Home Forums Discussions Feedback and Recommendations Fax software.

Does anyone have expederience with any aftermarket reasonably priced software for receiving faxes - would like them to output easily to PDF for importing. Would like software based solution to use computer with fax modem instead of all in one hardware so that I can avoid using paper completely - I fax outbound on my copy machine/network fax, but have no good way of receiving in digital format. Live in rural area - UPDOX is reasonable, but requires monthly fee, etc.

Look at some of the stuff people here have written about the Brother AIO's. Most of them these days (make sure and read the specs carefully) can PC fax both outbound as well as inbound. And with another machine in the middle you have it to act as a buffer and absorb the faxes as they come in. And f you don't want to leave your computer on all weekend or over night, then the AIO can hold about 600 pages until it's memory is over run.

Now Leslie seems to like hers quite a bit. And perhaps combined with Bert's FAP the solution is closer at hand than you think. And with PC faxing via a decent AIO like the Brothers I have read the manual for a few of them and you can set it to either print and send it to the computer or just have it sent to the folder on the machine of your choice, no paper need be wasted... I'm just about ready to grab one for our place after Leslie spoke so well of hers and the software it came with....

Steven,

Paul is correct. I have the Brother MFC 8860 DN and am very pleased with it. The Paperport software that comes with it is very nice as well. You do have to connect the machine via USB or parallel to a computer on your network but then the "Received Faxes" folder can be shared across the network. You can convert all incoming faxes to PDF format, edit them ( for instance mark # of refills and stamp with your bitmap signature), save, print, fax back or import to AC. I handle all my pharmacy requests this way and, using Logmein, I can take care of stuff sitting in the comfort of my own home. By the time I get back to work the next day I have already handled the refills, imported stuff to AC and deleted junk faxes.
I also have the received fax folder on the machines in the exam rooms so that, if I need a report, the girls can call for it, it comes into the recived fax folder and there it is in front of me in a matter of minutes. The paper/toner I have saved in the month or so I have been using the machine is staggering.
Check out this link.
http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=MFC8860DN

Leslie

I think Paul and Lesley are reading your question in context of looking for a HARDWARE solution. I read your question in the context of your looking for a SOFTWARE solution. Is this correct?

It sounds like you already have the hardware to network fax. But you can't RECEIVE digital faxes? It sounds like there are one of two issues. Either your hardware is not capable of receiving digital faxes, or it IS capable but does not have the software program to interpret digital faxes.

The first option is most likely. But please tell us, does your hardware have the CAPABILITY to receive digital? Which device are you using? Can you post the model name and product number?

You mention UPDOX. I subscribe to UPDOX Pro version. I am wondering about the cost. I subscribed last year for only $30/year. Not a monthly fee, a YEARLY fee. I looked on their website and the price appears to be $90/year, still not very expensive.

Caution about UPDOX, this will not help if your hardware does not have the CAPACITY for digial receive. But let us see what you are using then I/we can help you determine if you need to buy a new network fax or not.

I have a canon copier that is not designed to receive and send to network (can do e-mail but even the tech dept. at canon says it is very hard, unreliable and often does not work) - even if you got it to receive a standard fax and bring it into the network it still will always print on paper (defeats point of being paperless). I currently look at everything, sign and then have staff scan all chart notes, etc. Look at fax refill requests and then use amazing charts to fill and fax all refills so they show up by date in AMAZING CHARTS. Do a lot of shredding - would like to see on screen and then do in AMAZING CHARTS, delete or save to a PDF file and have staff (aka wife) scan into chart after I have reviewed.

Would like software solution. UPDOX currently says you need to arrange through amazing charts and is listed on it as hihger yet.

Steven,
I am sorry that I cannot help. I am not aware of a pure software solution to help this issue, especially where the problem seems to lie within the hardware of the Canon device you are using.

If the device itself cannot forward a received fax to your network, then the issue lies within the device. Hence you need a different device. Worse yet, from what you describe, even if you could make it forward faxes to your network it would still be printing paper copies?

Not only is that consuming resources in copy/paper costs, but also staff labor (i.e. staff wages) scanning in everything.

I would suggest considering a true networked fax that can send and receive faxes via your network.

