Internet fax
Encyclopedia
Internet fax uses the Internet to receive and send fax
es.
Internet faxing, "e-Fax" or "online faxing" is a general term which refers to sending a document facsimile using the Internet, rather than using only phone networks (traditional faxing) with a fax machine.
Depending on the specific method/implementation (see below), advantages of using the Internet
can include
Note that depending on which method is used, suitable equipment and/or the use of a gateway is required (see below).
(PSTN)
A fax machine is an electronic instrument composed of a scanner, a modem, and a printer. It transmits data in the form of pulses via a telephone line to a recipient, usually another fax machine, which then transforms these pulses into images, and prints them on paper.
The traditional method requires a phone line, and only one fax can be sent or received at a time. The phone connection must not be a packet-based system in which delays can occur—a VoIP connection will not work well without special precautions (T.38
-compliant equipment at both ends).
Internet Fax
Internet Fax achieves a dramatic reduction in communication costs especially when long faxes are frequently exchanged with overseas or distant offices.
Since there is no telephone connection charge when sending a fax over the Internet, the cost of sending faxes is covered entirely by the fixed line Internet connection fee. The recipient machine must also be compatible with Internet Fax.
Hardcopy is converted to TIFF or PDF data and attached to an e-mail
in MIME
format. Then, taking advantage of a connection to the office LAN, data is sent via TCP/IP directly to any Internet Fax on the intranet or Internet. Because they make use of TCP/IP, Internet Faxes do not incur long-distance transmission costs and reception is verifiable.
IP Fax and IP Address Relay
IP Fax transmits data over an office intranet from a networked multifunctional device to the IP address of another. Taking advantage of an established LAN / WAN infrastructure, IP Fax eliminates costly connection and transmission fees.
Also, IP Fax does not require a dedicated server or make use of the office mail server. IP Address Relay forwards to a multifunctional device for relaying to a local G3 fax machine.
A disadvantage of receiving faxes through the computer is that the computer has to be turned on and running the fax software to receive any faxes. It also means that the document is no longer readable by computer applications, unless optical character recognition
methods are used to read the fax image.
Note: This method is distinct from Internet faxing as the information is sent directly over the telephone network, not over the Internet.
This helps to communicate from remote places to the fax machine's location.
This technology offers the advantage of dispensing with the machine as well as the additional telephone line, and because of this, has started to replace the traditional fax machine.
Reception:
A fax is sent via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to the fax server
, which receives the fax and converts it into PDF or TIFF format, according to the instructions of the user. The processed file is then transmitted to the Web server
, which sends it as an email containing the fax as an attached file, and sometimes sends a message reporting delivery to a mobile phone.
Sending:
The user connects to the supplier Web site, specifies the receiving fax number, and uploads the document to send. The document is usually converted to PDF or TIFF format and sent by the Web server
to the fax server
, which then transmits it to the receiving fax machine via the telephone network. The sender usually receives confirmation that transmission was successful, either in the web interface or by email.
An Internet fax service allows faxes to be sent from a computer via an Internet connection, thanks to a Web interface usually available on the supplier's Web site
. This technology has many advantages:
Early email to fax services such as The Phone Company
and Digital Chicken
were developed in the mid-1990s.
) has been created for this. Using a (sending) VoIP adapter and (receiving) gateway which are both T.38 compliant, most fax machines can be plugged into the VoIP adapter in the same way as to a regular phone line. Not all fax equipment claiming T.38 compliance works reliably; in particular communicating with older fax machines (before FoIP began to be used) is problematic.
As with regular faxes, only one fax can be sent or received at a time.
Fax Voip application operates with T.38 faxes via standart COM port interface.
What is Fax Voip? From the perspective of your fax or voice application, it is a Voice Fax Modem. Fax Voip installs Virtual COM Ports and virtual “FaxVoip Modems 14400 bps Voice-Fax” onto your system. You can setup your Fax & Voice program to operate with Fax Voip COM ports or virtual modems. From the perspective of your VOIP internet network, it’s a SIP/H.323 client with T.38 and G.711 Fax support. With Fax Voip you can send and receive T.38 and audio (color and black-and-white) faxes and voice messages without any hardware, using your favourite Fax & Voice program. Fax Voip is the ideal solution for the implementation of Fax and Voice Mailbox into SIP or H.323 network. You can use Fax Voip with your VOIP-based PBX or with your SIP/H.323 Provider. Fax Voip can also support from 1 to 100 virtual modems simultaneously.
