From thermal transfer to laser technology: discover the Philips fax machine range

Philips is a Dutch company with more than 120 years of existence. It is one of the largest electronics companies, present in 60 countries and employing more than 100,000 people worldwide. While the company is well-known for its lighting products, Philips fax machines are celebrated in the business world. Their simplicity of operation, as well as the variety of their range, makes them suitable for a whole array of clients, from home users to large companies processing considerable volumes of documents.

Inkjet and thermal transfer units for small volumes

In the 1980s, when fax machines were peaking in popularity, only one technology was available: thermal transfer on thermal paper. Suffering from difficult document conservation, low image quality and poor printing speeds, thermal transfer has been replaced in recent years by more modern technologies, even for entry-level Philips fax machines.

Inkjet Philips fax machines

The Faxjet 555 comes with a 14,400 bps modem, a printing resolution of 300 x 300 dpi and a 150-page memory. It prints in black and white and is equipped with an answering machine and a telephone handset. The Faxjet 525 is an equivalent model, with a black and white copier instead of an answering machine. Priced at around £80, they’re perfect units for domestic use or offices which don’t process a lot of faxes.

Thermal transfer models

The Magic 5 ECO range of thermal transfer faxes is appreciated by home users and sole traders for their no-nonsense, economic operation. They use plain paper, have a 50-page memory and a telephone handset. Depending on the model, they can be equipped with many options, such as an answering machine, a copier and the ability to print SMS. Prices start at £50. The FaxPro range is aimed at professionals, offering the same service as entry-level models but with consumables for more than 420 pages.

Laser Philips fax machines for corporate use

Inkjet and thermal transfer are only suitable if you receive less than about 40 faxes a day. For companies needing to process large volumes of documents, possibly in colour, laser Philips fax machines may be more expensive but their performance is really outstanding.

Product range

The Laserfax 5125 is a small laser unit with many interesting features. It is equipped with a 250-page paper tray, has a 200-page document memory and an “eco” mode to reduce toner usage up to 40%. It can store 250 names with quick search function, and can be used as a copier, a printer or a scanner. It costs around £120. LaserMFD Philips fax machines are high-end units for large companies. They print 24 pages per minute, with a 600 x 1200 dpi resolution, a 33,600 bps modem and a 10,000-page monthly print volume. It can be integrated wirelessly in any computer network, scan, copy and print as well as receive or send faxes.

Consumables and optional features

Inkjet and thermal transfer units usually have low ink consumption, as they don’t have to print a lot of documents. Consumables therefore represent only a small expense, with a PFA 351 fax film ribbon at £16 for instance, able to print around 150 pages. Ink cartridges are more expensive, but print more pages of course. Basic toner drum cartridges such as the PFA 721 cost only £35 and can produce up to 5,000 pages, which makes them an ideal choice for document-intensive jobs.