Buying Guide Fax Machine Features

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Fax Machine Buying Guide – More Fax Machine Features to Consider:

Modem Speed is an important consideration if your fax volume is high and it is important to free up the phone line as quickly as possible.

Paper Capacity: The higher the paper capacity, the less often you have to reload paper. This is especially important if you tend to receive high volumes of faxes after hours and want to avoid out-of-paper situations. Higher performance machines may come with dual paper trays or the option to add a second tray, enabling them to handle higher volume applications or to load letter paper in one tray and legal in the other.

Auto Dialing & Broadcasting Auto dialing: This feature enables you to store fax numbers in the machine for easy retrieval and helps eliminate misdialed numbers. Broadcasting lets you scan a fax into memory just once, and then send it to multiple locations.

Fax Security: Higher performance models may offer additional security features such as password controlled access and memory backup in the event of power outages.

Fax Memory: enables a fax machine to store incoming or outgoing fax pages. The amount of memory required to hold a page depends on the density of print on the page. Consider a model with a large memory capacity and dual-access capability for use in departmental or multi-user environments.

Fax Volume Cost per page: This feature has become increasingly important simply because incoming fax volume has increased over the years as marketing strategies have evolved. Laser models with high-yield consumables may offer a lower total cost of ownership than lower cost inkjet or ribbon transfer models that have a higher cost per page.

PC Connectivity & Networking: Consider models with built-in PC interfaces if you want to make a safe investment in a machine that will be capable of addressing changing application requirements. Higher performance models also provide the capability of supporting multiple users on a network.

Fax Machine Buying Guide

Fax machines come in all sizes and prices to fit any workplace. When considering which model to choose for your office you need to think about your office’s fax volume, paper handling requirements, special applications and how much you’re willing to spend on the total cost of ownership. Additionally, most now double as convenience copiers.

Different Fax Machine Technologies: How are they best used?:

Laser Technology Fax machines are based on the same technology as laser printers. They produce excellent quality text and graphics and typically have a lower cost per page. Laser fax machines are best suited for mid- to large-size offices where a wider range of high-performance features are required. You might even want to consider using a Multi-Function Machine.

• Businesses, High Usage and Low Cost-per-page.
• Manufacturers: Brother, Canon, Panasonic, Xerox, Konica, Okidata

Inkjet Technology Fax machines, just like inkjet printers, the initial purchase of these machines are in the mid-range level and offer high value and superior output quality. The more versatile models feature full-color capability for faxing, copying and sometimes even printing. They are ideal for home and small office use as well as low volume departmental and corporate environments where their color copying capability represents a significant added value.

• Desktop, Small Office, Store Front, Expensive Cost Per Page, Capability to Print
• Manufacturers – Brother, Canon, Hewlett Packard

Ribbon Transfer Technology Fax machines offer the lowest acquisition cost but usually have a higher cost per page than any other model. They provide convenience and ease of use and come packaged with pre-assembled print cartridges. They are ideal for light-volume faxing or copying .

• Desktop, Small Office, Store Front, Expensive Cost Per Page Limited Printing capabilities
• Manufacturers – Brother, Panasonic, Sharp

We will be putting up a post of Fax Machine and Multi-function printer features for the next buying guide.

Multi-Function Printer Buying Guide

Multi-Function Machines – MFP

Multifunction machines combine printing, scanning, copying and faxing capability in one integrated unit. They take up less space and are much less expensive than the cost of purchasing a copier, scanner, printer, fax machine, etc. to perform all of these tasks.

There are a number of things to consider before buying a multi-function machine.

How busy is your office? How you answer this determine what the type of multi-function printer you’ll be looking for. Here are our recommendations:

1) Large office with high printer volume – Check out Color Laser Technology Multifunction machines. These machines use color laser technology and deliver both high-resolution business color and monochrome output. They are for offices that mainly print and copy in black and white, and occasionally print high-quality color documents for presentations, proposals and color copies.

