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How to Choose the Best Internet Fax Service
How to Choose the Best Internet Fax Service
Internet fax services are popular for several reasons. First, many people have taken advantage of technological advances by switching from their traditional wired phone service to a broad band Voice over IP (VoIP) service. These VoIP solutions connect a traditional analog phone to a converter box which is connected to a network router. Although this is works well for most users, others may find that a fax machine won’t work through their IP converter box. Situations like this one require an alternative method to send and receive faxes: this is just one scenario where internet faxing services are useful. Internet fax services do not require users to have a compatible phone line, making fax services accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
Internet fax services are also useful when a physical fax machine is not available. While local office supply stores offer fax services, the charge per page is expensive. Internet fax services help users avoid these fees by enabling users to send faxes without fax equipment.
Internet fax services are also useful while traveling away from the office. Hotel fax services are expensive and time does not permit a search for a local fax service. When faxes are sent and received via the internet, users are free of the physical constraints associate with fax service.
Internet fax services abolish the need for compatible phone lines and special equipment, making the processes of sending and receiving faxes simple and convenient.
How do internet fax services work?
Basic internet fax services allow the user to upload a file which is sent via fax to the destination fax number provided by the user. A file in a standard format such as Microsoft Office Word or Adobe Acrobat format is required in order to use the fax service. Users can also use a scanner to convert physical pages to a computer file and then uploaded to the internet fax service.
Some internet fax services utilize device drivers that are installed on users’ computers that allow them to print documents from any program to fax just as if they were printing to a printer. This mode of service is accompanied by additional cost, but is valuable in that it makes any printable document compatible with the internet fax service regardless of what program created it.
Internet fax services can also allow users to get a fax number so that they can receive faxes without a fax machine. Faxes sent to that number are available online or sent to the user’s email account.
Some internet faxes also provide email to fax service. This works by sending an email to the service provider’s gateway which converts the email into a faxable format and then sends it.
Examples of internet fax services
Most fax services follow the same general pattern for sending or receiving faxes. Below, a sample procedure is provided for the use of one free fax service and one premium fax service. These are used for examples only, and do not constitute either a recommendation or an endorsement.
- Fax Free. Fax Free allows users to send faxes for free over the internet. They also have a premium option where users can pay a fee per fax, not per page like at most office supply stores. Fax Free’s free service allows users to send up to two faxes of up to three pages each day. These faxes are sent with a cover page that includes advertising that covers the cost of the Fax Free service. The premium service allows faxes that are up to fifteen pages long to go out for about two dollars each. These premium faxes have no advertising on the cover page and the user has the option to disable the cover page so that it is not sent at all. To send the fax, users fill in some basic information and use the online interface to select the document to fax. Fax Free then queues the fax and sends a confirmation email to the user. Another status email is sent when the fax has either completed or failed. Users also have the option to check the status of a fax online.
- eFax. eFax is a well known internet fax service that has operated for a long time. eFax has almost every feature a user could ever need with regard to fax service including toll free fax numbers, archiving, fax distribution lists, Outlook integration, iPhone integration, and more. After the eFax free trial has expired, users pay a monthly fee plus a per page fee to fax out and to receive faxes. Additional features such as the toll free fax number come with additional charges. This service is great for businesses that need to send a lot of faxes but either have a VoIP service that is not compatible with fax or don’t want to tie up their phone lines. eFax is also good for the self employed because of the availability of a dedicated fax number for incoming faxes. Received faxes are viewed either on line or via the user’s email account.
Selecting an internet fax service
Users should evaluate their needs before choosing a service. If a user does not receive faxes and doesn’t send many faxes, a free internet fax service is suitable. For business use, it’s probably worth paying the fee to keep the advertisements for the sake of professionalism.
Companies or individuals who depend a lot on fax communications will find that convenience and infrastructure savings of a premium internet service is worth the cost.
Whether a person sends and receives a large number of faxes or just a few, there is an internet fax service option available. Internet fax services are convenient and cost effective ways to handle faxing documents in the information age.
This entry was posted on Friday, April 30th, 2010 at 11:08 am and is filed under Fax, Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.