User Bert and I use a Muratec 1430 networked fax/copier/printer/scanner. It is not the only device out there, there are many more. It works well for our needs. I receive all faxes from the Muratec to my server, where they arrive as .PDF files. These are reviewed, dealt with, and filed. I save hundreds per month in saved copy costs and staff labor whose efforts go elsewhere to the betterment of my practice rather than filing paper all day.

If I understand your situation, it is this that you are seeking.
If that is the case, get a new device that has the capabilities you are looking for and I think you will be pleased.

Leslie, under Main Features, fourth bullet down on your posted link, it tells you it is Ethernet capable. So, you can definitely connect it directly to an Ethernet port which will allow all PCs on the network to connect directly. That is what the "N" in the "DN" is for. See you have an even better machine than you thought.

Steven, Adam is completely correct. Your fax machine has to say Fax to PC capable or all the software in the world won't help. As far as software that can work with it there are many out there including XP's own version: Microsoft Fax. You can Google the others.

I had posted originally in Tips and Tricks:
http://amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4556&page=3#Post4556

a few machines that will do what you want. Many others do. These are just a couple of suggestions of good machines you can get for a good deal. Leslie gives one above. Personally, any machine such as printers, scanners or fax machines should be networkable IMHO.

Bert,
The machine can function via the Ethernet across the network for faxing FROM or printing FROM any networked computer. This is how my previous Brother machine worked. But to RECEIVE faxes to PC it has to be connected directly to a PC. From that connected PC the received fax folder is then shared across the network.

Leslie

Leslie, I looked at the specs on your Brother all-in-one.
Under Faxing it says: Fax Forwarding = yes.
What this means is that you can tell the Brother to forward all faxes to a specificied destination.

What you should try doing is make a shared network folder on your server (rather than on the local desktop. Then setup the fax forwarding feature of the Brother to forward to this location. This is exactly what you are doing now, except you are telling your Brother to receive faxes to that new folder rather than the default folder on the local machine.

I guess I could do that, Adam, but, I really don't need to. The received fax folder is kept on the server and is shared from there. The IT guys set that up. And, the computer to which it is connected is right by the machine so I did not really have any physical problem connecting it there.
The other consideration though is that, to receive faxes after hours, the machine has to remain logged on. We close out all programs (which are each password protected) but leave the Paperport on so I can get the faxes from home via Logmein (and then do whatever I need to with them). I would rather have a client kept logged on than my server. I don't know if it really matters but, it makes me feel better. One more password a hacker would have to break to get to the sensitive material.

Leslie

Leslie, you might consider moving that shared folder to the server. The server does not require logging into it in order for things to be saved to a shared folder. Thus, you would not required having anything logged on to receive faxes.

Adam,
The shared folder IS on the server. The machine to which the fax machine is attached HAS to be logged into and the software running in order to receive faxes.

Leslie

Not to belabor the issue (sorry), but if it is networked, it is connected to a machine. Any machine. Because all of them are connected to it via their own Ethernet through either the switch or shared form the server.

Certainly, if it works for you, that is great and, again, I should stay out. I guess I am just throwing this in because 1) to help others, and 2) because I can't help myself -- probably more the latter.

But, the fax machine should be able to "see" the server. It is always better if it is networked and any machine can access it so a workstation doesn't have to spool and control the print or fax. If that station goes down or is turnedoff, then no one can access the fax.

I think it is all a matter of logistics, but I would cringe if my networkable printer or fax HAD to be connected directly to a workstation.

Well, talk to the people at Brother. I spoke with them about it also and they concur...it has to be connected to a machine to receive faxes which has not been a problem other than keeping the machine logged on at all times. In order to fax out however, one does not need to connect to a machine.

Leslie

Children, children, children,
I believe you are both sort of right. I have been researching these machines and I am about to probably buy the little 7840 for about $300 because it will PC, has the papersoft software and so on.

Here's the deal if I read the manuals correct. These things can "hold" about 500-600 pages of faxes (est'ed) but still, how many of us are going to get more than even 50-200 on any given weekend and screw 'em if they can't take a joke, right? So in their memory these babies can hold a decent amount of stuff if you don't care to have a computer on and ready to recieve all the time. But Leslie is also correct in that Brother seems to want to have you assign, set a path like thing to a specific machine on the network to be the central recieiving machine.

Now I don't see either of these two as a big deal because all of us here in AC'ville have to have one good computer turned on any time we want the system and our charts to be up and running anyway, so what's the big deal???

