Customer Reviews

Sharp AL-1631 Digital Laser Copier

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

My office has been using this photocopier for about a year now. It's in a 24/7 pharmacy so it's being used constantly. I give it the two stars for being able to keep up with our demands, the speed is acceptable.

During the past year it's developed numerous problems. The machine has displayed system error messages on about 3 occasions and I had to call Sharp support and type in their secret button combinations to get it fixed. Sharp witholds troubleshooting information from their customers in order to benefit and secure their tech support department.

Sharp gave us a refurbished replacement unit and it eventually started having the same problems. Now the machine makes a loud humming noise after every copy, though I suppose you can get used to the noise after a few months.

The toner cartridge has also leaked inside the machine a few times, causing a big mess we had to vacuum up.

It's come time to replace this guy. I'll be trying a different manufacturer, perhaps Brother or Canon.

As replacement for my faithful Sharp Z-52, this AL-1631 works like a champ, but don't place much reliance on Sharp Customer Service. When unit came out of the box Sept 12, the hinges on the detachable multi-bypass paper tray were broken. When I contacted Sharp, I was told they do not sell replacement parts. Under warranty, I could have returned this BRAND NEW copier and received a REFURBISHED unit with an intact bypass tray. Needless to say, I declined this no-brainer offer. Sharp should make these parts available online as Sony and other manufacturers do. After striking out with Sharp, I contacted Amazon's customer service which I should have done in the first place. My defective copier was picked up by UPS the next day and a new unit shipped second-day air with no hassles. Replacement works perfectly. Kudos to Amazon for prompt and efficient customer care.

If you only need a copier for less than a year, and this is the
cheapest copier you can find, this Sharp Al-1631 might work.
After a year, and you can't get warranty work done any more
throw it in the trash, and buy a good copier - Not A Sharp!
Also, Local Sharp service centers won't touch this thing.
You have to send it in to Sharp, they will give you another
refurb. I bought a Canon to replace the Sharp, and never looked
back.

We are a small start-up company and after one week without a copier, we were all getting frustrated so we looked online and found this gem. It is a great investment for the money. The copies are crisp, you can use the feeder or put directly on the glass - you can put letter or legal paper in = and when it is in "sleep mode" you hear nothing. The warm-up time is about one minute but then hit the button and you are off. I recommend this copier and the instructions are easy to follow for quick set up. Enjoy fellow copy lovers.

We are a small business and use the AL-1631 for small internal copy jobs (less than 20 pages) 1-4 times a week. We purchased this copier because our old Canon's document feeder died.

It has a short delay before the first copy comes out - maybe 15 seconds. A series of sounds let you know when it is waking up from energy save mode.

After a couple of months, we began having streaks on our pages when they were run through the document feeder, and page 60 of the manual advises users to clean the transfer charger. That solution did not solve the problem. I phoned Sharp (while our warranty is still valid) and they advised me to use glass cleaner and paper towels to clean the small strip of glass under the lid to take care of the streaks. It worked!

I rate this machine with four stars because our Canon model, after years of use, never produced streaks - via the doc. feeder or the main glass. The delay time with the AL-1631 is due to the energy save mode, so I don't fault the machine for that. And, we've never had a paper jam, and have not had to replace the toner or drum in the 10 months we've had it.

If you are considering purchasing this Sharp copier, keep in mind that it is a very basic machine. It is not intended to be a workhorse copier, and requires maintenance like anything else.

Machine is slow to warm up: at least 30-40 seconds for first copy.

To use the by-pass tray, must first hit button on control panel. To return to either single feed or document feeder, must hit the button again.

The document feeder works very well, but have been unable to "clean" the transfer charger, resulting in streaks on documents sent through the document feeder.

Sharp has THE WORST service I have ever dealt with. I had the AL-1551, and when I bought it I was told warranty would pay for repairs. What they instead do is send you a refurbished.... the refurbished I got was worse that the broken one I had. I had to sue them to get my machine fixed, which only needed a plastic piece in the document feeder (probably cost them $5 in parts). STAY AWAY

Just got off the phone with Sharp. Have had a Sharp AL-1551CS for 2 years. Worked great then the Automatic Document Feeder broke. Called and asked if I could buy a new ADF. No way. For $275 plus shipping they will send me a refurbished copier but they do not release parts to the public. Guess I am now a loyal Sony or Canon cusotmer.

That pharmacy guy's experience is atypical. I bought a Sharp AL-1631 after having lots of troubles with a cheaper brand and have been very happy. I do very heavy-duty copying and this machine performs beautifully. It's also very easy to learn. I recommended this to a few other friends and one of them bought 30 of these for his clients and none has failed so far. He tells me his clients are all very happy. I conclude the pharmacy guy probably bought a refurbished unit or he probably just spilled coffee or OJ into the machine. If you need one good copier that has a low per-page cost in the long run, and especially if you copy a lot, the AL-1631 is for you.

I have a dental office; so the copier gets occasional use--about maybe 10 copies per day. In the beginning, the quality of the copies is good, but the start up time is consuming. After two years, the quality of the copies declined--the ends of the page were illegible. Finding someone to service the machine was difficult. There were long waits on the phone with Sharp customer service. With so many other options (some of them with better longevity, more competitive pricing, and better customer support), I would look into buying other alternatives.