Internet Fax Services - How Green Is Online Fax?
While watching an old corny movie on climate change called "The Day After Tomorrow" where the whole world is suddenly thrown into another Ice Age, it sort of brought back the rather serious issue of global warming. It also gets one thinking about new technologies which are supposed to help with those melting ice caps. One such touted solution is Internet or online fax, but just how "green" is using an online fax service or provider?
A close examination of the these web based services should provide some answers. So how do they help save the planet?
One obvious way is the fact that online fax is completely paperless. You use your current email system and your web connection to send and receive all your faxes. In this new modern way of faxing, your messages are sent as email attachments, so they are paperless. Just imagine how much paper is NOT used in this process. Likewise, just imagine how much paper has NOT been used since email arrived on the scene.
This paperless faxing is much more "greener" than traditional faxing. It will save a few trees and precious resources - not only the paper itself but all the energy that goes into producing that paper. As one major online fax service provider MyFax states, "if 1% of all paper faxes sent in America each year were sent electronically, 73.5 million trees would be saved." You also have to factor in the savings on inks, toners and the fax machines themselves. You don't need to make or consume these products.
Another reason why online faxing is greener, you don't need to have that fax machine running 24/7, consuming electricity and power. Plus, these machines do produce a lot of greenhouse gases in the run of a year. Energy Star has stated that a fax machine uses more electricity than any other office equipment.
Next, you have to realize online fax is a form of cloud computing, where these services are out-sourced to a third party provider. This is a very efficient way to do your faxing because you don't need to set-up or install any extra hardware for your home office or small business. You don't need to install an extra fax phone line and this will indeed not only save both money and time, but you don't waste/use these resources.
Lastly, online fax digitizes all your messages which makes them easy to store on your computer or in your online account. This will also help to reduce your dependence on paper filing in the office. Your faxes are available anywhere, anytime... as long as you're connected to the web. This portability or total access means you don't have to waste gas commuting to the office to retrieve an important fax, this can be very important if your company have employees who work at home.
Overall, one could argue that online fax is indeed a very "green" service. You will save valuable natural resources by using a paperless system. You will also save energy by not using a traditional fax machine and an extra fax phone line. In addition, online fax is a new technology that completely ties your faxing into your computer network, making the sending, receiving and storing of all your faxes very efficient and cost-effective. Using less energy and resources, means you do indeed have a more "greener" way to get the job done.
A close examination of the these web based services should provide some answers. So how do they help save the planet?
One obvious way is the fact that online fax is completely paperless. You use your current email system and your web connection to send and receive all your faxes. In this new modern way of faxing, your messages are sent as email attachments, so they are paperless. Just imagine how much paper is NOT used in this process. Likewise, just imagine how much paper has NOT been used since email arrived on the scene.
This paperless faxing is much more "greener" than traditional faxing. It will save a few trees and precious resources - not only the paper itself but all the energy that goes into producing that paper. As one major online fax service provider MyFax states, "if 1% of all paper faxes sent in America each year were sent electronically, 73.5 million trees would be saved." You also have to factor in the savings on inks, toners and the fax machines themselves. You don't need to make or consume these products.
Another reason why online faxing is greener, you don't need to have that fax machine running 24/7, consuming electricity and power. Plus, these machines do produce a lot of greenhouse gases in the run of a year. Energy Star has stated that a fax machine uses more electricity than any other office equipment.
Next, you have to realize online fax is a form of cloud computing, where these services are out-sourced to a third party provider. This is a very efficient way to do your faxing because you don't need to set-up or install any extra hardware for your home office or small business. You don't need to install an extra fax phone line and this will indeed not only save both money and time, but you don't waste/use these resources.
Lastly, online fax digitizes all your messages which makes them easy to store on your computer or in your online account. This will also help to reduce your dependence on paper filing in the office. Your faxes are available anywhere, anytime... as long as you're connected to the web. This portability or total access means you don't have to waste gas commuting to the office to retrieve an important fax, this can be very important if your company have employees who work at home.
Overall, one could argue that online fax is indeed a very "green" service. You will save valuable natural resources by using a paperless system. You will also save energy by not using a traditional fax machine and an extra fax phone line. In addition, online fax is a new technology that completely ties your faxing into your computer network, making the sending, receiving and storing of all your faxes very efficient and cost-effective. Using less energy and resources, means you do indeed have a more "greener" way to get the job done.
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