Working with the Sharp AL 1020 printer is an enjoyable enough task, especially considering that this laser unit belonging to the 1000 to 1200 line of such machines comes in at a price that is very attractive for those on a budget. Additionally, the people at Sharp throw in a good quality flatbed scanner, which turns this unit into what is called in the industry a "multifunction" machine. It does most things very well, which helps its attractiveness, and this includes the exceptional prints made with the Sharp AL 1020 toner.

For those out there looking to up the quality of their printed materials, this particular unit might turn out to make the most sense. It uses digital reproductive technology to accomplish its jobs, something that has been proven to be superior to older style analog reproduction units. Also, these particular Sharp multifunction printers are nice and compact, something that can help in an office that is cramped or small.

This laser printer kicks out product that is crisp and clear and in monochrome black and white. This helps it to stand out nicely on any printed page. Businesses that depend for their livelihood on presenting clear looking documents to their clients will appreciate this fact. It also prints on transparencies and envelopes along with all of the standard tasks it can perform.

This particular Sharp weighs a relatively light 40 pounds in all, and that 40 pounds comes in an enclosure that is only 20.5" x 17.5" x 11.5" and colored in standard corporate white. Print speed is acceptable for a unit in this price range, kicking out 10 pages per minute overall. As far as multifunction units go, this is more than adequate.

The AL 1020 printer uses parallel ports to allow interface between a personal computer or laptop and the unit. It uses wire technology to accomplish all this -- with wireless not being available. Two parallel ports are supplied, and both are industry-standard IEEE 1284, 36 pin Centronics types. It doesn't come with any expansion bay slots, but that isn't surprising.

Paper capacity is a more than adequate 250 sheets in a single paper tray, and it can hold standard size legal paper along with three different letter size paper types (A, A4 and A5). Again, this is pretty much standard in the industry for units like this particular Sharp. There really isn't anything that will jump out and surprise or disappoint a person who is looking for good quality printed output.

It usually takes about 9 seconds from the time the job his first task until the first printed page emerges, which is very acceptable when one considers that it's a multifunction printer that is designed for home office or small business tasking and not for large networks. It can be integrated into such networks because it utilizes most Windows and Mac OSs up to 98 and NT in Windows.

Printed product comes out at 600 dpi by 600 dpi, which is enough to present itself in nice, clear black-and-white product every time. Also, documents can be printed out shrunk down to 50% in size or enlarged up to 200% in size, which should be more than enough for most any job. The flatbed scanner also accomplishes all of its functions in a fine manner.