Fax machine advice wanted

[redbird]

wilfulcait has pointed out that this new freelance gig means I should buy a cheap fax machine. I'm looking for advice on what to buy--and what not to buy.

I don't care much about supply cost: I expect to be using it (almost) exclusively for outgoing faxes, not incoming. Small is good, because I have no clear idea of where I can put the silly thing.

Comments

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

Here's another idea -- how about a teeny little flatbed scanner instead of a fax? You could use it for other things, and you could scan your marked up pages and PDF them back. Plus it's really little, and cheap. There's one here (http://estore.usa.canon.com/Specification.asp?ITEM_ID=1446).

[kightp.livejournal.com]

If you can justify buying a new printer, I can vouch for the HP all-in-one printer-scanner-copier-FAX models (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/ho/WF02a/18972-238444-236260.html). They actually do all of those things well, and they only take up a little more space than a standard printer. And man, have the prices come down in the past three years.

No special supplies beyond standard HP ink and printer paper ...

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Why not just buy fax-modem software for your computer?

B

[redbird]

I don't have a scanner, and I'd be surprised if I could get that plus the software for less than the price of a fax machine.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

I was going to recommend the all-in-one myself. Kathryn Cramer bought one recently, and it's something I'd like to buy as soon as I can justify the expense. Staples has the Hewlett-Packard PSC1210 for $100.

On the other hand, if you want to get a dedicated fax (it's easier to send with one), Staples online has a brutally cheap one--a refurbished Brother PPF-775 (http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=554470&bcFlag=True&bcSCatId=3&bcSCatName=Technology&bcCatId=51&bcCatName=Copiers+%26+Fax&bcDeptId=903&bcDeptName=Fax+Machines&bcClassId=142113&bcClassName=Plain+Paper+Fax+Machines) for $29.98!

Most cheap fax machines can only handle 10 or so pages at a time in the feeder, which is a pain in the noogies. Getting a machine which can handle much more requires going up to the $200+ machines.

[redbird]

In what way is it easier to send with a dedicated fax machine?

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

If you're going to be doing many-page faxing regularly, you want a multi-purpose machine with built-in multi-sheet fax capability like this five-in-one from Brother (http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=457449&bcFlag=True&bcSCatId=3&bcSCatName=Technology&bcCatId=44&bcCatName=Printers+%26+Multifunction+Machines&bcDeptId=1607&bcDeptName=Multifunction+Machines&bcClassId=40303&bcClassName=Inkjet+Multifunction+%28Color%29).

The multipurpose machine I pointed you to is a flatbed scanner, which means that you'd have to feed each page in individually. But of course a flatbed scanner is a much more versitile scanner than a fax-style scanner--you can't scan (or copy) a book or your hand with a fax-style scanner.

Since nellorat has a dedicated fax machine, our household need is greater for a flatbed scanner than for a multipage feeder on a multipurpose machine.