Let me ask you one question. What was your first thought about the use of fax machines in 2024? Is it a boomer generation? Or just an old fashioned machine? Maybe 90’s movies like “Office Space” or “Air Force One”? Probably thought that that’s behind us. Then you got hired in some decent company that has one of those old models that you probably never have seen before except on television. Then one day, your task at work, given by your manager or CEO, was to deliver a signed contract to your company’s business associate and return with their signature on the same piece of paper so the business can begin without any delay caused by the administration. At that moment, you would realize why this machine is incredibly useful because the only alternative that you got in the previous situation was to use postal service, which would’ve taken forever.
History First
Now that the old piece of plastic got you intrigued and you want to know more about it. Let’s start with the word ‘fax’ which is an abbreviation of the name “facsimile,” which refers to a photocopy of a document electronically transmitted over phone lines. The first person who was granted the patent for the first electric telegraph and raised international communication to another level was Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse Code. However, the first primitive fax machine was created by the Scottish engineer Alexander Bain in 1843. He was also the first to invent the electric clock and install railway telegraph lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow. In 1980,‘Canon’, the Japanese electronics company, built the first compact fax machine. Thus, Japan was the epicenter of the fax revolution as it made it both affordable and personal.
Modern ‘faxing.’
The development of the internet in the ’90s and the access to small modems made it possible for every computer to receive or send faxes. However, the technological advance of electronic devices nowadays enables you to do it using only your smartphone! CocoFax is one of the most modern machines. And if you want to learn more information about how to send and receive fax online, visit this site. CocoFax is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Now that you have more clues about the history of the machine and the process, you still might be wondering what else makes it valuable today. Well, get ready for a surprise.
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It gives us a chance to be more human
Sending emails is revolutionizing; nobody can doubt that. It’s so common in use that it starts to feel like a completely human thing. But when you receive a paper on your fax machine, it’s handwritten. You can immediately recognize who it is, and you may even chuckle, seeing the repetitively misspelled words. It is something that we can never experience while receiving an email.
img source: freepik.com
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Safety
As we already mentioned, the fax can be used online and offline. The Latter is a trait that is both appreciated and praised by many workers in cybersecurity. As the procedure runs off the Internet, it becomes easier to secure and protect your personal data. That’s why many legal departments are still using fax thanks to its safety advantages.
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Making sure your message is received
Whenever the document that you have sent is received, you will get a confirmation page that contains date and time, number of sent pages and the numbers of both fax machines. Therefore, you can relax and move on to your next task knowing that your previous one was successfully done.
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Backup logs
You don’t need to worry about not keeping track of the documents that you are sending and receiving. Most fax machines keep logs of the time, destination, and indication of whether the fax transmissions have succeeded or failed. They might now be as detailed as confirmation pages, but they come more than useful when you lose track.
img source: freepik.com
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Convenience
How convenient is it to send a document by simply putting it into a document feeder, typing in the number of recipients, and pressing a button to send it to the party on the other side without leaving your office? And on top of that, nowadays, you can fax on the go, and you can learn more about it on Googleonlinefax.com.
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You can send a check
It is actually the most common way to send a check as it is one of the best options out there and most preferred by companies to receive payments. It also leaves a “paper proof” which enables you to track and keep a record of all the necessary information.
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Harder to be rejected
In my country, we have a saying: “Money can dig where a drill can’t”. Using that saying, we can create something like: “Faxes can dig where emails and social media can’t”. You can be almost certain that the person you are messaging will receive it when using a fax, even though nobody can guarantee it won’t end up in trash immediately.
img source: freepik.com
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Asian letters are simply easier to write
If you ever practiced writing one of the Asian characters on your phone after learning how to write it on paper, you would certainly appreciate the possibility to send yours on paper handwritten. The message will be sent directly, and it will take you less effort and burden compared to typing it on your phone and waiting at the post office to deliver it.
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Still widely used among doctors
Yes, it is the safest way to send a patient’s medical record. The reason for this is the huge medical record databases that are not connected digitally between different hospitals and doctor offices so the best way to transfer them between each other is by fax machines.
Conclusion
The fax machine is an old technology that is still conveniently used by millions of people all around the world for countless good reasons. It will remain this way until transferring digital data becomes easier and cheaper. Nevertheless, we all know that it will take a while, and until then we can still enjoy all the various advantages.
