Panasonic KX-FHD331 Plain Paper Thermal transfer Fax

In this review: features, call routing, performance, usability and other details regarding the Panasonic KX-FHD331 fax machine/copier. Are you looking for an entry-level fax for your home? Please read inside.

[Features and accessories]

The Panasonic KX-FHD331 is marketed as a simple budget-friendly fax machine, with basic features and accessories. It works also as a low-resolution document copier, and of course has a corded telephone handset for voice conversations. Its major features are:

1) Uses thermal ink film KX-FA93 to print on plain paper.
2) Paper capacity: 50 sheets for receiving, 10 sheets for transmitting.
3) Memory for 25 outgoing pages, and 28 incoming pages.
4) Maximum scanning resolution of 203 by 392 pixels, in super-fine mode.
5) Modem speed: 9600 bits/second maximum.
6) "OpenLCR" connectivity
7) Maximum document size: 8.5 inches wide by 23 inches high

The retail box contained:
1) 6 foot power cord, the same kind used for computer power supplies (AT/ATX)
2) Two telephone cords; one (6 feet long) for wall jack, another (coiled) for handset
3) Handset
4) Paper tray for letter size blank paper (to receive faxes)
5) Outgoing document tray (more like a little clamp)
6) Starter roll of ink film
7) Manual and quick-start sheet
8) "OpenLCR" manual (see section below)

One important point to note is that the included ink film is a small starter roll, good for receiving/printing 30 pages only. The manual stresses that "you should buy a full size roll as soon as possible", because you may run out of ink very quickly. The full size roll prints about 210 pages and costs approximately $25 in retail stores, or $15 to 20 by mail order. Although this starter roll is not a very generous inclusion, it is better than to receive a machine with no ink at all.

[OpenLCR.com]

The "OpenLCR" feature is basically a call routing and remote configuration service. You sign up with them on the web or by fax, and have your fax machine retrieve data from OpenLCR to program itself (your fax machine). Upon completing these steps, the fax machine should have been seamlessly set-up with time and date and phone book entries, and should automatically choose the long distance carrier that offers the cheapest rates for the moment in time when each call (fax transmission) will be made.

OpenLCR.com does not charge a fee; they probably make their profits in commissions from the long-distance carriers your calls get routed to. You do have to pay long distance however to have your fax machine call OpenLCR in Fort Collins, CO to retrieve call routing information and other
settings.

I did not try this feature because I already have a low-cost carrier, and will not be sending faxes too often.

[Setup]

Both the manual and the quick-start guide are well illustrated and explain clearly how to connect the different accessories, install the thermal print
film and trays. The illustrations and step-by-step instructions for all the connectivity options are superb. I rate the documentation excellent (5 out of 5).

In terms of physical connectivity, the manual gives you several choices, depending on whether the fax machine...
a) will have exclusive use of a telephone line
b) will share a phone line with an answering machine
c) is set to detect distinctive ringing if available
d) should automatically detect if the incoming call is voice or fax

With the physical set-up completed, you're ready to send and receive faxes in manual mode in about 5 minutes.

I have not had a fax machine at home in 10 years, and I must say I was impressed by the call-detection capability of this product. In my case, I set up an answering machine to share a line with the KX-FHD331, with no distinctive ringing. I set the answering machine to answer calls after 4 rings, and the KX-FHD331 "eavesdrops" on the answering machine. If the incoming call is a fax transmission, the KX-FHD331 takes over and receives the document. Otherwise, the answering machine records a voice message. My only complaint is that the KX-FHD331 requires that the answering machine take the call BEFORE the 5th ring. I tend to favor a longer window of time for me to answer my calls before all this machinery takes over.

[Usage experiences]

Programming your own name or identification string, as well as quick-dial entries, took a few more minutes. The LCD displays two lines of text at a time, and somewhat helps you navigate through the menus of functions and features. For an entry-level fax machine, I was a little surprised by the abundance of menus you can go into.

For entering names into the speed-dial memory, you press one of the twelve keys in the standard touch-tone keypad several times until the desired character appears under the cursor. Then you either press a different key or a directional key to move the cursor. It is somewhat cumbersome, but well implemented considering that you only have 12 keys to work with. Those of us with cell phones will have no trouble getting used to this address book.

In terms of user-friendliness, I give the menu system and user interface a 3 (average) out of 5. The displays are good, but you cannot get everything done without reading the manual.

In terms of paper handling, I would say that the 50 sheet capacity of the blank paper tray is adequate for a home machine. The 10 sheet limit for outgoing documents is marginal though. I found that the paper feeding mechanism works well with regular 8.5 by 11 inch paper, but did need some manual assistance in chomping a stack of documents of mixed sizes. (To be fair, I have seen $300+ machines with the exact same problem.)

[Performance]

The KX-FHD331 can scan outgoing documents in 2 modes: "scan as it transmits" (SAIT), or "scan to memory then transmit" (SMTT). It is in this second mode that it really shines: it will scan a (content-heavy) letter sized page in 5 seconds at most. Documents that are "mostly blank" (less content) will go through even faster. I guess the only reason you would use the slower SAIT mode is if you want to monitor the progress of your transmission, and know exactly where it cut off if something went wrong with the fax connection.

As mentioned previously, the KX-FHD331 has memory capacity to store in advance some 25 pages of outgoing documents. This capacity is somewhat devaluated by the fact that the outgoing tray can hold only 10 sheets at any time. If you need to transmit a longer sequence of pages, you would need to manually place the outgoing pages ten at a time as the KX-FHD331 finishes scanning the preceding batch of papers.

One significant weakness of the KX-FHD331 is that its modem speed peaks at 9600 bps. I am disappointed that Panasonic designed it this way, because 14400 bps faxing had been standardized at least 13 years ago when I bought my first fax modem. Again, this machine will not be great for handling big stacks of documents, but for one or two pages at a time, modem speed will not make too big a difference.

Lastly but very importantly, I would like to comment on print quality: I have no complaint. Incoming documents look just the way they should be: legible (as long as the source is legible too!), no smeared ink drops, no digital noise (random dots getting printed). Resolution is what you would expect from a fax machine, i.e. pretty low, but of course this is a fax machine, not a high-resolution printer.

[Conclusion]

A complete set of features, and decent printing and scanning performance, make the KX-FHD331 an adequate entry-level fax machine/copier.

[Revision history]

2004 08 03: Written by and copyright Tow Wang.
2005 01 17: Finally received rebate check from Panasonic, more than 4.5 months after they received my request. The form stated that rebate would be fulfilled in "8-14 weeks"; Panasonic did not fulfill their obligations in time.