Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 3:25 PM EST

Wouldn’t it be nice some days to say farewell to the office fax machine? Well, that day may be a lot closer at hand than some might think. Several years ago, the invention of all-in-one systems changed the office format for many companies a great deal, but even the fax function on those machines will soon become obsolete.

Many individuals have already welcomed internet fax into their business life. There are a couple different formats of IP fax, either faxing through the VoIP service or through a separate internet fax company, but essentially, each works in the same manner.

Whether one opts for a separate line for faxing or chooses to use the same line that is used for voice communication, fax over IP has many advantages to standard fax machines. First of all, there is no more toner or paper wasted on spam faxes because one can make the decision as to which correspondences are printed. In fact, there is no need to print in order to fax because correspondences are sent to a fax number via email. Also, because the faxes are sent directly to one’s email, they can easily be forwarded to one or more individuals who have an interest in the information contained therein.

It also costs significantly less to have fax via VoIP. If one does not receive a great number of transmissions, then there may be no need to even add an additional line. This means phone and fax could cost as little as five or ten dollars per month. For an additional ten dollars a month, a separate number could be added to the account specifically for faxing purposes. Given the benefits, even if one does require the additional number, the investment will pay for itself in saved paper, toner, and monthly fees associated with traditional landline service.