Fax Machines...

[Mike Jackson]

A year or two ago, I bought a Brother fax machine from Staples. It can work as a printer, fax, phone and answering machine and can operate as a standalone device or can be connected to a computer and used as a regular color printer. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but it wasn't a super expensive machine. I only use it to send faxes and print an occasional fax, but that has dropped off significantly since we bought it.

In the couple of years of owning it, I've never printed anything in color, nor ever received a color fax. But, the printer regularly self cleans the print heads and it uses the color inks in the process. Once it runs out of one of the colors of inks, the thing completely shuts down until the ink is replaced. I can't even listen to a new message, much less send a fax. So, I drive down to Staples and buy one of the $20-$30 cartridges and head home. I am fairly sure I've paid at least as much in replacement color cartridges as I paid for the entire thing.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the new fax machines today. I am standing there with a new $20 cartridge in my hand and see a new (Brother) fax machine selling for $19.95. It was only a fax machine, with no color cartridges, nor any sort of answering device, but it struck me funny...one cartridge or a whole new machine for the same money. The machine on the shelf was regularly $69.95 with an instant rebate of $50.

I think at this point I might start looking for a new one that only prints in black if it has an answering machine built in. Over the next year, I'd probably come out ahead.

Mike Jackson

[Robare M. Novou]

Gee Mike, why don't you use your computer as a fax machine? I use to fax out of it back in the day. If you have winfax installed, you hit the print button, when the print dialog box opens up, click on the down arrow for a list of printers or fax software installed on your puter...click on fax...wait for another dialog box, fill in the send to number, attach the file and recipient info...(drum roll please)...and hit send.

There's an option in the software to turn on or off the fax feature on your connected phone line if you want to.

Back in the day, a customer would call and want to fax something over...I would tell them to use the same voice number to send their fax over, but to give me a minute to turn on the fax feature. I had a line splitter...so one line went to my phone, and the other line went to the computer.

I would set the ring count to 2...and that way the answering machine would not pick up at on the 4th ring.

But these days, almost everyone has a computer or web connected device of one kind or another...and I now receive files only...no more faxes.

Put that Fax machine next to your royal typewriter...and head on down to the local scrapyard....scrap metal prices are up.
And so are precious metal prices...don't get me started on that subject.

Winfax is available as a free download.

RMN

[Billie DeBekker]

Ditto On what Robert Said.. I stopped using a Fax a few years ago.. Email only.

[Mike Jackson]

I've never used winfax or anything similar.

I have a few questions...
What happens when someone calls with a fax during the night and your computer has gone into hibernation?
I haven't had a system with any sort of input port for a phone in a long time. Where does your phone line hook into your computer?
At least once a month, Microsoft does an automatic update and it almost always restarts itself during the night. But, when I come in the next day, I have to put in my password to start up the software after the reboot. Seems like Winfax would be disabled on those events, too.

My phone and fax are the same number. The fax/answering machine determines if an incoming call is a fax or a voice call. How does winfax handle a regular phone call?

Mike Jackson

[Mark Summers]

Winfax is the way to go. I have a cheapo thermal fax hooked up in tandem for when the
computer is turned off the thermal picks up the faxes or maybe I just need to
fax a number of papers.
As far a anthing with liquid ink printers, faxes etc. I gave up on that. Dry only.

Mark

[Robare M. Novou]

Mike, how is your internet service hooked up to the computer?

Phone line goes into the back of the computer, you may have to install a modem card which has a phone port on it, as some motherboards don't have a phone line jack. My Mac has a phone jack, My PC does not.

There is also a RJ-45 network jack on the computer mother board, that's where I hook my cable internet service. That's probably where you get your internet service from too. My phone service is through the internet cable connection, using OOMA internet phone service.....which costs me $3.47 a month. www.ooma.com OOMA also offers a variety of services, second line, voice mail messages (in case you lose your internet connection), call waiting, etc.

You can leave your computer on at night, but don't forget to switch the software program to receive faxes while you dream of sign orders to come.

Back in the day, when advertisers got your fax number, you were inundated with all sorts of fax spam. And if someone did not like you...you would come in to work in the morning to find the whole roll of fax paper on the floor, and all used up with spam.

I guess you and your fax machine are like me and my landline...everyone and their mother tells me to get a cell phone...but do I ....noooooooooo. It'll be a cold day in Hello before I do that.

RMN

[Mike Jackson]

I have Ethernet connections from my PC on some computers. This one has wireless right now. No cable or phone line at all. My Internet comes to the house through the broadband cable that also broadcasts to the TVs. They offer phone service through the Cable packages, but I haven't gone that way.

When this computer goes to sleep late in the night, everything shuts down including the wireless network. As soon as I enter my password back in the morning, the monitor fills with the normal screen, the hard drives start spinning again, the wireless network connects, and I start receiving all my overnight emails. I wouldn't be anxious to buy a modem card, and I'd still need an answering machine/phone capable of interpreting a normal call or a fax call, and then being able to divert all faxes to the computer.

And, I like the idea of putting a stack of two or three pages in the fax machine, dialing, and hitting start. No need to have to manually scan all the pages and store them. If that were the case, I'd just turn them into a PDF and email them. I do that now when necessary. Some of our overseas orders still come through a fax, and they usually come in during the or very early morning. With PayPal, the security issue is much less now, so we can all see the end of fax machines. At one time, we had a dedicated FAX telephone line, but we gave that up a couple of years ago.

I am not sold on the old FAX technology, but I don't see how WinFax would connect with what I have and be totally functional.

Cheers,
Mike Jackson

[Mark Summers]

Should be noted I have two phone lines.
1st. Line: main business line
2nd. Line: internet and fax

On another topic is the phone service altogether. I was considering going VOIP (voice
over internet) Seems that there's a lot of that popping up i.e. Ooma Telo, Magic Jack
to name a few. The land line carriers are very aware of this fact too. I called my
carrier, Qwest, as I thought I would see how to go with just high speed internet
with them and then go VOIP. Qwest is very aware of their erroding land line base
and told me about their new plan, 'Core Connect'. Fully loaded with features including
fax over email. Not sure how that works just yet. All the voice mail features and
they as I understand will even pick up my web site hosting and domain name
registration. $85. + $35. for the second line + taxes etc. The point of this
conversation is that land line carriers are very aware of VOIP and they are
countering with their own loaded plans to keep you in the fold. You might be
pleasantly surprised if you call your land line carrier and ask them what they have
for you, I'm glad I did.

Mark