History of Fax Machine - Beginner's Guide

Brief History of the Fax Machine

Bain was a Scottish philosopher and educator in the British school of empiricism and a prominent figure in logic, philosophy, and education. He was also an innovator. He was a professor and was twice elected Lord Chancellor. The Scottish inventor Alexander Bain invented the first fax machine. Although its image quality and capabilities were poor, it was good enough given the technical conditions of the time.

The advent of the fax machine started a worldwide shift in the way business is done. The telegraph was created by Samuel Morse in 1835, and Bain took advantage of this technology. He combined clockwork parts with telegraph machines, using a pendulum and a clock to synchronize the devices and capture images line by line. It took a long time for fax technology to develop into what we know today.

Xerox

In 1964, Xerox introduced the Long Distance Xerograph (LDX), a fax machine that could transmit standard-sized documents to another fax machine. Sending a page took 6 minutes. Xerox was at the forefront of fax machine development.

Analog Faxing

Analog fax machines took faxing to the next level. Back then, people believed that fax was the safest way to send private data. As analog fax machines became more widespread, more and more companies adopted them, and fax technology kept changing.

Multifunctional Devices

Adding fax capabilities to multifunction devices and copiers made them more practical. Scanning, copying, and sending documents from a single device helped people use their time effectively. However, multifunction devices cost more than traditional fax machines. Installing such a device may be expensive, but it also reduces paper costs, which is a great convenience for businesses that still use fax today. These devices are basically computers. First, they connect to a telephone line to send and receive faxes. Second, they are often connected to a home or corporate network for easy printing and scanning.

Online Faxing

Everything has started to go digital, and for faxing this change began in the mid-1990s. Digital faxing works through cloud technology, so you can use it on all your smart devices. Online faxing is sometimes referred to as internet fax or e-fax. It is cost-effective, simple, fast, and useful. If you ask whether it is safe, our answer is yes: with end-to-end encryption, your documents and information are protected. Today, many companies use online fax. All you need is an online fax account and an internet-connected device, and you can send faxes from anywhere in seconds.

Timeline

• 1843: Alexander Bain invented the “Electric Telegraph Press”, the first fax machine.
• 1850: F.C. Bakewell received a patent for what he called the “copying telegraph”.
• 1860: The Pantelegraph, a fax machine invented by Giovanni Caselli, sent the first fax between Paris and Lyon.
• 1880: Shelford Bidwell invented the first telefax machine that could scan and send a two-dimensional image. It was called the Scanning Phototelegraph.
• 1888: Elisha Gray invented the Telautograph, which could send signature images over long distances.
• 1924: The telephotography machine, developed by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), was used by newspapers to send photos of political conventions.
• 1926: Radiophoto was created, which faxed documents using radio waves.
• 1947: Alexander Muirhead invented a successful fax machine.
• 1964: Xerox Corporation patented the first commercial version of today’s fax machine, which used telephone lines for transmission.
• 1982: The computer-based fax board was invented when GammaLink introduced the GammaFax.
• 1996: The first internet fax service became available to the public, allowing users to send and receive faxes via a computer.
• 2010: Internet fax became available on Apple devices, giving their users the ability to fax.
• 2011: eFax launched an Android app, enabling users with Android devices to send faxes.

How Does the Fax Machine Work?

Fax is used in workplaces to transmit documents. Both the sender and the recipient must have fax machines. First, the sender’s machine scans the document; multi-page documents must be fed in the order they should arrive. The document then reaches the recipient’s machine via the telephone network and is printed. Each fax machine has a number, just like a telephone line, and this number must be dialed to send a fax. Fax machines have long been indispensable office equipment. You can send faxes within your organization, to external recipients, and internationally.

If you are the recipient, a beep lets you know that a fax is coming in. Besides the technical side, communication etiquette is also important. If you are sending a fax to an official institution, you can use a formal petition format. If you are sending it to a business partner, you can use a format similar to an email. After writing the recipient’s title, first name, and surname, add “Attention” so that your message reaches the right person.

The Importance of Fax Today

Faxing is still in use today. It is used in corporate correspondence, the transmission of official documents, and communication between institutions. There are many reasons why faxing is still important. It is a globally accepted method. Thanks to transmission reports, you know whether the fax has reached the recipient. Many institutions consider it a legally valid method of delivery. There are secure fax lines that protect against threats such as cyber-attacks, and online faxes are protected by 256-bit SSL encryption. It is simple to use, and it can be easily integrated into in-house software such as a CRM.

Conclusion

When the fax machine was invented, it was considered one of the greatest means of communication. It was used to send both text messages and audio recordings. Germany, Japan, and the USA are among the countries where fax is still most commonly used, mainly in the healthcare and financial sectors. In Japan, fax machines are used not only in companies but also in homes. As mentioned above, fax has many uses and is still important, which is why the fax machine remains in use.

If you want to learn more about today’s fax technology, take a look at our blog post “What is Online Faxing? What are the 4 Common Right Uses of Online Faxing”.

Resources:

• https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/invention-fax-machine
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax