Full Review

My last Panasonic fax machine (a thermal fax/copier with answering machine and two voicemail boxes) lasted for 9 years of minimal use. What finally put it in the recycle bin was my wearing out the numbers 1 and 7 on the touchpad making phone calls/sending faxes.

While I don't expect this machine to have the same longevity (these low-end models are expected to have a 2-3 year lifespan according to the sales guy at the office supply store), its longevity is exactly why I chose to purchase another Panasonic fax machine.

My "must haves" for a new fax machine included an automatic phone/fax switch (i.e. automatic fax detection), and a built-in answering machine. As a freelance writer and marketing consultant, without the luxury of a dedicated room for all my home office equipment, it was equally important to find as much functionality as possible in a small footprint, at a reasonable price.

The Panasonic KX-FPG371 includes a cordless phone with belt clip, a digital answering machine and speakerphone, Caller ID compatibility, and 3 voicemail boxes. It's a compact, nicely styled, modern looking design, that owes more to recent audio equipment design than to your typical boring, utilitarian office equipment industrial design. Although the footprint is small, it is a little bit taller than similar models in this price range, so be sure to measure your clearance if you are placing this on a bookcase.

Although several sites labeled this a "thermal" plain paper fax (a confusing description if you've actually owned a thermal paper fax machine), it is, in fact, a plain paper fax that uses a thermal transfer process with ink paper on rolls. The use of the easily crinkled.torn ink paper is the only serious drawback immediately noticeable about this machine. A smaller than standard sized roll of ink paper is included with the machine so you can get started with it right away, and should print about 30 faxes. The replacement rolls, at $24 for two rolls, should print 100 pages a piece. While the cost of the machine and its ink paper works for me, it might make more sense to purchase a more expensive fax-only machine if you are a frequent faxer.

Out of the box, it took less than 10 minutes to get this machine setup with my preferences and to save my greeting, as well as to test out the voice and fax capabilities. I find the outgoing greeting to be too loud for my liking, and note that the recorded message sounds a little tinny, but it's a low-end digital answering machine inside a fax machine, so my expectations aren't that high.

Remote message checking was easy, though the delay in playing the answering machine message if you don't record to the full 16 or 60 second limit may cause people to hang up, thinking they've hit a bad line.

Fax reception of text met expectations. It was legible, though not as crisp as a laser print. Line-drawings lost much of their definition, and and shaded areas became mostly black. Considering that the majority of the faxes I send and receive (or copies I need to make) are text-heavy, this would not pose a problem for me, but should be taken into account if you need that level of definition.

For full details on this machine's features and functionality, see the Panasonic website's KX-FPG371product page: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11251&catalogId=11005&modelNo=KX-FPG371