Do not throw the printer away. Here is the deep dive on why the driver doesn't exist, and how to force this legacy device to work with a modern OS. To understand why the Sharp AR-5618 is a headache, we have to look at Windows architecture. The AR-5618 uses a host-based printing system (GDI). Unlike PostScript or PCL printers that do the math internally, GDI printers rely on the PC's CPU to render the page.
The last official drivers Sharp released for the AR-5618 were , designed for Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. sharp ar-5618 driver windows 10 64 bit
Don't trust the "driver download" websites. They will give you a virus. Use the generic HP route. Your tank of a printer will live to see another Windows update. Have you successfully installed the AR-5618 on Windows 11? Let me know in the comments below. Yes, I know the AR-5618 has a parallel port. No, a "USB to Parallel" cable will not fix the driver issue; it just changes the port. Do not throw the printer away