Customer Reviews

Sharp Color AJ-5030 All-In-One Print/Copy/Scan

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a VERY, VERY, VERY slow machine for coping. The copy speed is 1.2 cpm for color and 2.5 cpm for b/w. I would rather pay more to get another brand of Print/Copy/Scan/Fax if I knew the speed performance before I bought it. If you don't need the fax function, there are some other cheaper machines that work faster than this one.

The sharp minds at Sharp Electronics have missed the mark with the AJ 5030 Color Multifunction Printer. It seems that the only cutting is when Sharp separates the customer from his money.

The AJ 5030 was purchased for use in our home for copying and faxing. A major consideration was the ability to copy pages from books so we were limited to flatbed scanners instead of pass through. A second telephone number was added to our main line so the machine would be able to receive faxes unattended.

The AJ 5030 was easy to set up as a stand-alone machine and the test pages all looked good. The copy/fax function was very slow!...

We ran into the first problem when the fax machine would not answer incoming calls. After multiple conversations with customer service people, we were instructed to contact the telephone company and have the ring pattern changed. This worked for a few months but then the machine stopped answering again. After multiple telephone calls to the Sharp service group, a manager said that problem was incompatibility with the local telephone company and they don't guarantee connectivity with all companies. When I attempted to get information about compatibility so I could talk to the telephone people, I was told that it was not available and they were not going to help me. It seems that Verizion (formerly Bell Atlantic) is not big enough for Sharp compatibility.

So buyer be-ware, there are better low cost MFP's that have good support people. Stay away from the Sharp AJ machines.

I have been trying to get this printer to work with Win98SE, to no avail. The software crashes my taskbar and shuts down my Start Button. I like the features, but it would be nice if I could use my computer at the same time. Tech support sent me a link to a download of the same software I got with the printer, even with the details I sent. Verdict is undecided.

I have been quite happy with this machine since I purchased it in August of 2001. It wasn't until I upgraded to Microsoft XP that I had difficulty. You see, the AJ-5030 is not compatible with the new Windows operating system. I have spent oodles of time trying to find a patch on both the Sharp and Microsoft websites to no avail. An email describing my problem sent to tech support at Sharp was replied to with the following statement: Sorry it is not compatible! I wish I had known I would be buying a machine that I could only use for a few months. OPne would think that Sharp would back up their product either with a software fix or a rebate. Looks like it's back to HP or Lexmark for me.

I have had this Sharp all in one for 6 months and definitely have buyers remorse! The ink cartridges are VERY hard to find and they are VERY expensive. We tried the ink refill kits but they only worked for about a month. I called SHARP customer service a couple of times for help and found them to be less than helpful. The product works ok but I would rather buy something a little more expensive that is more reliable.

I have had this printer for 3 years. My biggest complaint is the price of the ink cartridges. It cost me about 80-90 dollars to replace both the color and b&w cartridges. For that reason alone, I would recommend not buying this printer.

The company promo said it was "easy to use" they forgot to tell about the set up being complicated not to mention the software not being everything I would need to scan and manipulate documents. I still have yet to get the ReadIris to work right. I have had this Sharp all in one for about 4 months and definitely have buyers remorse! The ink cartridges are VERY hard to find and they are VERY expensive at $95.00 for both. They run out of ink very fast. Since the only source is on-line, it makes you wonder what will happen when it breaks down. This is a fairly slow machine for coping. The copy speed is 1.2 cpm for color and 2.5 cpm for b/w. I would not do it again.

Pluses: flatbed scanner, color, auto doc feeder, USB/parallel connection choice, scan to email, good setup menu, price

Negatives: expensive ink cartridges, color ink cartridges poorly designed so they clog after a short period of time (before the ink is actually gone), terrible TWAIN plug in for scanning (no descreen for magazines, for example), flaky s/w (sometimes hangs on printing and computer needs to be rebooted to exit out), poorly written manual

Ink cartridges for this unit are about ~$35 to $40 each, and they don't last long before clogging. I have a Win98SE and WinXP computer on a network, both have problems with this printer (both via the network and directly connected to the client PC). The ADF and flatbed scanner are nice, but I'm sure there are better printers out there. The scanner is slow, but this really depends on the resolution you want (it does up to 1200dpi. I'm in the copier business, unless you are spending big bucks for a MFP (multi-function printer), scanning can be slow). Anyway, my advice is to spend a little more money and get a much better printer.

Terrible machine. Very slow, difficult and incomplete manual. After 5 months the unit will no longer recognize new cartridges. Tech support did not offer a solution.

This is a great unit with all capabilities one need in an office.
The cartridges are not very expensive and it is low maintenance.
I know machines that don't have fax capability with way more expensive than this unit.