Sharp FO-4700 Toner Cartridges

Sharp FO-4700 Printer Review

The Sharp FO-4700 dedicated laser fax machine is an affordable way to bring high-volume faxing into the office, but its 14.4 kbps transmission speeds are disappointing. Buyers may still be drawn to its compact footprint and affordable Sharp FO-4700 toner supplies, however.

Users with limited space will certainly appreciate the unit's design. It has a small footprint of 25x16.25 inches that would make it right at home on a desk surface, and even with Sharp FO-4700 printer toner in place, it still manages to come in under 30 pounds.

Paper handling is surprisingly robust for such a small device. It comes with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder for scanning, though it lacks a flatbed scanning surface. The main paper tray can hold 250 sheets, but an additional 500-sheet drawer can be added to expand its capabilities when needed.

The user-friendly control panel of the FO-4700 makes good use of available space by sitting on top of the machine instead of on its front. Users can even connect the unit to a computer for printing, but this requires an optional print driver, and the output is limited to 600 dpi resolution.

Of course, buyers choose a laser fax for inexpensive toners, and Sharp FO-4700 toner cartridges don't disappoint. Each Sharp FO-4700 toner cartridge can provide around 6,000 pages, so the cost per page is kept low, making it an affordable way to send and receive faxes.

There are a lot of positive aspects that make the Sharp FO-4700 appealing, from low running costs to a user-friendly control panel. Unfortunately, heavy fax users will probably become frustrated by its slow transmission speeds, so spending a bit more on a model with faster speeds would be recommended for those who do heavy volumes.