Fax machine features you won't want to do without

While all fax machines may seem the same, the difference between a good buy and a big purchase is in the details. Here is a summary of the characteristics to look beyond price.

Not all faxes are equally easy to use. Find one that is. Probably most cases-overlooked detail relates to how they handle faxes. Having to turn the page so incoming faxes so they can be properly sorted Peev is a pet of mine. Think about it, did go to McDonald's and order a hamburger and have to shuffle and the bread of hamburger in the correct order before you can eat? Fortunately, some fax machines do print incoming faxes upside down to avoid the need for the fax shuffle. Also looking for well-designed inbound and outbound fax tray and therefore are not bombarded with a series of documents that must be ordered.

Have a fax machine with a healthy size paper tray is also important. Look for one that is not necessary to replace more than one to two times per week. Any more than that and you risk having an empty paper tray at night or on weekends. A fax-equipped to handle the memory of those who do not currently document is a very useful feature to have as a backup and adds little to the cost.

If you like saving money, go with a fax machine that can transmit at speeds faster. I recommend looking for a fax machine that can transmit to 14400 bits per second (bps) and which uses the Modified Amended Resolution Read (MMR) compression standards. Faxes should be sent at least 50 percent faster than 9600 bps fax machines, assuming that there is another 14400 bps fax machine on the receiving end. The offices that send a lot of faxes will appreciate the lower telephone bills, as well as the increased availability of the fax. While there are 33600 bps around the machines are not widely available, meaning that the theoretical speed is rarely achieved.

If you're thinking of a multifunctional device, find one that has a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. Parallel port connections are slow and should be avoided whenever possible. And be sure to find out if a PC is necessary for putting into it even if you just buy a multifunctional device as a fax machine. I made that mistake once and had to struggle on finding a Windows PC when our office had only Macintosh at the time.

0There are still a fax feature that I have not seen, however. Have you ever picked up a phone call and heard the sound of a fax trying to connect through hanging and have only the fax and retry again? I would love to be able to beat the # key and cancel the fax and send a message to the fax that reached a phone number, not a fax number, dial and try again. If you have information about a fax that can do that, please let me know.