Fax machines have become integral to all kinds of business small or large. Home office fax machines have become indispensable in home offices.

There are two kinds of basic fax machines: Ink Jet and Laser. Ink jet uses ink droplets to transfer images and has capacity of 400 pages per cartridge. Laser uses Light emitting diodes to transfer images and has capacity of 5000 pages per cartridge.

The trend is now to have all-in-one fax machines. This implies printer, copier, fax and scanner all in one machine. The advantage is that you have all the facilities of printing, copying, faxing and scanning in one machine. This avoids the clutter of individual machines especially when you have a premium on space in your home office. It also eliminates the need for multiple electric points. There is an amalgamation of many features in one machine.

The disadvantages are also related to the all-in-one feature. For example if printer is damaged, your function to print incoming faxes is spoilt. You can also lose all the functions at once if you have a problem related to all of them at once like cutting off of power supply.

Once you have selected your fax machine (laser/ ink jet/multipurpose), you can consider the following features:

• Controls must be easy to use and have good layout.
• Size must be adequate to print large documents and books. It must occupy minimum size on desk or stand.
• It must have a resolution of at least 300×300 dpi.
• Ink cartridge must not be costly.
• It must be network/ wireless capable
• Must have a paper tray capable of handling 100 pages minimum
• Speed must be adequate. The Page transmission speed varies according to the models. High volumes require faster speeds.
• There must be minimum sound. Look for noiseless operation.

Choosing the best home office fax machines is always a matter of personal choice and taste. You should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each fax machine as you purchase for the home office. For instance, multi-function fax machines will k help to conserve space and electricity in a home office. An ink jet fax machine would be cheap while a Laser Printer will be cost effective in the long run in terms of pages per cartridge.