7 Reasons to Trash Your Fax Machine - Comments Page 2

Don't overstate the case. No one uses thermofaxes anymore, so they don't fade. All-in-one machines cost very little, are pretty compact and recycled laser toner is cheap. Sometimes hard copies are needed. I use paper records. Any record of ranmsomware hitting paper records? No? I rest my case.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Any record of paper documents being destroyed by fire, flood, or hurricane? Your case is re-opened. :-)

I've been in the telecom industry since before divestiture (look it up). It took 20 years for most of the current sectors still clinging to faxes to accept them (especially legal). I'm afraid it will take another 20 years for them to let go.

HIPPA regulations do allow the use of emails. Documents can be sent as encrypted PDFs and the emails themselves can be encrypted. Most resistance to abandoning faxes is due to ignorance.

See here for more information:

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/570/does-hipaa-permit-health-care-providers-to-use-email-to-discuss-health-issues-with-patients/

Many Home computers are connected to all-in-one Printer copiers, which can also scan and FAX!. of course the limit on that may be places than only have cell Phones, but I assume "there is an App for that."

professionals may find seting up for alternatives that are compliant with all the rules would take up more of their time than the bother of using a fax.

I still use a fax machine for transmission. I don't have a multi-function printer, I'm still using my old HP LaserJet 4M printer and HP ScanJet 5P scanner.
It's so much easier to drop the documents to be sent into a fax machine than it is to scan them, save them as PDFs, and email them. Sending faxes is pretty rare these days. The roll of thermo paper in my fax has been there for nearly 10 years.

so true!!

Oh those days of the fax machine! We had one at home MANY years ago. We were involved in litigation and there was a lot of faxing back and forth. It seemed that if a document consisted of more than three pages, the machine would have a breakdown. Lines that didn't print properly, that long wait because the buffer was full, missing pages (sometimes the machine would pick up two pages at once or worse, it would grab one and one/half pages, causing a meltdown or jam) and often it would take two or three attempts before the job was completed. Then the phone call to see if the document arrived, only to hear "page five is missing....

Doctors, lawyers and other professionals--there are newer, easier and much better ways to get documents from one person to another. And the most obvious reason of all is that most people don't have a fax machine! I know this is a long post but I hope it helps anyone who has to deal with a business that still insists on that "paper copy". Lots of professionals don't have too much time, but their business people should be more knowledgeable about archaic faxing and upgrade their methods accordingly. If they can't figure it out, serious thought should be given to hiring some computer savvy people in the future.

My printer/scanner came with FAX capability. Just plug it into a land line. About once a month I send a FAX because I am dealing with someone who requires FAX and will not accept documents by email. So I keep my 'dinosaur' because there is a real need. I receive about 3 FAXs a year. There seems no need to sign up for yet another service to get email FAXs.

I also deal with professional offices who send/receive things through 'secure portals'. All of these professionals are in large organizations with dedicated IT staff. These professionals have moved beyond FAX, but it may be easier and cheaper for a small office to retain FAXs.

'Sounds like a good Ask Bob article would be an explanation of 'Secure Portals' and how small users can set one up!

Oh, and I keep a POTS land line for telephone. I still like to be sure that at least my voice is clear on all those conference calls. I wish most cell phone addicts would show the same common courtesy, instead of blaming everyone else's equipment but their own.

Some people think "has anybody ever hacked a fax machine?"

John,
It is getting more and more difficult to get a "real POTS line". As telcos move to fiber, copper pairs are no longer being used.

Mr Rankin's article and the subsequent comments by US readers are astonishing and somewhat amusing.

It is amazing that in an allegedly technologically-advanced country doctors, bankers, accountants, lawyers and, which is most amazing, the government still use the archaic FAX.

I live in Israel and I had no need whatsoever to use a FAX machine for well over twenty years. The financial system, the medical institutions, lawyers, accountants and all government agencies have been fully computerised for many years. All operations and transactions are made online and by e-mail.

America, the year is 2017. It is time to move on!

As an independent business owner and if my vendor does not have the ability to pay online they usually have a form for checking account info or CC info, they will not allow you to email that doc, it has to be faxed, I have asked "why" no intelligent answer unless they are afraid of cyber space and that info drifting off into parts unknown. So e-fax, I have All-In-Ones for scanning purposes, to scan I have to leave my desk and place the doc on the machine. My next move is simply a scanner that can set with me and save the hassle and time which we have made to be so important in a "right now" world we created.

Our international company was subjected to a major cyber attack a year or so ago, and ALL computers were shut down or over 2 weeks while things were sorted.
The old fax machines were brought out and proved their worth. This is the only solid reason for having them. Back-up when computers are down.

Uh oh ...
https://qz.com/1544122/its-2019-and-faxing-is-still-a-thing/