# I need a new fax machine. Suggestions?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-new-fax-machine-suggestions/489398
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 14, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-new-fax-machine-suggestions/489398 "2009-03-14T04:25:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-new-fax-machine-suggestions/489398/1 "2009-03-14T04:25:15Z")
Tell me how much you love (or hate) your home office fax. All I need is something on the cheap end of the spectrum, to be used maybe 2-3 times a day. Mainly to send (I’m a giver, not a receiver 🆒). I like HP products, and Office Max has an HP 1040 for about 80 bucks. It’s inkjet and fairly quick, but I read somewhere about a recall awhile back due to fire hazard. Funny thing is, when I called Office Max to see if they still carried that model, they put me on hold and the music playing was “Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads. I am not making this up.
Any comments, pro or con about a particular brand, are greatly appreciated. But I must tell you that I will NEVER buy Panasonic again. That fax machine was a piece of crap. There, I feel better now.
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### Author:  [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-new-fax-machine-suggestions/489398/2 "2009-03-14T04:33:27Z")
Do you really need a physical machine? Do you use it as a printer or a scanner too?
I use efax for everything. It’s free and everything is transported as a .pdf. It’s great!
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### Author:  [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-new-fax-machine-suggestions/489398/3 "2009-03-14T05:07:30Z")
I don’t have a scanner, don’t have room for one, don’t want one right now. But thanks for the heads-up, I have heard of efax and it does seem like a great way to do it. I use the fax machine to make copies, and I have to send some documents that aren’t on my computer, I just need to be able to send things and occasionally receive things. Right now, money is very tight so I need to find a cheap but reliable machine.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-new-fax-machine-suggestions/489398/4 "2009-03-15T01:22:44Z")
I recommend spending a bit more for a laser-based device instead of the inkjet device you mentioned. Your upfront costs will be a little higher (at least about $180 instead of $80) but your operating cost will be lower. Note that most of the least expensive machines include a sheet-fed scanner not a flatbed scanner. (Although looking at the Office Max website, take a look at the Brother MFC-7340 Laser Multifunction device, for $170, which does include a flatbed scanner.)