Can you send Faxes via Internet with a scanner (or AIO w/o fax)

[darqice]

As title states. Can you send Faxes via your Internet connection by scanning the documents that you want faxed (preferably by using a scanner with ADF or an AIO that has a scanner with ADF.) I've never really gotten a good answer for this.

The reason for the question is basically to save $$$. I have cable internet, (no phone landline) and I'm also looking to purchase a Laser AIO printer. I can save money by a)not having a land line, and b) buying a Laser AIO that only does Scan/Copy/Print (one that does not have a fax modem built in)

Do AIO's usually come with software that will allow me to send faxes over the internet fairly easily, and at no extra cost? Or is faxing software available that will interface with the scanner? Can I use my broadband cable internet to send these "faxes" or do i need a "PC fax modem" for some reason?

ty for any input.

PS: i don't really care / need incoming faxes, only to send via internet.

 

[darqice]

Anyone? Any current AIO owners sending faxes via their internet connection instead of using a regular telephone line?

 

[batmanuel]

You can send faxes over the internet, but you need to subscribe to a service that will take the scanned document image you send them and fax it out over a telephone line. There is no free or cheap solution to your problem, ASFAIK. Google for "Internet Fax" and it should pop up a good number of companies that do what you want (for a fee of course).

 

[Arcanedeath]

if i recall their are some companies that will let you email faxes also, fairly cheap too.

 

[darqice]

ahh, and here I had such high hopes for a free/easy option?

wtf!

 

[gsaldivar]

Yes, but it depends on the service you are using to handle the transmission of the fax via the internet. The service I use (greenfax.com) allows me to simply attach any number of Image Files (JPG, GIF, TIFF, etc), Word documents, PDF files, etc. to an e-mail with the recipient's phone number in the header.

Here's a previous post I made about greenfax.com:

==============

I've used these guys for years, and have been very happy with the service:

http://greenfax.com/

Get a Send-Only account, and simply forward the fax to phonenumber@greenfax.com.

$0.07 per fax minute to anywhere in the US and Canada.

Make a small deposit to open your account. No monthly fees. Your account credit never expires, and you never pay for unsuccessful transmissions.

(Use a free Receive-Only account from eFax for incoming faxes.) :thumbsup:

 

[gar3555]

why not just send an attachment in an email? you have internet access, and to print, you need a printer....problem solved

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: gar3555
why not just send an attachment in an email? you have internet access, and to print, you need a printer....problem solved

Obviously, an e-mail isn't always a good substitute for a fax. :beer:

 

[Yanagi]

Some machines support internet faxing.. BUt I guess that goes for the large Multifunctional Devices... not SOHO things..

 

[Chesebert]

efax works well for me. I travle and it's nice to get faxes anywhere in the world via e-mail and I can send fax from any file..same as printing for one flat fee...regardless of location

 

[darqice]

Thanks for the replies. The challenge is find the most cost-effective way to send a fax without a phone line **for those times when a business or institution is requiring you to send that fax to their phone # based fax line**

To send a normal email w/attachment *to an email address* is therefore not an option.

I'll check out greenfax, that looks like a decent option. However, how would one integrate their send-only service with sending multiple page documents via an AIO ADF?

With that in mind, I may also be in the position to consider a fairly decent AIO, ($200-$400) but I'm having trouble determining which brands / models have a robust software implenation to send PC faxes. Where might I find more/better information about this?

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: gsaldivar

Originally posted by: gar3555
why not just send an attachment in an email? you have internet access, and to print, you need a printer....problem solved

Obviously, an e-mail isn't always a good substitute for a fax. :beer:

You're right... email is always a better substitute for a fax

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: darqice
how would one integrate their send-only service with sending multiple page documents via an AIO ADF?

As Chesebert pointed out, there are some fax services which are somewhat more expensive (they usually require a fixed monthly fee in addition to the per-fax rate), but are very easy to use. These services use a printer driver to "capture" any printed document and prompt you for the recipient's phone number. The advantage to this type of service is that you needn't spend much time researching or configuring how the interface will work. Simply print from any program and change the destination from printer to fax, and the software takes care of the rest for you. As I mentioned, the drawback to this convenience is the price - efax.com for example, will charge you a minimum of $140/year, not including usage fees.

Greenfax.com is probably the cheapest solution you will find, however, it requires a bit more planning to create an easy & seamless solution. You can fax pretty much anything you can attach to an e-mail message. With an AIO ADF unit, one way to accomplish this would be to setup the scanner to output your scans as either a multipage-PDF or multipage-TIFF file. Some scanner software can automate this process, which means that the scan>save>email/attach is a performed as a single step, only requiring you to insert the recipient's address/phone number. But this capability varies by scanner manufacturer, so you'll have to check the whether or not the software bundled with the scanners you are considering will support this.

If the scanner doesn't allow you to automate the process outlined above, you can still use Adobe Acrobat (the full version, not the free Reader) to create a printer driver on your own that will capture the print job of any program and convert it to PDF. Then all that's required is for you to attach the file to an outgoing email message with the recipient's phone number in the header. There are some freeware Acrobat emulators out there that will allow you to "print-to-PDF" in case you don't own an Acrobat license.

With that in mind, I may also be in the position to consider a fairly decent AIO, ($200-$400) but I'm having trouble determining which brands / models have a robust software implenation to send PC faxes. Where might I find more/better information about this?

I'd suggest making a short list of models which you are considering, and posting back to this thread for more input. You can also try plugging each AIO ADF model number into Google to see if there are any existing reviews on the web that might be useful. If you are pressed for time, you might consider just buying from a local store with a lenient return policy. :thumbsup:

 

[darqice]

bump

 

[Pabster]

I like Fax1.com.

It is like $0.12 per page. No monthly fees or maintenance fees. And they'll give you $1 worth of credit to try out the service.

The interface is slick and I've never had any transmission issues (at least none that were Fax1's fault )