What's the best FAX solution?
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine. Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution: 1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course. Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
I have been using an HP office all-in-one with good results. It does it all and the price is only $399 for the old d135 that I have. They have newer ones now and the price is a little lower. Bob
On Thu, 2005-08-11 at 08:34 -0400, Robert A. Rawlinson wrote:
Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
I have been using an HP office all-in-one with good results. It does it all and the price is only $399 for the old d135 that I have. They have newer ones now and the price is a little lower. Bob
Have a look at the LaserJet 3015 all-in-one. No ink to buy as it is a laser type printer. Currently $299.99 at Best Buy. -- Ken Schneider UNIX since 1989, linux since 1994, SuSE since 1998 "The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners." -Ernst Jan Plugge
On Thursday 11 August 2005 8:50 am, Ken Schneider wrote:
Have a look at the LaserJet 3015 all-in-one. No ink to buy as it is a laser type printer. Currently $299.99 at Best Buy. Some of the HP all-in-one printers are also network ready. While the LaserJet is an excellent buy, it is B&W only, some of the all-in-ones such as the OfficeJet 7210 are network ready. Additionally, most have flat bed scanners and some have sheet feeders.
--
Jerry Feldman
At 08:22 AM 8/11/05, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
A fax machine (or all-in-one) will violate # 7 - it sounds like you want any laser (#6) printer/scanner combined with a (subscription based) internet fax service. http://www.faxbeep.com/
On Thu, 2005-08-11 at 08:53 -0400, Frank Bax wrote:
At 08:22 AM 8/11/05, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
A fax machine (or all-in-one) will violate # 7 - it sounds like you want any laser (#6) printer/scanner combined with a (subscription based) internet fax service. http://www.faxbeep.com/
Not so. I have a single phone line and use my fax. I do have a signal-ring line which provides a second phone number with a different ring and set the fax to only answer on it. It is $4.50 a month which is much cheaper than a second line. It is true you can't use the fax and talk at the same time but works good for low usage. -- Ken Schneider UNIX since 1989, linux since 1994, SuSE since 1998 "The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners." -Ernst Jan Plugge
I do have a signal-ring line which provides a second phone number with a different ring and set the fax to only answer on it. It is $4.50 a month which is much cheaper than a second line. It is true you can't use the fax and talk at the same time but works good for low usage. Actually, you don't need that capability either. As I mentioned, I have one
On Thursday 11 August 2005 9:03 am, Ken Schneider wrote:
line with one ring that has both voice, answering machine, all-in-one.
The fax machine can detect a fax signal without the need for a special ring.
--
Jerry Feldman
On Thu, 2005-08-11 at 09:13 -0400, Jerry Feldman wrote:
I do have a signal-ring line which provides a second phone number with a different ring and set the fax to only answer on it. It is $4.50 a month which is much cheaper than a second line. It is true you can't use the fax and talk at the same time but works good for low usage. Actually, you don't need that capability either. As I mentioned, I have one
On Thursday 11 August 2005 9:03 am, Ken Schneider wrote: line with one ring that has both voice, answering machine, all-in-one. The fax machine can detect a fax signal without the need for a special ring. True but it beats having to wonder whether it is a voice call or fax call every time the phone rings. I know instantly whether or not I need to get up and answer the phone.
-- Ken Schneider UNIX since 1989, linux since 1994, SuSE since 1998 "The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners." -Ernst Jan Plugge
True but it beats having to wonder whether it is a voice call or fax call every time the phone rings. I know instantly whether or not I need to get up and answer the phone. That is certainly an excellent solution. I just wanted to point out that the solution could be accomplished with a single basic phone line. I think that we have provided Robert with a lot of good information. Depending on what he now has, he can use his existing equipment and possibly add a low cost scanner, or make additional investments. One of the issues with the all-in-one system I have is that it does not have
On Thursday 11 August 2005 9:32 am, Ken Schneider wrote:
the capability to receive fax and send to the computer. It always prints.
--
Jerry Feldman
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 The Thursday 2005-08-11 at 09:03 -0400, Ken Schneider wrote:
Not so. I have a single phone line and use my fax. I do have a signal-ring line which provides a second phone number with a different ring and set the fax to only answer on it. It is $4.50 a month which is much cheaper than a second line.
That system is not available everywhere. It is unknown here, for example... - -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.0 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Made with pgp4pine 1.76 iD8DBQFDDnaytTMYHG2NR9URAn8TAJ9ZbBuCZfVeUheeYkWX1EGu2e8FvwCffvOS mfr4He/2lnF04pQ6vLMup9E= =xSda -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Thursday 11 August 2005 8:22 am, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. Can be done with an all-in-one system -- see below. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). You need a modem. 4. Receive faxes and print directly. Can be done with an all-in-one or modem. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. See below re: eFax. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges See 5, above. 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) No problem. 8. Work with SuSE, of course. First, fax technology requires the use of a phone line, which can be shared. If you want to avoid the use of fax hardware, there are several commercial fax services that you can use via the Internet, one is eFax. http://www.efax.com/ And another: http://www.faxmicro.com/ I am not 100% sure if there is software available on Linux to convert the eFax documents.
You still need a scanner to scan your documents and a printer to print them. On Thursday 11 August 2005 8:34 am, Robert A. Rawlinson wrote:
I have been using an HP office all-in-one with good results. The all-in-one systems are pretty decent. I also have one connected to my Wife's system. However, mine does not have the capability to fax electronic documents, but most modems and modem cards have fax capability. At home we share a single phone line with an answering machine, all-in-one, and voice.
If you already have a printer, a scanner, and a modem then you can implement
the solution on you current SuSE system. There are a number of fax programs
available for Linux and a number are included in SuSE 9.3, such as Hylafax.
--
Jerry Feldman
I have been using an HP office all-in-one with good results. The all-in-one systems are pretty decent. I also have one connected to my Wife's system. However, mine does not have the capability to fax electronic documents, but most modems and modem cards have fax capability. At home we share a single phone line with an answering machine, all-in-one, and voice.
Is this office all-in-one a Linux Ready ? I mean with the cups driver, scanner and stuff ? I do have all-in-one printer but it runs in window$ cause I doubt if it can runs in Linux especially SuSE. -- Arie Reynaldi Zanahar reymanx at gmail.com http://www.reynaldi.or.id
On Fri, 2005-08-12 at 09:15 +0700, Arie Reynaldi Z wrote:
I have been using an HP office all-in-one with good results. The all-in-one systems are pretty decent. I also have one connected to my Wife's system. However, mine does not have the capability to fax electronic documents, but most modems and modem cards have fax capability. At home we share a single phone line with an answering machine, all-in-one, and voice.
Is this office all-in-one a Linux Ready ? I mean with the cups driver, scanner and stuff ? I do have all-in-one printer but it runs in window$ cause I doubt if it can runs in Linux especially SuSE.
I have a LaserJet 3300MFP that has a driver for it and the scanner worked right out of the box. -- Ken Schneider UNIX since 1989, linux since 1994, SuSE since 1998 "The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners." -Ernst Jan Plugge
On Friday 12 August 2005 04:15, Arie Reynaldi Z wrote:
I have been using an HP office all-in-one with good results.
Is this office all-in-one a Linux Ready ? I mean with the cups driver, scanner and stuff ? I do have all-in-one printer but it runs in window$ cause I doubt if it can runs in Linux especially SuSE.
Yes all-in-one's are supported in Linux, and In SuSE. See the HP site for exact list of models/features supported Jerry
On Thursday 11 August 2005 07:22, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
Thanks for everyone's advice. My internet search has turned up the Brother MFC-7800N at http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/mfc_detail_AREA=MFC_1&PRODUCTID=MFC7820N.aspx Although their product page (above) only lists Windows and Mac support they have downloadable Linux support at http://solutions.brother.com/linux/sol/printer/linux/cups_drivers.html where they have SuSE 9.1 listed. I sent a support question asking about 9.3. Has anyone had any experience with this machine?
On Sat, 2005-08-13 at 20:33 -0500, Robert Paulsen wrote:
On Thursday 11 August 2005 07:22, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
Thanks for everyone's advice. My internet search has turned up the Brother MFC-7800N at http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/mfc_detail_AREA=MFC_1&PRODUCTID=MFC7820N.aspx
Although their product page (above) only lists Windows and Mac support they have downloadable Linux support at http://solutions.brother.com/linux/sol/printer/linux/cups_drivers.html where they have SuSE 9.1 listed. I sent a support question asking about 9.3.
Has anyone had any experience with this machine? Since it is a PPD file it should work with any version of linux running cups.
-- Ken Schneider UNIX since 1989, linux since 1994, SuSE since 1998
suse-list@bout-tyme.net wrote:
On Sat, 2005-08-13 at 20:33 -0500, Robert Paulsen wrote:
On Thursday 11 August 2005 07:22, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
Thanks for everyone's advice. My internet search has turned up the Brother MFC-7800N at http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/mfc_detail_AREA=MFC_1&PRODUCTID=MFC7820N.aspx
Although their product page (above) only lists Windows and Mac support they have downloadable Linux support at http://solutions.brother.com/linux/sol/printer/linux/cups_drivers.html where they have SuSE 9.1 listed. I sent a support question asking about 9.3.
Has anyone had any experience with this machine?
Since it is a PPD file it should work with any version of linux running cups.
Check out www.lizardtech.com. They make software that you can use to print to the dvju format. Djvu is very network-bandwidth efficient, there are drivers and applications for it both in Windows and open-source (Linux included). Also, check out www.djvuzone.org. By printing to the djvu format, I save a ton of money on ink cartridges. There are djvu viewers for Linux and Windows. One can send djvu files to others that can be viewed on the same or other platforms. The recipient of the djvu file can print it if he/she wants. Check out the djvulibre package on the SuSE dvd.
At 09:33 PM 8/13/05, Robert Paulsen wrote:
On Thursday 11 August 2005 07:22, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
Thanks for everyone's advice. My internet search has turned up the Brother MFC-7800N at http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/mfc_detail_AREA=MFC_1&PRODUCTID=MFC7820N.aspx
Although their product page (above) only lists Windows and Mac support they have downloadable Linux support at http://solutions.brother.com/linux/sol/printer/linux/cups_drivers.html where they have SuSE 9.1 listed. I sent a support question asking about 9.3.
Has anyone had any experience with this machine?
No experience with this machine, but a friend had a Brother printer in which toner and drum were separate components. This means that new toner is cheaper than for other printers, but you pay back those savings and more when drum goes, so TCO is higher - YMMV.
On Saturday 13 August 2005 9:33 pm, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Thanks for everyone's advice. My internet search has turned up the Brother MFC-7800N at http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/mfc_detail_AREA=MFC_1&PRODUCTID=MFC7820N.a spx
Although their product page (above) only lists Windows and Mac support they have downloadable Linux support at http://solutions.brother.com/linux/sol/printer/linux/cups_drivers.html where they have SuSE 9.1 listed. I sent a support question asking about 9.3. This looks like a pretty decent unit. One issue to check out is the PCFAX send. Apparently it has the capability where you can send a fax from the PC, but check it out to see if that feature is compatible with Linux. Note that this unit is B&W print, not
color. -- Jerry Feldman <gaf@blu.org> Boston Linux and Unix user group http://www.blu.org PGP key id:C5061EA9 PGP Key fingerprint:053C 73EC 3AC1 5C44 3E14 9245 FB00 3ED5 C506 1EA9
On Monday 15 August 2005 12:56, Jerry Feldman wrote:
On Saturday 13 August 2005 9:33 pm, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Thanks for everyone's advice. My internet search has turned up the Brother MFC-7800N at http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/mfc_detail_AREA=MFC_1&PRODUCTID=MFC7820N.a spx
Although their product page (above) only lists Windows and Mac support they have downloadable Linux support at http://solutions.brother.com/linux/sol/printer/linux/cups_drivers.html where they have SuSE 9.1 listed. I sent a support question asking about 9.3.
