Really? You've talked to them all and found that to be the case?
You must have read that on some obscure blog because that's just simply not the case.
on board fax machine?
- Thread starter fedexhatch
- Start date
Really? You've talked to them all and found that to be the case?
You must have read that on some obscure blog because that's just simply not the case.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
Nope you mis read it...The "Please.." at the end indicates that I don't agree with those that said the OP'er should wait to make "toy" purchases... I don't think for a minute that all newbies are cash strapped...I know for a fact more then a few of us have started this business setup properly and had cash in the bank before hand to be bale to do just about anything we want...I didn't run a mile before my van was set up completely with what i felt i needed and wanted to be comfortable. I didn't buy the AC or generator till the following spring because i stated in late aug and didn't know any better. But if i had you can bet that both would have been in my van at the beginning also...
So no I didn't speak to every one of them, because I have no doubt that there are more then a few that know how to set up a business to make it work and from talking to pantherhatch, he is one of them.....
So no I didn't speak to every one of them, because I have no doubt that there are more then a few that know how to set up a business to make it work and from talking to pantherhatch, he is one of them.....
Ahh... it was a "puh-leeeze". Yes, that changes my interpretation.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
LOL yeap it was!! And its all good! 
Hatch, you'll find that your faxing needs are very few and far between, at least with regards to expediting. Most anything that needs to be faxed will be shipping paperwork, which is almost always faxed right there from the shipper before you leave. And even that's mostly for loads that need the paperwork faxed to a broker (or your carrier if they handle it) before showing up at the border.
In the last 4 years I've had to use truck stop "scan and fax" three times, twice because the shipper didn't have a fax machine that worked and once because they didn't have access to the office where the fax machine was located. I do have an all-in-one printer/copier/scanner in the van, and have used it 5 or 6 times to scan stuff and then e-mail the PDF file to someone, instead of faxing it. I have also once scanned something and then used my cell phone tethered to the laptop as a faxmodem to fax it to someone, but that was more of a novelty than a necessity. I could have just as easily e-mailed the thing.
Once in a while you might get something from your carrier that needs to be signed and faxed back, but you can sign it, scan it and e-mail it back just as easily, or you can sign in and use a truckstop's scan & fax for those extremely rare instances. At $2 a page, it's not a big deal, and you won't have nearly enough of them to justify a van scanning solution.
Having a scanner/printer/copier in the van is nice, but hardly necessary. It has come in handy a few times when I'm at a delivery and they want a copy of the BOL or something and I only have the one, and I'll just jump into the van and make a copy. It's also come in handy a couple of times when I've taken pictures of already-damaged freight as they load it into the van, and print out a picture for the shipper to have, to eliminate any misunderstandings or claims that may be made later about me damaging the freight.
Paperwork is generally scanned by using Trip-Pack or Transflo at the truck stops, but I use the TransflowNOW truckstop scanning software in the van. Nice, but hardly necessary. It lets me scan from wherever I am, like the parking lot of a Walmart, instead of having to travel to a truck stop, or having to deal with doing it the next time I'm near one.
Mainly, it lets me scan while nekkid, which is the important thing. They don't like it much when I do that in the truck stops.
In the last 4 years I've had to use truck stop "scan and fax" three times, twice because the shipper didn't have a fax machine that worked and once because they didn't have access to the office where the fax machine was located. I do have an all-in-one printer/copier/scanner in the van, and have used it 5 or 6 times to scan stuff and then e-mail the PDF file to someone, instead of faxing it. I have also once scanned something and then used my cell phone tethered to the laptop as a faxmodem to fax it to someone, but that was more of a novelty than a necessity. I could have just as easily e-mailed the thing.
Once in a while you might get something from your carrier that needs to be signed and faxed back, but you can sign it, scan it and e-mail it back just as easily, or you can sign in and use a truckstop's scan & fax for those extremely rare instances. At $2 a page, it's not a big deal, and you won't have nearly enough of them to justify a van scanning solution.
