I bought a Dymo LetraTag because its labels have the split backing.

I've got the PT1900, and if you lift up the top as if you were going to put in a new tape cartridge, the little tool is there in a slot to the right of the tape. It's dark grey, and kind of looks like it's part of the machine, but comes out of its slot if you give tug on it. It's basically a little plastic stick with a flat hole in it.

Mine is the PT-80, black with green trim. On the top of the machine, there is a green slot towards the left side. It has a picture of a curling label where you're supposed to slide in the label.

Mine is the PT-65. I checked again. It doesn't have the slot or the tool. I found the instructions and there's no mention of it, either. Oh, well...I do like the Dymo LetraTag. I gave the P-Touch to my SO to use.

I long ago quit using the tool that came with my PT-1750 in favor of using scissors. I run the tape over the scissor blade as in curling a ribbon. This causes the backing to lift at the corner. My original tapes were not split, but the last few rolls have been so I'll try silver comet's method the next time I use the machine. I'm big into gardening and all my outside labels are made using this machine. I adore it.

liz_h, where on earth do you get the tape for $10? mine all cost $18-20 each, and that makes me just hate to waste that beginning and ending waste that it spits out!
Anyhow, my next tape WILL have the split back!
A straight pin helps get the backing off, still a PIB!

crableg, I got the tapes and machine at Office Depot. They have free delivery with a $50 order, or I might not have had sense enough to order 2 extra tapes. I was very surprised how little was left on the original tape when I switched out the cartridges.

The tapes I bought are the Brother Model M-K231. At least when making several labels, you can input a whole row of text (as if it were one label), and just cut between the labels after printing. I wish there was a function for reducing that leading and ending blank space.

crableg re: that wasted tape

Read through your manual--on some machines, there's a setting you can choose that spaces the labels much more closely--esp. valuable if you're making lots of labels at once, but useful even if you're only doing one (though you do need to press "code" and "feed" at the very end to push it out a little extra before you cut it off.

Liz_H, your labeler is a simpler model, I think, and I couldn't find that function in the User's Guide. But look in section 2, under "Designing Labels," for "setting label length"; it's not the same function, but it might help you w/ wasted tape, if you can estimate how long your letters will be.

Thanks talley sue, that will be nice to know in the future, when I'll want labels the same size for my bookshelves and/or books.