Rants: FAX

[Sam]

What's this obsession with FAX? Why can we email the images instead!

 

[me_no_boss]

Fax by phone? (not thru internet)
It is simpler for a couple of pages of docs.
By the time I get the scanner and sw up, scanned and pdf'ed the file and hope the email attaches. I could have fed the fax machine and checked CNBC and had a cup of java.

Er, it also prevents idiots from sending me 25MB of idiotic graphics to tell me something I don't want to know.
But that is a new rant.

 

[Sam]

For me it's a frustation on both sending and receiving. The longest documents I have done so far is only a few pages.

My kids have to send one page to the universities, and the universities insisted that the page be faxed!

 

[Texas Proud]

Let's see....

You have a hard copy of the 'original'... no photoshop (yea, I know you can do it...)

No chance of being stolen as it goes across the web...

You get the same 'thing' all the time, a piece of paper with the info on it.. (no tiff or jpeg or whatever other kind of file people send stuff to you)..

 

[Webzter]

efax!

You can print right from your computer to efax. Maybe not worth the money to you, but my LLC believes in taking very good care of all of it's employees (me).

 

[Rick S]

To send, I use a scanner, and you can fax as a printer within Windows (maybe I'm stating the obvious?)

Receiving is a pain.... you can get a free eFax account if you receive less than 20 pages per month; otherwise I think it's way overpriced.

 

[calmloki]

Eh - you gotta FAX problem? Wait till you buy Vista Home Premium on your new machine and then find out that you needed to buy Business or Ultimate just so you could FAX like on every other preceding Windows version. Remember Win 98 that had identifiable Fax ringtones? Then they dropped those? Gee progress is fun! Your cheapest out seems to be to buy the $30 "Snappyfax" program for Vista if you really want a Fax. We did.

 

[Sam]

To send, I use a scanner, and you can fax as a printer within Windows (maybe I'm stating the obvious?)

May be not the obvious. I am not aware of this feature. Are you saying that I can enter a fax number and have Windows send it for me? I don't have a fax machine (got rid of it a long time ago).

Please elaborate.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I still use an HP LaserJet II printer because the print quality is so much better than digital. Printing digital documents from e-mail to my Laser printer is a huge hassle, very slow and pages stop, error messages, etc. I always request faxed documents. Or better yet, use an overnight service like Fed Ex if the document is long. My boss refuses to buy a scanner and I'm really with him on that one.

 

[Rick S]

May be not the obvious. I am not aware of this feature. Are you saying that I can enter a fax number and have Windows send it for me? I don't have a fax machine (got rid of it a long time ago).

Please elaborate.

Glad to!
As someone mentioned though, it looks like if your OS is Vista, they've taken a step backwards. I'm staying on XP as long as I can.
If you go from your Start menu to Printers and Faxes, you can add a fax there. It becomes a printer driver. You take your scanned document, saved in whatever format suits you (word doc is fine) and print it. Under printer choices, once you have Fax installed, you can choose this and it'll ask if you want a cover page and what # to send it to.

I hope this is clear... let me know if I can help more.
Also, if you do a Windows Help search on Fax, it'll give you instructions.

 

[SecondCor521]

Hp Lj Ii

I still use an HP LaserJet II printer because the print quality is so much better than digital. Printing digital documents from e-mail to my Laser printer is a huge hassle, very slow and pages stop, error messages, etc.

I'm a former HP LaserJet engineer.

There are a couple of things you could try with your HP LJ II to get it to print better. (The II is before my time, but I've worked with it's great-grandchildren and other descendants.)

1. Buy a memory upgrade, if there's one available for that printer anymore.
2. Select the lowest print quality in your driver. For text, 600dpi should be sufficient. (Egads, the II might be old enough so it might only be 300dpi!)
3. Buy a newer printer. IMHO, the most recent HP printers, especially on the low end, aren't the quality that the older printers used to be, particularly with the plastic parts. But the 4000/4100/4200/4300 series printers are all really good; I like the latter two the best, but you can probably get a used 4100 for pretty cheap somewhere, and it should last you a long time and be a better, faster version of the II.

