Monday, November 20, 2006

Business Fax Machines

A business fax machine is one of the most commonly used tools in businesses. This is mainly used in sending and receiving important business documents such as contracts, proposals, and proofs through phone lines. And since many businesses use this device for several business transactions, a wide variety of options is available to suit the different needs of business owners. However, there are some people who find it difficult to select the right business fax machine. Here are some important features that one should look into before buying.

Important Features

The first feature to consider is the printing technology. Plain office paper is often used in almost all fax machines especially the less costly models that use thermal printing technology. However, printouts from this type do not have the same quality results as inkjet fax machines. Inkjet faxes, on the other hand, are more reliable because these can print, copy, and send documents and graphics in color. Aside from thermal and inkjet faxes, laser fax machines are also available. These are known to print sharper text, which is why businesses often make use of them.

Another feature to consider is speed. Since business fax machines are used in most business transactions, these should be reliable in terms of speed. Different types of fax machines vary in speed. For the less expensive models, the speed range is usually pegged at about 15 seconds per page. Those with a higher price tag have a speed of up to about three seconds per page. If your business make use of fax machines regularly, it will be wise to go for the more expensive model because this will help you save money through reduced phone charges.

And lastly, the memory of the fax machine should be considered. Fax machines store outgoing and incoming pages in their memory. If the machine runs out of paper, it saves the incoming fax in memory and then prints this fax when the paper tray is reloaded. The business fax machine that you should get should have at least 512KB of memory. However, if you can afford the more expensive models with a higher memory ranging from 8 MB to 16MB, it will be more cost-efficient for you, especially if your business is dependent on business fax machines for important transactions.

These are the important features that you should look into before buying a business fax machine. With these in mind, you will not find it difficult to choose the right machine for your business.