whats the difference between the regular faxing and internet faxing ?

Question

advantages and disadvantages? at present i am using PANASONIC FAX instrument. should i switch to internet faxing ? and for what reasons?

Answer 1

Regular faxing takes a scan of a document and uses tones that go like voice on a phone line to print the dots at the other end. Originally, the scan and the print had to exactly match - the dots being printed had just been sent. More recently, most fax machines have buffers so they can capture the image and lay it down on paper.
When you fax from a computer over the phone line, the software takes the printed image of the page and breaks it down into lines of dots and sends the tones over phone line to a real fax machine or a computer that behaves like one.
When you fax over the internet, the image of the page is sent much faster and the receiver can deliver it as an e-mail attachment or phone it out. In order for you to receive faxes via the internet from regular fax machines, somewhere there has to be a phone number (which you are charged for) and a device to capture the fax to send to you.
It may make a difference internationally and for going to slow machines over seas, but within the USA, long distance rates are so low and fax machines so fast, it is hardly worth the trouble and cost of that "receive fax number"