2) Medium to large office with variable printer volume – Monochrome Laser Multifunction machines use monochrome laser technology to produce high-quality, high-resolution black and white text and graphics and are a good fit for offices with mid- to high-volume printing and copying needs. These machines run faster than inkjet models and are less expensive than color laser machines. You’ll also find these machines have a lower cost-per-page than other machines.

3) Small to medium office with low printer usage – Color Inkjet Technology Multifunction machines provide the highest quality color reproduction – “photo-quality” in many cases. These machines cost less than most others; however, they have higher cost per page issues. These machines are best suited for offices with lower copying and printing volumes that need true photo-quality color output from time to time.

Will you need fax capabilities in your machine? If so, then you need to check out the modem speed. The higher your fax volume the faster you’ll need your modem to be.

Does your office handle letter or legal size documents? Or both? Many multifunction machines offer adjustable paper trays that accommodate both letter and legal and other sizes, and some also provide multipurpose trays or slots to handle envelopes, card stock and letterhead.

How often do you want to fill the machine with paper? Depending on your answer you’ll need to investigate the paper capacity of the machine. The higher the paper capacity, the less often you have to reload paper; this is especially important if you receive a high volume of faxes after hours and want to avoid out-of-paper situations. If your office is larger and has more printer, copier and fax volume then you’ll want a machine with dual paper trays or have the option of adding a second tray, enabling them to handle higher volume applications or to have letter paper loaded in one tray and legal or photo paper in the other.

Does office use duplexing? This can save on paper and mailing costs—and provide more professional-looking documents—by printing on both sides of a page automatically.

Will you need a network ready mulit-purpose machine so you can print, Some multifunction machines come ready to install directly to your wired or wireless network.

Did you do marketing via fax? Broadcasting enables you to scan a fax into memory just once, and then send it to multiple locations.

Document Security for printing and faxing. If you share a printer/copier with other people in your office and occasionally need to print confidential documents have you considered a password-protected feature on a multifunction machine? Some multifunction machines provide a way to password-protect the printing of confidential faxes and documents so that only the person who is supposed to see them actually does.

Will the machine be used in a PC or Mac workplace – or a combination of both?

Just some things to consider before you go out and buy the cheapest machine.

Calculator Buying Guide

Calculators come in several different varieties and purposes. The most popular types of calculators are Printing Calculators, Graphing Calculators , Display Calculators, Scientific Calculators, Financial Calculators and Solar Calculators.

Printing calculators, some call them Adding machines, contain a paper roll on which they print the input and results. These numbers and figures are displayed on the screen as well. Most printing calculators perform only basic mathematical and accounting functions. They generally cost between $30 and $100. Some of the most popular brands are Canon, Casio and Victor.

Graphing calculators perform advanced functions. They have larger memories and are able to store and graph equations. Graphing calculators have a larger screen to display the graphs. Prices range from about $40 to $150. The most popular scientific calculators are made by Hewlett Packard and Texas Instruments.

Display calculators are the most common and basic calculators available. They perform basic math operations such as adding, subtraction, multiplying, and dividing. Many display calculators also have a small memory to store the result. These calculators usually contain an LCD display and many are powered by solar cells. Display calculators are inexpensive and generally cost less than $10. Some of the most popular brands are Canon, Casio, Sharp and Victor

Scientific calculators perform trigonometric functions and have a larger memory than your basic calculator. These calculators usually cost between $20 and $100. Some of the most popular scientific calculators are made by Hewlett Packard and Texas Instruments.

Financial calculators are specially designed to perform financial calculations such as mark-up, gross profit dollars and margin calculations. They usually cost between $10 and $30. Some of the most popular brands are Canon, Casio, Sharp and Victor

Solar Calculators use photovoltaic cells for their energy. They convert sunlight into electrical energy. The photovoltaic (PV) cells, which are made of silicon, absorb part of the light that hits them. This releases electrons and creates an electrical current. The current is transferred to the calculator by metal contacts located on the top and bottom of the photovoltaic cells. These calculator are usually pocket-sized or very portable. There are many brands, which many are given out as promotional items.