Panasonic Fax Machine

[david lang]

Hi All

SWMBO decided we needed a new fax machine, trundled off to Argos and came back with the Panasonic PPF531R, just short of £60 - not bad on the face of it for a fax/copier/phone.

On unpacking, it needs an 'ink film', but is supplied with a 'trial' version for 2 pages. Said 'ink film' costs £27:75!!!!!!

I'm used to being stitched up with printers, but at least they come with print cartridges, not poxy 'trial versions' that last for 'two pages'.

And it makes it clear that you need a Plug 'N' Print Card to make the 'Ink Film' work - so eliminating pirate ink film.

What a f*cking rip off - it's going back first thing.

Dave

[david lang]

Whoops! That should read Phillips not Panasonic!

[John Rumm]

I should say!

Have a look at:

a flatbed scanner/fax/printer etc. It runs the laser printer at over

20ppm, you can scan from books etc but it also has a sheet feeder so can scan or fax a stack of pages without manual handling.

We have don a few of these for various clients and they always seem to work well.

[Holly, in France]

Ah, I was just about to say that I have one like that but it's a Phillips :-) You're right, it's a pain and it's expensive, I wouldn't buy another and if I had realised in time I too would have taken it back. Another problem with it is that every time the power goes out, even for a second, which happens VERY regularly here, the machine restarts and does it's 'checking' routine. This seems to involve it winding forward about a foot of the very expensive ink film :-( Given that we don't use the fax often, eventually I would say about 90% of the film is unused. I have discovered that one can wind back the film manually though and use it again! But then last time I tried it it asked for a yellow card code or something and wouldn't work, so I had to buy a new one. I think a trundle back to Argos might be in order :-)

-- Holly, in France Gite to let in Dordogne, now with pool.

[Merryterry]

They are all a rip off! I bought a plain paper Samsung 335T a while ago. It has an ink cartridge that holds about 5cc of black ink. Cost to replace? =A335.00.

When you buy a scanner/fax/printer these days you are in reality committing yourself to an agreement to purchase X number of cartidges/ink film/toners etc.

Its a rip off but no one wants to do anything about it.

[Nigel Molesworth]

Get a Brother plain paper from eBay, about the same price.

[John Rumm]

True with any printer, but it makes a big difference what technology you buy into to start with...

If you get a laser fax you get typically 2500 pages from one cartidge at about 40 quid a cartridge - so that is under 2p/page which is a good deal better than any of the inkjet or film based systems. By the time you have printed 500 sheets you will have saved more than the cost of the difference in price in the machines. You also get a decent lan aware laser printer into the bargain.

What do you suggest?