Having a scanner/printer/copier in the van is nice, but hardly necessary. It has come in handy a few times when I'm at a delivery and they want a copy of the BOL or something and I only have the one, and I'll just jump into the van and make a copy. It's also come in handy a couple of times when I've taken pictures of already-damaged freight as they load it into the van, and print out a picture for the shipper to have, to eliminate any misunderstandings or claims that may be made later about me damaging the freight.
Paperwork is generally scanned by using Trip-Pack or Transflo at the truck stops, but I use the TransflowNOW truckstop scanning software in the van. Nice, but hardly necessary. It lets me scan from wherever I am, like the parking lot of a Walmart, instead of having to travel to a truck stop, or having to deal with doing it the next time I'm near one.
Mainly, it lets me scan while nekkid, which is the important thing. They don't like it much when I do that in the truck stops.
You might as well start out spending that money for 'the toys' you're going to need, cuz there won't be money later for the fun stuff
I have to say that I was, and continue to be, in awe at how technologically savvy these people on EO are (some obviously more than others!)
My background contains a lot of office admin, I've been using computers and office equipment for too many years to mention, yet the solutions these guys (and gals), truck drivers no less, have in place and come up with, to deal with the paperwork and communication aspects of their business, continue to amaze.
Paperwork and communication are integral parts of expediting in general, as well as your own business record-keeping. The more you can have yourself set up to run smoothly right off the bat, the less frustration, money and time you will need to spend while trying to run and make money.
Make sure you also have a dependable method of backing up in place, and learn to become an expert filer so you can find your stuff at will with the stroke of a key
I have to say that I was, and continue to be, in awe at how technologically savvy these people on EO are (some obviously more than others!)
My background contains a lot of office admin, I've been using computers and office equipment for too many years to mention, yet the solutions these guys (and gals), truck drivers no less, have in place and come up with, to deal with the paperwork and communication aspects of their business, continue to amaze.
Paperwork and communication are integral parts of expediting in general, as well as your own business record-keeping. The more you can have yourself set up to run smoothly right off the bat, the less frustration, money and time you will need to spend while trying to run and make money.
Make sure you also have a dependable method of backing up in place, and learn to become an expert filer so you can find your stuff at will with the stroke of a key
Depending on the length of ones pocket when starting out...a scanner is far above what is needed immediately is all we are saying..."Prioritize" that is the point.....being able to do that is also good business sense...
greg334
Veteran Expediter
While the hatch dude is trying to find answers, it seems that some of us need a scanner as part of our business. I need one because that's how the company works - they have their own software which isn't the best but does the job. I don't have to worry about all of the "find a truck stop with a yellow box" crap anymore or worry about waiting in line behind guys who are scanning 100 pages of food BOLs into the transflow scanner.
The other thing I like about it is when I get one BOL and I have to turn that over to the delivery, I can scan it, print is and have my own copies.
If he wants to get a scanner, there are plenty of the all in one models for under $50, he can conserve on eating for a few days to pay for it. I bought another one the other day as a backup, $42.65.
The other thing I like about it is when I get one BOL and I have to turn that over to the delivery, I can scan it, print is and have my own copies.
If he wants to get a scanner, there are plenty of the all in one models for under $50, he can conserve on eating for a few days to pay for it. I bought another one the other day as a backup, $42.65.
Still, the "need" for a scanner is relative, as it's more of a nice thing to have than something than is truly needed to do the job. There are tons of expediters without a scanner in the truck, many without a computer (perish the thought). But as Greg noted, they're awfully cheap.
