|
THE PLAIN TRUTH
STANDFIRST
Plain paper fax machines used to be a luxury
but not any more, curly fading documents could soon be a dim distant memory.
Rick Maybury assesses eight machines aimed at the home office and small
business users
COPY
We tend to think of the fax machine as a
fairly recent innovation but document transmission or facsimile systems have
actually been around since the 1920s. The technology changed relatively little
over the following 50 years and up until the late 1970s most office fax
machines were bulky, expensive and used by a comparatively small number of business
users. The cost of fax machines has fallen dramatically over the past 15 years,
thanks largely to postal strikes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This
prompted a big explosion in the UK fax machine population, allowing the
economies of scale to kick in. Another reason they're so cheap is that most
machines use a simple, low-cost thermal paper printing mechanism. It is a mixed
blessing, whilst it has made fax ownership much more affordable, thermal fax
paper is far from ideal for storing documents. It's difficult to handle the
paper curls and soon or later the image fades.
Plain paper fax machines, where the image is
printed onto ordinary copier paper have been around for several years, but
until fairly recently they have been beyond the reach of most users. That's all
changing now, the cost of plain paper faxes has plummeted with some models
selling for less than £200, which is less than some thermal paper models.
The print quality on plain paper is a lot
better than thermal paper, the document stays flat, and the image is
practically permanent. Plain paper faxes look a lot crisper than thermal paper
printouts, that's because copier paper is a lot whiter. All fax machines can
double up as copiers but plain paper models do a much better job of it, some
are good enough to replace a conventional desktop photocopier. However, it has
to be said they're no substitute for a pukka office machine, the copy speed
tends to be quite slow, and the cost per page can be significant.
There are three plain paper printing
technologies in use at the moment. They are thermal ink, inkjet and laser.
Laser printing is mostly used on high-demand business machines and specialised
multi-function PC peripherals; as such they fall outside the scope of this
roundup. Thermal ink printing on plain paper has had the biggest impact on
prices because the print mechanisms are comparatively cheap to manufacture; in
fact they're very similar in design to thermal paper printers. Inside the
machine there is a roll of thin plastic film, coated with thermally sensitive
ink. This is sandwiched between the paper and a print head, which is made up of
a row of hundreds of tiny heating elements. When an element is activated it
melts a tiny dot of ink, which is transferred to the paper, in this way an image
can be built up, a line at a time. The system has two shortcomings. Firstly it
is very wasteful; on text documents only a very small percentage of the ink on
the film roll ends up on the paper. The other problem is a used ribbon contains
a perfect copy, in negative, of every fax and copy. It's not going to worry
home users, but in a business environment this cold raise security issues.
Ink or bubblejet printing on plain paper fax
machines is a direct spin-off from PC printer technology, indeed, the
mechanical guts of some inkjet fax machines are exactly the same as those used
in printers. Inkjet printing is getting better all the time -- it's now close to
laser print quality -- and it is reasonably economical. The downside is that it
is a little slower than thermal ink printing and the mechanisms are more
complicated which makes them slightly more expensive but this doesn't appear to
have an impact on life-expectancy or long-term reliability.
Both printing methods lend themselves to PC
connectivity, and this is becoming an increasingly common feature on mid-range
models. This could be bonus in a small office, where the fax machine can double
up as a printer; however, bear in mind that running costs are likely to be
higher, compared with a conventional PC printer.
PERFORMANCE
The quality of a transmitted or received fax
is dependent on a number of factors, some of which -- like the capabilities of
the machine at the other end and the telephone line -- you have no control
over. However, some machines cope better with noisy or crackly lines than
others. If your phone line is noisy it's worth paying more for machines with
advanced error correction facilities. As far as document legibility is
concerned, the important things to look out for are greyscale -- a measure of
contrast or how many levels of light and dark there are in the image -- and
resolution, which determines the amount of fine detail there will be in a
transmitted fax. The minimum greyscale for text and simple graphics is 16
levels. If you're likely to be sending a lot of pictures or halftones, as
opposed to mostly text, then shortlist machines with 32 or 64 levels of
greyscale and superfine or photo transmission modes. The resolution of received
faxes is largely defined by the number of printing elements (pels) on the print
head, and the number lines of print per inch (lpi) on a printout. Not all
manufacturers give a figure but the ballpark numbers you should be looking out for
is 200 pels and between 98 and 400 lpi, depending on the transmission mode.
There not a great deal to choose between thermal
ink and inkjet print quality. Inkjet machines tend to loose out when used with
coarse low-grade paper with high absorbency, the ink runs and fine text or detail
can look a bit whiskery. Thermal ink film printing has a tendency to be heavy
handed and halftones can end up looking quite dark. When buying a machine take
a few samples with you, and ask for a demonstration of the copy mode, this will
give you a good idea of what a fax print will look like, under ideal
conditions. Enough theory, here's a selection of eight machines that ably
illustrates what's available on the market at the moment.