Multiple SIP Registrations and Call Routing functions make your system the most flexible as well as allowing you to work with different SIP and H.323 providers simultaneously.
Fax Voip supports Caller ID and Dial a Phone Number Extension features.
It is also possible to send T.38 (and audio) faxes via Fax Voip Virtual Printer and receive faxes directly in TIFF or PDF files without using fax software, and without limiting the number of incoming fax sessions. You can manage faxes with Fax Voip Console.
Fax Voip is a fully functional system for sending faxes via e-mail (Mail to Fax) and for receiving faxes to e-mail (Fax to Mail).
Incoming Routing Methods (Route through e-mail, Store in a folder, Print) allow you to route incoming faxes to recipients on the network.
Fax on Demand function allows callers to retrieve information via fax on the same call (from a fax machine).
Fax Voip T38 Fax & Voice has been successfully tested with Venta Fax & Voice (include color faxes), Microsoft Fax, BVRP Classic Phone Tools 9, FaxTalk Messenger Pro, WinFax Pro and many other well-known programs.
Please, visit the Fax Voip home page at http://www.t38faxvoip.com
The last version 5.5.1 can be downloaded using the following link: http://www.t38faxvoip.com/downloads/t38fv5_5_1.zip
"iFax" (T.37) was designed for fax machines to directly communicate via email. Faxes are sent as e-mail attachment
s in a TIFF-F format.
A new fax machine (supporting iFax/T.37) is required, as well as a known email address for the sending and receiving machines. This has limited the standard's use, though a system for looking up a fax's email address based on its phone number is under development http://rfc.archivesat.com/rfc4143.htm.
To work with existing fax machines, all iFax machines support standard faxing (requiring a regular phone line). Alternatively, an iFax can be used in conjunction with a fax gateway.
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
es.
Internet faxing, "e-Fax" or "online faxing" is a general term which refers to sending a document facsimile using the Internet, rather than using only phone networks (traditional faxing) with a fax machine.
Depending on the specific method/implementation (see below), advantages of using the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
can include
- no hardware, no software
- no extra telephone lineTelephone lineA telephone line or telephone circuit is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system...
required for the fax - paperless communication, integrated with email
- send and receive multiple faxes simultaneously
- reduction in phone costs
- ability to receive and send faxes from any location that has Internet access
Note that depending on which method is used, suitable equipment and/or the use of a gateway is required (see below).
Purpose
Fax has no technical advantage over sending information over the Internet, using technologies such as email, scanner, and graphics file formats (however, it is extremely simple to use: put the documents to be faxed in a hopper, dial a phone number, and press a button). Fax continues to be used over the telephone network at locations without computer and Internet facilities; and sometimes a fax of a document with a person's handwritten signature is a requirement for legal reasons. Computer fax over the Internet allows fax communication without an actual fax machine at either or both ends.Traditional fax
The traditional method for sending faxes over phone linesTelephone line
A telephone line or telephone circuit is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system...
(PSTN)
- Fax machine → Phone line → Fax machine
A fax machine is an electronic instrument composed of a scanner, a modem, and a printer. It transmits data in the form of pulses via a telephone line to a recipient, usually another fax machine, which then transforms these pulses into images, and prints them on paper.
The traditional method requires a phone line, and only one fax can be sent or received at a time. The phone connection must not be a packet-based system in which delays can occur—a VoIP connection will not work well without special precautions (T.38
T.38
T.38 is an ITU recommendation for allowing transmission of fax over IP networks in real time.- History :The T.38 fax relay standard was devised in 1998 as a way to permit faxes to be transported across IP networks between existing Group 3 fax terminals. T.4 and related fax standards were published...
-compliant equipment at both ends).
Internet Fax
Internet Fax achieves a dramatic reduction in communication costs especially when long faxes are frequently exchanged with overseas or distant offices.
Since there is no telephone connection charge when sending a fax over the Internet, the cost of sending faxes is covered entirely by the fixed line Internet connection fee. The recipient machine must also be compatible with Internet Fax.