Just a beware thing.. I may be mistaken, but I'm not sure that some of those cheapies can scan into pdf mode.. something to watch for, as it will require more steps and frustration if it won't do pdf's.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Pjjj,
you scan it into a jpg or tif file and then print it into a pdf file. There are programs out there that do this for you - I use Primo PDF converter
you scan it into a jpg or tif file and then print it into a pdf file. There are programs out there that do this for you - I use Primo PDF converter
Yes, I use one of those converters also.. but it requires that extra step.. and try explaining that extra step to someone who's less than computer literate, when they're having a hard enough time just making email function.
ebsprintin
Veteran Expediter
Or you get one that does pdf to find that the person at the office wants it in jpeg, so you have to convert it the other way. One of the reasons I say to wait until you've spent time in the vehicle, so you know what you really need.
eb
Ha
That reminded me of something.
Ya but.. why ISN'T my computer worth $4000?? That's how much I paid for it in 1987 and it was only used for one month, it's virtually NEW????
MissKat
Expert Expediter
The HP I have for $39 scans into a tif, pdf, etc. and is the simplest of buttons to push...takes 2 ink cartridges that cost a little more than the printer naturally LOL
Kat
One that does pdf, only to find you need jpg? It won't matter how much time you spend in the vehicle or what image format you actually need, a scanner scans, period. They all scan the same way, which is either RAW or uncompressed TIFF files (which are structured RAW files). If it scans to a PDF file, the image (or document) is scanned internally as a RAW or TIFF image, and is then converted into whatever format you set up in the scanning software's settings.
If your scanner scans to PDF, and you find you need JPG, please don't go out and buy another scanner. The one you already have will work perfectly. Trust me.
You can use the scanning software that came with the scanner (TWAIN), or the OS's native scanning interface (in Windows, the WIA), or you can use third party software to scan with. Any scanner that will "scan to" a PDF, will also scan to a JPG or TIFF or bitmap file. Most will also scan to .pcx and .png. Even the cheapest ones now have the ability within the scanning software to scan OCR to html, rtf, txt, and searchable PDF files.
In other words, any scanner you buy will be able to natively scan and save as jpg (lossy compressed) and tiff files, both compressed and uncompressed. Some can also natively scan to PDF files, but if they can't, it's barely a blip on the problem meter.
If you have Adobe Acrobat installed, whatever scanner you have will scan to a PDF at that point, or you can use Primo PDF Converter and covert the jpg of tiff to a pdf file in a matter of seconds. Getting a scanner that scans to PDF is a non-issue, as it's a matter of post-scanning software that determines what format the image gets save with.
You make it sound simple (well, actually you don't, IMHO), but trust me, it's not... at least not for many of us who know a lot less about technology, infrastructure, wiring, and all that behind-the-scenes stuff, than you do.
I am kind of mid-way techno savvy, knowing just enough to be somewhat of a risk when trying to do my own trouble-shooting, and there are many people much less savvy than I.
I have had issues with more than one scanner in trying to get it to scan into a pdf, and also to get multiple pages to scan into one file, versus multiple files. I know I'm not alone because there are tons of Q&As on the net about these same issues.
I also know others are having issues when I receive some honking huge TIFF file attachment via email that the sender scanned... and I know others who receive the huge honkin TIFF may have problems opening such documents, and the sender is unable to change its format. It's a simple thing to change it, it's just learning how, and taking that bit of extra time, which is in short supply.
Perhaps all scanners have the ability function like we may want them to, if only we knew how to make it happen without taking the time to read an encyclopedia.
I am currently in a position of trying to show a male how to look after his own paperwork, and if it takes too many steps, he just reverts back to faxing, which I'm trying to abolish for different reasons.
I'm telling you... it's FRUSTRATING! That's the only reason I suggested making sure any scanner purchased is able to just DO it.... easily.... all by itself.... in few steps... without reading volumes of instructions or receiving training... just something to watch for, for those of us who tend to be more impatient and want to abolish technofrustration.
I was once told "Anything is easy, when you know how"
dotcommark
Seasoned Expediter
If you want some good and most importantly free, scanning software try FreeKapture. When it scans it saves it to your clipboard and you can paste it into whatever program you like. PDF, Word, notepad, etc...
I scan it, paste it to a blank word doc and save and send. Nice and easy.
I scan it, paste it to a blank word doc and save and send. Nice and easy.