Color at Work TM 100% Independent Analysis Sharp MX-3501N 35 ppm Color and Monochrome Copier - Printer - Scanner - Fax Key Buyer Benefits High-capacity, high-speed single pass document feeder reduces user time at device Well-designed user interface for both walk up and desktop users Customized walk up experience through the favorite templates feature in Web server Advanced permissioning and cost control management utility Encrypted PDF technology for more secure document storage and sending Innovative s
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® What’s Inside? Click on the title to jump to that page. Product Dynamics ......................................................................................................3 Sharp Open Systems Architecture.........................................................................4 Device Management ...................................................................................................5 Sharpdesk ...................................................................
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Product Dynamics The MX-3501N is the first of a new series of color MFP products to come out of Sharp as the company reshapes its entire color MFP line up in 2006. While the MX3501N may, at first glance, have design similarities to its predecessors, the ARC172M and AR-C262M, BERTL found that nothing could be further from the truth once we started using the device.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Product Dynamics Another important issue when judging office color devices is image quality and what makes good and bad image quality for general office applications. When attending trade shows and manufacturer conventions, it is always interesting to see when a color product is unveiled that one of the first things that people do is slap a photo down on the glass and hit copy. They expect to see a beautiful reproduction of their loved one.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management By simply opening a Web browser and typing in the Web address of any Sharp device, in this case the MX-3501N, a site specific to the machine pops up. The Top Page does not offer much more than the configuration of the machine in the picture, a menu, and the current status of the machine. But, this is just a home page or starting point for the site and device. Double click on the Current Status of the machine and the Device Status page opens.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management On the Address Book page, network folders, emails, as well as desktop folders can be set up for specific users or groups. Administrators have the option of choosing Email, FTP, Desktop, Network Folder, or Group. Up to six indexes can be set up. After selecting a type, administrators key in new users or tweak present users, giving access specific to the administration’s demands. Address Registration is accessed through the Add key from the Address Book.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management Document Operations is the command center for the document storage and reprint on demand capabilities of the device. There are three distinct storage areas that can be used to store commonly-used documents. The Quick folder provides open access to documents with fast one-touch access from the touch screen control panel. The Main folder features both sharing capabilities and security.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management Sharp also includes a sophisticated Search facility allowing users to look for files stored by user name, file name or password. This useful feature saves valuable time when a large number of documents are stored, especially in the shared Main or Quick folder locations. users cannot select more than one job to print at a time. In order to print multiple jobs, users must go to the File Batch Print screen, select all desired jobs and input the password.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management One of the most innovative new aspects Sharp has added to its Web server is an enhanced user control administration system. After signing in, the administrator is greeted by a new menu that allows them to set up and manage user accounts. Setting up new users was easy and included a wide range of functionality and automated features designed to make the job as streamlined as possible.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management This limit could also be split out between monochrome and color, allowing a color device to be used by junior staff as a monochrome device only while maintaining color capability for senior staff. While this system offers very extensive control capabilities over the device, we would have liked to have seen the management carried out at a central network location. This would allow for the control and monitoring of users across a range of Sharp devices.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management The last, and possibly the most innovative profile is the Favorite Operation group list. This profile designates the default settings that are made available to the user when they login to the device and assigns specific one-touch actions on the opening page. The Favorite menu is broken down to Copy, Image Send, Document Filing and System Settings. The first three allow the administrator to set up the default settings for each function of the device.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management The Web server includes the standard system settings and network administration settings tabs allowing the administrator to remotely set up and manage the device. are or are not available, import digital certificates and SSL information and change password settings as required. (See the Security section of this report for more information.) The administrator can set up email notification.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Device Management Sharp offers a suite of remote management software collectively called the Printer Administration Suite. Bundled with the standard network printing, the Suite includes MFP Home Page and Printer Administration Utility. The Printer Administration Utility (PAU) is a network tool designed to speed up the installation and configuration of all connected Sharp devices.