FAX MACHINES (also known as facsimile machines)

There are many fax machines on the market all aimed at different users with varying needs. While some will offer extra features like a built in answerphone (often referred to as TAM (telephone answering machine)) or a built in cordless digital (DECT) phone an important point to consider is how much the machine is going to get used & cost you to use it.

TYPES OF FAX MACHINES & RUNNING COSTS

As when buying any piece of equipment like this, running costs are important & best to know prior to purchase. The variance in running costs between machines can be huge. The running costs generally vary depending on the type of machine you have/need. While there are some variances from the core types essentially there are 4 different varieties of fax machine when it comes to printing mechanisms. The first decision to make is rolls or plain paper.

Fax machines that use paper rolls (purchased from most stationers) are called thermal fax machines. These use heat sensitive paper rolls & thermal technology (similar to printed till reciept) to produce basic text & images on the page. These are cheap to run & normally quite compact however the technology is now quite dated and sometimes print quality can be quite low. These are ideal for anyone wanting a fax machine for occasional use but be warned, like printed till receipts, over time received faxes using this technology will fade so if you receive anything important its best to take a photocopy on a normal copier.

PLAIN PAPER

As well as thermal there are then three further variations of fax machines which are all plain paper options, 1) Carbon/Thermal Transfer, 2) Inkjet & 3) Laser.

Carbon/Thermal Transfer basically use rolls of carbon paper & use a thermal method to transfer basic text & images to standard plain paper (the type used in any copier or printer). This is the next step up from the traditional thermal machines previously explained. Again the machines tend to be small, designed for home use & ideal for light usage. Running costs vary from company to company but can easily be in excess of 10p per sheet & consumable often last about 100-200 pages.

The next type is Inkjet. This is the same technology used in most desktop printers & is a step up from the carbon & thermal transfer methods. Inkjet machines tend to be a little larger & aimed more towards small home offices etc. Advantages tend to be a better print than the previous mentioned two methods & generally build quality tends to be higher, with a larger duty cycle in mind. Inkjet fax machines use cartridges like most printers & like printers, running costs can vary enormously. Some companies sell very cheap machines but then charge upto £50+ for a relatively low yeild cartridge while others (eg HP) will adopt the same print cartridge for their fax & printer range meaning high consumable availabilty & low running costs. Inkjet cartridges vary from model to model & can offer anything from 200 pages upto 1000 pages but often the cartridge price will reflect this.

Running costs can be quickly calculated by Googling for the page yield (eg 400 pages) of the cartridge by entering the cartridge model number & the word yield or pages into Google. Once found use this in conjunction with the average retail price of the consumable to calculate an approx running cost per page.

Finally there are Laser fax machines. These tend to be the largest, best built & cheapest to run machines but also the most expensive to purchase. Laser fax machines are mainly aimed towards small, medium or large office use & offer excellent performance. Laser fax machines use plain paper & as with all fax machines can also be used as sheet-fed photocopiers. Because laser fax machines can cost as low as a penny a sheet in ink (actually toner) choosing the right laser fax may save the user having to buy a seperate photocopier as well.

Laser fax machines use toner cartridges & offer high yield consumable which sometimes can be initially expensive to purchase but last a very long time resulting in low long-term running costs. Most toners for laser fax machines will last several thousand pages and can cost anything from £25 upto £100+, again depending on model & yield.

OTHER FAX MACHINES

Obviously there are further variations on the above types of machines mentioned above & this guide would not be complete without pointing out faxes can be received on pcs/laptops using an old style dial-up modem or some companies offer facilities to receive faxes direct to your inbox in the form of emails.

Many multifunctional machines (inkjet as well as laser) also feature buil-in faxing functions & may prove another good solution. Most multifunctions consist of a printer, scanner & copier & some will also fax. Some multifunction machines will offer the choice of normal sheet-fed, multifeed faxing while others will jsut be able to offer single sheet flatbed faxing using the copier platen. Regarding consumable the same rule applies as those mentioned above, running costs tend to depend on the printing technology used. A basic rule of thumb is the more you spend on the machine, the lower the running costs.

IN SUMMARY

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