Today's office is seemingly littered with machines and technology. Each requires a different skill set and each requires some sort of care and feeding. The frustrating part is that they are required. Its part of the price for doing business in the modern world.

With little exception, almost all the typical office machines are directly involved in some sort of communication function or aid it indirectly. The fax, telephone, computer and modem are obvious examples. The copier, printer, and digital scanner are less obvious examples, but a case can be made for their indirect aid to overall office communications. Depending on where you are in the curve of being a small business—one person shop, just starting out; 5+ people doing business for a few years; or further along the growth curve—there are some savings which can be had in carefully choosing the right kind and amount of technology you acquire.

The one person shop, and just starting out—depending, of course, on exactly the type of business you're in—could conceivably get by with just a phone, a computer, printer, modem and a scanner. By making use of the fax software found in most software office suites or which comes bundled with your modem you can dodge the purchase of a stand-alone fax machine. You can even do it all with a single phone line.

Your fax modem and its software can be set to accept incoming faxes which are saved to your disk drive. The software will automatically recognize the difference between an incoming fax and in incoming voice call so your phone does not have to be dedicated exclusively to one service or the other. When you get a voice call, the phone will ring in its normal manner. Remember, though, when your phone line is receiving a fax anyone trying to call you will get a busy signal just as they would if you were already on a call. The phone line can not be used simultaneously for both functions.

Faxes received can be viewed on your computer and printed directly to your printer. There's a potential for an instant savings in the cost of paper. Illegible faxes, junk faxes, and in those cases where someone sends an entire copy of War and Peace need not be printed. You save on your paper supplies, toner / ink / printer ribbon supplies, and time. You are also rewarded with the power to exercise the delete key on your keyboard—a small but nonetheless emotionally satisfying exercise of your typing skills.

How would you fax out? If your document has been created in the computer with your word processor, desktop publisher, graphics application or whatever, fax as you would print. If the application allows you to print the document, you can fax it. There's no deep secret here. Your computer is set to print to its default printer which is why you always see the hardcopy emerge from your printer when you hit the print icon. However, look closely at the selection of "printers". You will see that a fax "printer" has been installed when you set up your fax software. Just select the fax printer and "print" to the fax software.

The fax software will capture your document and, depending on its settings, will ask if you want to generate a cover page, the name and number of the recipient, and so forth. Once supplied with the proper information, it will fax the entire document using your modem. No paper need be involved.