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Sharpdesk A one-user license for Sharpdesk is bundled with the Sharp MX-3501N. Sharpdesk is a document management tool with many features found in advanced enterprise-level products. It communicates with Sharp MFPs and scanners, letting console users scan images to the desktop.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Sharpdesk Sharpdesk’s document manipulation function, called Composer, lets users assemble multiple documents into a single, custom job. To manipulate documents, users must first add them to the Composer work area. Users either drag existing icons from the thumbnail pane to the work pane or they can add new documents by printing from any application using the Composer driver. With Sharpdesk, users can OCR .bmp, dcx, .gif, .jpeg, .pcx, .pdf, .png, or.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Security With data and network security on the Alist of most IT managers, Sharp looks well positioned to deliver a host of security options to cater to the needs of the security-conscious buyer. because unlike IP addresses — which can be changed should a hacker discover the range of approved IP addresses — the MAC address of the network interface card cannot be changed.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Security For maximum security environments, an additional Data Security Kit supports a second layer of security applied at the hard drive level. The Kit secures the device three ways. In addition, the device also supports network authentication with NTLM and LDAP servers. This forces users to enter their network username and password before they are granted access to the device.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Routine Maintenance The overall maintenance of the Sharp MX3501N is very straightforward and simple. Most users will find the directions easy to use. Refilling the toner extremely simple and clean. The toner is located inside of the front cover which opens down. Once open, the four toner cartridges are visible. Yellow, magenta, cyan, and black span across the top from left to right. Each cartridge is the same size and holds the same amount of toner.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Routine Maintenance The competition does the same, but Sharp provides some of the most detailed, clear, and straightforward images and directions BERTL has seen. The picture shows the exact point of the machine which needs to be opened. Sensors tell when the section is open and navigates users to the next step, whether it is turning a knob, or looking at a certain area.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Routine Maintenance The Sharp MX-3501N sports two different finishing units, an internal one and a attached finisher. The internal one, which staples and can hole punch, is located underneath the control panel and is very easy to open. When a jam occurs in this finisher the touch screen coaches the user through a simple three-step jam removal. The front is opened, the knob is turned and the paper is removed. We found it to be very accessible.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Accessibility The Sharp MX-3501N does not have a tilting control panel. This means that the The touch screen on the MX-3501N can be hard for users in wheelchairs to see reducing accessibility. slides out providing plenty of room to access jams. Some rivals force users to pull the floor-standing finisher unit before the duplex unit can be accessed, an obvious problem for wheelchair users.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Paper Input Another strong point for the Sharp MX3501N is the overall paper capacity. This unit comes standard with a 1,100 sheet capacity and maxes out at 5,600 sheets. The standard capacity is on par or above most machines in this segment. A 100sheet bypass paper capacity is complemented by two 500-sheet adjustable drawers. While the bypass is the capacity we expect, the two paper drawers could be improved.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Paper Output/Finishing The Sharp MX-3501N comes with a variety of finishing options and configurations. Sold as is, the paper will exit underneath the control panel from the right hand side. Users can choose to output each set rotating between a letter/A4 and letter R/A4R paper drawer. While this reduces productivity marginally due to the changing media supply, the user can quickly and easily divide up each set which are output at 90 degrees to each other.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Paper Output/Finishing job. The stapling feature, which only interacts at the end of each document set, added virtually nothing to the overall time. great for offices which desire these features but lack the space. The saddle stitch finishing options can do everything the internal finisher can do and more. With the saddle stitch finisher users can stack up to 1,000 sheets of paper at a time.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Copy Ease of Use The new Sharp MX series has an enlarged touch screen when compared to its predecessors. The touch screen has some great features which complement the hard buttons quite nicely. Above: Default copy home page settings Below: Customized home page using favorite group settings We found the touch screen to be responsive with a clear menu system that would be easy for novice/temporary users to get adjust to without training.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Copy Moving throughout the menu system was intuitive with little head scratching, even when building more complex. To allow users to keep track of job build features the device includes an Information ”i” button which displays all the current settings on a single screen. We were impressed by the job queue, which is displayed as a separate margin to the left of the display.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Copy Productivity Covers and Insertion Pages Producing complex documents with different media supplies for cover and chapter/insertion pages was a simple, intuitive process. Different media supplies could be chosen for front cover, back cover, and two different insertion ranges in addition to the standard paper supply. The document production capabilities of the MX-3501N well above those of its workgroup rivals and more on a par with departmental devices.