Scanners

In this age of convergence, where multi-function devices ranging from printers to smartphones hold sway, single-function scanners still have a place in business.  This is because their makers design them to focus on a few specialized tasks, and to do them well. Thus, we have document scanners, photo scanners, book scanners, and more.

If you do a lot of volume scanning to get the most out of your scanner, you'll probably want to look at a single-function scanner that does higher volume than your standard multi-function printer and does it much faster. Fortunately, there are many fine models to choose from.

Fax Machines

Many People think the fax machine is dead and old technology.

But it actually is not. It has evolved, just as voice calling is not the same as it was 20 years ago. The latest iteration, fax-over-IP (FoIP), enables the fax machine to transmit through the Internet in much the same way as voice-over-IP (VoIP).

Here are six reasons why faxing is still important in today's workplace:

Simplicity - No matter the employee, sending and receiving a fax is something they know how to do. Young, old, tech-savvy or defiantly old-school, all can intuitively use a fax machine.

Traceability - Outgoing faxes are traceable because they generate a notification that is delivered to the sender. This helps ensure that the information was sent successfully. While we may think that all email arrives, for instance, the truth is that it does not. It can be delayed or end up on a spam folder, for instance. But with a fax, we know when it arrived.

Global reach -  Fax has long been an international communications medium. No matter the country, fax is there. Even with us now firmly in the internet age, fax is still considered the lowest common denominator, a technology that is used everywhere from Canada to Japan.

Security - T.30 fax protocol is a point-to-point communication system that shows if any malicious attempt was made to intercept the data. Those wanting even more secure faxes can use fax-over-IP (FoIP) technology to give added security through HTTPS encryption.

Popularity - Fax machines are ubiquitous, available to every business and organization around the world. Many businesses still rely on fax for their business processes, such as medical records transfer and financial document transmission. There is no legally recognized alternative to the fax in many cases, and it is still widely used even if it is starting to become more niche.

Legally Binding - Unlike e-signatures, which are still being recognized by some courts, fax technology already has clear precedent. The intrinsic nature of the T.30 fax protocol, accurately reproducing documents between two remote points, meets the legal requirements of custodianship, so it holds up in court.