By Kerry Doyle, Contributing Writer

The move toward green computing has had repercussions in every area of the business world. Virtualization and cloud computing save money and resources; storage and chipmakers continue to use nanotechnology to condense more and more data, and devices like copiers and fax machines also have their own energy saving features.

The paperless office still remains somewhat of an ideal. But according to GoldFax.com, technology such as fax software can both save you money and save energy. Here are some helpful things to know things to think about as you use your office fax machine along with some helpful tips:

According to a Lexmark study, 17 percent of everything printed is thrown away and this has never been more true than when it comes to faxing. Although paper recycling is one solution, there’s still an awful lot of paper that gets discarded as well as a large percentage of a company’s profits that are being simply thrown away. One solution is network fax software, which allows items to be sent directly from a desktop. This not only dramatically reduces or eliminates paper usage, it saves time and effort.

Then there are fax cover pages that are always discarded. These useless cover sheets invariably end up in your wastebasket. Fax software lets you receive faxes in email, allows for the cover page information to be viewed, but avoids the paper cost of printing. Instead, the fax is sent as an email with an attachment that can be downloaded, saved or forwarded.

You can view the cover sheet in the body of an email without having to print or open the entire document. There’s no extra paper or waste. The same approach can be applied to unclaimed fax documents that are left behind. Using fax software, faxes can be pre-screened. This alleviates the mistake of receiving and printing out the wrong fax because you can first preview a fax that is delivered in an email folder.

Lengthy documents or documents intended for several users can also add to wasted paper. There’s not only the issue of time due to how long a fax takes to print out, it also uses up toner and reams of paper. In addition, the archiving of old faxes which are stashed away takes up important office real estate. In each of these areas, going green is about taking accountability and responsibility and learning to be more efficient. Fax Software is the closest thing to helping you to go green. Moving closer toward a paperless office is what GoldFax.com is focused on helping you to do—as well as saving money and energy.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration, click here.

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