My fax machine that I had for a good 6 years had finally spit out its last fax. So it was time to head out and buy another fax machine. My fax was pretty old anyway before I had gotten it, so I was a little happy about finally being able to upgrade.

My fiance and I were shopping in Staples and we saw the Sharp UX-355L sitting on the shelf. It was the cheapest fax machine they sold, and after I compared all the capabilities of at least 3 machines, I decided the Sharp would do. I did not need anything big or glamorous, just something that could send or receive a fax every once in awhile, and something that could make a few copies every now and then.

So we got home and took our new toy out from the box. This baby had to be assembled. You would think that something so small would not make a great hassle, but because it is small, is the reason we had a hard time assembling it.

Assembly

First there is your basic assembly of putting the handset on, plugging the telephone wire in, and setting it up so that you can dial out. This was easy and the directions are self-explanatory.

The problem was hooking up the tray extension and document support trays. It looks easy since it's just little plastic pieces, but once you think you have the tray attached and then add paper, it just falls over. Even after we finally attached it correctly, the tray falls over if you bump into it, add too much paper to it, or just bump into the table it is sitting on.

You then have to load the imaging film. The Sharp UX-355L uses Sharp UX-3CR imaging film. This was not easy to do, but I reckon once you have done it a few times, it gets easier. There are knobs to pull and turn, things to remove, the film needs to be stretched, and after all is said and done, you hope you inserted everything correctly. Once you do tis, you get to play with the buttons on the fax so that it will initialize and recognize the film.

Features

The Sharp UX-355L has the following features:

Automatic Dialing: You can do speed dialing up to 40 numbers and Rapid key dialing up to 7 numbers.

Imaging film: The fax comes with a starter roll of film that is good up to 30 letter sized pages. The replacement roll is the UX-3CR which is good up to 100 letter sized pages.

Memory: 476 KB which is equal to 27 pages.

Modem speed: 14,400 Bps.

Transmission time: Approx. 6 seconds.

Resolution: Horizontal is 203 pels/inch and Vertical standard is 98 lines per inch.

Automatic document feeder: 10 pages

Recording system: Thermal transfer recording.

Special Features & Functions

Caller ID (requires subscription)
Distinctive Ring (requires subscription)
Broadcasting: Allows you to send the same document to as many as 20 different locations with just one operation.
Blocking of unwanted faxes
Open LCR: This feature will help you save money on long distance calls. LCR will automatically route each call so that you can receive the best available long distance rate.


The fax is real simple to use. All of the buttons on the operation panel will tell you what to do. It has your basic start/copy button that you use when you want to send a fax or just make a copy of something. There's your volume, function, resolution and number keys, your speed dial & redial keys, and your LCD screen that will display the number you are calling out to.

You can use the fax as a telephone if you need it. All of the other fax machine phones that I have used have always been noisy or hard to hear. I will give this Sharp credit with the handset. The clarity is crystal clear and I was happy when using the fax as a regular phone. Too bad that is the only thing I am happy with.

So why am I not recommending this fax machine?

I am not recommending this fax machine because of the copy quality. You may think well I am not making copies on it so it should be good, but you are wrong. Every fax that you receive will have the same contrast and resolution as if you are making a copy of a page. There is only a high/low resolution option. There is no way to make your copies/fax lighter or darker. Even with the resolution set at it's lightest, it is still too dark.

My advice to you would be to spend the extra few dollars and purchase something that will give you clear copies of your receiving faxes and of your copies that you make. Because this Sharp was less expensive than the other brands, I did end up with a cheap machine.

Recommended: No

Purchase Price (if leased, monthly payment): 69.00
Machine age (Months in use): 2 Months