Faxing is a secure method of sending documents from one person to another. This technology has been around for over a century and is still relevant despite the rise of alternative ways of sending documents, such as instant messaging and email. This is especially true because faxing offers you certain benefits unparalleled by any of these other methods.
But with increased competition, faxing has also evolved and is no longer associated with bulky and outdated fax machines. Today, you’ll find portable fax machines, which are very convenient, especially if you’re a trucker and spend most of your time on the road. Read on to learn every helpful information you need about the portable fax machine. Let’s get started.
What’s A Portable Fax Machine?
The portable fax machine is a lightweight, small, battery-operated, and easy-to-carry device you can use to send and receive fax messages. Their portable design makes them an excellent choice for sending transportation fax while you aren’t in the office. Therefore, it’s understandable why this technology has gained popularity among truckers. After all, you can conveniently send and receive a fax message regardless of location, whether at an airport terminal, construction site, or park bench.
With the portable fax machine, you enjoy the freedom of sending sensitive and confidential documents, such as delivery details, handwritten messages, order acceptances, or confirmations.
Are Fax Machines Still Relevant?
Before going any further, it’s best to answer whether fax machines are still relevant today. After all, why should you consider this business communication despite other newer technological innovations? The simple answer is yes; fax machines are still suitable in the modern age.
There are several compelling reasons why you should use a portable fax machine as a trucker, and these include the following:
- You Get Confirmation Pages
The last thing you want is sensitive company information falling into the wrong hands. This is especially an issue in today’s era, where hackers intercept information to use it for their benefit. Using a portable fax machine saves you the stress of wondering whether the recipient has received a particular document. This is because it offers you a confirmation page, a document that indicates the recipient has indeed received your message.
A confirmation page is an essential document that offers your business legal protection. The outline of this document includes valuable details, such as the time the message was sent and the data receiver and sender fax numbers. A confirmation page is crucial as it provides you with a paper trail of your business transactions.
- You Can Send A Message To an Incomplete Address
When communicating through emails, you need to know the precise details of the recipient. This isn’t necessary when using a portable fax machine as you can send a document to the intended person even when you have an incomplete address. This saves you the trouble of knowing many personal details to ensure that a document reaches the recipient on time.
You only need to know the business name with faxes, and you’re good to go. You can quickly get this information from the internet, and this convenience is undoubtedly one of the reasons fax machines are popular to this day.
- It Simplifies The Paperwork
A load of paperwork isn’t only unappealing to the eye and terrifying, knowing that you must organize all the documents systematically. But with a fax machine, this isn’t something to worry about because this useful machine helps you send, sort, and store your paperwork. This means all your documents will always be well organized and orderly, which is critical in guaranteeing their safety and security.
- Messages Don’t Get Lost
Another reason behind the popularity of fax machines is their reliability. This is unique to faxes, guaranteeing uninterrupted signal transmission when sending documents to your colleagues or clients. However, the same can’t be said for phone calls or text messages, as these might not reach the intended person for different reasons, such as a poor network connection. This is also an issue with emails, which can be buried in the spam folder and hence not seen within the desired period.
- It’s More Secure
Cybercrime has become a prevalent issue with the continued advancements in technology. When sending private and sensitive information, you don’t want the information to be intercepted by a hacker. After all, such information in the wrong hands would directly impact you or the recipient. Fortunately, faxing offers a safe and secure way of sending documents. This is why fax machines are widely embraced by legal professionals, medical providers, and law enforcement officers.
Knowing this, you should arm your truckers with portable fax machines to ensure the safety of all the documents they send and receive. Another advantage of fax machines is sending signatures, licenses, and social security numbers through this device. With this, you don’t need to worry about tampering because the information is encrypted over the phone.
How Can You Pick Out The Best Portable Fax Machine?
There are numerous factors to consider while deciding on the best portable fax machine to purchase, and these include the following:
- Know Your Goals
You must first determine your goals and use this information to help you know the best portable fax machine to buy. Some of the questions you need to ask yourself are as follows:
- Are you looking for a fax machine that can send faxes and is capable of scanning and printing?
- How often do you intend to use the fax machine?
- Will the fax machine always be used on the road?
If you’re a trucker frequently on the road, you’ll need a portable fax machine that is easy to transport. This fax machine would also be ideal if you’ll use it to send business documents.
- Print Type
Another aspect to consider to help you pick the ideal portable fax machine is the print type. The print type of fax machines come in three broad categories, and these are;
- Laser
If the high cost of a fax machine isn’t an issue, you should get a laser machine. These are the most expensive fax machines, but the high initial cost comes with certain advantages, such as the lowest cost-per-page, exceptional print quality for text and graphics, and the quickest print speed. The laser fax machine is also ideal if you want to maximize its advanced and optional features.