2Cor521

 

[me_no_boss]

May be not the obvious. I am not aware of this feature. Are you saying that I can enter a fax number and have Windows send it for me? I don't have a fax machine (got rid of it a long time ago).

Please elaborate.

Even easier, google "I want to free fax" and try one of the websites for trial period. Sometimes the windoze fax requires files you may not have in your OS. I am lazy so I used faxzero for a small fee. You can buy a fax/copy machine for $15 also. I used mine until the ink ran out and donated the darn thing to the landfill.

 

[Sam]

You can buy a fax/copy machine for $15 also. I used mine until the ink ran out and donated the darn thing to the landfill.

Where do you find a $15 fax/copy machine? I would do the same thing if I can get my hand on one.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I'm a former HP LaserJet engineer.

There are a couple of things you could try with your HP LJ II to get it to print better. (The II is before my time, but I've worked with it's great-grandchildren and other descendants.)

1. Buy a memory upgrade, if there's one available for that printer anymore.
2. Select the lowest print quality in your driver. For text, 600dpi should be sufficient. (Egads, the II might be old enough so it might only be 300dpi!)
3. Buy a newer printer. IMHO, the most recent HP printers, especially on the low end, aren't the quality that the older printers used to be, particularly with the plastic parts. But the 4000/4100/4200/4300 series printers are all really good; I like the latter two the best, but you can probably get a used 4100 for pretty cheap somewhere, and it should last you a long time and be a better, faster version of the II.

2Cor521

Thanks so much, I'll keep this info. on file; we talk about buying a new one every few months.

 

[me_no_boss]

Where do you find a $15 fax/copy machine? I would do the same thing if I can get my hand on one.

Be in line early at Fry's.
Send in rebate for $20.
The scam is ink cartridge cost $45.
I will not use it enough to justify before drying ink clots it. HP is good at this game. All the profit is in the ink.
I got a scanner for free (just paid tax) after rebate and it works. It is not that hard if you live in a large city.

 

[Sam]

Oh, ok. Standing in line and sending in rebate are not my preferred activities ;-)

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

By the way Sam, to have Windows send a fax you need a modem in the computer and to have the modem plug on the computer connected to a phone line. And if you're using dialup you cant be connected to the internet at the same time as your fax send/receive.

You might solve the printer and fax problems with a new Laser all-in-one printer/copier/fax. They go on sale for about $100 from time to time. I just picked up a Canon for $99 last month.

 

[travelover]

Where do you find a $15 fax/copy machine? I would do the same thing if I can get my hand on one.

Check out Craigslist - you are likely to find a FAX / printer for almost nothing.

 

[cube_rat]

What's a fax?

 

[W2R]

What's this obsession with FAX? Why can we email the images instead!

OK, here's a wild attempt to tackle the original question. I may be way off, but - -

If a university requires some application materials to be faxed to them, then afterwards you have PROOF that they received them, from the FAX machine, that you can provide if they claim you didn't send the stuff in time. It's a handshake sort of thing.

With an e-mail, all you can prove is that you sent it - - you really don't know if they ever received it unless they choose to respond and confirm that fact.

 

[ladelfina]

Big reason for me: you can annotate a fax a lot more easily.
And as others said, it takes less time.

At least for "important" documents, I'd rather have a piece of paper I can easily file and make quick copies of than some PDF on a hard drive somewhere. I want a hard copy anyway, just in case.

My mail attachments folder is huge. It takes time to winnow out the few important things from the crap; I have to open up every "124IMG87.jpg" to figure out if it is an important fax versus a picture of a bunny with a pancake on its head? I don't want to be bothered.

I like Want2retire's scenario.. You have traceability and (if all is working as it should) time-stamping. If I didn't have a fax at home, I'd just go to an OfficeMax or copy shop and pay a couple bucks.. just like you would for registered or certified mail at the Post Office. Sam.. take a deeeep breath!

Anyway, imagine the hassle of some admissions-office person having to deal with incoming e-mail attachments of varying types. I remember at w*ork, there were always several levels of nuisance to this: "Did you get my attachment?" "We didn't get your attachment." "We can't open your attachment." "No, we still can't open it." "I must have forgotten to attach it" "It's too big; it won't go through"/"it's too small; I can't read it" bla bla bla. Who has time for all of that -especially chasing people down- if it's just something to be read and then filed? Of course if you need the content to be in electronic form you put up with it.

