Sharp FO-5550 Toner Cartridges

Sharp FO-5550 Printer Review

The Sharp FO-5550 is a fairly basic compact laser fax machine that could appeal to small office users, but its slow faxing speeds are a bit of a disappointment. A small footprint and cost-effective Sharp FO-5550 toner are its best assets, and might sway some budget-minded buyers.

The unit measures 15.4x18.1x15.2 inches, which makes it an easy fit in a small office, though it's probably a bit large for home use. Its weight of 41 pounds includes the Sharp FO-5550 printer toner supply, so it is also fairly easy to unpack and set up.

The main drawback of the FO-5550 is its limitation of 14.4 kbps faxing speeds. Those who do a lot of faxing will probably want a model with Super G3 speeds for more productivity. The control panel is quite large, however, with a large array of speed dial buttons for quick access to frequent numbers.

The FO-5550 includes a large paper capacity of 750 sheets, and the 50-sheet automatic document feeder can handle two-sided originals very quickly. It doesn't have any upgrades available for more paper capacity, however, so buyers should be sure it is sufficient for their needs.

Changing toners is a little complicated, as they are accessed from a top panel. It won't need to happen too often; however, as each Sharp FO-5550 toner cartridge has a yield of around 6,000 pages. Even better, buyers can opt for compatible Sharp FO-5550 toner cartridges at lower prices than OEM supplies, saving with every page they print.

The FO-5550 might be worth considering for its large paper capacity and small footprint for a small office. Overall, though, its speed is disappointing, so only users who are willing to wait a bit longer will be satisfied with this model.