Different ways to send an internet fax

If your fax machine is malfunctioning, you don’t actually own one or your phone line is having problems and you need to fax, then you can send an internet fax instead. You don’t have to panic and rush out to an office supply and service store to send a single-page fax. As long as you have a working, up-to-date computer and an internet connection, you can send an internet fax.

One important thing to remember is that your document has to be in a digital file format, preferable PDF or TIFF. These two are the most widely accepted internet fax formats, depending on the service provider, you can use.

Where do I do this?
Searching the web for free fax and online fax websites will yield a long list of service providers. Some will let you send an internet fax for free, while others will ask you to pay a premium for their services. It’s up to you to decide if just sending a single fax is enough or you want a permanent internet fax service to use in your home or office.

What are my options?
Trying out an online fax service is usually free. Some websites let you send one or two faxes per day directly from a GUI on their website. The GUI looks a lot like any email application with a field for a fax number instead of an email address. You might be asked to provide your own fax number (if just for reference) or email address.

You can then either upload your document like an email attachment or type your fax in a text box provided when you send an internet fax. Take note of the file formats, file size restriction and number of files the website lets you upload.

Free fax websites usually let you send one or two faxes per day and never let you receive faxes or notify you if your fax has been received properly. If you choose to subscribe to a paid fax service, however, you will undoubtedly be able to do more than send one or two faxes in a day.

An important feature of premium fax services is that you will be given a fax number as if you had a phone line dedicated to a fax machine. Contacts can send you faxes through this number and even call you, depending on the features you subscribed to. You can then receive and send faxes more efficiently than with a conventional fax machine. The service provider will also notify you if your fax was received successfully on your PC or mobile phone.

Since you don’t rely on the physical capabilities of a fax machine, you can also send and receive multiple faxes simultaneously. You don’t have to feed the document into the machine for each recipient nor will anyone who wants to fax you ever get a busy tone.

Next time you’re in a bind with your fax machine or don’t have one, why don’t you try to send an internet fax?