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Copy Image Quality Image quality was to a good standard across most standard output. Fine lines were crisp and fonts could be read easily down to 4 point. Halftones reproduced well as were shades of grey in monochrome mode. There was a weakness when the device was tasked with reproducing grey shades when in full color mode with an assortment of shades with cyan, magenta or yellow creeping into the mix.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Print The Sharp MX-3501N’s network printing is standard. Printing is powered by a 600MHz controller with 640MB RAM and a 80GB hard drive providing adequate memory for spooling and storing documents. Ethernet and USB 2.0 connectivity are included as standard. Within the standard printing package users receive PCL5c and PCL6, with PostScript available as an upgrade item.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Print BERTL has liked the Carbon Copy feature since its introduction on Sharp MFPs several years ago. The feature creates a second (carbon) copy of the document onto a different paper source. Companies that traditionally used two-piece forms can migrate away from dot matrix/ line printers to a laser- based alternative. The Tab Paper Print function within the Special Options list on the main tab is another useful function.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Print We were pleased to see that Poster mode was included. This useful feature allows users to create large posters using the device. The device splits up the image into multiple pieces each blown up to fit the paper size. The user simply attaches the pieces together to create a large poster. This is useful for schools, churches, and small retailers who need large format imagery but can’t afford a device or the expensive outsource fees.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Print The color settings tab includes a selection of preconfigured color curves designed to provide one-touch color capabilities for the novice or casual office color user. For those who want greater control there is also a custom color option which allows users to change specific color aspects to suit individual needs. A variety of image quality settings can be changed using a sliding scale adjustment.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Print The advanced tab also includes the tandem print function. This allows users to split a job across two devices. The job is literally split at driver level with half the jobs sent to one printer on the network and the remainder to another. Job Handling Users are able to send jobs in a multitude of delivery formats.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Print Productivity BANDWIDTH COMPARISON The choice between PCL and PostScript is one shrouded in mystery for most end users. Some may have a concept that PostScript is more suited to graphic-centric documents, but that is usually about it.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Scan One of the productivity boosting features we like about the Sharp MX series is its simple, uniform console interface. The interface lets you quickly get the job done with minimal drill down. This need for userfriendliness is most important in the scan function of the device, where users are typically carrying out more selections at the touch screen. Users can scan to email, scan to desktop, and scan to FTP.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Scan The scan menu is easy to navigate, made even easier with one-touch favorites added as seen opposite Destinations can be selected from the Frequent Use folder, the device address book or globally searched against the corporate LDAP database In addition to preset destinations, users can also enter addresses ad hoc using the QWERTY keypad feature. We found the QWERTY keypad to be responsive and easy to use.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Scan Scan Data Capture Accuracy One of the fastest growing needs for high speed scanning is the conversion of legacy hard copy documents into an electronic format for information sharing, reduced storage space demands, and easier search and data retrieval. A scan only converts a page into an image which is not very manageable.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Scan have a dramatic effect on the level of human intervention required after the initial scan has taken place. For that reason, we have standardized on ABBYY, a wellrespected leading OCR software developer. The increase in bandwidth and the slight additional delay before the larger 300dpi scanned file can be accessed by the desktop operator are more than offset by the greater accuracy of character recognition. Our tests are run using the latest level of ABBYY FineReader 8.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Scan Scan to File Productivity Measuring productivity from a purely mechanical perspective (not taking the human element into consideration) involves two main elements. • • The time to get all the pages scanned so the user can walk away The time to transmit the data back to the desktop for further processing BERTL conducted a productivity test using a standard government tax application form as a template.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Scan to USB/Fax Following closely in the footsteps of a major printer vendor, Sharp has introduced the ability to interact with USB memory sticks which are fast becoming the modus operandi for carrying electronic data. The Sharp MX-3501N has a USB port directly above the Ethernet port at the back of the device. This port can be used for both printing files directly from the memory stick, or as a destination for scanning documents.
Sharp MX-3501N Color at Work® Summing Up While Sharp may have been a late arrival onto the color MFP scene and has had to struggle playing catch-up, the Japanese giant is now well and truly in the market, with a range of color MFP products that will put up a worthy offense to the market leaders. BERTL was very impressed by the way in which Sharp has gone from so little to so much in one generation and has firmly laid down the gauntlet to others in terms of both user friendliness and overall functionality.
