Fax Via Internet

The introduction of the Internet has changed the way most businesses operate, in many varying ways. Communication is instantaneous now, and most businesses couldn't even imagine a life without email. One of the technologies that has held on through these changes is facsimile. Most businesses still need some way to fax documents to each other, or to their customers, even though email is much more quick and efficient. Luckily, the Internet has come up with a solution to this problem, and more and more businesses are turning to fax via Internet as a way to get around this limitation. Internet faxing (or eFaxing) has become commonplace for many, but still remains a mystery for some. In this article, we will look at what's involved with Internet faxing, and what the benefits are to you and your business.

There are two main ways that you can fax via Internet. The first is by using software installed on your business computers, and the second is to sign up for an Internet fax service online. Both have their pros and cons. To fax directly from your computer, you will need to purchase fax software that then needs to be installed on each computer that requires fax capability. There are literally thousands of different software packages to choose from, ranging from freeware to shareware, and up to the more professional, but more costly versions. Some software is sold on a license by license basis, so you pay for each computer that the program will be installed on. Many of these software packages include added functionality of instant messaging, email and even handling of phone calls directly from your computer. Any of these added extras will obviously push the price of the software up.

The software that you install on your computer will usually integrate quite well with common office applications. This includes word processors such as Microsoft Word, spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel, PDF documents, and pretty much any other software that is capable of being printed. Many of the fax software packages will actually install a printer driver, so sending a fax is done by the same process as printing a document, making it extremely easy and intuitive to use.

As always, be careful when you install software on your computers, especially your business computers. You want to make sure that you have the best internet security software possible, to ensure you don't get any nasty bugs on your system.

The other side of the coin is Internet fax services. These services allow you to sign up with them (usually on a monthly basis). In return, they will give you your own personal fax number that you can then pass off to clients as your fax number. The two functions of faxing (sending and receiving) are performed in the following manner.

Sending Fax Via Internet

This is usually done by composing the Fax in your email program, just as if you were sending a normal email. You put the content of the fax in the body of the message, or attach it to the email. Then you place a special address in the "To" field of your email. This usually consists of your recipients phone number followed by the fax providers domain name. So, for example, if your recipients number was 555-6738, you would send the email to 5556738@myfaxservice.com. The fax provider will then receive that message, convert it into fax format, and forward it on to the fax number specified.

When you sign up to an Internet fax service provider, they will usually give you a unique fax number for your business. You then pass that number on to your clients, or whoever else needs to send you faxes. The sender will send their fax to that number, which is received by the fax service provider. They in turn convert the fax to email and forward on to you email address. From your end, it is just as if you were receiving a normal email.

The benefits of faxing via the Internet are many. For starters, there is no paper involved on your end at all. This can be a great money saver, not to mentioned the benefits to the environment and all those trees that won't be chopped down. Secondly, there is no fax machine needed, and no costly ink cartridges to buy. You also don't need to worry about having a second phone line just to handle your incoming faxes. Other benefits include being able to store a list of all your commonly used contacts within the fax service, so finding the number you need is a piece of cake. Generally, these fax via the Internet services will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, giving your customers on the other side of the world the freedom to send faxes to you at a time that is convenient to you.