- Ribbon transfer
Fax machines with this print type are the cheapest to buy because they have the most basic features. With ribbon transfer fax machines, you get the slowest print speed, lowest print quality, and costliest cost-per-page compared to other models. And because of these many shortcomings, the ribbon transfer fax machine is an excellent pick if you seldom use it to send and receive faxes.
- Inkjet
If you find the ribbon transfer fax machine has too many downsides, the other alternative to consider is the inkjet fax machine. With this fax machine, you get several benefits, including improved print quality, more options such as faxing, copying, and printing, and reduced cost-per-page and quick print speed. These fax machines are more expensive than ribbon transfer but a better pick if you’re a heavy user.
- Features of The Fax Machine
The features integrated into portable fax vary from one model to another. Therefore, this is something you need to consider as it can help you decide which portable fax machine to choose, here’s a checklist:
- Memory
The memory of portable fax machines is critical to consider before buying this equipment. Ideally, you want a fax machine with a bigger memory because it can store and process information quickly. A larger memory also ensures the faxes are of exceptional quality and even the tiniest detail is visible. In addition, it allows for a longer queue for receiving and sending documents.
- Speed Dial
This feature is also known as auto-dialling and is a handy addition to any fax machine. After all, having a speed dial reduces the need for an external list of numbers and the chances of misdialing.
- Paper Capacity
Another feature you should look for in your portable fax machine is the number of papers it can hold at a given time. Because you run a trucking business, a lower paper capacity would be more than ideal. In contrast, a fax machine with a more extensive paper capacity would be necessary if you often need to send fax messages and don’t want to run out of paper.
- Broadcasting
Fax machines with this feature are ideal because they can quickly send faxes to several recipients simultaneously. All you need to do is scan the document, enter the recipient’s destination number, and let the fax machine handle the rest.
- Password Protection
Are you worried about unauthorized access to your portable fax machine while on the road? If yes, you should consider getting a fax machine with a password protection feature. This fax machine allows you to set a specific password that someone must enter before they use the device.
- Look At The Price
How much are you ready to pay for the portable fax machine? You must always ask yourself this question before searching for this machine to send documents to when travelling. After all, you don’t want to break the bank to buy a fax machine your business can’t afford. With this in mind, closely look at the price of the fax machine and the features integrated into it.
How Can You Use A Portable Fax Machine?
Even with the increased hype of internet fax services, learning how to utilize a traditional fax machine is beneficial. If you’re uncertain where to start, worry not because the steps to follow are pretty simple. But before you even get to sending or receiving messages with your portable fax machine, the device needs to be set up correctly. Here are the steps you must take to ensure that your portable fax machine is properly configured:
- Confirm your portable fax machine has enough charge.
- Connect to the phone line.
- Load the ink or toner.
- Confirm there are papers inside the portable fax machine.
- Switch on the portable fax machine.
The portable fax machine should have a phone line connection which you can find by looking for a dial tone. You’ll be set to go once you hear the dial tone. If this portable fax machine doesn’t come with a phone, connect it to an external phone and listen for the dial tone.
After you’ve correctly set up the fax machine, you can now use it to send and receive company documents. Follow these steps below when sending faxes using the portable fax machine;
- Place the documents you wish to fax into the document feeder of your portable fax machine. When sending more than one document, ensure they’re arranged in the order they should be sent.
- Enter the receiving fax machine’s fax number and dial it.
- Send the fax by selecting Send or Fax.
- You’ll get a confirmation page once you send the fax.
- Take out the documents.
The steps to follow when receiving a fax message are truly straightforward. But before anything, first, confirm your portable fax machine can receive and print the documents. To do that, here are the steps to follow;
- Confirm your fax machine is well set up and working.
- Make sure there’s enough paper and toner/ink.
- When the fax machine rings, don’t receive the call as it’ll automatically retrieve and print the documents.
Lastly, let the sender know you’ve received the documents once they’ve all been printed.
Takeaway
Due to enhanced security, the transport, legal, health, and industrial sectors still depend on faxing to transmit sensitive and confidential documents. And as a trucker, you spend most of your time on the road meaning the traditional bulky fax machine won’t work. Fortunately, thanks to the portable fax machine this shouldn’t be a cause of concern. Furthermore, if you’re looking for a portable fax machine, this guide has outlined everything you need to know about these devices. Consequently, you’ll be able to send and receive faxes while on the road.
