Many people presume that, in the modern era of e-mail and scanners that fax machines are not particularly relevant or useful. They do after all; require a dedicated land line, toner and a steady power supply. However, due to an interesting quirk of history, law and convenience, they remain relevant in the modern world and every office, home or business should have one.
The biggest advantage of them is that they are simple and easy to use and require minimal training. Anyone who has the ability to dial a phone number and put slips of paper into a tray can send a fax. As such, they remain important in many facilities where training is minimal and there is limited opportunity in both time and budget to train new personnel. All experienced secretaries and most office workers know how to send and receive faxes and the fact that faxes are unaffected by network outages or e-mail problems ensures that they remain an important backup despite their obsolescence. Although a particular company may want to do away with faxes entirely, the fact that they will invariably do business with a company which uses faxes will necessitate that they keep one on hand.
In order to facilitate this, many companies such as Canon, Epson and Hewlett-Packard will quietly include faxing options on their copiers, printers and all-in-one machines. Many of the latest models even include a digital fax service, in which they place a fax protocol over the company IP network, enabling them to send a fax to a phone number even if they are not connected to a phone line. They can also receive faxes in a similar manner, eliminating the need to purchase an older style traditional fax machine.
However, such machines are still widely available, both new and refurbished. Most major manufacturers make simplified models that just do their primary job. Additionally, many smaller companies will refurbish, repair and service the machines, as well as provide toner, even though they have been off the market for many years. The simplicity and ruggedness of many models means that they are fully functional even after tens of thousands of pages sent and received provided they get proper maintenance. An office looking for a low cost alternative to purchasing an expensive new machine can likely get an older one at a low cost from a wholesaler. This is an excellent option for any company which does not expect to use faxes very often.
Companies interested in a new and dedicated model will find that Office Supply companies still carry dedicated fax machines, although the make and model is limited due to the small amount of demand. These machines are top of the current line and as such highly capable of sending and receiving large documents while minimizing toner and phone line usage. There are also a number of deliberately low end and inexpensive models intended to compete with the supply of refurbished ones.
By Sam Ee Williams
The biggest advantage of them is that they are simple and easy to use and require minimal training. Anyone who has the ability to dial a phone number and put slips of paper into a tray can send a fax. As such, they remain important in many facilities where training is minimal and there is limited opportunity in both time and budget to train new personnel. All experienced secretaries and most office workers know how to send and receive faxes and the fact that faxes are unaffected by network outages or e-mail problems ensures that they remain an important backup despite their obsolescence. Although a particular company may want to do away with faxes entirely, the fact that they will invariably do business with a company which uses faxes will necessitate that they keep one on hand.
In order to facilitate this, many companies such as Canon, Epson and Hewlett-Packard will quietly include faxing options on their copiers, printers and all-in-one machines. Many of the latest models even include a digital fax service, in which they place a fax protocol over the company IP network, enabling them to send a fax to a phone number even if they are not connected to a phone line. They can also receive faxes in a similar manner, eliminating the need to purchase an older style traditional fax machine.
However, such machines are still widely available, both new and refurbished. Most major manufacturers make simplified models that just do their primary job. Additionally, many smaller companies will refurbish, repair and service the machines, as well as provide toner, even though they have been off the market for many years. The simplicity and ruggedness of many models means that they are fully functional even after tens of thousands of pages sent and received provided they get proper maintenance. An office looking for a low cost alternative to purchasing an expensive new machine can likely get an older one at a low cost from a wholesaler. This is an excellent option for any company which does not expect to use faxes very often.
Companies interested in a new and dedicated model will find that Office Supply companies still carry dedicated fax machines, although the make and model is limited due to the small amount of demand. These machines are top of the current line and as such highly capable of sending and receiving large documents while minimizing toner and phone line usage. There are also a number of deliberately low end and inexpensive models intended to compete with the supply of refurbished ones.
By Sam Ee Williams
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