About a year ago, I decided I finally needed a fax machine. There are instances where I need to send and receive documents that are not digital and cannot be sent via email. So, I went searching for a fax machine. What I found was that for just a bit more money (just over a hundred dollars for the model I bought), I could get an all-in-one machine which includes a fax machine, black and white and color printer, scanner and copier. Also called multifunction machines, these all-in-ones can save you time, space and money.

What I like about my all-in-one:

Mainly, it does what I need it to do. The fax machine is such a time-saver for me. Before, I would have to go somewhere else to send or receive faxes. Now, they are at my fingertips. The scanner has come in handy, too. It is nice to be able to scan documents and email them to others (who don’t always have a fax machine), and to save digital copies of important papers such as vehicle titles or fun things such as pictures or photos.

I don’t often use the black and white printer on this machine as I have a laser printer which is faster. I do however, use the color printer fairly often and it makes really good color prints. In my marketing business, it is nice to be able to print in color.

The instruction manual is written in easy-to-understand language and I could quickly figure out how to perform the functions I needed quickly. The buttons are clearly labeled and you can figure out how to do the basic functions without reading the book, too.

Drawbacks:

The machine uses up color ink quickly, which is common among ink jets. If color was essential for me and I needed to print many color pages, I would have to upgrade to a laser color printer. For my limited need, it works fine. I have printed color photos which are beautiful for craft projects, but they do eat up the ink. And, while the machine was really inexpensive, the ink runs about $35 a cartridge.

Also, this machine is quite a bit louder than my laser printer. And, since it prints much more slowly, that can be a bit annoying.

Overall:

I am really glad I have my all-in-one machine. I will probably upgrade to a laser color printer within the next year or so because my laser printer is getting a bit old and might be in for replacement or costly repairs. But, even if I only use this machine for fax and scanner, it would be well worth its price.

If you are looking to buy your own all-in-one or multifunction machine, this Lexmark X8350 All-in-One Plus Photo with USB Cable is similar to mine, which is a Lexmark Model X6170.