Sharp Copiers

Sharp Al-2030 Laser 2-In-1 Copier & Printer

OVERVIEW: The Sharp AL-2030 comes with a new design, a new look, and faster copying.

PROS:

At 45 pounds, the 2-in-1 (can’t really call it an “all-in-one” since it does not also have a scanner) has a footprint 25.4” x 17.5”. The copier is a little large to put on a desk but will feel right at home on any credenza.

The AL-2030 uses a stationary 8½” x 14” platen for scanning instead of a sliding platform to keep its footprint no bigger than its physical size.  The automatic document feeder (ADF) allows for 50 single-sided originals up to legal-size: more originals can be fed in as the level lowers. By scanning the original once and storing the image into its 8MB memory allows the AL-2030 to produce copies at the rate of 20 pages per minute and up to 99 copies. By using the high-speed USB connection to make it a shared printer, the AL-2030 can handle multiple print jobs at a speed of up to 16 pages per minute.

The AL-2030 has three different exposure modes & resolutions (auto, manual, photo). Automatic (or default) resolution is 600 x 300 dpi. “Photo quality” is 600 x 600 dpi at 256 grayscale levels. The magnification can be changed from 25% to 400% in 1% increments or in 6 jumps.

One of the “gotchas” for 2-sided copying is the originals in the ADF must be single-sided. One option rather than burning through paper making the originals 1-sided is if the originals are in an electronic form to use the printer capabilities of the AL-2030 to print them from a computer as 2-sided duplicates.

The control panel for the AL-20×0 series is pretty straightforward, so you don’t need to go to the manual to figure things out. In addition to magnification, quantity, and exposure, you can control which paper tray to use and to switch to the toner save mode. Indicators blink for toner and drum replacement, and paper jams. Unfortunately, the jam indicator does not show where inside the copier the misfeed is, so you’ll have to do the sleuthing yourself.

This Sharp has a  250-sheet sliding paper trays, capable of holding either letter (8½” x 11”) or legal (8½” x 14”) size paper. Non-standard sizes from 3” x 5” up to 8½” x 14” can be placed singly on the scanning platform, or up to 50 sheets placed on the multi-purpose flip-tray on the side of the copier.

CONS:

The design of the AL series is primarily based to focus on copier features, not so much on the printer side. During its prime, having a 16 ppm speed was impressive for a laser printer. In truth, the touted 16 ppm speed can only be achieved at lowest resolution, but that’s the caveat for any printer specs. Don’t expect the faster print speeds of 20 ppm or more that’s typical of current monochrome laser printers.

The 250-Sheet Paper tray is woefully undersized for office copy use. It’s typical for even a small office to go through a ream of paper in a single day. And it’s also common for offices buy paper in 500-sheet reams, if not a 10-ream case. For personal and home use, a 250-sheet tray is sufficient, so long as you’re not someone whose home is their office. Having a tray that you can dump an entire ream of paper into would be something any office would invest a few extra dollars for.

The printer emulator doesn’t include PCL or PostScript, but relies on Sharp’s own proprietary emulator. For standard printing, most users won’t notice any difference in performance or print quality.

INK / TONER NEEDS:

Starter toner cartridge that comes with the AL-2030 will last for only 2,000 sheets, so it’s a good idea to place an order for more toner when you get the unit.

The AL-2030 has separate toner and drum to help reduce overall consumables costs. Sharp offers a choice for toner: the standard-size toner (4,000 pages at 5%), or the High-yield (6,000 pages) unit. The drum unit will need to be replaced ever 18, 000 pages or every 3rd toner replacement.

During the course of changing toner, people often forget to keep track when it’s time to change the drum.  Combo-packages are available that offer the drum with several toners. By the time the toners are consumed, the remaining drum is replaced. These combo-packages make maintenance easy and increases overall longevity and print quality.

SOFTWARE:

Included is Sharp’s desktop document management software. The software does a decent job in giving you control of the unit’s various printing functions, as well as network administration.

Unfortunately, the software is only for Wintel machines. Apple machines running OS X and will be able to use the printing functions native to OS X.

The Sharp AL-2030 a good compact copier/printer for the small office or business for a reasonable price. — Mel Myers

Source: http://quikship.blogspot.com/2010/01/sharp-al-2030-laser-2-in-1-copier.html

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