So yes it can sort of work independent of a computer receiving and holding incoming faxes for the office, but only when the computer that has been assigned the task is one, and the path has been properly set can you actually see and recieve the fax past the memory of the AIO....

I'm going to go on line later and double check all this seeing that I am about to almost certainly make this purchase... Looks like a good inexpensive B&W Laser machine. And even though you wouldn't want to hammer away on it all day, it does have a decent duty cycle. And more importantly, if most of what you are going to do is going to be converted via transistors to some sort of a storeable and printable "E" doc like probably a pdf, then the duty cycle really doesn't come onto play half as much anymore....

PS: That little ScanSnap rocks!!! WOW! That is fast! Love it, love it, love it.

Leslie & Adam,
Here is a link to a pdf of the Brother manual for their newer model 7840 that I am considering for our place. As I remember the manual for many of the older models like Leslie's (I read it a while back) the set up and use was pretty much the same.

As you can see that computer that recieves the faxes needs to be on to actually get them, but the printer has a pretty good amount of memory that should hold most of us over for a weekend if we care to turn off our computers. Hope this helps...

http://www.brother-usa.com/ModelDocuments/Consumer/Users%20Manual/UM_MFC_7440N_7840W_EN_1450.PDF

Paul

Thanks Paul for the information.

I totally understand that not all A.C. users and networks have the same needs and requirements. Many do fine using P2P networks, while others don't. Many do fine using USB connected devices that are "shared out" to the other computers, while others find that an actually networked device is mandatory.

For the way my office network is setup, it only makes sense for me to have an actual networked printer/fax device not a device that is connected to a client via USB cable and "shared out" to the other computers on the network.

Both our laser printer and our all-in-one/fax device are networked. That is they connect via ethernet cable to my network, not to a client via USB cable that needs to remain logged in all the time.

This enables users to safely log off from their computers at the end of the day, better maintaining the integrity of the security of my system. This also enables the devices to be available 100% of the time to all clients on my network.

Just my point of view, not intended to tell others what to do. (Kind of rhyms)......later dudes.

Adam this thing is network capable with a traditional ethernet plug. But you tell the printer where to send those PC faxes on your network much like setting a path. So you send them to a specific place or machine on the network. I mean otherwise how could you tell where you want the fax to go until it is recieved by at least one computer to view it and then send it on its way where ever you want it to go....

I would gather there would be no reason why your server couldn't be that recieving computer that then can route things after a human has reviewed them to decide where to send them.... Go to the Brother website and look at this puppy yourself it has three differnet pdf manuals to look thru. I think you will find it very capable for its little size and price. But after looking for what concerns you by reviewing these nice documents you decide. Let us know what you think and why....

I guess the biggest issue for me would be the cost. I do not know what one would pay monthly to lease your Muratec but for me, the cost of owning the Brother, even if I have to connect it to a PC to receive faxes, was not painful.

Leslie

I think I understand why I wasn't understanding the issue, and your explanation is very clear Paul.

On a P2P network, the computer apparently needs to be logged on in order for the shared folder to be "seen" by the networked device.

On a server/client system, all computers are logged off including the server and the shared folder is "seen" by the networked device.

It sounds like Leslie is maximizing the capability of her P2P network. Nothing more to do on this matter. thanks guys.

Wow, I'm glad you understand because you just lost me there... How can everybody be logged off and yet still "see" something they all share at the same time? This must be some sort of server network mind shift I'll have to get my brain around. So are they all just sharing and reading and writing to some network attached storage in a server based world? I always thought it was the severs job to do all the "sharing" and allocating of data and other resources... I guess I have a lot to learn... That or pray I can always stay P2P... lol.

Anyone care to give a short dis on server networks 101??? Wow.

I keep seeing references to a program called Paperport. Can Paperport actually control your fax/modem, or does it just help you organize documents that you receive via the fax/modem?

http://tinyurl.com/4aorep

It's basically the latter. Scansoft has always been an industry leader in PDF and other file management.

Paperport will allow you to send your documents any one of a number of different places, including your printer or your fax or another program. One can also "print" any document into Paperport (it will show up in your printer selection window) and then from there send it on or edit it or import it or whatever. For instance, "print" a web-page into Paperport, edit it, add/delete, highlight and then send it on wherever you desire.

Leslie