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As the cost of Internet-related services drops, more companies are considering internet fax as a viable alternative to standard fax lines. Internet fax services provide faster faxes with fewer limitations than older systems. They're often less expensive to set up, and they cost very little in month to month maintenance. In order to properly use an Internet fax system, however, it's important to understand exactly how the systems work and why they're a better option for many offices.

Internet fax systems work through an existing Internet architecture, which means that there's no separate hardware required for their use. Unlike a typical fax machine, there's also no requirement for maintenance, since there's no physical fax machine printing off each received fax. Instead, the system can send the fax to email or an online control panel to be viewed by the recipient.

The fax can then be easily read on a computer or printed off with a standard printer if need be. Most companies prefer the superior storage features of digital faxes. Faxes in a digital format can be easily searched for key terms, allowing for much easier recall. Filing cabinets filled with old faxes can be quickly eliminated after an Internet-based fax service has been installed. When a paper copy is absolutely necessary, however, it's always just a few clicks away.

All Internet fax numbers look exactly the same as the numbers for standard fax lines, and all fax machines have no problem sending faxes to Internet fax services. This means that anyone sending a fax in to an Internet fax service will not have to do anything different to get the fax to deliver. If multiple digital "lines" are required, separate numbers can be easily set up on an online fax service. No hardware needs to be installed and no separate lines need to be run to accommodate the changes. The sender simply needs to have the correct number for the fax to be delivered. Internet based fax services do not report busy signals, and can handle hundreds of faxes simultaneously. This is an obvious advantage over archaic land-line systems, and companies that take large amounts of orders or receive large amounts of faxes immediately notice large efficiency gains after installing an online fax system.

Sending faxes with an Internet fax service is very easy. If the document is not already located on the computer, it can be easily scanned and then uploaded into the fax software. A preview is shown on the sender's computer screen, and a cover sheet can be prepared digitally if necessary. The sender only needs to enter the fax number normally to send the message. As this is a very simple system with obvious similarities to email, many companies find that Internet fax services require very little training for new employees.

An Internet based fax system can be set up for an entire company very efficiently and at a very low cost, as is often the case with Internet based technologies. When there are multiple users on an Internet fax account, certain types of documents can be password protected for security purposes, and as mentioned earlier, separate lines can be set up for each new account. This flexibility is a major advantage for online fax systems, and a key point of difference when compared to older systems. Security features eliminate the need for a user to stand by a fax machine waiting for a certain document to arrive, and the ease of expansion provided by digital fax systems means that companies can quickly and easily add new employees. These advantages are very important for both small and large businesses, and allow for new offices to be set up easily and new employees to be quickly utilized.

Overall, an Internet fax system is a useful tool that utilizes digital technology in an exciting and innovative way. It's fast, flexible, easy to use, and capable of handling an enormous amount of work. There aren't many limitations to an Internet based fax system, and companies that are able to understand how the systems work can use them to improve efficiency, handle more business, and increase profits. Digital faxes are simply a more logical solution for many companies, and a crucial innovation over older, slower, land-based fax lines.