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dynocat
10-20-2009, 10:34 AM
If this should be part of the Phone Service thread, feel free to move.

In checking out PhonePower's service, my understanding is that faxes can be received, but not sent. I was told:


Sending and receiving faxes works for the vast majority of our customers. However, we can not say we are "fax compliant" or that it works 100% of the time, simply because for those small number of customers that have problems, we have no way to troubleshoot faxing and do not currently offer technical support for it.

We receive/send only a few a week but need to have the service available. What other options do I have for sending/receiving faxes? I know there are software and online options out there. Any suggestions to help me narrow it down?

vangogh
10-20-2009, 11:07 AM
I have an all-in-one printer that works well for me. It wasn't expensive either. It's an HP Office Jet 6300 and was under $150. It's connected through the phone line and my router.

When I want to send a fax I just dial the number and fax. When the phone rings the fax listens to the call. If it detects a fax tone it knows to accept the fax. If there's no fax tone it knows not to do anything. The phone line isn't a dedicated fax line. It's my home phone. I can answer the phone and if I hear the fax tone I know not to hang up until the fax is in. If the answering machine picks up the fax still does it's thing, though I also see a new message on the answering machine.

I don't think you need a service for this.

rezzy
10-20-2009, 02:52 PM
Ive seen several online services which allow you to send and recieve faxes. FaxZero (http://faxzero.com/) is a free solution. Allows 2 faxes a day. EFax (http://www.efax.com/)

I cant speak for the services, these are answers I got from Googling.

billbenson
10-20-2009, 03:03 PM
I know that the realtor that sold me my house used efax and loved it. She fax's a lot.

As far as sending and receiving a fax from a fax machine, I have a fairly expensive all in 1 color laser. I always had intermittent problems sending and receiving fax's on a VoIP phone line. It was worse on the cheap all in 1 that I used to have. It's much better with the expensive fax. I still have problems sometimes but not often enough to do anything about it. I may check out efax at some point. It has the added benefit of giving you a digital copy.

vangogh
10-20-2009, 03:15 PM
How old are the fax machines. I've never had a problem with mine. Works well connected to my home land line. Maybe the VoIP was the problem. I don't need to use the fax often. I probably get and send no more than a half dozen in a given month if that, but they all send and receive without problem.

Harold Mansfield
10-20-2009, 03:22 PM
I used to use WinFax a couple of years ago. All it required was a land line that I plugged into . Not sure if people still use it or not. I think Symantec owns it now

You do know that you have a desktop fax program already installed on Windows XP and Vista right ?
Under Start->All Programs->Accessories->Communications->Fax.
You still need a land line to plug into the back or your computer (any active line will do, it doesn't have to be a dedicated line), and you need to set it up. I'll bet that you can even use it with a Majic Jack, which is like $40.

This article walks you through it and also gives some options for free online services:
Microsoft Fax Software, How To Send Free Fax Online Via Computer And Email | GeckoandFly Make Money Online (http://www.geckoandfly.com/2009/03/12/microsoft-fax-software-how-to-send-free-fax-online-via-computer-and-email/)

billbenson
10-20-2009, 04:10 PM
Efax used to be free and requires no phone line, its via a web site.

VG, I think VoIP is more prone to errors for sending faxes. Since my success rate went up dramatically with the expensive FAX, I suspect that the better machine has better error correction. If you are using a landline, thats what the fax technology was designed around so error correction may not be as much of an issue.

By the way, I bought a HP color Laser all in one about nine months ago. It was on sale at Staples for $400, the same price as the decent B&W HP laser all in one. I think the one I bought goes for a little over $500 normally. It really makes nice copies. They still say, however, that the "good" color inkjets are better than all but the commercial color laserjets. The quality of B&W of the one I have is far better than even a less expensive several year old B&W laser I have. You do get what you pay for.

vangogh
10-20-2009, 06:36 PM
Bill my all in one is an inkjet. From what I understand a laser printer is best if you make a lot of copies and need them to print very fast. For most people an inkjet is fine. The main expense will be the ink, though how much you need depends on your printing needs.

I don't print much. I'm still working on a box of the old paper (with the holes on the side) that I've had for more than 10 years. It was a big box. About as tall is it is wide. There was a lot of paper in it. Still more than 10 years later and there's still some paper left from it.

billbenson
10-20-2009, 07:47 PM
You got me curious. After reading the article, I think you should really look at the cost per page in the manufacturer specs and do the math for the printers you are interested in, but according this article the cost of a cheap inkjet ads up really quickly and from my personal experience, If you do print much the cheap printers fall apart pretty quickly. Particularly the inkjet because they have more moving parts. The article also states that the profit is so high from ink that they basically give the printer away.

Inkjet Versus Laser Printers - www.smallbusinesscomputing.com (http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/3521141)


Shulman gives the example of a Canon i320 Color Bubble Jet Printer. The cost for the hardware can be as little as $55, depending on discounts and where you buy it. The average cost of the ink from Canon is $19 but the yield from that, he says, is a measly 170 pages. Even if you print very little, the cost quickly adds up:

Seven pages a day times 300 days equals 2100 pages — an ink bill of $235.60 per year. If you own the printer for three years, the cost of cartridges comes to over $700 or about 13 times the original cost of the printer. For the Epson Stylus C62, Shulman concludes that the ink bill would be over $1000 for three year's worth of printing.


An HP laser printer with an estimated machine cost of $400, combined with a $115 toner cartridge, yields 8000 pages. Printing 40,000 pages costs you $400 plus $460 for the ink for a total of $860. A Brother 1440 laser printer works out at about $930 for the same number of pages. That comes to around two cents a page, or eight times less than an inkjet printer.

vangogh
10-20-2009, 11:31 PM
The thing is I probably won't print 170 pages in a year or even close to that. My printer is 2 years old and the original ink cartridges that came with it still have ink. I really don't print much. Once page a week for me is a lot. That article is saying I'll buy more ink cartridges in one year than I've bought in my entire life. My ink bill is more like $10/year.

It comes down to how often you print as to which is the better value. If you print a lot then it definitely makes sense to go for a laser printer. But for someone like me it makes more sense to go inkjet.

billbenson
10-21-2009, 02:34 AM
Ya, its kind of like me justifying a car for gas millage when I only drive a couple miles a day on average. Gotta do the math. Still, it is interesting to see the break even point being so few pages a day for a laser.

Vivid Color Zack
10-27-2009, 04:31 PM
I use MyFax.com and they have been pretty flawless. I have no complaints but I've never touched a real fax machine in my life! So... I have nothing to compare it to.