Our perception of faxing has changed a lot since this technology first appeared around 30 years ago. Back in the days we saw faxing as the latest technological innovation, and it looked like nothing could replace it. Fast forward to today and things are different; email, instant messaging and texting are now speedy ways of communicating and in comparison traditional faxing technology feels slow and outdated.
Does this means that faxing is dead? Not at all, faxing has changed for good. These days you don’t even need to spend money on a fax machine and office supplies, you can send and receive digital fax using just your computer and an Internet connection.
There are two ways in which you can send and receive fax from your computer, let’s take a look at them:
1. Fax software. Fax programs have been available for quite some time already but unfortunately they have not gained too much popularity since they require passing over a certain learning curve. Did you know that even windows XP comes with free fax software? But well, this software is now as slow as using a fax machine. Modern fax software is faster and uses the Internet instead of a fax modem, but still many people find the confusing.
2. Fax services. These are email to fax services that – as the name implies –let you send and receive fax on your email. Internet fax services have become popular in the past few years because they are much more powerful than programs and are very easy to implement and use. Companies offering these type of services include RingCentral Fax, MyFax, Nextiva vFax, Metrofax, just to name a few. The best way to choose the right service for you is by giving them a test drive. Luckily all of them offer 30 day free trials.
But what if you want to send a single fax? If you just want to send a few faxes urgently, there are some sites that can help you. Two of the most popular are FaxZero and MyFax free. Both services allow you to send a limited number of e-faxes per day and if you want additional pages you’ll be required to join a plan. Note that these services are good for occasional faxing but they don’t allow you to receive faxes in your email.
To receive faxes in your email the only option left is the use of fax services. Upon signing up with one of the companies mentioned above, you’ll receive a virtual fax number at no extra charge. You can choose between a local number or a toll-free number, and thanks to it, all incoming faxes will be redirected to your email and will arrive as a PDF.
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