Fax machines are becoming a necessity of business life. They combine
a low-resolution image scanner with a printer. When sending a fax,
the document is passed over a sensor that converts the image into
digital format. That data then is transmitted over the phone lines
to the receiving fax machine, which converts it back to an image
and prints it out.
Fax machines vary the most in the printing technology they use.
Thermal fax machines, which used heat-sensitive paper, have pretty
much disappeared from the market. Almost all fax machines today
incorporate an inkjet or laser printer engine. Both of these provide
excellent quality output.
First, you'll want to decide whether you'll be better served with
a fax-only machine or a multifunction machine. A multifunction machine
will give you additional features, such as computer printing, that
a stand-alone fax machine can't. Fax-only machines will be less
expensive, though, and if you already have a high-quality printer,
you might not need a multifunction device.
Probably the biggest factor in considering various fax machine models
is determining your usage needs. Will you mainly receive faxes,
send faxes, or use a combination of sending and receiving?
If you're mostly going to send faxes, you can easily use an inexpensive
model that might use thermal paper or thermal film transfer. You'll
probably want broadcast and one-touch dialing features, though.
If you are mostly going to receive faxes, you'll want a model that
has a high paper-tray capacity and an inkjet or laser printing method
to provide the best quality. A high memory capacity is important,
too, allowing the machine to store incoming faxes even if a paper
jam occurs or if the machine runs out of ink.
Obviously, a higher transmission speed is important if you're sending
and receiving a large volume of faxes. The fastest fax machines
will send and receive at around 33.6Kbps, although the most common
fax machines have a top speed of 14.4Kbps. High transmission speeds
will lessen long-distance telephone charges, too.
1. Determine the type of machine you want. Look for an ink-jet
fax machine to get better print quality than a thermal fax for a
slightly higher price but the highest cost of use. Buy a laser fax
machine for good print quality if you can afford to pay more. If
you'll receive a lot of faxes, the higher purchase price will quickly
be offset by the lower cost of use.
2. Make sure the machine can print 64 shades of gray if you'll be
receiving and copying both text and images. Color-capable machines
are also available, but they're very expensive.
3. Figure out how many speed-dial numbers you'll need, if any. Also,
decide whether you need an integrated digital answering machine.
4. Compare each model's capacity for feeding multiple pages, storing
received faxes when the machine is out of paper, and "broadcast"
faxing to a group of recipients.
5. Look for advanced business features, if necessary, such as delayed
transmission, the ability to "poll" other fax machines,
copy reduction and enlargement, and shrink-to-fit 8 1 /2-by-11-inch
pages.
6. Base your final decision on functionality and initial and ongoing
costs.
A fax machine feature that lets you send one fax to multiple numbers
simultaneously.
Kilobits per second. This is a measure of transmission speed.
A programmable feature for storing commonly used fax numbers.
A type of fax machine that prints on common, flat printer paper.
The measure of the sharpness of the printed image, measured in dpi,
or dots per inch.
A type of fax machine that prints on rolls of paper through heat
transfer.
In addition to faxing, this type of machine can handle scanning,
copying, and other functions
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