Fax Machine?

Tags: fax_machine, faxing

Pete101 from NJ -

I am looking for suggestions for a reliable low cost laser fax machine. Not one of those multi function machines, just a plain old fax. I saw one from Brother but couldn't find any other ones with a decent price tag.

Comment #1 Ralph from New York City -

I like the service from Packetel.com for $4 or $5/month you get a fax number. The faxes sent to that number show up in your email. You can choose which ones to print or not.

Never run out of paper. Never have a busy signal. No help for sending faxes though.

• packetel

Comment #2 mr_roll (88.106.123.249) -

Hey Ralph, that's a nice link you've posted there! It will certainly come in useful!

Comment #3 Debra from The Desk -

You may want to check out some online services that you don't even need a fax machine. Everything is done online through your computer I believe. With technology fax machines will be gone in a few years.

Comment #4 Isabella from The Southwest -

I agree with Ralph. The company that I work for gave me an online fax number and it works out great!! I do have to have a fax machine to fax out but receiving faxes through my email is a Godsend.

Comment #5 George from Dead Like Me -

My brother used to work for efax.com. He still has an efax number. As you've all mentioned, receiving faxes is a piece of cake, but sending them is another matter altogether. Office Depot charges, I believe, $1.39 for the first page and a $1.00 for each subsequent page for local faxes. Can be very expensive to have to fax elsewhere.

I know this isn't what you asked for, but I have a Lexmark X4270 in my home office and I love it. Yes, it does more than fax, but I haven't had a problem with it.

Comment #6 Ralph from New York City -

Ringcentral (though we've had some tech problems with them) offers a fax out service. You print to THEIR fax and out it goes.

Just like the fax modems but it is sent through the internet. I think it is 5 cents a minute. For 1 page faxes just put the page in your scanner and use your "copy" software to "print" it.

Comment #7 John from Johnstown -

I have one of those Brother fax machines. I got a great deal on it from Fry's Electronics - I think I paid $20 for it!! Still works like a charm.

Comment #8 DallasCowgirl from Dallas, Texas -

Don't computers come with a fas/modem inside? can't you just plug the computer into the phone jack and send a fax directly from Word? Maybe I'm way oversimplifying things, but that's what I did years ago when I still had dial-up and no fax machine. Back then I could only send and couldn't receive faxes.

Comment #9 Joe from South America -

It is clunky, ties up a phone line.. another cable... if you travel internationally.... much nicer to use the internet for sending and email for receiving.

Comment #10 MissCrissy from My Chair -

Joe, how do you use the Internet to send faxes? I know how to receive faxes through email, but not how to send them. If I have a contract I've signed and it's in my hands, how do you propose I send that through the Internet?

Comment #11 Joe from South America -

Ring Central offers a fax out service (though I had trouble when it stopped working for a while and faxes went to nana land).

You just select the Ring Central Fax out from the printer menu. It basically works like a fax modem, but is transmitted via the internet and out from a Ring Central telephone line.

For the signed contract... pop it in a scanner. I have a cheap cannon scanner that came with a "copy" utilities. I hit copy and select Ring Central for the printer and off goes the fax. It's a pain for more than 1 page faxes.

But it beats paying a couple bucks a page and waiting for ever for a copy shop to make international faxes for me.

• Ring Central

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