Hardcopy is converted to TIFF or PDF data and attached to an e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
in MIME
MIME
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions is an Internet standard that extends the format of email to support:* Text in character sets other than ASCII* Non-text attachments* Message bodies with multiple parts...
format. Then, taking advantage of a connection to the office LAN, data is sent via TCP/IP directly to any Internet Fax on the intranet or Internet. Because they make use of TCP/IP, Internet Faxes do not incur long-distance transmission costs and reception is verifiable.
IP Fax and IP Address Relay
IP Fax transmits data over an office intranet from a networked multifunctional device to the IP address of another. Taking advantage of an established LAN / WAN infrastructure, IP Fax eliminates costly connection and transmission fees.
Also, IP Fax does not require a dedicated server or make use of the office mail server. IP Address Relay forwards to a multifunctional device for relaying to a local G3 fax machine.
Computer-based faxing
As modems came into wider use with personal computers, the computer was used to send faxes directly. Instead of first printing a hard copy to be then sent via fax machine, a document could now be printed directly to the software fax, then sent via the computer's modem. Receiving faxes was accomplished similarly.- Computer → Phone line → Fax machine
- Fax Machine → Phone line → Computer
A disadvantage of receiving faxes through the computer is that the computer has to be turned on and running the fax software to receive any faxes. It also means that the document is no longer readable by computer applications, unless optical character recognition
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
methods are used to read the fax image.
Note: This method is distinct from Internet faxing as the information is sent directly over the telephone network, not over the Internet.
This helps to communicate from remote places to the fax machine's location.
Internet fax servers/gateways
The Internet has enabled the development of several other methods of sending and receiving a fax. The more common method is an extension of computer-based faxing, and involves using a fax server/gateway to the Internet to convert documents between faxes and emails. The process is often referred to as "fax to mail" or "mail to fax".This technology offers the advantage of dispensing with the machine as well as the additional telephone line, and because of this, has started to replace the traditional fax machine.
Reception:
- Fax machine → Phone line → Fax gateway → email message (over Internet) → computer email account
A fax is sent via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to the fax server
Fax server
A fax server is a system installed in a local area network server that allows computer users whose computers are attached to the LAN to send and receive fax messages...
, which receives the fax and converts it into PDF or TIFF format, according to the instructions of the user. The processed file is then transmitted to the Web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
, which sends it as an email containing the fax as an attached file, and sometimes sends a message reporting delivery to a mobile phone.
Sending:
- Computer → Internet → Fax gateway → Phone line → Fax machine
The user connects to the supplier Web site, specifies the receiving fax number, and uploads the document to send. The document is usually converted to PDF or TIFF format and sent by the Web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
to the fax server
Fax server
A fax server is a system installed in a local area network server that allows computer users whose computers are attached to the LAN to send and receive fax messages...
, which then transmits it to the receiving fax machine via the telephone network. The sender usually receives confirmation that transmission was successful, either in the web interface or by email.
An Internet fax service allows faxes to be sent from a computer via an Internet connection, thanks to a Web interface usually available on the supplier's Web site
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
. This technology has many advantages:
- No fax machine → no maintenance, no paper, toner expenditure, possible repairs, etc.
- Mobility → All actions are done on the Web interface; the service is thus available from any computer connected to Internet, everywhere in the world.
- Confidentiality → The faxes are sent to the recipient's email account, which may be more private than a fax machine used by several people.
- No installation of software or hardware required → the Web interface is used.
- No need for a telephone line for fax use.
- Several faxes can be sent or received simultaneously, and faxes can be received while the computer is switched off.
Early email to fax services such as The Phone Company
The Phone Company
The Phone Company is a volunteer network providing a free email-to-fax service.It is one of the few grandfathered users of the '.int' domain. It takes its name from the similarly named organisation in the film The President's Analyst....
and Digital Chicken
Digital Chicken
Digital Chicken was among the earliest implementations of an Internet email to fax gateway, active for several months during the mid-1990s.The Toronto-based gateway was created by Dr. Robert Riley through Internet service provider Planet Communications...
were developed in the mid-1990s.
