How to send Faxes via your PC

One of the best advances in computer technology is the ability to send faxes via your PC.  Gone are the days of frantically having to search out a fax machine in order to send or receive a fax. Today you can easily send a fax right from the comfort and ease of your home or office.  The good news is that there are now several approaches and many of these do not require any additional hardware. However there are several things to take into consideration.  Here is what you need to know about how to faxes via your PC.    

First, you will need to "input" whatever it is you want to Fax. If you are going to fax existing paper documents,(much like a real fax machine), you are probably going to need a scanner. Today there are many devices on the market that are a printer and scanner combined. Using your scanner you can then capture images of the pages of the documents you want to send.

The method is a little different if you do not need to actually scan existing documents. For example if you are planning on faxing documents that you are creating on your computer, you may not need a scanner at all. You can just save your document from your word processor for use by the fax software that is already integrated into your PC. There is one little hang up to going scanner-less when faxing-signatures.  Many times the whole point of a faxed document is to sign it. Sending a fax without a scanner typically means signing a physical piece of paper and then scanning that signed document in order to fax it back.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the cost of a fax service is significantly less then the cost of a dedicated fax line. Once your fax is assembled (remember that it is nothing more then a document) you can get ready to send your fax. There are two basic approaches to sending your fax. 

These are:

• Using your Fax Modem - If your computer has a dial-up modem, then it's very likely that it is already fax compatible. Using fax software, you can typically just print "to" the fax device, and the software will then pop up and ask you what number or address book entry to send it to. Remember that you will need to be plugged into a working phone line and understand how to dial the number (local or long-distance, any prefixes required and the like). But typically this type of software just works.
  
• Using an on-line service-If you send a considerable amount of faxes you may want to consider switching away from using your own fax modem and instead use an on-line fax service. To send a fax you simply log into your account, upload the document you want to fax, tell it where to go, and push a button. The service does the rest. While the service is not free you can see that it can be highly efficient if you find yourself having to send a lot of faxes.

If you send faxes you will also want to know how to receive them.  Once there are basically two approaches that mirror the sending options.

These options are:

• Using your Fax Modem - Using a package that is already installed on your PC. The "trick" is simply that it has to know when to answer the phone. Keep in mind that if you are sharing your regular voice phone line, you will have to manually tell the program "receive now" when you get a fax call. If you are running a business and you want a dedicated fax number, you will need to get that extra line from your phone company, and route it to the PC you have set up to send and receive faxes.
  
• Using an on-line service-For a small monthly fee you can also have a dedicated fax number and when a fax is received it is emailed to you as a ".PDF" file. Many users choose this options since they do not have to worry about phone modems, additional phone lines or even being at home to receive a fax.