Fax to Email Technology

FAX TO EMAIL TECHNOLOGY

To put it simply, "fax to email" means sending and receiving faxes through email. However, to understand the technology involved better, we need to understand how traditional forms of faxing work and how fax to email differs from these. Traditional Faxing Originally, faxing meant sending a facsimile (a copy of a document), from one place to another through the telephone network using fax machines. Fax machines include a scanner, a printer, and a modem. The document is first scanned by the sender’s fax machine. The image data resulting from the scan is then converted into electronic pulses by the modem, so that they can be sent over the telephone network to another fax machine.

The receiving fax machine converts the pulses back into data and recreates the scanned image of the document. The printer on the receiver’s fax machine will then print the document.

Direct Faxing using Computers

When computers started using modems to exchange data with each other, it also became possible to send faxes directly from computers, using the necessary fax software. First the document in the computer is printed to what is called a "software fax", meaning that the document is converted into data that can be understood by a fax machine. Then the modem attached to the computer sends the software fax to the receiving fax machine through the telephone network. The receiving fax machine prints out the document in the normal way. Computers could also receive faxes if they were connected to the telephone line and the relevant software was running at the time. Direct faxing from computers did not become popular, however, because they had to be continually connected to receive faxes. However, with the growth and development of the internet the problem of connectivity was solved.

How Fax to Email Works

The fax to email solution involves the use of a fax server or a gateway that is permanently connected to the internet and the telephone network to send and receive faxes. The fax server receives an incoming fax from the telephone network and converts it into an image, usually in either TIFF or PDF format. This image along with an email containing details of the fax, such as sending fax number, time received, etc., are sent to the user's email address.

How Email to Fax Works

Faxes sent via email are converted into a fax format by the fax server and delivered to the recipient’s fax machine, in exactly the same format as if sent from a traditional fax machine. Confirmation of fax delivery is sent to the fax sender’s email inbox, enabling accurate record keeping. The Email to Fax solution is an added benefit to the solution. Users can send faxes from their email inbox without having to print documents for faxing by simply attaching the document that needs to be faxed to an email thus saving on paper and ink. There is no need to wait around the fax machine for a confirmation notification. Confirmation of fax delivery / non-delivery is sent to sender’s email “In-Box.”