The Basics: Desktop Fax

Fax machines are 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 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 use heat-sensitive paper, are pretty much disappearing from the market. Some inexpensive models use film thermal transfer, where the images are transferred from heat-sensitive film to plain paper. More upscale fax machines incorporate an inkjet or laser printer engine. Both of these provide excellent quality output.

How to Shop

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.