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Thread: Fax Machines

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    35

    Fax Machines

    Hi, I know nothing about Fax machines, all I know is that I need one for my business.

    1. Can you use a Fax-Line as the same number for your business? Is this unproffesional? Is it better to get a separate line for fax? (most businesses list their office # and the fax # separateley)

    2. Can you use a Computer/modem/scanner as a Fax machine? Or is it just easier/better to go and buy a Fax machine?

    Thanks, I'm sure many of you have established businesses with these alien devices known as "Fax Machines".

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    292
    How Fax Machines Work

    1. Can you use a Fax-Line as the same number for your business? Is this unproffesional? Is it better to get a separate line for fax? (most businesses list their office # and the fax # separateley)
    Yes you can use One Line for both your phone and fax machine. Also you can get a different number for your fax machine and still use one line, however, if you want to make a phone call and receive a fax at the sametime this would not be possible since the line is in use. It is really cheap to get another line dedicated just for your fax machine and it would be worth the money.

    Where abouts are you from that these "Fax Machines" are alien devices?

    I hope this helps along with the link above.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Castle Pines, CO
    Posts
    7,189
    You might also consider a service like efax or something similar. We use Freedom Voice & they have an extra service similar to efax as well but a little cheaper - about $9.95 a month for a toll-free number with 100 free minutes.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Downers Grove, IL
    Posts
    174
    Heheh, I'd wish my fax machine would go away, but I guess they're staying around for a while....

    Anyways:

    1) Yes. We have one line with a nice panasonic cordless phone / fax / answering machine that can detect a fax call after the phone has been picked up (either by a person or the answering machine) and it handles that just fine. Is it professional? I'd say yes, but I'm not a big fan of the fax machine. I don't advertise my fax # anyway.

    2) Yes. Any computer with a modem, scanner, printer, and the right software can serve as a fax machine. There are also all-in-one printer/scanners/faxes that work rather nicely. And if you're not concerned about sending faxes then there are services that will give you a dedicate fax number and then email you an image of the faxes you receive.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    130
    I have a simple fax system setup.

    I just got a VoIP line with an IAX uplink + Asterisk. Then any faxes that come in are emailed me in PDF format to any faxes I send to a secret email address (password protected of course!) .

    Very slick. Cheapest of paper too

    Best thing is since I get a constant ~10ms to the VoIP uplink there is no static and the faxes come in clean and are sent clean.
    Justin Cassidy, Accentra Inc.
    www.faxmicro.com :: Your Internet Fax Solution
    www.tollfreeexpress.com :: Hosted PBX Solutions

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Mississippi
    Posts
    558
    Fax machines are artifacts from the pre email era but still come in handy once in awhile.

    I use mine all the time for clients to send me signed contracts but thats about it. Every now and then I get an advertisment from my travel guy but thats about it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Chicago, Illinois
    Posts
    476
    Hi,
    I started using Vonage business plan. Includes business line with a 2nd line for fax. 800 number if you need it for another 4.99 per month with 100 minutes included. The fax line includes 500 outgoing minutes per month.

    Crystal clear faxes. I use it alot for contracts and other misc. things Alot of local business owners are still fax crazy so I think it is essential to have.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    1,053
    I have a vonage box that is connected to a fax machine. Works well as long as you have a good network connection.

  9. #9
    Until we started our business, I wandered why shops still sold fax machines, it was my narrow view that e-mail completely replaced fax technology. It only took a couple of months of starting our business before we pruchased one.

    It seems that people need hard copies of sheets signed and you soon realise that you NEED fax machine. I got tired of having to pay for the public fax machines and it is suprising how simple it can make things - and its much cheaper to send a document via fax than to post it!
    Andrew Thomas
    JAB Web Solutions | Shared Hosting | Reseller Hosting
    e : andrew@jabwebsolutions.co.uk
    t: 0800 043 0 153

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    35
    Thanks, this is some great info! I would have never considered a phone-service like Efax until it was suggested.

    The "How it works" link was interesting..... these Fax machine things, wow, these things are going to be huge!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Castle Pines, CO
    Posts
    7,189
    If you are considering eFax - you might also consider the service from FreedomVoice. They offer a fax service for about $9.95 a month with 100 free minutes. They offer a web site where you can upload faxes & they are getting ready to release a print driver so you can "fax" right from Word or something. Ans all faxes are sent to you in TIF or PDF, not a proprietary file

  12. #12
    Hi,

    My Fax and telephone share the same line. The ring tone of fax and telephone are different. Therefore when faxes come I will not pick up the phone.

  13. #13

    fax solutions

    Hi:

    I think you may want to consider having one toll free number to handle ur fax, voice mail, extensions and can forward to cellphones and phonelines. We use Tollfreemax. For fax, we can get messages from our computer or download it online. We dont need a real fax machine for it. The fax process works like Efax.

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