Fax machines are stand alone devices consisting of a document feeder, image scanner, modem, printer, and a phone receiver. Brother, Canon, HP, Panasonic, Sharp and other fax machine brands can be purchased online and offline from $50 to $200 or more. Fax paper rolls have long since been replaced by plain printer paper, and specialized fax toner has been replaced with printer like inkjet and laser toner supplies. While a stand alone fax machine might be a cheap add on PC accessory, a good 4 in 1 print, scan, copy, fax machine offers much more versatility and usually bundles all four features at a lower overall cost with better print and scan quality.
Fax machines followed other notable textual data transmission systems such as Postal Mail and the Telegraph. Imagine that you need to send a message fast from Texas to California. We all know how the US Postal Service works. The Telegraph machine, invented by Samuel Morse, first introduced the idea of converting text into transmittable code. Sending that message from Texas to California was accomplished by converting text into dots and dashes, to be transmitted over copper wires and converted back into text by someone or some machine. Alexander Bain is credited with inventing the first faxing device in 1843. Many inventors followed Bain to improve upon his design creating the modern day fax machine.
Fax machines prices are relative to various quality and speed specifications, therefore, we recommend that you compare these specifications within your target price range. For example, if your target price for a 4 in 1 print, scan, copy, fax machine is $200, compare both fax machines and 4 in 1 printers that are higher and lower in price. Review list of features including modem bps transmit speed, fax forwarding, fax broadcasting, answering machine, KB or MB memory size, caller ID, and the ease of cartridge replacement. Also compare similarly priced fax machines across brands like Brother, Canon, HP, Panasonic, and Sharp so that you can find a good value online or offline.
Fax machine maintenance can be costly. Before you buy a new fax machine or a 4 in 1 print, scan, copy, fax machine, think about your future inkjet and laser cartridge replacements. After you have narrowed down your fax machine purchase to 3 competing machines, walk over to the inkjet and laser cartridge supplies isle and take a long look at prices. While inkjet machines are often tempting and cheaper than laser, your maintenance costs for inkjet computers can be higher if you plan to do a lot of printing. Do a few Google.com searches for discount printer supplies online as well, to see if an active discount supplies market exists for your fax machine brand of choice.