The Internet is reshaping every form of communications medium, and faxing is no exemption. The latest twist Internet faxing services that let you send messages to any fax machine from any Web browser or email, and others that give you a “personal fax phone number,” then forward any documents sent there to your e-mail inbox.
The Fax Machine – Workhorse in the ’80s and ’90s.
It enabled you to send a file to anyone, anywhere, at any time, and know that it was received instantaneously. It was a godsend in the 1980s and everyone had to have one. But it has become an luxurious bit of machinery that will cost you money every time you use it. Smart organizations are now reducing or eliminating the fax machines they use in favor of electronic services. The fax machine costs you in paper, toner, phone bills and repairs. It is like a taxi-meter in that regard, and the bill keeps growing and growing. Currently most of the documents that you fax are created on a computer. If you fax them through a fax machine, you must print out the documents, physically produce a cover page, and you must go to the fax machine to propel the documents. Every time you receive a fax, you must retrieve it from the community fax machine, rather than having it delivered directly to your PC workstation like any other document. Many people still use fax machines today. The alternative is to use fax services from companies that provide Internet fax services.
Fax Machine Costs
The fax machine is measured a simple tool by many, which is probably why they haven’t replaced it yet. Anybody can stick a document into the auto feeder, dial a phone number, and send the document at 14.4 or 33.6 Kbs. But it costs to send a fax.
Among the actions employees must acquire to fax a document, labor is the greatest hidden operating cost. Labor is a key factor because your staff is more expensive than phone calls, and it makes the biggest difference in fax costs. Most businesses ignore to factor in the costs of actions such as employees walking to the machine, waiting to use it, the faxing process and the employee’s return trip to their desk. All of this takes time. And in the world of hidden fax operating costs-you guessed it-time is money. Also, keep in mind that it isn’t unusual to find executives with six-figure salaries performing some of the same fax-related tasks as clerical workers. When that happens, those labor costs can be as astronomical as some of those six-figure salaries. Costs also incurred are lease and upholding charges for fax machines as well as sending charges for making fax phone calls. These depend on the rates you pay and the speed at which your fax machine and the machines you send to can distribute faxes.
How Internet Faxing Works
Ever heard of eFax? You sign up for a fax number. When people propel you faxes, they’re auto-forwarded to your e-mail Inbox, where you can read them, trash them if they’re junk, or print them out only if essential. Not only do you save paper and ink, but you don’t need a fax machine or a second phone line-and you get your faxes wherever you happen to be in the country.
Together, in principle, these Internet fax services present all the advantages of fax — a universal system for quick and convenient distribution of anything you can put on paper — without making you spend your money on a fax machine, fax supplies or fax phone fees.
In the business world, any time that you can save money; your customers will eventually save money too. That is why Internet faxing is a good idea. Internet faxing is the practice of using your email (or a website) to send and receive faxes. The speed and effectiveness of email, coupled with the lower costs of sending broadcast faxes via email is more desirable than making lots of phone calls.
Sending and Receiving faxes over the Internet with your regular fax machines sounds cool, but so far, today’s standard fax machines do not yet know how to speak Internet – you can’t use them over the Internet. Some of the newer models will have this aptitude, but it will take time to gain worldwide acceptance. In the meantime, there are a number of services that bridge the gap between traditional faxes and the new world of Internet-based communications.
A number of companies, such as eFax, Faxaway, Internet Fax Provider and MaxEmail, allow you to send or take delivery of faxes over the Internet. These services are either free or charge a monthly fee.
However, many of these services are limited in what they can do:
Require people to dial a long distance number to propel you a fax [eFax, MaxEmail]
Attach their own advertising to your outgoing faxes to cover their cost [eFax]
Don’t offer fax numbers in all local area codes [eFax, MaxEmail]
Don’t work for handwritten faxes (unless they are scanned in) [all]
Still, Internet faxing provides many advantages. Convenience and better decision are the two main pluses. They allow you to send and receive your faxes entirely with your email service – the best thing to happen to the business world in the last 10 years. You can send and receive faxes anywhere you can contact your existing email account: from your home, office, client’s office, hotel, airport or cottage. Or even better, a web-based interface that keeps track of everything you’ve done with your faxing business and allow you to do cheap and well-organized broadcast faxing.
Some of the advantages of Internet faxing:
To send a fax, simply send an email. It will mechanically be converted to a fax and delivered immediately
To receive a fax, simply check your email. All faxes sent to your fax number will be forwarded to your email
Web fax – For people who require faxing their information to thousands instantly. Send thousands of faxes in minutes from our website – Broadcasting.
Avoid tying up your computer or telephone lines
No software to download or hardware to buy
Easily give out press releases, product and pricing information, newsletters
Sending to International phone numbers is cheap – the charge is based on the target country
Easy and convenient – faxes are sent and received over the Internet from the office, at home or on the road. Your Internet “Fax Machine” is available 24×7 and is never demanding.
Toll-Free is cost effective – some virtual fax numbers are toll free so that no matter where your customers are, they will not pay any additional long distance charges and your North American clients and contacts can reach you free of charge.
Privacy – You are the only person to see your faxes, giving them the same privacy as your email.
Portable – You can receive your faxes at multiple email addresses at the same time and you can send and receive faxes while traveling.
Receive faxes directly in e-mail – Faxes are receivable and retrievable anytime, anywhere. Faxes are not misplaced and confidentiality is ensured.
Send faxes directly from e-mail. – Eliminate manual faxing. Faxing is integrated into workflow and faxes are delivered faster and at less cost.
Immediate Implementation – No unique client/server or software is essential, only standard e-mail capability. Minimal to no user training.
Unlimited scalability – Support as many users as required without purchasing additional fax machines.
Combine multiple document types into one fax – Fax multiple documents as easily as sending an e-mail.
Account code tracking – Budget and cost management is simplified.
Automatic retries for busy or incomplete deliveries – Eliminates need to repeatedly check progress of a fax.
E-mail notification of incoming faxes – Users know immediately when a fax has arrived.
Delivery confirmation via e-mail – Users always recognize when their faxes have been delivered.
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