Internet Fax Service - Sending Fax via Email

What is Internet Fax?

Internet Fax, also known as Email Fax, is an online fax service that allows you to send and receive faxes as email attachments over the internet.  It eliminates the investment on fax machine, fax line, paper, printer cartridges, etc.  You can send and receive faxes anywhere you go whenever you have internet access. 

How does Internet Fax work?

When you subscribe to internet fax service, you will get a local or toll free fax number.  When people send fax to you, the fax is converted to a file and emailed to you as an attachment.  The incoming faxes can also be routed to multiple email addresses, so several people can receive them at the same time.  There is no need for copying and forwarding like normal fax does.

Faxes can be sent by attaching a file or scanned copy of the document in an email message. Internet fax service supports many types of files, including Microsoft word, excel documents. You can send the file directly from Microsoft Office programs.   Enter the recipient's fax number in the To: field and the internet fax company will direct your fax to the destination fax number.  The fax arrives as a paper fax in their fax machine.

Some internet fax companies also provide voicemail service.  When someone calls and leaves a voice message, the message is converted to a file and sent to your email address.  You can then listen to it in your computer.

Advantages of Internet Fax Service:

1) You will never miss a fax.  There is no busy signal, no paper jam, no fax machine out of paper, no lost fax due to misplaced papers, no worry of broken fax machine, no hassles of old-fashioned fax modem.

2) It is cost effective.  Forget about fax machine, fax modem and fax software, additional phone line, maintenance cost of equipments, paper and toner cost. You can also save on long distance fax charges.

3) It is convenient to use.  Not only you can send and receive faxes by email anywhere via the internet, you can save them as digital files without the need of filing piles of papers.

4) It looks professional.  You can get a toll free number and provide better service to your clients.  They can fax you for free and you either pay a very low fee per page or at no extra cost (depending on service providers). 

5) It is private. Faxes are sent and received directly in your email inbox and they don't need to be seen by the others while sitting idly in the paper tray of fax machine.

6) It is a quiet way to receive faxes.  If you have ever received a fax in the middle of the night, you know how annoying it is when you are waken by the fax machine.  With internet fax service, you can receive faxes quietly.

7) It is efficient.  A fax can be routed to multiple email addresses so you and your colleagues can receive it at the same time.  There is no need to copy, distribute and forward the received fax.

8) Works with handheld wireless device.  Internet fax service provides more mobility to your work.

9) Always on.  With internet fax, you can receive faxes whether your computer is on or off.

10) Environmentally friendly.  Internet fax helps you save on paper and printer ink and it is good for the environment.

Disadvantages of Internet Fax Service:

While internet fax service has many advantages, there are also a few disadvantages. 

1)  There is a monthly fee for internet fax service.  However, this fee is still comparably lower than the cost for an additional phone line using fax software and fax modem; and much cheaper than using a fax machine. In the latter case, you need to purchase a fax machine, an additional phone line, paper and cartridges.

2)   You need to have internet access.  Most homes and offices already have internet access these days, so usually there is no extra cost involved.  Even if you are travelling on the road, many hotels, cafes and public areas also provide free internet access via WI-FI or DSL.

3)   A scanner is needed for paper documents.  It is easy to fax a file from Windows application with internet fax service.  However, if you have paper documents to fax, you do require a scanner to convert it to a file and fax it as email attachment.

Compare Internet Fax Service

Internet Fax Service vs Fax Software vs Fax Machine