Image Credit: USCPSC

Do you remember when the fax machine first made its appearance? In many ways faxing revolutionized business, allowing contracts and other documents to be quickly transmitted between companies.

A similar revolution occurred when the Internet and email became an active part of business. Instead of faxing a document over the slow telephone lines (and hoping the copy isn’t too grainy for the recipient), documents are now emailed. They can even be signed electronically now, removing the need to ever print anything out on paper.

If the Internet and email changed the way business is done, do you still need a fax machine? Well, yes and no.

Having the capability to fax is still a good idea, especially since not all businesses (or individuals) have the ability to receive files electronically. However, you probably don’t need that old dinosaur of a fax machine taking up space on the desk.

Instead, consider an electronic fax system. Electronic fax bridges the gap between traditional faxing and sending things via email.

While all electronic fax systems are slightly different, they’re all similar as well. To send a fax though one of these systems, typically you send an email with the documents attached to a specified email address (generally [[email protected]]), and then the system converts it, and faxes it to where it’s going.

And that’s one of the benefits of using an electronic fax system, it’s as quick and easy as sending an email. However, other benefits include:

• Receive faxes electronically – typically in PDF format
• Less work – no need to scan documents, just save PDF
• Smaller file sizes (typically)
• Higher resolution files – no more losing quality because of transmission
• Higher quality files – no need to print documents on low quality fax machine, further degrading the quality

So if you’d like to reclaim desk space and finally get rid of that clunky old fax machine, consider an electronic fax service.

If you have questions, or would like help determining the best service for your business, give us a call. We have experience with quite a few of the solutions available, and can help determine the best system to use for your needs.