Panasonic KX-FL511 Plain Paper Laser Fax

Pros: Promises what it cannot deliver but sounds feasible
Cons: It will make you buy a gun and shoot it

This fax worked fine for the first six months or so. The next 12 were a nightmare. I often had to stand over it and feed it one page at a time to get it to fax. It constantly jams. It makes me want to pick it up and throw it through a plate glass window. ...

Pros: Cost
Cons: Really too many to list. Frustration more than anything!

We purchased this machine today and tried to set it up. The paper kept jamming and even when the paper wasn't jammed, it still read it was and you couldn't do anything. I unplugged the machine in an attempt to reset it. No luck, so I called Panasonic ...

Pros: Cost.
Cons: Does not operate well at all. Bad machine choice.

This Panasonic machine is a nightmare. Every time we need to send a fax, we dread standing over the machine, feeding ever gently each page one at a time. This machine cannot handle more than a one page fax on its own. Also, trying to make sense of its other functions, such as broadcast faxing, is pointless. Even the warranty was awful. We called Panasonic and they told us to clean it with alcohol and a Q-Tip. That is NOT warranty coverage. That's all they would do unless the machine was completely not functioning. Avoid this machine at all costs.

Pros: I see no pros associated with this unit.
Cons: Large and bulky, poor intake mechanism prone to significant and frustrating paper jams.

A key component that is usually considered a standard part of a fax machine, the printer drum, is considered as an accessory in this unit. The ink cartridge too, is considered an accessory. The accessory drum costs a little over $100 retail and the ink cartridge of $30 to $40. Be aware if the description states that accessories may not be included or the language associated with shipping & handling charges. The seller I purchased the unit from had a $35 shipping and handling charge and charges a 20% deduction from the purchase prices as a restocking fee. Although described as new and ready to use out of the box the unit is unusable without the drum or ink cartridge. I found the fax machine I received to be faulty especially as it relates to pulling in the document that you wish to fax or copy resulting in a paper jam. Not worth the hassle and it looks like a design problem associated with the paper intake rollers. Quality of print was also poor for a laser copier.

Pros: Large, readable buttons
Cons: Poor customer service, complicated procedures for fixing paper jams, overall poor quality.

While this fax machine is relatively user friendly, it started jamming repeatedly after one year, to the point where it would not send a fax at all. Customer service was rude and unhelpful, and after trying all of their solutions, the fax would still not work. According to the representative, I had been improperly removing the jams (they must be removed from the inside of the machine rather than the outside, even if just 1/2 inch of paper is inside). I wish my office had spent a little more for a better machine. We now have to replace this fax.

Pros: User Friendly
Cons: Too large

Worst Fax Machine I have ever used. Feeds all or several pages at one time. DO NOT purchase this one! Panasonic support no help. The actually told me to feed one page at a time, what does automatic mean to them? Good copies, however. User friendly.

Pros: Cheap Toner. Crisp Resolution. Fax operation easy to understand.
Cons: Will not store multiple faxes to different numbers.

This product is great if you need a copy machine and fax machine in one. Operation is easy to understand. Not as cheaply made as Brother or Canon. Toner is very cheap compared to a stand alone copy machines.

Pros: chic look
Cons: it is not durable

At first glance this fax machine looks like everything that you'll ever need but you guys should be aware of the details of this machine before purchasing. At first use of this machine everything worked quite well but just after a few months the handles start to break off, and the machines connectivity is loosing it's grip. Our clients were always complaining because the machine is not giving fax tones so they cannot send their documents. And we are also having a hard time sending fax to our clients.

Pros: Clear printing.
Cons: Chronically non operational.

This machine is prone to frequent breakdown. The only form of effective tech support provided by Panasonic puts the customer on a waiting list for a replacement (current wait time is more than two weeks). In addition, there are two components (drum and toner) to install.

Pros: Large paper capacity
Cons: Noisy

Within two weeks of installing this in my office, it was asking for more toner, but it isn't out. After 3 months it finally ran out, but each time it says I'm out it prints a page using tons of toner, it's done this dozens of times, the amount of toner used is equal to about 3 pages of printing. I have had to remove the drum unit and agitate the thing to fluff the toner each time.

It is the noisiest fax machine I've ever heard.

Try and figure out a manual broadcast, I dare you. I haven't been able to get it to do this, despite having an instruction book.

And did I mention it's noisy?

Pros: Many functions
Cons: Poor design. Grabs 2-5 sheets at once. Pass this one by.

Stay away!
$250 & it's no better than a $100 HP or a $160 Brother.

Machine was broken out of the box:
grabs 2-5 pages at once, & is a piece of junk.
overly complex.

Buy a Brother 1800c or an MFC.

Pros: Reliability
Cons: paper needs are picky

This has been a great, no-nonsense fax machine that hasn't required tons of toner ink. We bought it in Sept 05 and only now (Feb 07) it is requiring a new drum. In my experience, that's a long life for a drum.
The only drawback that comes to mind is that it prefers virgin paper, making recycling tough, yet doable. Also, when it runs out of paper, it beeps incessantly.

Pros: The price was good at the time.
Cons: Designed to become obsolete so you are forced to buy another machine!

After 1.5 years the machine is no longer made and I need to replace the drum or I can no longer make copies. The price of a new drum is almost as much as the machine.

Pros: Print quality is good. The machine looks good.
Cons: Service is terrible. Feeder stops working. Instructions don't address problems.

This is our second one because the first one just stopped working. It wouldn't feed paper so you had to push your paper through manually, page by page. It took Panasonic literally three months, and more than a dozen phone calls, letters etc. When they asked us to fax them the problem, that was the past straw. They finally agreed that it was under warranty. We dealt via phone with at least five representatives. The second machine has been in service about 6 months or so and just died, with a blinking message that reads "Call Service 3". We checked the manual and there is no reference to the message. Next step is to either buy another brand, or go through the hassle of once again trying to get someone to listen and understand.

As far as we're concerned, do not even consider this product.