Email Fax Key Terms

Get the facts while investigating how to send an email fax

By M. Worcester

Email fax refers to services allowing you to send faxes that the recipient receives as email attachments. With this service, you can also send emails or upload files that people send to your fax machine. Many websites provide this type of service, and software also exists to automate such things from your desktop.

When combining email and fax transmissions, file formats are important to know about, including ASCII text for editable faxes, and PDF and TIFF files as the standard formats used to send or receive documents. It's also important to know the rules that exist regarding broadcast faxing and junk faxes. Email fax key terms can help you do this.

ASCII text

An ASCII text file is plain text with no extra coding or formatting information. Fax machines normally generate faxes as an image, rather than text. In order to make a fax into a document that you can edit in a word processor or email client, you need to scan and convert it to ASCII text.
Try: Get an explanation of how you can convert fax text into ASCII text to be editable at PC Magazine.

PDF file format

PDF stands for portable document format, a format developed by Adobe Systems to standardize document storage and transmission on the Internet. Many people download documents in the PDF format and usually have built-in software that will read this type of file, so it's a good choice to use when sending faxes by email. Software exists to allow you to create a PDF file, if you need to send documents this way.
Try: Adobe Systems explains its PDF format and includes a history on it.

TIFF file format

TIFF stands for tagged image file format, and it's a common image format for documents where detail and resolution are important, especially images that are black and white. Most scanning applications are able to create and read TIFF files, and you can also open a TIFF file in your browser or other image viewing software on your computer.
Try: View a description of AsterFax, including the file formats supported, at Asterisk I.T. Find an explanation of what a TIFF file is at the Knowledge Base website of Indiana University.

CSV format

Many people like to keep a list of contacts in an email application. You can keep this same type of list in computer fax software, which allows you to quickly send a fax to those on the list. If you want to convert your email contact list into a format that you can use in fax software, you may choose the CSV format.
Try: Get a tutorial at Sendblaster, a division of eDisplay, detailing how to export contacts from Gmail into a CSV format that you can import with many email fax programs.

Broadcast fax

Broadcast fax is the practice of sending the same fax document to multiple recipients. You might do this to communicate with a group or for marketing purposes. Software exists to make this task automated and effortless.
Try: Find an explanation of broadcast fax services at Global Fax Network.

Junk fax

A junk fax is any unsolicited fax. There are laws about sending these types of faxes, and if you plan to use broadcast fax as a marketing tool, you should familiarize yourself with these laws before proceeding.
Try: Read information about the laws concerning the sending of junk faxes at the website for the Federal Communications Commission.