Fax over email
Where ever you reside the humble fax is becoming redundant and being replaced with Fax over email.
The cost of a fax
For years we have had a great lump of a machine taking up vital desk space.
furthermore, it has been a copies user of consumables many of which are bad for the environment.
We start with Power, it is always on 24-7 using about as much gas as your refrigerator.
Add to that the basics of paper and Ink much of which is totally wasted into the big bin next to the machine.
Toner is the next on the list taken from the ground and returned regularly.
Faxes also use Rollers and replaceable parts that are regularly consigned to the rubbish tip.
Finally, we look at the telephone line that comes with a monthly charge with its sole purpose of carrying your faxes
The hidden cost with Faxes
It is my belief the one big hidden cost is wasted labour. How often do fax conversations copy water cooler chats
As you wait for the fax to arrive, and then wander the office screaming “who expects a fax from the Widget co”
As well the numerous advertising faxes. These are designed to grab your attention and read them right through before passing them to the next really interested person.
Because they are really technical devices Fax repairers make a good living coming to you and tut-tutting over a problem.
Think I need to take this away they say, it will only be a couple of days and another call out fee.
Your fax number is not locked in
This has traditionally been a real problem because your telephone carrier has locked you in with a number that you have written on every business document. Wow, what a great cash cow, every business has an extra line for a fax service costing $30 to $40 a month plus calls for this one purpose. Think in the millions here.
Admittedly in Australia, the line probably carried your internet service by splitting the line into two data services. As a result of this, the internet companies then added their bit of income to your cost line.
Times have changed
In years past the fax was considered a legal document. It was time stamped and could not be altered or changed easily representing a true notice of attention. Real estate, medical, product orders etc were all sent by fax.
Fax over email.
First of all, Carriers have been set up for the sole purpose of changing the fax protocol into email protocol.
The fax is intercepted by the carrier somewhere in the cloud and converted to an email. This is then sent to your email address.
In addition, it comes with an attachment and time stamping and all the features of a real fax.
The tricky bit is your publicized FAX number. You can divert this to the fax service
You can transfer the number to your fax carrier or get a new number altogether.
Costs are generally much cheaper ranging from a few dollars a month.
A warning here, there are a lot of really cheap services set up in foreign countries. Yes, they generally work OK but for a business service, it is just not viable. No customer service, difficult getting money back or even to cancel the service.
Every desk a fax
In legal, medical and government or anywhere more than one fax is required every desk can be a receiver of faxes.
Especially relevant is that you can send the fax to multiple email addresses or give each a number of their own.
Sending faxes via email
Your new cloud-based fax carrier will provide you with an email address with which to send faxes.
You then put in the fax number and the email address given and attach a document. Many pages are fine.
As a result, you will then send just like an email and it will appear at the recipient fax machine.
faxnumber@cloudfaxcarrier.net as an example.
Charges will apply for sending faxes but are generally cheaper the prior regime.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you have now saved a bundle of money every month in all the fax costs. Got rid of the clunker and saved a whole heap of time.
Because you are in the new century you can be operating in the cloud.
Finally, the writer operates a service in Australia and can be found at Verdi Fax service
Peter Hanley