With the fax it just shows up. I loves me the fax.

 

[Sam]

By the way Sam, to have Windows send a fax you need a modem in the computer and to have the modem plug on the computer connected to a phone line.

Thanks. I knew this. I have gotten rid of all my modems a few years ago.

Want2retireQuote:

With an e-mail, all you can prove is that you sent it - - you really don't know if they ever received it unless they choose to respond and confirm that fact.

That's how I do it today. I always ask them to respond to confirm.

cube_rat

What's a fax?

My sentiments exactly. The fax was a great technological leap 30 years ago. But its time has long passed.

ladelfina

Anyway, imagine the hassle of some admissions-office person having to deal with incoming e-mail attachments of varying types. I remember at w*ork, there were always several levels of nuisance to this: "Did you get my attachment?" "We didn't get your attachment." "We can't open your attachment." "No, we still can't open it." "I must have forgotten to attach it" "It's too big; it won't go through"/"it's too small; I can't read it" bla bla bla. Who has time for all of that -especially chasing people down- if it's just something to be read and then filed? Of course if you need the content to be in electronic form you put up with it.

Yes, this is basically what they all tell me when I suggest email instead of fax. Oh well, I guess it'll take another year or two.

 

[ERD50]

What's this obsession with FAX? Why can we email the images instead!

Sam, I am with you 100%. I get really frustrated when someone insists I fax rather than email a jpeg.

I need to hook up a phone line to my computer, and then re-acquaint myself with the options for faxing from the computer, not hard, but I only do it about once/year. And the fax quality is so limited, I can't be sure the document is legible when it gets there, with a jpeg I can see the quality (and send color - imagine THAT!).

Yes, faxing was wonderful in the early 80's, it has long outlived it's usefulness.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Big reason for me: you can annotate a fax a lot more easily.
And as others said, it takes less time.

Most of the scanners today have a one-button 'fax' mode. It is easy.

Lot's of software will let you annotate an image, then you have a record in your computer that you could resend w/o scanning again.

At least for "important" documents, I'd rather have a piece of paper I can easily file and make quick copies of than some PDF on a hard drive somewhere. I want a hard copy anyway, just in case.

Wow, that's soooo 'old school'

'Important' documents, if in pdf form are very, very easy to back up and keep a copy (even multiples) off-site. Not so easy with paper. I want a (multiple) SOFT copies - JUST IN CASE!

My mail attachments folder is huge. It takes time to winnow out the few important things from the crap; I have to open up every "124IMG87.jpg" to figure out if it is an important fax versus a picture of a bunny with a pancake on its head? I don't want to be bothered.

I have my email set to show the images in-line with one click. Not a bother.

With the fax it just shows up. I loves me the fax.

Except when it doesn't. Phone line gets dropped, the line is busy, their printer jammed, ran out of toner, ran out of paper, somebody else picked up your fax with their stack, etc, etc, etc.

And - pdf's are better for the environment. No paper, ink, used unless you need it.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Eh - you gotta FAX problem? Wait till you buy Vista Home Premium on your new machine and then find out that you needed to buy Business or Ultimate just so you could FAX like on every other preceding Windows version. Remember Win 98 that had identifiable Fax ringtones? Then they dropped those? Gee progress is fun! Your cheapest out seems to be to buy the $30 "Snappyfax" program for Vista if you really want a Fax. We did.

WOW! They took out built in faxing in Vista Home 'Premium'?

Isn't the marketing tag line for Vista 'WOW!"?

Another reason I like OSX I guess. It has faxing and 'save to pdf' built into the print dialog (works on ANYTHING that you can print - not dependant on the application). And a Leopard upgrade (10.5) will cost me $129 vs $218 for Vista Home Premium (amazon prices) and will work just fine on my 3 year old hardware, although it looks like they will drop support for my seven year old machine (G3) which runs 10.4 just fine.

WOW indeed.

-ERD50