There are fax machines with Internet capability. There are, however, many limitations with this technology. Those limitations include a difficult setup process, incompatibility with email services and incompatibility with ISPs (Internet service providers) to mention just a few. If you are able to work within those limitations, you may want to consider an Internet-capable fax machine (see resources). To understand Internet fax machines, it helps to know how regular fax machines work.
Telephone Lines and Fax Machines
Standard fax machines use a PSTN (public switched telephone network) line to send and receive faxes. Since a telephone line can only transfer normal hearing-range frequencies, faxes must communicate using sounds. If you have ever picked up a handset while a fax was being sent or received, or listened to a dial-up modem connecting, you heard buzzing, beeping and static noises. These noises are how fax machines transfer faxes over a phone line.
How Fax Machines Work
When you put a document into a standard fax machine and enter the recipient's number, the fax machine dials the number you entered, scans the document, converts the picture into sounds and sends those sounds across the telephone line. The receiving machine converts the received sounds into a picture and prints that picture. Then the receiving fax machine tells the sending machine the fax was received and they both hang up.
How Internet Fax Machines Work
Internet fax machines use the Internet, in addition to a PSTN line, to send and receive faxes. Since standard fax machines do not connect to the Internet, if you want to send and receive faxes with standard fax machines you will have to have a regular phone line connected to your Internet fax machine. Internet fax machines send and receive Internet faxes through an email account to other email accounts.
Who Uses Internet Fax Machines
People who travel a lot and who receive time-critical faxes through PSTN lines use Internet fax machines. Because all of the faxes received by the fax machine are automatically sent to an email account, the faxes are easily read using a laptop or a PDA (personal digital assistant) connected to the Internet.
Internet Fax Machine Limitations
If your ISP requires SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) authentication, which most do, you will not be able to send your faxes through a standard email account. You can use an alternate email account service that is designed for fax transfers, but you will have to pay a monthly fee. Also, if your ISP blocks port 25 you will not even be able to use the aforementioned service.
Alternatives
Many people are using a device, magicJack, to send and receive faxes over the Internet. When using the magicJack and a regular fax machine, they are able to send and receive standard faxes over the Internet to regular fax machines, as well as make local and long distance phone calls for about $20 per year. While magicJack does not support this function, they do offer some guidance and many are experiencing success. Click the magicJack Faxing Tips Resource and type "fax" in the search field for more information. Other people use Vonage or similar VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) phone services with monthly fees starting at about $30. However, neither of the above options will automatically transfer your faxes to an email account.
