Authored by Dave Mallisk in Computers
Published on 09-09-2009

You can send faxes from your computer by using an online fax service. If you need to send only short, infrequent faxes, you can send them through a free fax service. However, if you need to send long and/or frequent faxes, you need to send them through a paid, commercial fax service.

Sending Free Faxes

If you need to send only occasional, short faxes, you can send them as free faxes. For example, you can use freeware, such as Scan2PDF, to create a PDF (Portable Document File), and then fax that PDF through a faxing website that allows limited free faxes, such as FaxZERO.

Creating a PDF to Fax – After you download and install Scan2PDF, it lets you convert any scanned image (such as a signed document) into a single-page PDF that you can fax. To create a PDF to fax, use the following procedure:

1. Scan the document you need to fax, and then save it as a TIF (Tagged Image File), such as “FreeFaxSample.tif.”
2. Run the Scan2PDF program to display its window.
3. Click on “File” to display its drop-down menu, and then click on “Load image from file” to display its Open window.
4. Navigate to the TIF file you created in step 1, select it, click on the “Open” button, and then wait for the image to load (to display completely) within the ‘Save2PDF’ window.
5. Click on “File” to display its drop-down menu, and then click on “Save to pdf” to display its Save As window.
6. Type a file name for your PDF, such as “FreeFaxSample.pdf,” and then click on the “Save” button to place the PDF in the same folder with your TIF.

Sending a PDF as a Free Fax – FaxZERO lets you send one or two free faxes each day. Each must be three pages or shorter. To send a PDF as free fax through FaxZERO, use the following procedure:

1. Go to FaxZERO to display its homepage.
2. In the Sender Information frame, type in your name and email address.
3. In the Receiver Information frame, type in the recipient’s name and fax number.
4. In the Fax Information frame, click on the “Choose File” button to display its Open window.
5. Navigate to the PDF file you want to fax, such as the FreeFaxSample.pdf file you created above, select it, and then click on the “Open”‘ button to display the file name at the right of the Choose File button.
6. Type the Confirmation Code into the box above it. Use only upper case.
7. In the Free Fax frame (near the bottom of the page), click on the “Send Free Fax Now” button.
8. Follow the displayed directions to confirm that FaxZERO sent the fax successfully.

Note: For $1.99, you can use FaxZERO to send as many as 15 pages, with no ad on the cover sheet.

Sending Paid Faxes

If you need to send long and/or frequent faxes, you need to send them as paid faxes. Here are two websites through which you can compare commercial faxing services:

• fax-reviews.com
• Online Fax Compared

Commercial faxing services charge monthly subscription fees, and add other costs vary according to your faxing volume.