Fax is a safe and stable technology. When first introduced, there were people who thought that fax machines were going to put the post office out of business. As technology has evolved, people thought email was going to make fax machines obsolete. Both predictions have turned out to be incorrect... for the time being. Just like organizations sometimes like to send paper invoices, just about every business has a way to send and receive faxes. While the technology is stable, the act of faxing a document is becoming less and less prevalent. Document management and email have taken over many of the functional activities surrounding faxes, meaning that you can scan and send a document to whomever, wherever, at any time of day-in a much more streamlined and cost-effective manner. Still, there are valid business reasons why companies fax, whether it's a legal reason or, believe it or not, a security reason-faxes cannot be altered and are transmitted point to point. The communication requirements that have people faxing documents are still there, but there is a better way: network scanning. If you think about the technology behind it, a fax machine is a scanner with some specialized software that communicates over a dedicated phone line. They gained rapid acceptance because of their ease of use. Just punch in a phone number and, voila, the document is on its way. Network Attached Scanning vs. Dedicated Phone Line Faxing Network attached scanners have taken the same approach, making it simple to not only fax, but to scan to different electronic locations. You scan the document through the scanner portion and send it to any email address, printer, fax server, FTP site, USB drive, system folder, or document management solution. All of these options are available from a touchscreen on the front panel. Since network attached scanners have a more robust technology platform, they have the capability for so much more. Security, traceability and integration with other systems can all be accomplished with these devices. Touch screen functionality makes it simple for individuals to scan and send the document to whatever location is necessary. As a replacement for the copier/scanner, organizations can push data to the scanner to eventually simplify indexing-think drop-down menus based on a data push. Scan Quality vs. Fax Quality From an image quality standpoint, the network attached scanner has a clear advantage. They are not bound by the fax standard, and can create an electronic image that is often easier to read than the original, thanks to automated algorithms like cropping, de-skew, orientation, brightness, contrast, blank page deletion (for double-sided or "duplex" scanning), and removal of black borders, holes, speckles, and other document noise. Finally, network scanning can potentially cut telecommunication costs. Instead of needing a dedicated phone line, network attached scanners simply plug into your network via ethernet. Canon ScanFront 300/P The Canon ScanFront 300/P was designed to simplify the distribution of business information across a network to specified destinations while improving the security of the data being shared (including LDAP and active directory authentication), maintaining information quality, and lowering overall workplace costs by replacing traditional fax machines and the dedicated phone lines required. Throw in the ability to preview the document before it is sent, and integration capabilities to a number of both document management and line-of-business applications through their API, and you now have a device that does more and can actually make your office communications much more versatile, simplified, cost-effective and secure. Contact us to learn more about network attached scanning and the Canon ScanFront 300/P
