Sharp FO-4470 Printer Review
With a tilting status display and an extensive control panel, the Sharp FO-4470 is one of the most advanced compact laser fax machines in its class. It can output up to 16 pages per minute, and features Super G3 faxing for fast transmission speeds. The use of affordable Sharp FO-4470 toner will keep costs down, and it features basic copy features right out of the box.
A glance at the feature list makes it hard to believe this unit could be quite so compact. It measures just 13.6x21.5x16.2 inches, and weighs just a little over 30 pounds with the Sharp FO-4470 printer toner supply installed. As a result, it is fairly easy to fit on a desktop surface.
Paper handling is one area where the FO-4470 is a bit limited. It starts with a single tray that holds only 250 sheets, though an extra 500-sheet tray can be added for expansion. A 50-sheet automatic document feeder is a nice addition to its standard feature set, though it doesn't actually include a flatbed scanning surface.
Lack of a flatbed surface is partly due to the large control panel above the scanner. This was a good design decision, however, as it provides much better control in such a small machine. The tilt-able display provides a lot of information to the user as well.
For a small device, toners actually have fairly large yields. Each Sharp FO-4470 toner cartridge can provide as many as 6,000 pages. Users also have the option of purchasing compatible Sharp FO-4470 toner cartridges instead of pricier OEM equivalents, which can help lower the operating costs.
Compared to robust multifunction devices, the features of the FO-4470 may seem a bit limited. For the buyer who wants serious faxing features in a compact design, however, it could be a great fit.
