As with any kind of printing device you really need to consider the total cost of ownership. Thermal fax machines are likely to be the cheapest to buy but the paper is expensive (and tends to curl plus is temperature sensitive). Any kind of inkjet will use plain paper but the cost per page will be higher than a laser. So it really depends on how you will be using it. If you're in a situation where you need a new printer, you might consider an all-in-one machine. For very light use you might consider something used (try Craig's List).

OK, I did it. Thanks, guys! After getting rid of so much stuff I *thought* was going to be useful, I'm very skittish anymore about bringing new stuff into the house. But, I think this will be a good thing. Even if I don't end up using it as a copier much. It seems like whenever something needs to be faxed, there's some kind of emergency involved. And who needs to add a 45-minute round trip to Office Max when there's an emergency going on to begin with. Now if I can just stay organized enough to get the rebate in on time. :)

A fax doesn't always have to be set to receive and a dedicated line is not REQUIRED, however if you have need to receive faxes 24/7 and not be there to attend to it if you use the phone line for other things, then a dedicated line is more important. If you simply need to send and/or receive a fax on occasion, then your current line will work. You could even use fax software on your computer to fax. This was my preferred method when I'd prepare letters, contracts, reports, etc on the computer, then fax it out of the computer and receive faxes into the computer and use my printer to print them out rather than use the thermal paper that many faxes use or an inkjet, etc. Once I started needing to fax other peoples' forms that needed to be filled in and the like I bought a cheap standalone fax machine to send them (rather than scan them into the computer and fax it out of the PC and still receive them on the computer. There's also email to fax and fax to email services available. For a while I had a "fax number" and then it converted the fax to an email and emailed it to me. I did a few sending faxes over the internet too. For the unit. The combination units, called 4in1 when it has fax, scan, print and copy capability (a 3in1 doesn't have the fax ability) and they can be a flatbed scanner or a sheetfed scanner (similar to a conventional fax machine. Sheetfed are handier if you send multiple pages regularly. This is why I bought a fax machine (new for about $16) when I had to send multiple pages. The units normally will have a built in phone so you can use it as a regular phone - thus eliminating the plug/unplug all the time. There's a setting to sense fax receiving and it can be off and if you hear the fax tone, just hit receive and it'll receive the fax. Or you can set the fax to pick up after, say 5 rings as long as a voicemail or answering machine doesn't pick it up. There's machines and software that will sense whether it's a voice call or fax and adjust accordingly. If it hears the tone it'll work like a fax and receive it. If it doesn't get the fax tone it'll work like a voicemail/answering machine. There's a number of options, depending on need and budget.

I have used eFax for years for my business. I have a premium account, which gives me a unique phone number so people can fax back, but they're free for up to 10 outgoing faxes a month, I think. As an aside - fax is an outdated method of transmitting document, and I *HATE* it that I have to maintain a fax line, but I do! Here is a link that might be useful: eFax Free