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I'm in the market for a new laser printer and have about decided on the Brother Printer DCP7065DN Laser Multi-Function Copier Fax Scanner.
I currently pay for an internet fax service (like eFax). But if I buy this multi function, it looks like it will fax documents through my regular telephone line. And then I can quit paying for the internet fax service.
I was unable to find out more about how this works, I assume it is the users manual when you buy the machine. But I would like to be sure before I spend the extra money for the Fax function
So. Does anyone here have one of these? Does it send and receive faxes through your regular phone line? Or do I need to get a second line?
We have a HP at the office, uses second dedicated line. I know some place use one line, and switch when they are getting a fax...I think that is what most home owners do.
If you have ringmaster service, you can dedicate one of the numbers to a fax. You really don't want to have a fax line at home though. Faxes get their numbers sold or hacked and fax blasts often call your fax line at all hours of the night. We run ours when we absolutely HAVE to send a fax, but use an old number in the header.
You may want to verify the model you are looking at. I have that exact printer/scanner (DCP7065DN), and I don't think it has a traditional fax capability. If memory serves me correct, I got that because I didn't need a analog fax capability. I basically use the scanning capability. Like a office based scanner, you can just scan documents and it puts it onto a networked directory as a PDF, JPG or TIFF. And if necessary, I just use email or a 'net based fax service to send them out (I rarely "fax" stuff though).
In general, analog voice/fax use the same medium. You just can't use them at the same time if you only have one analog line. So whether or not you need a 2nd line is really dependent on your use. If you only fax once in awhile, probably not worth it to get a 2nd line. And yes, if you do have a dedicated fax/phone line, services like efax is then redundant from the standpoint of sending/receiving faxes. Not sure if that's what you were asking.
The best solution is to tell whoever is sending you faxes that it is time to step out of the 1980's and start scanning documents into their computer and emailing them like the rest of us have been doing for years now. I disconnected my fax machine about 5 years ago and completely quit using fax. I still have a company every now and then that asks for my fax number and I just politely tell them it is outdated technology that I no longer support and give them my email address. Magically they always find a way to send it to me in an email.
macroy - you're correct, this model does not have Fax I was looking at several and grabbed the wrong title.
MFC7860DW Wireless Monochrome Printer with Scanner, Copier & Fax is the one I meant to ask about.
But, you did answer my question. I would need a dedicated phone line, which I do not want to pay for since I do very little faxing. Mostly insurance stuff, my kid's school, that kind of thing.
And harry chickpea makes a good point, Fax spam can be a problem. I even get it with my internet service, and at least I can just delete it and it doesn't print it all out.
dijkstra - I like your solution the best
Quote:
...I just politely tell them it is outdated technology that I no longer support and give them my email address. Magically they always find a way to send it to me in an email.
macroy - do you like your Brother machine? I have an old HP 1300 workhorse now, which has served me well, but it's been obsolete for years and the cartridges are getting more expensive ($80 for the last one I bought!). Does yours scan right to PDF without having to convert a jpg?
FAX spam is not a serious issue anymore. And you certainly can use one line. Especially if you are only sending faxes. Plug it in when you want to fax.
These multi-functions do have scanners too. Scan and email, as has been suggested.
What I did was I sent out a notice to everyone I did business with stating that as of a certain date (about 3 months out) I would be discontinuing use of a fax machine as it is now outdated technology. All future documents should be sent to (email address) as an attached document.
There were a few that whined a little but when I asked them why they print the document out from their computer and then turn around and feed it into a fax machine to send to me instead of simply attaching the document to an email in the first place, there was always silence for several seconds while they were thinking to themselves that it is stupid. lol
Then there are the times when they would give me the "well its a hard copy document with some handwriting on it" and I would respond well it is the same process to scan it into a computer as it is to stick it in the fax to scan and send so just scan it in and attach it to an email.
macroy - you're correct, this model does not have Fax I was looking at several and grabbed the wrong title.
MFC7860DW Wireless Monochrome Printer with Scanner, Copier & Fax is the one I meant to ask about.
But, you did answer my question. I would need a dedicated phone line, which I do not want to pay for since I do very little faxing. Mostly insurance stuff, my kid's school, that kind of thing.
And harry chickpea makes a good point, Fax spam can be a problem. I even get it with my internet service, and at least I can just delete it and it doesn't print it all out.
dijkstra - I like your solution the best
macroy - do you like your Brother machine? I have an old HP 1300 workhorse now, which has served me well, but it's been obsolete for years and the cartridges are getting more expensive ($80 for the last one I bought!). Does yours scan right to PDF without having to convert a jpg?
Yup - like it fine. And yes - you can scan directly to a PDF (or a JPG). I've not had it long enough to replace toner or other supplies... but I think its fairly cheap (<$40 for a generic cartridge?).
And I do want to clarify something - you don't need a "dedicated" line for fax. If you have an existing phone line, you can use the same line for your fax as well. You'd just have to set it up so that it won't pick-up on voice calls (either set it to pick up after a certain number of rings, or I believe most machines can distinguish if its a incoming fax vs. a voice call).
Having said that - I think where a fax comes in handy in the past was if you had to provide a signed document. Usually you'll get the form via email or downloaded online. Even if you can fill it out on the computer, signing it was an issue. But with the scanner - you can just print it, sign it, scan it and send it back as an email attachment. Just be sure to encrypt the document if it contains sensitive information.
Generally I avoid faxes as I agree that they are an outdated concept, but I have a few times a year where it's the easiest method to get something accomplished.
I never actually had a physical fax. For the first couple of years that I was in business I had an e-fax service. It was super cheap for the few times a year that I had to fax something.
When I went to my current business VOIP system, they gave me a free fax number, than just emails me a PDF when I get a fax.
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I was looking at several and grabbed the wrong title.
