Sharp JX 9660 Toner

Sharp ceased production of the Sharp JX 9660 Printer - Sharp JX 9660 Toner a number of years ago. Sharp Corporation, a Japanese-based manufacturer of consumer and commercial electronics, was founded by Tokuji Hayakawa nearly one hundred years ago. Mr. Hayakawa invented the Ever-Sharp mechanical pencil and this product is where the corporation gets its name. Today the Sharp Corporation employs over forty thousand people in 30 countries world wide. Sharp products are distributed globally, in all 164 countries. The firm is leading maker of semiconductors as well consumer electronics. JX96xx was Sharps designation for its first generation of laser printers, fax machines and associated drums, toner and cartridges. Sharp discontinued the JX 96xx line some years ago. Parts and service are no longer advertised on the company's many regional websites.

The JX 96xx generation of components is still in use and there is still a demand for service and parts. There is certainly no shortage of after-market suppliers hawking printing supplies for JX 96xx laser printers or fax machines, with cartridges, drums and toners widely available.

Core product technologies for the Sharp Corporation at this time are: video projectors, mobile phones, microwave ovens, CMOS sensors, flash memory, CCD sensors, LCD panels, solar panels, audio-visual entertainment equipment including flat screen TVs, photocopiers and cash registers.

Sharp was first out with a camera cell phone in Japan (2000) and continues to hold market share in its home country. It is a fringe players in cell phones in other markets, however.

For the business market, Sharp produces projectors and monitors for the business market as well as laser printers, photocopiers and cash registers and other point of sale devices. Sharp Solar is a department focused on solar powered products as well as silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells.

For a number of years Sharp has been designing and marketing multi-function (MFD) devices. It has been a risky strategy because digital technology is such a moving target. Some of the earlier products combined phone centers with fax and copiers where the fax printer was used as the copier. Technological advances over the course of but a few years lowered photocopier costs, quickly making an entire product line essentially obsolete.

Sharp holds a 29% stake in German electronics manufacturer Loewe AG. Four fifths of Loewe AG's business is high end of home theatre TVs that cover a market segment at the luxury top end of the market served by Sharp's Aquos brand LCD television sets at the bottom end. Loewe AG also develops and manufacturers high end stereo sets, Blu-ray and DVD players and recorders.

Consumer electronics company Pioneer Corporation is Sharp's other associate company. Sharp has held a controlling interest in Pioneer since 2007. This didn't have much external impact on Pioneer until February of 2009 when the company announced it was getting out of the TV set business entirely.

For those of you who are still using a JX 96xx component, Sharp JX 9660 Toner is no longer available, but non-OEM replacement toner, drums or cartridges easy to find.