iFAX New Zealand delivers faxes to your email

iFAX Frequently Asked Questions

General
What is Fax to Email?
What does it cost?
Are there any additional costs?
Will I receive advertising or spam as a result of joining iFax?

Set Up
So how do I sign up?
Do I need to download or install software?
Can I get separate iFax numbers for different individuals or departments?
Can I forward my existing fax number to my iFax number?
Are toll-free iFax numbers available?
Is there a contract?

Using iFax
Is there a limit on the number of Faxes I can receive?
How long does it take from the time a fax is sent until it arrives in my email?
Can faxes be sent to me from international numbers?
Can I receive multiple page faxes?
Do I have to log in to a web site to collect my faxes?

Technical
What is a TIFF?
Does iFax work with Mac computers?
Will it affect our company's PABX?
How do I make the TIFF Viewer automatically open an iFax?
What about viruses? Aren't they spread mostly by opening email attachments?
Where can I get the Imaging Software?
Why aren't I receiving my faxes?


Got a question but can't find the answer here?
Please email us and we'll answer it for you.


What is Fax to Email?
Faxes sent to your iFAX assigned fax number, or redirected from your existing number arrive in your email inbox in electronic form, as a graphic attachment.

What does it cost?
There's a one-off set up cost of $50, and a monthly charge that depends on the volume of faxes received - see our pricing for details.

Are there any additional costs?
No. In fact, you'll save on the cost of paper, toner, maintenance and repairs, and on the cost of distributing faxes around your office. If you redirect you will need to pay standard redirection costs.

Will I receive advertising or spam as a result of joining iFAX?
No. We do not sell advertising space and we will not sell, lend or giveaway your information to any third party.

So how do I sign up?
Call or email us. We'll email you an application form, an automatic payment authority and an invoice for the set-up fee. Return them with a cheque for the set-up fee and first month's service. We'll email you with your iFax fax number, and you are ready to go!

Do I need to download or install software?
No. All you need is an iFAX number and an email account.

Can I get separate iFax numbers for different individuals or departments?
Of course. One of the benefits of iFax is that your faxes become as personal and private as your email. Call us for multiple-line discount information.

How can I get iFax, but keep my existing fax number?
A couple of ways. You can simply get your telephone service provider to forward all calls made to your existing fax line to your new iFax number. This way you keep your separate fax line for outgoing faxes and as a spare line, but you pay for that.

Alternatively, Telecom offer a service called "Customer Link" whereby you keep your fax "number" but all calls are redirected to another "line" - such as your iFax number. Because you no longer have a "line", your cost reduces to around $20 per month (check this with Telecom). Note that if the sender is dialing your existing fax number and you are forwarding faxes to your iFax fax number, you will pay for any redirection charges.

Are toll-free iFax numbers available?
Yes, by forwarding calls to your iFax number from your own toll-free number.

Is there a contract?
Yes. There is a contract that states our standard terms and conditions. You'll get it with the application form. There is no fixed term though, and you can terminate any time with a month's notice.

Is there a limit on the number of Faxes I can receive?
No. However, your email system may have a limit on the size of attachments. This normally applies only to free email providers and it would require an enormous fax to exceed their limits e.g. Hotmail allows attachments of up to 1 MB in size. A fax would have to be longer than 50 pages before it exceeded this limit.
There are different pricing levels for different usage levels.

How long does it take from the time a fax is sent until it arrives in my email?
At Chillisoft, we have been using the iFax technology in-house since mid-2000. On average, a fax takes 1-2 minutes from the time the last page has been sent until it reaches our mail server.

Unlike conventional faxing which delivers one page at a time, iFax consolidates all the pages into a single file, and then forwards the complete fax to your email address.

Can faxes be sent to me from international numbers?
Yes calls are charged to the senders at the standard rates, just as they are for local calls.

Can I receive multiple page faxes?
Yes. TIFF attachments can have many pages in one (multi-page) file.

Do I have to log in to a separate web site to collect my faxes?
No. They are all sent to your own standard nominated email inbox.

What is a TIFF?
TIFF is an acronym for Tagged Image File Format, a widely supported file format for exchanging, viewing and storing images on personal computers (both PCs and Macintosh computers). A TIFF file can be identified as a file with a ".tiff" or ".tif" file name suffix.

Does iFax work with Mac computers?
Yes. You can use any computer that you can retrieve your emails on.

Will it affect our companies PABX?
No. No software or upgrades are needed. Inbound faxes will go to the correct email addresses on local networks.

How do I make the Viewer automatically open an iFax?
Most users won't need to do anything. Most PCs are already set up to read TIFFs.

However, if you need to, here's how to set your default TIFF viewer on a PC. Find an e-mail with an attached fax (TIFF file) e.g. the demonstration iFax.

  1. Save the .TIFF file to your hard drive.
  2. Find the image on your hard drive e.g. in Windows Explorer. Find the file and highlight it (click it once with the left mouse button).
  3. Hold the "Shift" key down and right-click on the file, or press Shift+F10. A menu will appear.
  4. Choose "Open With..." from the menu. You'll see a list of your programs. Scroll down the list until you find
    1. Imaging
    2. Kodak Imaging or
    3. Wang Imaging.
    Now highlight it (click on it once).
  5. Make sure there is a check mark in the box below the list of programs, that says "Always use this program to open this type of file".
  6. Click "OK." Your fax should now be displayed in the "Imaging for Windows" program.

From now on, all TIFF files will be automatically opened with the Imaging program you selected, when you open them from your email messages. You can open the program directly by going to START > PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > IMAGING.

What about viruses? Aren't they spread mostly by opening email attachments?
TIFF attachments are completely safe. Viruses do not infect TIFFS because they are a graphics file like a .BMP or a .JPEG - there is no executable code.

Where can I get the Imaging Software?
99.9% of computers will already have the software needed to view iFaxes installed.

Mac Users - download it free of charge directly from Apple

Contact us if you have any difficulty.

I am not receiving my faxes. Why?
Check that the nominated email address is correct, and that it is in working order. Check that the sender has used your correct iFax number.
If you are still not receiving anything, contact us