Fax Machine Reviews and Buying Guide:

Fax machines were around before email ever became popular and have slowly lost their appeal as many people find sending documents over a computer much easier than using a fax machine. There are even internet sites that offer faxing for free, with the most popular site being Efax.com. When selecting the best fax machine for you, think about what your needs are. Do you want a dedicated machine just for sending and receiving faxes, or do you want a multi-purpose fax machine that also handles things like copying, scanning, and printing? For most users, a multi-purpose fax machine is the way to go -- for everyday use it is your printer and copier, but when you need it, it also handles fax duties. The top names in fax machines are HP, Brother, and Canon (you can browse Amazon's list of the best-selling multi-purpose fax machines here). Sure, you could pick up a Panasonic or Sharp, but we'd stick with one of those top 3 brands as a rule.

---

Best Fax Machines and Multi-purpose Fax

Older generations of fax machines often used thermal printing technology and required special paper. Almost all of today's fax machines use either inkjet or laser printing technology, meaning they use plain old copy paper. For an inexpensive inkjet model, we like the HP 2140 Professional Quality Plain-Paper Fax and Copier (CM721A#B1H) (less than $60). It uses a 14.4 fax modem which is fine for general faxing purposes, and has a 200 page memory (please tell me you are NOT sending 200+ page faxes!). It scans at 200dpi grayscale and uses a single HP701 black inkjet cartridge (which costs about $30 to replace and is good for printing 300-400 pages, about 8 cents per page). What might jump out at you is that an ink cartridge is half the cost of the fax machine! Correct, HP makes more money on the printer ink than it does on the printers and faxes. Overall, a good value - small, easy to use. We also like the Brother FAX-575 Personal Fax Phone and Copier (also less than $60). It's got a slightly slower 9.6 speed modem, which pushes pages through in about 15 seconds, and can hold just 25 pages in memory. It works well as a double-duty phone/fax, and intelligently switches between those modes, so it is easy to use as an "always on" fax machine in your home or office. Print quality is not as good as the HP, but fine for general faxes and basic copies.

Fax Machine Plain Paper - Where to Buy?

Need fax supplies? Want to get the best deal on fax machine plain paper? Go online to AbiSupplies.com and find Brother Fax Ribbon, Brother fax toner, Panasonic fax ribbon, Sharp fax ribbon, Toshiba fax ribbon, and Xerox fax ribbon. Try PosPaper.com for fax paper at $9.95 for a roll of 8 1/2 x 98 thermal fax paper. They also offer inkjet cartridges, laser toner cartridges, and printer ribbons. Of course brick and mortar stores like Office Depot or Office Max carry all the top brands and products as well.

Laser Fax Machines - Panasonic - Ricoh - Sharp - Okidata:

Panasonic makes some of the best laser fax machines like the UF-400, UF-790, UF-6000 ($842), DX-800, UF-7000, UF-8000, and UF-9000 ($1295). They all come with the best features and fastest transmission speeds. Ricoh Fax Machines are great multifunction units with the power to scan, print, or copy as well as fax. We suggest their Ricoh 1170, Ricoh 2210L, or the new Ricoh 3310Le and Ricoh F4420L. The Ricoh high end fax machines are the 5510L and the 5510NF ($1900+). The best network fax machine is the Ricoh F4420NF for $1269. The Okidata 4580 is the most cost effective stand alone fax machine on the market that is compact and features a quality scanner. It goes for $372. Other Okidata models are the 5650, 5680, 5780, 5980, and the Okidata 5980DL (dual line). Many of these models can be bought at stores like Staples or online at Facsimile.com. HP and Canon also make high end fax/copy/print/scan machines.

Copy Fax Machine - Copier - Printer - Scanner - Fax:

What most small businesses get is a multifunction unit that is a copier/scanner/fax/printer and Canon makes a great group of copy fax machines. The Canon LC-710 ($1499), Canon LC-730i ($1805), Canon LC-510 ($815), Canon LC 2060P ($856), and the Canon LC-2050P ($649) all offer superior performance and every feature you could possible need. They convert scanned documents to file formats for easy emailing purposes which help keep productivity high. The HP line of fax machines is here.

Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.

Review and Internet Guide Index: Computers and Internet: - Amazon Kindle Review - Best Selling Wireless Routers Household/DIY: - Replacing a Furnace - Most Popular Bread Makers Cars and Automobiles

Audio/Video Electronics - Best 50" LCD TVs - What is Tivo and how does it work? Top-Rated Digital Cameras and Photos: - Top HD Video Cameras - Buying a Digital SLR Camera Entertainment/Hobbies

Health & Fitness: - Teeter Inversion Tables - Recumbent Exercise Bikes Travel - Disneyland Hotel Guide - Hotels and Lodging - Top 10 Things to Do in New York Sports and Outdoors