Although FAX is an old technology, it refuses to die and there is still a significant demand for sending and receiving documents in this way.
The problem with FAX machines is that they need to be situated close to a phone line and the less-sophisticated models (without memory) do use up a lot of paper.
You can, of course, send and receive FAX directly from your computer and all recent releases of Windows (but not all versions) have the relevant software facilities included―in fact, Microsoft started phasing-out FAX with Windows 98 but it was restored with the release of Windows-XP.
Most computers now come with wireless and/or network cable connections to access the internet, which replaces the dial-up modem required for direct FAX transmission―if really necessary, you can always buy a dial-up modem which plugs into a USB port.
A more-practical solution, in my opinion, is a FAX-by-email service which doesn't require a phone line.
There are a number of FAX-by-email services which work along the same lines:
Receiving FAX
Each user is provided with a unique telephone number; the FAX is actually received by the service provider's computer and then forwarded to the user as an email attachment―hence, there is no requirement to tie-up a telephone line and the FAX can be received at any location.
In many cases 'non-geographic' (0871, 0844, etc) numbers are provided at no charge and the service-provider benefits from a share of the extra revenue generated from these 'premium' services.
In most cases, there is a requirement to use the free number from time to time (typically 3-monthly) in order to maintain the service.
If there is a requirement to receive FAX from abroad, it is better to pay for a 'geographic' number (for example, '0207' for London) as non-geographic numbers can't generally be accessed from outside of the UK.
To minimise cost to the sender, some service providers can supply FAX numbers local to major cities around the world.
Sending FAX
The usual model here is that you send your FAX as an email attachment and it is re-transmitted to the recipient's FAX number.
Charges are typically on a 'per-page' basis.
Example
I have just signed-up to a service provided by www.faxtastic.co.uk
Faxtastic can provide a non-geographic (0871) number free of charge―this works for FAXes sent in the UK and needs to be maintained by receiving at least one FAX every 90 days.
The sender is charged 10p per minute for calls to this number.
An annual payment of £10 will remove the usage requirement.
For £30 annually, Faxtastic will provide an 0844 number with no usage requirement and 'local call' rates for the sender.
If there is a requirement to receive FAXes from abroad, a 'geographic' number (0207, etc) can be provided for £30 p.a. and the sender will be charged at normal call rates.
If all cases, you can choose to receive the FAX attachments in PDF or TIFF format―to see which works best for you, you can generate a test FAX delivery from the Faxtastic web site.
Sending via Faxtastic
The FAX is sent as an email or an email attachment―for some reason, the body of the email message is discarded if there is also an attachment .
The attachment should be in either PDF (recommended as the best choice) or DOC (Microsoft Word)―note that Word 2007 (DOCX) format is not supported though Word 2007 allows you to save documents in the earlier format (DOC) or directly as a PDF.
I also found, by trial-and-error (mainly error), that graphics disappear from the Word FAX transmission so the strong message here is―stick to PDF.
If your source document comes from a scanner, these can usually be set up to save files in the required format.
Pricing is on a 'per-page' basis, depending on the number of credits you purchase in advance.
For example, I purchased 100 credits for £10 (+VAT) which works out at 10p (+ VAT) per page for FAXes sent to 'geographic' (i.e. non-premium) numbers in the UK, Europe and the USA.
Successful delivery of the FAX is notified by email as are any problems.
I had a couple of queries on FAX sending and the Faxtastic support people responded to my email within minutes―one issue they clarified is that delivery will be attempted for around 7 minutes if the recipient number is engaged or otherwise unavailable.
On the face of it, a pretty good service though there are a number of others available.
