Turn your fax machine into a document processing center

Object: Use Canon Laser Facsimile model 710 as a scanner and save the faxed-in images as PDF file for document archives.



Software tested:


Fax 710 offer high speed document handling and automatic document feeder for high volume docs processing. Yet for internal office document, it lacks the ability to Print and scan function, which most of the current low end model of all-in-one printer provides. Additional accessories for this Fax machine to complete this scanning and printing capability are way too expensive. Both the printer kit III and network kit III are required, and the cost for both accessories is about $900, let along the cost for software.
So our mission is fax the documents to computer with internal modem and then translate the scanned-in image file to PDF files.

  1. Windows Xp have built-in fax received program, but it is not installed by default, so click 'Start', 'Control Panel', 'Add/Remove programs'. Click 'Add/Remove Windows Components' on the left side.

    Scroll down and click Fax Services box. During this process,you may need to insert your Windows XP CD.
    Then Click 'Start', 'All Programs', 'Accessories', 'Communications', 'Fax' and finally ... 'Fax Console'.Follow Fax Configuration Wizard instruction, enter information of sender and modem, since we only like to receive the faxes from fax machine by now, we might like to disable the send fax function, and turned on the manual pickup. Detail instructions from Microsoft

    • Pros: free
    • Cons: the images can not be processed by several PDF scanning software later in our test for reason unknown yet.
  2. Winfax pro from Symantec: like it Norton Anti-virus package, it is just too big to control, This program serves the purpose as we need, yet it is too bulky and confusing
  3. MightyFax from RKS software : Small is beauty.


  1. convert scanned in image to searchable pdf document

    image to pdf: works fine and fast, yet it only translated into picture pdf file format, no processing power available.

    able2extract: need ms office, and the resultant page is not pdf, which limited the selection.