Handy tip: Use MyFax for emergency printing

Funny how sometimes we get so caught up in new ideas that we forget there is still a lot of value in things that have been said before. Here’s an example.

I was looking through some old materials recently and I came across a tip that we’ve sent out from time to time, (though not recently). It’s a pretty cool way to work around a situation where you need to print out a document – say you need it signed – but there’s no printer in sight (or it’s in sight but is out of toner, out of service, or just generally acting up in that way only printers can when you really need one).

If there’s a fax machine nearby, use your MyFax account to send the document to the fax machine. It will print out for you and you’ll have the hard copy you need.

That’s one of those ideas that probably makes you hit your forehead and say “duh!” because it seems so obvious. But a lot of people don’t think that way.

There are a few good uses for this little trick. One is if you’re at a customer site. You may be using their wireless Internet connection, but don’t have access to their full network resources. And getting someone to get you that access may be like asking for the keys to the company jet. But, if you can send yourself a fax to their machine, you’ll have your document in moments.

Hotels are another place it might come up, whether you’re using an Internet connection in your room or a PC down in the business center. If you have access to your documents, either on your laptop or through a VPN on their computer, you can use MyFax to send the document to the hotel’s fax machine.

Pretty cool right? You may not need much, but if you do I’m sure it will be an emergency. And of course, I’ll expect a big thank you present for letting you know!

MyFax as a wedding planning tool?

You know that bizarre thing where you don’t hear from someone in forever and then you see or hear something that makes you think of them and like an hour later your phone rings? Or, sometimes an idea you’ve never really considered crops up, and suddenly you’re seeing it all over the place. Is there a name for that? It’s along the same lines as déjà vu but different. There has to be name for that (if you know it, please let me know, this is the type of thing that will drive me crazy!)

Anyway, to get to the point, something like that has happened recently, in the last few days, we’ve seen not one but TWO mentions of using MyFax to plan weddings. One was from a wedding planner who has used it in her business, and the other from a guy (yes, that’s right a guy) who was planning his own wedding using online tools (mostly from Google), and decided to tell the world how he did it.

In all of our creative planning and brainstorming sessions, this is a use for MyFax we’ve never really thought of before, but it totally makes sense.

Planning a wedding seems to be one of the more complicated endeavors you can get yourself into. There are a million people to contact –caterers, florists, musicians, hall rental people, bridal shop people – the list is pretty much endless.

Once you’ve decided who you’re going with, most of them are going to want a signed contract. Now, if you’re planning your own wedding chances are you’re running around like a madman, and stopping by each supplier to sign a contract is the last thing you want to do. This is where MyFax comes in! With a MyFax account you can have the contract faxed to your PC or laptop, print it, sign it, scan it and send it back. It’s still a bit of work, but it’s a whole lot easier than driving all over the planet, while stressing out about getting to wherever before closing time. You could even do it at 3 in the morning during one of the pre-wedding jitters bouts of insomnia you’re probably going to have! (You knew about that right?)

If you’re a wedding planner, it makes even more sense. Assuming you’re good at what you do, you’re constantly on the move lining up multiple suppliers, making sure everything is working right, and meeting with clients. Being able to send and receive faxes from anywhere you can get an Internet connection is a huge time-saver. Being able to store them on your laptop or handheld so they’re always at your fingertips is even better.

So let the wedding bells ring. Just remember to open your MyFax account before you start the planning the walk down the aisle!