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Sharp AL 1631 Laser Copier
OVERVIEW: While many offices have laser printers that tend to double as copiers, their smaller toners causes an increase in replacing consumables and may exceed the recommended duty cycle. Yet many forgo buying a copier because they think only the large floor models are available. The Sharp AL-1631 is a desktop copier able to handle copy jobs at a lower cost and taking up less space.
PROS:
The 53 pound copier has a footprint 20.4” x 19.4”. The copier is a little large to put on a desk but will feel right at home on any credenza.
The AL-1631 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 allows for up to 30 single-sided legal-size originals: more originals can be fed in as the level drops. By scanning the original one time and storing the image into its 8MB memory allows the AL-1631 to produce copies at the rate of 16 pages per minute, up to 99 copies.
The AL-1631 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.
The control panel for the AL-1600 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 “toner save” mode. Indicators blink for toner and drum replacement, and paper jams. Unfortunately, the paper jam indicator does not show where inside the copier the misfeed is, so you’ll have to do a little sleuthing to find it.
The sliding paper tray can hold up to 250 sheets of 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.
This Sharp model was made for compactness, not expandability. There are no options available to increase its paper or memory capacities, nor to add printer network capability.
CONS:
During its prime, the 16 ppm copy speed was impressive for a small copier. So don’t expect the faster print speeds of 20 ppm that’s typical of newer copiers.
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.
INK / TONER NEEDS:
The AL-1631 only comes with a 50-percent full toner cartridge, which will need replacing after 4 reams of paper. The standard-yield toner can hold 4,000 pages at 5% coverage, the high-yield producing 6,000 pages.
The AL-1631 has separate toner and drum to help reduce overall consumables costs. The front plate flips open, allowing for the toner, then the drum units to be accessed. Since the cartridges have to be slid out sideways, it will take a little bit of practice to get the hang of replacement.
The drum unit will need to be replaced every 18,000 pages, or on the 3rd toner change. 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 machine longevity and print quality.
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Sharp AL 1631 Laser Copier
OVERVIEW: While many offices have laser printers that tend to double as copiers, their smaller toners causes an increase in replacing consumables and may exceed the recommended duty cycle. Yet many forgo buying a copier because they think only the large floor models are available. The Sharp AL-1631 is a desktop copier able to handle copy jobs at a lower cost and taking up less space.
PROS:
The 53 pound copier has a footprint 20.4” x 19.4”. The copier is a little large to put on a desk but will feel right at home on any credenza.
The AL-1631 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 allows for up to 30 single-sided legal-size originals: more originals can be fed in as the level drops. By scanning the original one time and storing the image into its 8MB memory allows the AL-1631 to produce copies at the rate of 16 pages per minute, up to 99 copies.
The AL-1631 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.
The control panel for the AL-1600 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 “toner save” mode. Indicators blink for toner and drum replacement, and paper jams. Unfortunately, the paper jam indicator does not show where inside the copier the misfeed is, so you’ll have to do a little sleuthing to find it.
The sliding paper tray can hold up to 250 sheets of 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.
This Sharp model was made for compactness, not expandability. There are no options available to increase its paper or memory capacities, nor to add printer network capability.
CONS:
During its prime, the 16 ppm copy speed was impressive for a small copier. So don’t expect the faster print speeds of 20 ppm that’s typical of newer copiers.
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.
INK / TONER NEEDS:
The AL-1631 only comes with a 50-percent full toner cartridge, which will need replacing after 4 reams of paper. The standard-yield toner can hold 4,000 pages at 5% coverage, the high-yield producing 6,000 pages.
The AL-1631 has separate toner and drum to help reduce overall consumables costs. The front plate flips open, allowing for the toner, then the drum units to be accessed. Since the cartridges have to be slid out sideways, it will take a little bit of practice to get the hang of replacement.
The drum unit will need to be replaced every 18,000 pages, or on the 3rd toner change. 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 machine longevity and print quality.
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