BETACOM PPF250
The PPF250 is a remarkably compact and
attractively priced machine, and the fact that it has a digital answering
machine built-in, makes it even better value for money, however, it does have
one or two shortcomings. The one's we can live with include a small paper
hopper and from the looks of it, if you leave it open it's going to get very
dusty indeed. The film roll is quite fiddly to load and every so often a
printed page emerging from the machine tries to curl back in, so you have keep
an eye on it. Print quality is fairly average, text is okay but complicated graphics
and halftones can end up a bit messy. Good value, but for light undemanding
duties only.
Typical price £300
Consumables 80 metre print film £14
System thermal ink transfer
Features 16-level greyscale, digital
answering machine with 12 minutes recording time, auto TAM/fax switching,
50-number memory, 30-sheet paper tray
Dimensions 328 x 100 x 263 mm
Contact Betacom, telephone (01277) 228888
Print quality ***
Features ****
Ease of use ****
Value for money ****
HO Verdict 78%
BROTHER FAX 1020
The 1020 stays on as Brother's entry-level
machine -- it first appeared last year -- and it remains one of the best-specified
models on the market. It's a fair size -- make sure you've got the desk space
to spare -- but that's offset by the large paper bin -- up to 200 sheets -- and
the extensive list of additional features. That includes copy
enlarge/reduction, a 20-page memory for out of paper document storage and an
option for Caller ID. Print quality is very good, in fact it's one of the best
thermal ink machines we've looked at with better than average contrast on
halftones and crisp, solidly rendered text. Reasonable value and worth
considering if space is not at a premium.
Typical price £386
Consumables 60 metre ink ribbon and cartridge
£21.67
System thermal ink transfer
Features 64-level greyscale, auto TAM/fax
switching, 60-number memory, 20-page memory, 200-page paper holder, copy
enlargement/reduction facility, auto reduction paper/ink saving feature, Caller
ID facility, optional PC connectivity
Dimensions 394 x 385 x 213mm
Contact Brother International, telephone
(0345) 535100
Print quality ****
Features ****
Ease of use ***
Value for money ****
HO Verdict 83%
CANON FAX-B150
The B150 bears a clear family resemblance to
Canon's family of PC Bubblejet printers; the black and white ink cartridge
definitely has a familiar look to it. This is a stand-alone unit, though an optional
handset can be added, it bolts to the side of the unit. In use it is quite
noisy as the mechanism grinds away, it's fairly slow too, especially when the
image contains a lot of dark areas. Our sample was not at all happy faxing or
copying thicker coated paper -- the sort used for brochures, and once or twice
it refused to load. Print quality is very good, text is sharp and there's a
fair bit of detail in halftones, though they do seem to come out quite dark. Pricey
but a capable workhorse machine for moderately busy offices.
Typical price £470
Consumables bubblejet cartridge £29
System inkjet
Features 64-level greyscale, auto TAM/fax
switching, 20-number memory, 100-sheet paper tray, PIN code security
Dimensions 369 x 297 x 337mm
Contact Canon UK, telephone (0990) 143 723
Print quality ****
Features ****
Ease of use ****
Value for money ***
HO Verdict 85%
PANASONIC KX-F1830
At first glance the Panasonic KX-F1830 looks
like a fairly conventional thermal ink plain paper fax/answering machine but it
has hidden talents. On the side there's a PC printer port and it comes with a
suite of Windows 3.1/95 software, so it can be used as a black and white scanner
and fax modem. That means you can send documents directly from the PC screen,
without having to create a paper copy. For the price it has a remarkable
specification, the digital answering machine has an 18-minute memory, if the paper
runs out it can store up to 28 pages of incoming faxes and it has a
speakerphone facility. Print quality is very good, halftones are a notch up on
most other thermal ink machines with better than average contrast and a lot of
detail. Plain text is very sharp and it's fast! Great value and definitely
worth considering as a one-box solution for small offices.
Typical price £350
Consumables 100 metre print film, £34 (for two)
System thermal ink transfer
Features 64-level greyscale, digital
answering machine with 18 minute capacity, 28 page memory, auto TAM/fax switching,
speakerphone, 118-number memory, 150-sheet paper tray, PC printer/scanning/fax
modem facility
Dimensions 149 x 367 355mm
Contact Panasonic UK, telephone (0990)
357357
Print quality *****
Features *****
Ease of use *****
Value for money *****
HO Verdict 88%
PHILIPS MAGIC
Following a fairly low key entry into SoHo end
of the office machines market a couple of years ago Philips are steaming ahead
with a range of well specified and affordably priced fax and answering machines.