Fax using Voice over IP
Making phone calls over the Internet (Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP) has become increasingly popular. Compressing fax signals is different from compressing voice signals, so a new standard (T.38T.38
T.38 is an ITU recommendation for allowing transmission of fax over IP networks in real time.- History :The T.38 fax relay standard was devised in 1998 as a way to permit faxes to be transported across IP networks between existing Group 3 fax terminals. T.4 and related fax standards were published...
) has been created for this. Using a (sending) VoIP adapter and (receiving) gateway which are both T.38 compliant, most fax machines can be plugged into the VoIP adapter in the same way as to a regular phone line. Not all fax equipment claiming T.38 compliance works reliably; in particular communicating with older fax machines (before FoIP began to be used) is problematic.
- Fax machine → VoIP adapter → VoIP gateway → Phone line → Fax machine (or vice versa)
As with regular faxes, only one fax can be sent or received at a time.
Fax Voip T38 Fax & Voice
FaxVoip Software develops solutions for the transmission of a fax via the Internet Telephony (FOIP). The main emphasis has been placed on the transfer T.38 fax using SIP and H.323.Fax Voip application operates with T.38 faxes via standart COM port interface.
What is Fax Voip? From the perspective of your fax or voice application, it is a Voice Fax Modem. Fax Voip installs Virtual COM Ports and virtual “FaxVoip Modems 14400 bps Voice-Fax” onto your system. You can setup your Fax & Voice program to operate with Fax Voip COM ports or virtual modems. From the perspective of your VOIP internet network, it’s a SIP/H.323 client with T.38 and G.711 Fax support. With Fax Voip you can send and receive T.38 and audio (color and black-and-white) faxes and voice messages without any hardware, using your favourite Fax & Voice program. Fax Voip is the ideal solution for the implementation of Fax and Voice Mailbox into SIP or H.323 network. You can use Fax Voip with your VOIP-based PBX or with your SIP/H.323 Provider. Fax Voip can also support from 1 to 100 virtual modems simultaneously.
Multiple SIP Registrations and Call Routing functions make your system the most flexible as well as allowing you to work with different SIP and H.323 providers simultaneously.
Fax Voip supports Caller ID and Dial a Phone Number Extension features.
It is also possible to send T.38 (and audio) faxes via Fax Voip Virtual Printer and receive faxes directly in TIFF or PDF files without using fax software, and without limiting the number of incoming fax sessions. You can manage faxes with Fax Voip Console.
Fax Voip is a fully functional system for sending faxes via e-mail (Mail to Fax) and for receiving faxes to e-mail (Fax to Mail).
Incoming Routing Methods (Route through e-mail, Store in a folder, Print) allow you to route incoming faxes to recipients on the network.
Fax on Demand function allows callers to retrieve information via fax on the same call (from a fax machine).
Fax Voip T38 Fax & Voice has been successfully tested with Venta Fax & Voice (include color faxes), Microsoft Fax, BVRP Classic Phone Tools 9, FaxTalk Messenger Pro, WinFax Pro and many other well-known programs.
Please, visit the Fax Voip home page at http://www.t38faxvoip.com
The last version 5.5.1 can be downloaded using the following link: http://www.t38faxvoip.com/downloads/t38fv5_5_1.zip
Fax using email
While the needs of computer-to-fax communications are well covered, the simplicity of quickly faxing a handwritten document combined with the advantages of email are not."iFax" (T.37) was designed for fax machines to directly communicate via email. Faxes are sent as e-mail attachment
E-mail attachment
An email attachment is a computer file sent along with an email message. One or more files can be attached to any email message, and be sent along with it to the recipient. This is typically used as a simple method to share documents and images...
s in a TIFF-F format.
- iFax machine → email message (over Internet) → computer email account
- iFax machine → email message (over Internet) → iFax machine (using email address)
A new fax machine (supporting iFax/T.37) is required, as well as a known email address for the sending and receiving machines. This has limited the standard's use, though a system for looking up a fax's email address based on its phone number is under development http://rfc.archivesat.com/rfc4143.htm.
To work with existing fax machines, all iFax machines support standard faxing (requiring a regular phone line). Alternatively, an iFax can be used in conjunction with a fax gateway.
- iFax machine → email message (over Internet) → Fax gateway → Phone line → traditional Fax machine (or vice versa)