E mail fax

The nostalgic world of faxing!

In the past, faxing was a common way to send documents over long distances. However, with the advent of digital communication and email, faxing has become less popular. Nevertheless, some industries and individuals still rely on faxing for certain purposes.

Here's a brief overview of faxing and how it relates to email:

What is faxing?

Faxing, short for facsimile, is a process that allows you to send a scanned document over a phone line to a fax machine at another location. The fax machine receives the document and prints it out, allowing the recipient to view the original document.

How does faxing work?

To send a fax, you need:

  1. A fax machine or a fax-capable printer
  2. A phone line or internet connection
  3. The recipient's fax number

You scan the document you want to send and dial the recipient's fax number using your fax machine or printer. The fax machine sends the scanned document over the phone line to the recipient's fax machine, which prints out the document.

How does faxing relate to email?

In the past, faxing was often used in conjunction with email. You could send an email with a brief message and attach a fax cover sheet, which would contain the recipient's fax number and any necessary instructions. The recipient would then receive the email and use their fax machine to print out the attached document.

However, with the rise of digital communication, email has become the primary means of sending documents and messages. Many businesses and individuals have abandoned faxing in favor of email, which is faster, more convenient, and more cost-effective.

Can you send a fax via email?

Yes, it is possible to send a fax via email using a service that converts your email attachment into a faxable format. These services use a fax server to send the fax over the phone line. Some popular options include:

  1. eFax: A cloud-based fax service that allows you to send and receive faxes via email.
  2. RingCentral Fax: A cloud-based fax service that integrates with email and allows you to send and receive faxes.
  3. FaxZero: A free fax service that allows you to send faxes via email.

Keep in mind that these services may have limitations, such as the number of free faxes you can send per month or the size of the documents you can fax.

In summary, while faxing is still used in some industries and by some individuals, email has become the primary means of sending documents and messages. However, there are still ways to send faxes via email using specialized services.