Magic is one of two new thermal ink plain paper machines; its stablemate, Magic
Vox, has digital answering machine facilities and 64 levels of greyscale (this Magic
has 16 level greyscale). Both models are unique is being compatible with GAP
standard digital cordless phones. The styling is conventional and it's
reasonably easy to set up and use though loading the ink film is a wee bit
fiddly. The narrower contrast range shows up on halftones, which look a bit
blotchy but text is sharp and well defined. Performance is generally very good,
and the low price makes it well worth considering for general duties in the home
or office. Highly commended, though the Magic Vox at £280 is an even better
deal!
Typical price £250
Consumables 90 metre print film £15
System thermal ink transfer
Features 16-level greyscale, auto TAM/fax
switching, cordless phone interface, day/night mode, 50-number memory, 50-sheet
paper tray, junk fax filter, paper save (image reduction) facility
Dimensions 357 x 253 x 100mm
Contact Philips Consumer Electronics,
telephone (0645) 282828
Print quality ****
Features ****
Ease of use ****
Value for money *****
HO Verdict 88%
SAGEM FAX-305
No, that's not a misprint, the Sagem FAX-305 thermal
ink plain paper fax machine costs just £180, so what's the catch? Providing
you're not expecting it to be a fully featured office machine, there's isn't
one. It's small too, with a footprint only a little wider than a sheet of A4
paper. Part of the reason for that is the external mains adaptor, and the fact
that it's a stand-alone unit, without a telephone handset. Nevertheless it has
all of the fax and copy functions a home user is likely to need, including a
useful reduction/paper save mode which compresses two images on one page. The
small size means it has limited capacity but for the occasional user it's
ideal. Despite only having 16 greyscales halftones look quite good, though printing
is on the light side and text can look a bit wispy, especially if it's not very
sharp to begin with. A good budget buy for light home and SoHo applications.
Typical price £180
Consumables 69 metre print film £18.80
System thermal ink transfer
Features 16-level greyscale, auto TAM/fax
switching, 40-number memory, 30-sheet paper tray, copy enlarge/reduce, paper
save (image reduction) facility
Dimensions 365 x 353 x 193mm
Contact Sagem UK, telephone 0181-240 4455
Print quality ***
Features ***
Ease of use ****
Value for money *****
HO Verdict 85%
SAMSUNG SF-4000
If fax machines were sold by size or weight
the SF-4000 would have be the deal of the decade! It's a real lump and not the sort
of thing you'd want to share a small desk with. Most of the innards are taken
up with an inkjet printer, other models in the range include extra facilities,
like an answering machine, colour printing and scanning, which goes some way to
explaining its bulk. However, the feature list for SF-4000 is quite brief,
hence the very reasonable price. It can only manage 16 levels of greyscale but
the paper hopper can hold up to 100 sheets and it has a useful assortment of
dialling facilities. Print quality is fair to middling, good for text and simple
graphics but on halftones it tends to leave lines in dark areas. It looks and
feels very solid, and appears capable of sustaining a fairly heavy throughput so
it should be suitable for busy offices, where multi-functionality is less
important.
Typical price £350
Consumables inkjet cartridge £35
System inkjet
Features 16-level greyscale, auto TAM/fax
switching, 69-number memory, Mercury compatible, 100-sheet paper tray
Dimensions 222 x 454 x 332mm
Contact Samsung UK Ltd., telephone 0181-391
0168X
Print quality ***
Features ***
Ease of use ****
Value for money ****
HO Verdict 82%
SHARP FO-1460
Sharp's credentials in the office machine market
are impeccable and clear to see on the FO-1460 thermal ink plain paper fax
machine. The design is precisely targeted at small and medium sized businesses
with a busy fax line. The paper hopper holds up to 200 sheets, and when that
runs out it has an internal memory cache, capable of storing another 30 pages. The
ink film is longer than average and should be sufficient for more than 400
pages; the consumables are cheaper too, making it one of the most economical machines
on the market to run. Other useful extras include a junk fax filter that
ignores incoming faxes from selected numbers, and an auto cover-sheet mode. Contrast
is very good; blacks are very solid, which helps on plain text printouts,
though halftones could do with being a little lighter. Well featured and
sensibly priced, recommended.
Typical price £300
Consumables 140 metre print film £16.40
System thermal ink transfer
Features 64-level greyscale, auto TAM/fax
switching, speakerphone, 99-number memory, 30 page memory, 20-sheet paper tray,
junk fax filter copy enlarge/reduce, paper save (image reduction) facility
Dimensions 365 x 353 x 193mm
Contact Sharp Electronics UK, telephone 0161-205
2333
Print quality ****
Features ****
Ease of use *****
Value for money *****
HO Verdict 88%
---end---
ã R. Maybury 1998 0307
|