A fax machine is a must for any business online or off. Every business I can think of requires a fax machine and, in addition, many people have them in their homes these days. No doubt about it, you will need a way to send to receive faxes if you are in business. The two general options available are as follows:
Stand-Alone Fax Machines
If a stand-alone machine agrees with your budget then there are some important considerations to take into account before making a purchase:
• Thermal versus laser: The best way to go here is the laser. Laser faxes last for years as opposed to thermal faxes which will fade over time. Also, thermal faxes require special paper, an additional cost, while laser faxes use regular printer paper which you will have to buy anyway for your printer/copier needs. Finally, laser fax machines are more reliable and typically last longer.
• Modem Speed: The fastest modem available at the time this is being written is 33.6 kbit/second and for business purposes nothing slower is acceptable. A slower rate will make sending and receiving faxes painfully slow and the faster your fax machine is the lower your phone bill will be.
• Transmission Speed: This is the time it takes for a fax machine to send a single page (spp or seconds per page). This ranges between 1.7 ssp for really top end models to 10 ssp for lower end models. You should get a machine that sends at a rate of at least 4-6 ssp.
• Memory: Memory is an important consideration because if, after hours, someone sends you a fax and your machine is out of paper the fax machine must be able to hold the message in memory until someone refills the paper holder. If the memory is full when a fax arrives you will miss that fax so try and get at least 5-8 MB more if possible.
• Resolution: Your fax machine should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi X 300 dpi (dots per inch) but if you are going to be enlarging a lot of your fax copies then 600 dpi X 600 dpi would be a better choice.
• Sheet Capacity: This can range from 25-100 pages. Go for the greater capacity otherwise your machine will need frequent refills.
• Price: This can vary from less than $100 to well over $400 depending on what features you choose.
There some things to consider before you decide to go with a stand-alone machine. Using a stand-alone fax machine has several expenses associated with it. For instance, it uses your phone line and if you do a lot of business over the phone you will probably need an additional telephone line so customers don't constantly get a busy signal while you are faxing something. Also, keep in mind that when you fax something to someone outside of your calling area you will be charged long-distance fees. These things are in addition to the obvious paper and toner expense.
Internet Fax
Internet Faxing works through your e-mail account with the help of a third party internet faxing service. Basically, you compose an e-mail and attach whatever document you want to fax. You then address this e-mail to your recipient's fax number which will have a special extension added to it (this is provided by your fax service). The faxing service receives this e-mail, converts it into actual fax data and sends it onward to the destination fax machine. You receive faxes essentially using the same process only in reverse.
There are several advantages to using internet faxing not the least of which is that you don't need a fax machine, you simply use your computer, your internet connection and your third party fax provider. Everything is done through your e-mail so you don't need to concern yourself about your phone bill or your phone getting tied up while you are faxing a document. If you need a hard copy of a fax you simply send it to your printer.
Have you ever sent a fax that someone other than the intended receiver picked up? That doesn't happen with internet fax since the fax goes straight to their e-mail. Also, internet faxing eliminates the possibility of the recipient's fax machine jamming or breaking down during transmission.
Some other wonderful features of internet faxing include:
• Scheduling of faxes
• Sending multiple faxes to multiple recipients
• Some companies offer a local or toll-free fax number at no extra charge
• Archiving
• Immediate delivery confirmation
• Your fax is always "on" no matter what
• Faxes can be sent from a PDA
Given the numerous advantages of internet faxing this is the one I obviously recommend. There are some wonderful deals available out, there but like anything else, you have to shop around. When shopping for an intenet fax provider make sure and look for things like a free trail period and several different package options based on the number of faxes you anticipate receiving. Happy hunting.
|
