Fax from PDF

Occasionally (like now) I have an unfortunate need to send a document to an Australian fax machine.

There are a heap of free/other services to do this on the internet and my biggest issue is that I cannot verify what the end result will be.

My requirements are:

  • Confident that it will actually be sent (can't confirm)
  • Reasonable quality (can't confirm)
  • Ideally no ads sent to the destination (can't confirm)
  • No minimum spend
  • Free/cheap per page
  • No software install required (web based)

Doesn't have to be Australian based, but many of the US places charge lots for sending to an Australian machine. Will probably be used once or twice a year.

Has anyone used any of these?

Comments

  • Perhaps e-mail it to someone who you trust to fax it via their own machine/Australia Post.

    Other than a confirmation page on the senders end you really have no guarantee with a fax got there (unless the reciever confirms it).

    And the quality they get will depend on the both the fax its sent and printed on.

    Is it because they dont have a PDF viewer (hey its unusual but it happens).

    Maybe you can send it in an alternate format that they could view?

    If its legal paperwork, well it becomes more interesting from there. You may need to look at engaging a service to do that.

    • This particular case is for dealing with a bank. I often find that organisations 'need' signed forms faxed to them, despite this being no different to uploading or emailing a scan.

      It is crazy, but that is how it is. You mentioned Australia Post, do they have an online service for this?

  • I had a good look before posting my reply and I couldn't find a mention of it being offered on-line :(

    Perhaps with a bit of a push they could find a work around to get a JP to "certify" your e-mail.

    see here
    http://www.jp.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/jp/m407351l4113…

    That would be a pain though

    But reading that you can see why they might be picky.

    anyway I must dash… good luck!

    • The stupid part is though that fax is electronic form, and often is just converted to PDF and emailed on their end anyway, so it is no different. That documents groups email and fax together.

  • Don't go to Aus Post unless you only have one or two pages to fax. From memory it cost me $14 to fax around 8 or so pages.

  • Hmm back now

    I think for the one or two times a year it's probably a case of sucking up the cost and using fedex or the like

    http://www.fedex.com/us/office/fax-services.html

    You could keep the fax small if you said something like as per my e-mail of the ..date, subject … (put some sort of job number only you and they know or the like) regarding my signature

    Here is my signature…

    I reckon it should be less than $10 and will save a big headache

    Seems dumb though but I think you are stuck with it

  • Eureka!

    Just had a thought - check & see if the bank has a US office, or the like. Westpac for instance on their homepage says they have a place in new York.

    You could send the fax to their us office if they have one.

    Do I get a cookie now?

    • Sorry, this isn't about sending random information it is about sending banking forms with 'fax to this number' written on them. Also still need to actually fax it somehow.

      • What I was suggesting was that you contact the bank in question and:

        1. Ask if they have a US Office

        2. See if they are prepared to accept a fax sent to their us office instead of needing to fax it internationally

        3. And should they agree I would ask them to e-mail you with confirmation, a reference number, and the contact details of someone in the Australian office you were originally asked to send the message to . Which you could print out and include, to help the person in the us office match everything up. So they could digitize it, send it through via email etc.

        Alternatively if they did have a US address you could post it.

        In respect to the Fedex suggestion, international fax charges are by page obviously - so less pages makes it cheaper.

        1. It is possible the bank would be willing to accept some of the documentation electronically, and you might only need to send a cover note with your signature for file.

        2. In which case I would e-mail what they are willing to accept, and refer to the e-mail in your fax for data matching.

        Regardess of how you end up sending the fax if you are worried about adds/poor quality etc then I recommend.

        1. sending an e-mail with the electronic version attached and ask them to check your fax against that version.

        That way if there is a problem later you have ample evidence that you did more than required.

        Anyway I was just trying to help. Neither suggestion was random.

        But meh.

  • Grab a free trial of http://www.efax.com.au/

    I've used it and you get:

    • Confident that it will actually be sent YES
    • Reasonable quality YES
    • Ideally no ads sent to the destination YES (none)
    • No minimum spend (well… free trial)
    • Free/cheap per page (free trial)
    • No software install required (web based) <- web based or email

    EDIT: The only downside is you must call them to cancel.

    • Thanks for this is it the type of thing I am looking for. The down side is that this isn't something I can use again for another one off later. Guess I'll have to look into it again later.

  • mbox also offers 30 days free trial up to 20 pages. Might give them a try if you need another one off later :)

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