This looks like a pretty decent unit. One issue to check out is the PCFAX send. Apparently it has the capability where you can send a fax from the PC, but check it out to see if that feature is compatible with Linux.
I'm pretty sure PCFAX is not supported in Linux but I don't think it is supported by any of these multi function systems. Somewhere in my googling I found a email by someone who thought they were on the brink of figuring out how to make it work, I'll have to go hunt that down again.
Note that this unit is B&W print, not color.
That's OK by me.
On Thursday 11 August 2005 07:22, Robert Paulsen wrote:
Well, after years of trying to avoid this, I need to get a fax machine.
Unfortunately I know nearly nothing about them. Here is what I'd like to be able to do. Can anyone suggest a good solution:
1. Fax a hardcopy. i.e. it needs to be able to scan an original. 2. Fax a document created on the computer (Open Office, ASCII text, jpegs, etc.) without first printing to hardcopy. Do so over ethernet (no klunky parallel port cables). 4. Receive faxes and print directly. 5. Receive faxes and store on computer. Again, ethernet please. 6. Not use up those expensive ink jet cartridges 7. Not use up a 2nd phone line (I won't put the fax to heavy use.) 8. Work with SuSE, of course.
Since I am new to the world of faxing, I suspect there are other considerations I haven't thought of.
There was one *major* consideration I didn't think of. I use Time Warner's digital phone service. It does not support FAX, presumably because FAX is an analog technology although I don't really know why. All I know is that TW does not *yet* support FAXing and that they claim to be working on a solution.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 The Thursday 2005-08-25 at 18:21 -0500, Robert Paulsen wrote:
There was one *major* consideration I didn't think of. I use Time Warner's digital phone service. It does not support FAX, presumably because FAX is an analog technology although I don't really know why. All I know is that TW does not *yet* support FAXing and that they claim to be working on a solution.
I don't know what you mean by "digital phone", but if you mean ISDN, fax is supported (it is standard phone technology, digital). If you mean some kind of cable phone contraption, then... whatever they say. You probably then need to hire the services of someother company to receive and send faxes for you over internet. Some one mentioned one or two of them in this thread. They have real phones (ideally local to your destination), and you simply email then what you want them to fax for you, or something in those lines. - -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.0 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Made with pgp4pine 1.76 iD8DBQFDDnY+tTMYHG2NR9URAp9mAJ9zXz4sqg7mpeQuWg+AsXT6c71L8ACeKSW+ M+oEfY9XgXaadvDEyOl3M5E= =NR0o -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
There was one *major* consideration I didn't think of. I use Time Warner's digital phone service. It does not support FAX, presumably because FAX is an analog technology although I don't really know why. All I know is that TW does not *yet* support FAXing and that they claim to be working on a solution. Normally, cable systems digital phone services use the cable companies' digital networks, but the signal delivered to your home is analog (if you are using your regular house wiring). I have Comcast digital phone service, and it supports fax as it supports analog phones. But, assuming that fax is not supported on your phone system, then your solution would have to be some external internet fax service where you sign up for the service (such as efax). In this case, people will send faxes to the service on the fax
On Thursday 25 August 2005 7:21 pm, Robert Paulsen wrote:
phone number you are assigned, and you will receive those faxes via email.
--
Jerry Feldman
participants (10)
-
Arie Reynaldi Z -
Carlos E. R. -
Frank Bax -
Jerry Feldman -
Jerry Feldman -
Jerry Westrick -
Ken Schneider -
Rich -
Robert A. Rawlinson -
Robert Paulsen