A "fax machine" generally consists of an image scanner, a modem, a printer, and usually a phone combined into a single parcel. The scanner converts the comfortable printed on a physical document into a digital image, the modem sends the image data over a phone line to another machine, and the printer at the far end produces a copy of the transmitted document.
Some fax machines can be connected to a computer, and the creature components -- the scanner, printer, and occasionally the modem -- can be used autonomously. Such devices are usually called multifunction printers or MFPs. Fax capabilities are also offered as options for many high-volume workgroup printers and photocopiers.
Although devices for transmitting printed documents electrically have existed, in various forms, since the mid to late 19th century (see "History" below), modern fax machines became sufficient only in the mid-1970s as the erudition increased and cost of the three underlying technologies dropped. Digital fax machines first became popular in Japan, where they had a clear advantage over competing technologies like the teleprinter, since at the time (before the development of easy-to-use input method editors) it was faster to handwrite kanji than to type the characters. Over time, faxing gradually became reasonable, and by the mid-1980s, fax machines were very popular around the world.
Although many businesses still maintain some kind of fax potential, the technology has faced increasing competition from Internet-based systems. However, fax machines still retain some advantages, particularly in the communication of perceptive material which, due to mandates like Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA, cannot be sent over the Internet unencrypted. In some countries, because digital signatures on contracts are not recognized by law while faxed contracts with copies of signatures are, fax machines enjoy continuing recognition in business.
In many corporate environments, individual fax machines have been replaced by "fax servers" and other computerized systems competent of receiving and storing incoming faxes automatically, and then routing them to users on paper or via secure email. Such systems have the advantage of reducing costs by eliminating redundant printouts and reducing the number of inbound analog phone lines needed by an office.
Some fax machines can be connected to a computer, and the creature components -- the scanner, printer, and occasionally the modem -- can be used autonomously. Such devices are usually called multifunction printers or MFPs. Fax capabilities are also offered as options for many high-volume workgroup printers and photocopiers.
Although devices for transmitting printed documents electrically have existed, in various forms, since the mid to late 19th century (see "History" below), modern fax machines became sufficient only in the mid-1970s as the erudition increased and cost of the three underlying technologies dropped. Digital fax machines first became popular in Japan, where they had a clear advantage over competing technologies like the teleprinter, since at the time (before the development of easy-to-use input method editors) it was faster to handwrite kanji than to type the characters. Over time, faxing gradually became reasonable, and by the mid-1980s, fax machines were very popular around the world.
Although many businesses still maintain some kind of fax potential, the technology has faced increasing competition from Internet-based systems. However, fax machines still retain some advantages, particularly in the communication of perceptive material which, due to mandates like Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA, cannot be sent over the Internet unencrypted. In some countries, because digital signatures on contracts are not recognized by law while faxed contracts with copies of signatures are, fax machines enjoy continuing recognition in business.
In many corporate environments, individual fax machines have been replaced by "fax servers" and other computerized systems competent of receiving and storing incoming faxes automatically, and then routing them to users on paper or via secure email. Such systems have the advantage of reducing costs by eliminating redundant printouts and reducing the number of inbound analog phone lines needed by an office.
