Fax Machines Reviews

Best Fax Machines Reviews: (out of 15)
Home Office Reports, Better Buys for Business, Tom’s Hardware Guide

Best Fax Machines: (out of 25)
Brother Fax 1270e, Brother IntelliFax 1940CN, Brother Fax 575

Fast Answers - Best Fax Machines

Top Rated	What the Research Says
• Brother Fax 1270e (*est. $90) >> Where to buy	Plain paper fax machine. This budget fax machine has a lot to offer for personal use. The Brother's memory is 512KB and it can store up to 25 pages in memory, far fewer than pricier models. There is a 20-page automatic document feeder and a 200-sheet input capacity. It can make black-and-white copies and broadcast faxes to up to 112 locations. The Brother Fax 1270e uses thermal ink, which means prints aren't as nice and will fade over time compared to the pricier Brother Intellifax 1940CN, but the Brother 1270e is a good choice for a home office. Transmission speed is about nine seconds per page -- slower than the more expensive Brother 1940CN, but faster than the basic Brother Fax 575. (compare prices)
• Brother IntelliFax 1940CN (*est. $150) >> Where to buy	Color inkjet fax machine. The Brother IntelliFax 1940CN takes the lead among plain-paper color inkjet fax machines. Reviews say its three-second transmission speed is great, and it doesn't skimp on features. There's a 480-page memory, a 20-page automatic document feeder, a 100-sheet paper cassette and a built-in answering machine. The Brother can distinguish between voice calls and fax calls. If you need more memory, faster speeds and color faxing/printing, the 1940CN is a better choice than the Brother 1270e.
• Brother Fax 575 (*est. $60) >> Where to buy	Basic fax machine. This budget home fax machine doesn't get the best reviews, but most say it's fine if you only occasionally need to send and receive faxes. You'll need to feed pages one at a time, since several owners say this Brother tends to grab more than one page at once. Fax transmission speeds are very slow compared to others, about 15 seconds per page at best. Still, if you only need to fax once in a while, reviews say the monochrome Brother Fax 575 is more reliable than other inexpensive fax machines. (compare prices)
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What the experts say, our analysis, and more...

Updated April 2006

We found the most up-to-date reviews of fax machines at HomeOfficeReports.com. This source examines a manufacturer's whole product line, assessing long-term reliability and product developments before assigning overall ratings. We've also found some helpful information and reviews at BetterBuys.com, though this publication is aimed at corporate buyers and charges $30 to read its report. Consumer comments at Tom’s Hardware Guide, Amazon.com and Epinions are also very helpful in this area. Consumer Reports last covered fax machines in December 1998, and all of those models have since been discontinued. We've seen no reviews of fax machines at CNet.com.

Most PCs now come equipped with a fax modem, and some Web sites and software let you fax for free. Still, a standalone fax machine is easier and faster, especially if you need to fax hard copies. If your computer has a scanner, you could scan the document and fax through your computer -- a process that's fine now and then. But if you regularly need to send and receive faxes, a standalone fax machine is easier to use.

Experts say that there's still a place in the world for the dedicated fax machine (see “Why Fax Machines Won’t Die" from Grand Rapids Business Journal in our All Reviews chart). Using a scanner and computer to fax a hard copy takes longer than simply feeding a document through a fax machine. If you need to send or receive multiple faxes, a standalone fax machine is easier and faster to use. Keep in mind that plain-paper fax machines can also make a limited number of copies. If you need to send more than a handful of faxes per week, you'll get your money's worth from a dedicated fax machine.

Instead of a dedicated fax machine, you might consider a multifunction printer (also called an all--in-one printer) that includes printing, scanning, copying and faxing all in one machine. This could be a great solution if you have limited desk space. A basic multifunction printer with fax costs at least $200. See the separate ConsumerSearch report on multifunction printers if you're interested in combining your printer, fax machine and scanner into one machine.

Judging by some of the reviews we read from owners at Epinions and Amazon.com, there are some unhappy fax-machine owners out there, especially some owners of Panasonic and Sharp fax machines. At Epinions, the Panasonic KX-FHD331 plain-paper fax machine (*est. $80) gets low scores from most owners. Many owners report that print quality ranges from bad to poor; others complain that the ink ribbons don't last long at all. While a few owners say the Panasonic fax machine is fine for occasional home use, other fax machines appear to be a better choice.

The Panasonic KX-FL511 plain paper laser fax machine (*est. $200) doesn't do any better. Of the seven owners writing comments at Epinions, only one recommends this laser fax. Most other owners complain about paper jams and poor paper handling.

The Sharp UX-B700 plain-paper fax (*est. $130) gets some decent comments about print quality, but owners say patience is needed to operate this fax machine, as it’s very slow. Many owners also complain that the Sharp fax consumes ink at an alarming rate and that replacement ink is too expensive. ... Continued

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Consensus Report

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of Picks

Model (with retailer links)

1 each

Canon PC-940 (discontinued), Canon FaxPhone L80 (discontinued), Canon FaxPhone B95 , Brother IntelliFax 2820 , Brother Fax-575 , Brother Fax-775 , Brother Fax-565 (discontinued), Brother IntelliFax 3800 (discontinued), Brother IntelliFax 1940CN, Sharp UX-P115 , HP 1010 (discontinued), HP Fax 920 (discontinued), HP Fax 1220 (discontinued), Panasonic KX-FL511 , Panasonic KX-FL521 (discontinued)(*est. $100)

We found reviews for many different fax machines, including several discontinued models. Overall, we found the best reviews for Brother fax machines, which we've included in Fast Answers. Panasonic and Sharp fax machines get very mixed reviews. We found the coverage for Brother to be much more consistent.

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