1 - How it Works
A Fax machine operates by transferring the electric or digital copies of documents via devices and applications such as phone lines, Internet, VOIP, etc. Photographs, drawings, maps, and written or printed words can be transmitted with fax machines by electric and digital signals.
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Fax machines operate as a combination of a scanner and printer. They work with a rotating drum around which the paper is wound. It scans every small patch of paper with a photo sensor, a lens and a light. The reflected light waves are converted in electrical signals or digital signals depending on the machine. This information is encoded and sent via phone lines or such to the fax machine at the receiving end. This fax machine then decodes the information and prints it out. Fax machines find many uses because of their ability to reproduce both printed matter and writings across distances. They are used to send data, images, records, etc. Fax machines are of many types and vary to a great extent in their features and capabilities.The technology behind fax machines has advanced by leaps and bounds and this has led to different types of fax machines, each more advanced than the other. However, the advent of newer technology hasn’t made the older models totally obsolete and they continue to co-exist.
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2 - Types
Fax machines are of two types – those which use roll paper and those which use plain or A4 size paper. The printing technologies in fax machines are laser, LED, inkjet, thermal and ribbon.
Thermal and ribbon are older generation fax machines. Thermal fax machines use a specially coated roll paper that reacts to heat. The printing on this roll paper does not last long. But, it is inexpensive to buy and can be cheaper to operate. However, as the models have become almost obsolete, you may have a problem finding replacements. Ribbon fax machines use an imaging film that creates an image of the fax on your paper. It is inexpensive to buy but costly to operate.
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Inkjet fax machines are very popular. Like inkjet printers they use ink cartridges to print faxes on paper. They are suitable for small to medium volume of printing, as the cost of cartridges increases with high volume.
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Laser and LED (Light Emitting Diode) fax machines are the latest on the block and offer superior quality, of color. Laser faxes incorporate toners to print on paper. These need to be replaced less often than cartridges or film and are very economical in the long run. However, their initial cost is very high.
Choosing the right fax machine depends on certain critical factors such as; price, type, usage, features required, etc.
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3 - Key Featuers
PRICE:Fax machines are available for less than $100 and also for more than $1000. The price varies depending on the print technology and the features that are made available. A point to note is that some fax machines are inexpensive to buy but cost a lot in the long run, while others may be expensive to buy but are actually economical over time. So, it is better to consider the usage and the maintenance cost before buying.
MODEM SPEED:Modems can process information at different speeds. Modem speeds are measured in bps, i.e. bits per second. The higher the bps, the faster the modem is. E.g. 33600 bps, 14400 bps
FAX TRANSMISSION SPEED:Fax transmission speed is the time taken by the machine to send a single page across. It is measured in seconds per page such as 6 spp. The fax transmission speed can range from less than 4 spp to more than 10 spp. The lesser the time taken, the better it is. Some high end models have very high fax transmission speeds. E.g.; 1.7 spp.
FAX RESOLUTION: Resolution refers to the amount of detail that the fax machine accepts. The higher the resolution the better it is, especially for color images. Resolutions are measured in dpi – dots per inch. A resolution of 600 dpi is usually adequate.
PAGE MEMORY: This is a very key feature especially when there is a large volume of fax coming through. The page memory remembers the page when it runs out of paper and prints it out when there paper is reloaded. Some machines have page memory of less than 25 pages, while others may have memory of 60 - 120 or even 700 pages for the high-end models.
INTERFACE: Fax machines and the modems have different interfaces which determine how machines communicate with each other. Check out the specifics such as ITU-T G3, RJ-11C, ECM, USB 2.0, Public Switched Telephone Network, Bi-directional Parallel (IEEE1284) and USB 1.1. One standard usually used in offices is called a CCITT (ITU-T) Group 3 fax machine. It has a fax transmission speed of 14400 bps and a resolution of 203 pixels per inch. The specifics of
different interfaces vary and you can choose one that is most compatible with your requirements.
| PAPER SIZE & PAPER TYPE: Paper sizes vary across fax machines. They may accommodate paper sizes of letter, legal, A4 and envelope. Fax machines use two types of paper; roll paper and plain paper depending upon their printing technology. The cost of using these may vary. |
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STANDARD SHEET / TRAY CAPACITY:Sheet / tray capacity is the maximum number of pages that a tray can contain. In case of large volume of fax, you may opt for one that has a larger sheet capacity to avoid having to reload often. Sheet capacity is usually 50 or 100 pages, but it may be more.
AUTOMATIC DOCUMENT FEEDER: The automatic document feeder feeds sheets for faxing and so you don’t have to feed every sheet. The capacity is usually about 50 sheets. This feature may not be available in some machines, but those having large volume faxing may find it indispensable.
DELAYED FAX SEND & FAX FORWARDING: Some fax machines offer features such as; delayed fax send and fax forwarding. These are very useful to business for managing large fax volume. Delayed fax send allows the machine to store a fax in its memory and then send it, while fax forwarding allows it to forward the fax to different numbers.
BROADCAST LOCATION: Most fax machines can send the faxes to a number of locations, either at once or one after the other. The number however varies according to the cost. This feature is very useful for large volume faxing. Broadcast locations can vary from 25 to over 200 or more.
COPY FUNCTIONS:Many fax machines also include basic copier functions. The maximum copy resolution may at times differ from the fax resolution. E.g.: 400 x 400 dpi. It is however not a substitute for a full fledged copier. The number of copies indicates the maximum copies it can make at a time. E.g.: 50, 100 copies. Some fax machines allow reduction or enlargement of the copy before printing. This is indicated as a ratio. E.g.: 135%, 200%.
TELEPHONIC FEATURES:Most of the fax machines also incorporate telephonic features such as; telephone handsets, speed dialing and cordless phones. Some fax machines have answering machines to receive calls. The answering machines may be internal or external. Digital answering machines are preferable to cassette ones as they are faster and have better sound quality. Some machines also have speaker phones for on-hook dialing.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION: Most of the fax machines now-a-days follow guidelines for energy consumption. There are certificates that indicate this; such as U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star label. This is for machines that have the “power down” feature when not operating. These can bring down energy consumption by almost 50%.
DIMENSIONS & MAINTENANCE:When office space is a factor it is important to look at the dimensions that are listed. Also you should check out the maintenance dos and don’ts to ensure proper productivity of the machine. The replacements for some of the older models may be difficult to obtain as may be the toners and cartridges. So, one should also ensure that these are readily available. It is also important to see just what the warranty covers and the time duration.
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