Brother - FAX-575 Fax/Phone/Copier - Black

Overall it is a great little unit. I've had either 3 or 4 of these over the years. (often just donating them to charity when I moved, and buying a new one at my new residence). They seem to last forever, as I've found good working ones at thrift stores also. Rather basic in features but does what I need. The replacement film rolls are not that expensive. They seem to last a fairly long time for me. (But since you could also use this unit as a COPIER, of letter sized paper, folks that use as both a copier and a fax machine will go thru the film a bit faster. PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURITY TIP : The film from these type of fax units contain a "reverse image" of all text and images from every copy you make and/or every incoming fax (I think). So DO NOT simply remove a USED roll of film and discard it. Treat the used up roll as if it contained the same personal data that it obtained from incoming faxes and/or from copies you've printed. You might have to contact a local shredding business, to see if they can SECURELY dispose of it for you. (I don't encourage burning the roll of film, for environmental reasons). The film is too thin to run thru a home paper shredder and will get "wrapped around the axles" if you try to shred it to destroy it. But a local Shredding biz should know how to "securely dispose" of it for you. [I know because I once bought one of these brother faxes at a thrift store and the previous owner had NOT removed the partially used film roll. When the roll quickly ran out, I then discovered that I could read everything the former owner had received as inbound faxes and as copies made].

Best Buy had this on sale for half-price; at full price I would still rate it a good value, but not an "excellent" one. This replaced a much older thermal fax/phone/answering machine; it only takes up half the space, it uses regular paper (meaning I can now receive AND re-send faxes), and it has slightly more sophisticated functions than the old unit (also a Brother). Of course, to use regular paper in a small space, it needs a printer ribbon (basically a sheet of glossy carbon paper, if you are old enough to remember that stuff), but the ability to use regular paper is worth the extra expense of a ribbon; a "starter" ribbon is included, but you should probably buy a replacement as well. The lack of answering machine functions was a bit distressing - fax and business voice-mail sometimes don't get along, so a separate answering machine is useful - but there was only one suitably compact fax/phone with a built-in answering machine, it was "Coming Soon" at a much higher price, and I didn't want to wait. This unit, however, does have a dedicated jack for an external answering machine, and can easily route voice calls to that device. The old machine was still going strong, until the phone installer knocked it off the desk! - so I suspect this one will last quite a while.

I highly recommend this for the occasional fax and also if you have Magic Jack. I had a problem setting it up and knew it was just a setting problem so I called Brother support for help. Worthless!!! They just blew me off and said the machine is not recommended for Magic Jack customers. I called Magic Jack for help and was told by them it was the manufacturers problem. Run around from both ends. I solved the problem myself because I found I could fax and receive from area codes other than my own. So I knew it did work with magic jack and had to be a setting problem. After a very long time of reading the whole manual I found what Brother should have told me in 5 minutes. On Page 4-6 of manual (this is not info on the quick setup page) you will find: SETTING UP YOUR AREA CODE (USA ONLY) If you must dial the area code to call within your area code (and this applies to Magic Jack!!!!!!) DO NOT ENTER THIS SETTING. My problem was solved. I hope this helps other Magic Jack customers. Love it!!!!!!! I have a dedicated fax line for cheap!! But can use as a phone if I so choose. But I only use my cell phone so don't need the phone part myself.

This was for my senior parents who don't need a fax very often. They are comfortable with their older computer and printer. What is best about this is the availability of advanced features, but the ease with they can be ignored. The fact they rarely need it make the ribbon a plus over a print cartridge. They can also re-use the ribbon a few times, which folks of their generation are going to try to do regardless. This was extremely easy to set up and use. I love the fact it is wired into the answering machine and will automatically pick the mode to use. I was able to set up it up and leave it. Very nice to be able to do. Got all this for 29.99. For what we needed, it is perfect! You want all the bells and whistles and constant use and high speed, this isn't it. But if infrequent use is your thing, and you can wait a whole minute every once in a while, this machine can't be beat.

The retail office we work with has this as their fax unit and it's a horrid device for the high volume they do. The refills only print 150 pages, yes you can rewind the spool a few times to stretch it, but it will reprint previous data onto the new pages. Also if you work in a field with sensitive data being faxed to you, make sure you properly dispose of the ribbon. As you can hold it up to a light source and read EVERYTHING that it's copied or printed on that spool. Other than a cheap get you in the door price this device could only be recommended as a starter unit or to have on hand as a backup for medium/high volume businesses. If you receive or copy less than 150 pages a year, this is the device for you. If you do more than that look at a quality inkjet or toner option.

If you need a FAX only ocassionally, like me, this may be for you, too. Could not find a well-rated 4 function printer so I bought 3 function HP 4520 printer and this separate FAX machines. Small foot-print since the paper stands up at slant at back of machine, works well and has a clear phone-although the hand set is a bit small-ish, but not any worse than some cell phones. Most importantly, it integrated nicely with my V-tech phone/answering macine. Will take over call to allow fax to be sent on same line. Has just enough features to be plenty functional and prints/copies well. Good solution for me.

We were looking for a backup for our all-in-one printer with only fax capability that we can leave on 24-7 and this unit is perfect fit for our needs. Set up from assembly to functions was easy. Hand set sound has some feedback static probably because of the small size. We confirmed it wasn't the line by pluggiing in a phone to the jack on the fax itself. We use it primarily for outbound transmissions so the ink film is not much of a consideration in our case. If you are considering this or any ink film type fax, factor the cost of film when receiving faxes or general copyiing. We bought this fax on sale and the refill film was more than the fax itself! Ink jet may be a better option if you fit the above.

This purchase replaced a dinosaur HP printer that had lasted well; however, the upgraded features on this Canon has made us wonder why we waited so long! For basic home use, this model has met & exceeded our needs. Set up wasn't any problem--just need to retry getting our daughter's laptop (Apple) to tie in with it. Print quality is great for home use--our daughter promptly put it to use for her college scholarship applications. Ink consumption is no worse than the old HP, easier & less expensive to replace, & we like having colors. The copying & scanning features are really convenient & easy to follow. All around, this model delivers, especially at the $99 price.