Brother FAX-575 Personal Fax, Phone, and Copier
by Brother Printer
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List Price: Our Price: $29.88 You Save: $30.11 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $24.49 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Brother FAX-575 Personal Fax, Phone, and Copier
Customer Review: "Carbon Paper" results, becaue it uses "carbon paper".
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this item through a "special deal" very cheap. I've read several of the comments about the machine, but there's one thing that I don't see explained, and I wish I had known about it before I had made my purchase.
This is indeed a "plain paper" fax machine. But it does NOT use "toner" or an "ink cartridge". It uses a "ribbon". What they call the "ribbon" is actually a looooong sheet (spool) of carbon paper (or something like it) on a roll. The number of pages you receive equals the length of "carbon paper" which will be used, no matter if the entire page is filled with print, or only two lines. I've also seen people complain about the quality. Again, I remind you that the machine uses "carbon paper" and you should expect "carbon paper" type results. Personally, I'm not looking for great detail in the faxes I'm receiving anyway, so it's fine. Though I rarely receive faxes, and mostly just send them, it's still going to use-up the roll of "carbon paper" when the machine is unsure if the fax you were sending to received the fax you were sending. . . because it prints-out a notice. Printing-out a notice takes-up one page on your "carbon paper". I have read where some people have said that they rolled the carbon paper back onto the spool, so that they could get more use out of it. Well, the risk with that is that if you're receiving an important fax, and it happens to be at the place on the spool where another fax came through. . . then you're probably not going to be able to read your important fax because the "carbon paper" spools were meant to be used once, and there's not going to be any "ink" left for the machine to print. The reason that this machine is so cheap is not because it's a bad machine. . . but because you're going to have to keep purchasing the rolls of "carbon paper".
I think, in the end, you have to look at the overall cost. Compare the cost of this machine, along with having to purchase the rolls of "carbon paper", and then compare it to a fax machine which uses toner or an ink cartridge and see. . . price wise. . .which is going to work best for you. If you're only sending faxes, and never receive, then you and re-roll the "carbon paper" after it runs out from printing notices, and you should be fine.
Customer Review: Wow What a Deal!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you need a good little fax machine, this IS the one! easy to use, fast set up and no hassles. The first thing that grabs you about this little fax machine is the price. Then you read the reviews and maybe think twice about ordering.... but I think some of the reviews about this model are unfair.
I mean really, It has everything you could want for the price! Sure the sound of the phone is a little tiny bit fuzzy, but that's it! If your gonna spend a lot of time on the phone, BUY a good phone! but if your gonna use this little sucker for faxing...It's a great deal!
The second thing that grabs you is the size...Perfect for a busy desktop, just the right size to tuck away in a corner or on a small phone stand.
The power cord is built right in, no bulky a/c adapter to lose or block up other plugs in outlets. The third thing that's the kicker is the design, its a little flashy for its price, looks good and functions extremely well. You won't believe all the functions! It has everything the big huge ones have in a tiny package, it's even smaller than it looks!
Grab this deal, you won't be sorry, and the Refills for it are only $8.99 FOR 2!! (off brand mind you, but still) thats 300 pages of breezy carefree faxing! what a deal! LD © Brother PC402 Thermal Fax Ribbon Refill Rolls (2 - Pack) or 2-Roll compatible Brother IntelliFAX/Intelli-FAX 575 black thermal transfer print ink ribbon cartridge (PC-502RF/PC-502/PC502RF/PC502 film paper) to refill brother PC-501/PC501 fax officepage machine.
If your a busy office with all day faxing, this probably isn't for you, but if your a normal 10-45 faxes a day office or so, this is for you! I picked up mine for $14.00 + $7.99 shipping!! how can you possibly go wrong? I've spent more on a couple of cups of coffee!! Try it!
Customer Review: You get what you pay for. Be warned.
Summary: 3 Stars
I actually picked this fax machine up at a local retailer when I saw it in a weekly advertisement. It was 30 bucks after rebate. I thought it would be a great value since I occasionally (but not often) need to fax for the business I run out of my home.
I'm very technical, so I was pleasantly surprised by all of the features backed into this inexpensive unit.
I'm highly skeptical of any inexpensive printing device, since manufacturers usually get your money on the replacement ink cartridges. I had no intention of using this machine for printing anything -- only SENDING faxes.
I was aware that fax resolution is always low compared to resolution of scanning a document or photo copying it. But, I figured all fax machines would be equally "low resolution". How tough can it be to hit a low standard?
The first thing I did was to send myself a fax by directing it to an incoming fax service I use (j2.com). I was disappointed. Upon digging into the specs of several fax machines I noticed that most decent fax machines provide 300x300 resolution (that seems to be the max...but is also very common). This fax machine provides less (note fax and copy resolutions are different).
I also noticed fax speeds are different: This fax machine advertises 15 sec per page. HPs I've looked at range from 3-6 seconds per page. HPs also handle color faxes. Entry-level HPs seem to run about $99 retail.
I also noticed that when I picked up the chinsy plastic handset I had static/noise in the background. Not obnoxious, but noticeable.
All in all, I'll pay a little more for something better. But if you don't care about fax resolution or speed, this may be fine for you.
Customer Review: Very Nice Portable Copier
Summary: 4 Stars
I do in-home social work visits. Sometimes I need copies of documents, and my clients are very uneasy with the idea of me taking their documents out of the home. I had been looking for a portable copier. I was looking at a small, desk top copier (the kind that moves back and forth) here on Amazon, when I read a review by a fellow who had bought one to take on the road, and he said it was a disaster. He said it couldn't stand up to riding around in the car, and it was too heavy, etc. He said, "I bought a Brother FAX-575 and it is a very nice portable copier." So I bought one, as well, and I am pleased to relate that it IS a very nice portable copier. (It's probably a good fax and phone, too, but I haven't tried to use those capabilities, yet.) You wouldn't want to use it for making lots of copies, but if you need to copy the occasional bank statement or birth certificate, etc, it works great. Very compact, travels well, makes a nice clear copy. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because it balks at odd shaped documents, but that's the nature of copying with a fax machine. Oh, and if you're copying one page at a time, you don't need that big metal paper guide, so you can carry the fax around in a small duffle.Customer Review: Great for simple home office.
Summary: 4 Stars
I managed to practically steal this fax machine for $19.99 from my local Staples. Okay, it was a rebate offer, but it's one of those rebates you can fill out online without any of the usual hassle of sending in UPCs and receipts or jumping through fiery hoops while signing off your first born.
But to the product. This is exactly what I needed at home. There was a little bit of annoyance with the internal setup, but once that was done, I found it very easy to use and it served the very basic job of sending a 4 page document.
This isn't a fax machine for an office that needs to send out or receive a high volume of faxes. The instructions clearly state that the print cartridge is good for 150 sheets so the best use for this particular machine is for a basic home office.
I also would NOT recommend using this as a copier unless you just need something quick and dirty. My main use is largely to SEND faxes so I don't have to make trips to work, Kinko's, or wherever else I would need to go in order to do so. It's a convenience, especially if you use a fax machine on a weekly basis like I do.