The V.34 Fax Standard

When it comes to businesses communicating with other businesses and with customers, no solution is quite as important or quite as cost-effective as a fax. You may be thinking that fax machines are something you would only see in a movie from the 80's or in your grandpa's home office, but that isn't the case. Over 90% of businesses in the United States have fax machines in the office. In addition to that, the sales of fax machines has maintained a slow, yet steady increase over the past few years.

A lot of people and businesses have tried to forgo using a fax machine by instead opting to use emails. However, despite the growing popularity of emails, more then 7.5 million fax machines were sold in 2002 alone. To help stay the obsolescence of fax machines, a lot of manufacturers have made some recent advancements in fax technology. These advancements have resulted in a renewed interest in faxing in the business environment. One such advancement was the introduction of the V.34 fax standard. The V.34 fax standard is something that can help businesses increase productivity while reducing costs at the same time.

The V.34 fax standard, which was developed by the International Telecommunications Union, is the standard for full-duplex modems, sending and receiving data across phone lines at up to 33.6 Kbps. This is a huge improvement over the previous V.17 standard which ran at only 9.6 Kbps and allows the V.34 standard to achieve faster transmission times per fax page as well as greater adaptability to varying line conditions and a reduction in the number of resends per fax. These improvements result in cost savings from reduced fax phone bills.

Advancements like the V.34 standard are keeping the fax machine industry alive and kicking and are helping a lot of businesses save time and money.

Source: Office Product News - V.34 Fax: Superior Performance and Cost Savings

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Be Aware of Energy Costs

When people factor printers or copiers into their budget, they generally focus on things like ink, paper, maintenance, etc... However, what they do not think of is energy costs. Many people forget that in order for their copier or printer to work it has to have some source of power, and in the office world printers and copiers are usually some of the biggest energy hogs in the office.

Granted, it is hard to total the exact cost of powering your office printer or copier but let's put it into a scenario. If you use your printer or copier for two hours each day in the office and each office has 50 copiers and 500 printers, then your energy costs can be as high as $50,000 a year. That is definitely a lot of money, but thankfully it can be reduced.

One easy solution is consolidating devices. This is especially useful for offices that may have a printer, copier and fax machine right next to each other. If you throw out all of those devices and switch to a multi-functioning system instead, you can immediately cut your power usage. If you have laser printers scattered throughout your office, you can combine these into multifunction systems as well, which are generally less expensive to operate than a personal printer.

You should also look for multi-functioning devices that are energy star compliant. These types of devices have different modes that allow you to cut down on power usage. They can shut themselves off automatically at night and restart themselves in the morning and can also go on standby when not in use. These are all great ways to cut your company's energy costs, so if you are worried about your energy bill continuously rising, then work on incorporating some of these ideas into your business.

Source: Office Product News

A Copier Rental is a quick way to mass produce important documents for potential customers at an event or conference. Renting office equipment is simple and easy and it can also save you loads of time and money. Rentacomputer.com has been offering copier rentals to more than 1000 cities worldwide for over 20 years.

Reduce Lines on Your Copy, Fax, and Printer Paper

Have you ever pulled a piece of paper from your copier, printer, or fax machine, only to notice it has lines in the printing or maybe the words are blurry? Well, according to KICTeam, they've created a product that will help take care of those problems.

Streaks, lines, and blurry print come from a build-up of something that shouldn't be there in your paper's path, such as paper particles, dust, ink residue and other contaminants. For your equipment to function properly, these particles need to be removed. That's what the EZ Printer/Copier/Fax Cleaner Sheet aims to do.

According to a press release, it's easy to use and effective. The surface cleaning sheet gently scrubs your paper feed path and rollers clean for a better printing experience. It can even help extend your machine's life. It is said to be more effective than any other current cleaning method or product.

Debra Ross, Product Manager of KICTeam said in the press release, "Paper carries dust and other contaminants into the equipment causing feed jams or print errors. Taking apart the equipment can be time consuming and costly if not performed properly. This product will be a tremendous asset to consumers. Now they can correct particle buildup and remove lines from documents with a quick and easy cleaning of the printer, fax, or copier."

KICTeam is the leading world manufacturer of cleaning cards including Waffletechnology-based products. They are headquartered in Auburn, Maine and have offices in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada. Their innovative technology provides cost-efficient patented solutions for state-of-the-art equipment.

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A Few Quick Toner Tips

Here are a few quick tips about toner that can help you save money and maximize the use of your laser printers, fax machines, and copiers

• Above all, it is important to realize the difference between ink and toner. Toner is used in all laser printer and copiers and most fax machines and is actually a carbon-based powder. If you're spending too much money on ink, buying equipment that uses toner is a great way to go. Toner machines are slightly more expensive, but in the long-run, you'll save on the cost of printing and that can save you hundreds of dollars and even thousands if you are running a small or medium business.
• When your machine tells you your toner is empty, here's a hint: it's not. Because your toner is a powder, you can take the cartridge and give it a gentle shake from side to side, causing the toner to redistribute evenly. (Sometimes it gets stuck on the sides.) Get anywhere from 10 to 15% more usage from each cartridge by remembering this tip!
• Shop around for toner! Less expensive, generic brands are everywhere. Don't pay extra money for a fancy box or brand name. Do your research, shop around online and compare prices.