[Publib] Fax machine recommendation

[Joe Schallan]

Greetings Publibbers!

My library offers free faxing to patrons to any
fax number in the United States, excluding
ones in Alaska and Hawaii.

Our Hewlett-Packard Model 920 is on its
last legs, and we need to purchase a
replacement.  Consumer Reports hasn't
done anything since February 2001, when
they recommended a particular HP model
(not the one we currently have).

Although we probably can't go wrong with
another HP similar to the unit that has
served us so well (almost four years and
tens of thousands of pages), I thought
I'd poll the list to see if any of you have
raves for a particular make and model.

It needs to be a plain-paper fax
(are there STILL ones using thermal
roll paper?), idiot-proof (no convoluted
user interface, since we offer the free
faxing on a self-serve basis), and
VERY rugged and reliable.  It also
needs to have a menu option to
suppress printing of reports, since
we don't want to burn through paper
doing those.

The cost of ink cartridges is of lesser
concern, since we don't allow patrons
to receive faxes, only send.  (We receive
a limited numbers of faxes from Rome
. . . er, I mean our main library . . . containing
various pronunciamentos and directives
for our staff.)

So . . . easy interface, plain paper, rugged
and reliable . . . Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance,

Joe Schallan
Chandler Public Library
Sunset Branch
Chandler, AZ