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Internet fax services are important to both companies and private individuals, as faxes still function as a major form of communication. However, with the rise of the Internet and mobile technology, many people consider a fax machine to be wasted space. Traditional fax machines are large and cumbersome, and require expensive land lines to function. This leaves many home and office computer users wondering, "Can I send a fax from my computer?" Because if there is a way to send faxes directly from a computer, it would mean they wouldn't need a physical machine and they could handle all of their communication from their computer.

There is a way to do this, thanks to a number of companies offering new Internet fax services. These services have become a popular alternative, especially in the business world and in the real estate industry. These online fax services use a computer's Internet connection to send faxes. Their new popularity with computer users can be attributed to the numerous advantages that Internet fax holds over traditional hardware.

With Internet fax, users are able to send and receive faxes from their computer. Simple software converts any document (including scanned paper) into data that can be sent over the Internet, and faxes can be sent to standard machines or other online services. In fact, online fax makes things much easier and simpler for computer users. Cover letters can be easily included and standardized for a professional look and feel.

Documents that are received from Internet fax services are also more convenient. Because providers can take received faxes and convert them into standard document types (PDF, Word, etc) and can then forward the fax to email, they can be stored digitally on a computer's hard drive. This makes them a more environmentally friendly and safe solution than traditional fax machines, which waste ink and tremendous amounts of paper.

Online fax services also make it easy to search through documents to find a specific keyword, or correspondence cutting down on the time that offices spend on organization. Filing cabinets and other bulky storage systems aren't necessary when faxing over the Internet.

However, one of the biggest advantages of the Internet fax is the price of the technology. Online services cost the same or less than traditional fax lines, and there's no burdensome equipment to buy. As many standard machines cost hundreds of dollars, this can be a major point of savings for home computer users and businesses. Online services don't require maintenance, and they're much more flexible than traditional fax; an Internet fax service is capable of handling hundreds of documents at one time whether receiving or sending. They're much faster than traditional fax machines too thanks to the blazing speeds of modern connections.

From improved flexibility and better organization to lower costs, Internet fax services are an improvement from traditional machines in almost every conceivable way. Not only is faxing over the Internet an exciting new possibility for home and office computer users, but they're already a much better, more focused technology, and absolutely the best way to send and receive faxes.