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History
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Alexander Bain invented the first facsimile machine in 1843. Using the same general process as the telegraph, Bain found a way to transmit data images rather than sounds. The transmitter scanned a flat piece of metal using a pendulum mounted stylus. Over the next 100 years, inventors made various developments in the fax machine design. However, the fax didn't really catch on with the general public until the 1980s as a means for businesses to distribute documents to each other directly and quickly. While technology has brought us an age of emails and Internet document transfer, many businesses still employ the use of a fax machine to better protect the confidentiality of the documents they send.

Modern facsimile machines typically have a paper feed function that automatically feeds the documents through the machine at appropriate intervals. As the documents feed through, a sensor inside the machine reads each page on a small scale, breaking the page down to approximately 1,145 horizontal lines. The sensor reads a line of the paper and doesn't see text, but a grouping of black and white spots. It encodes these spots and sends them through the phone line to the recipient's fax machine. The receiving fax machine decodes the information sent sensor, decompresses and reassembles the information, and then prints it on the paper provided.

HOW TO USE A FAX MACHINE =Using a fax machine is a fairly simple process. Of course, you need to make sure the fax machine has power. You need to first obtain the phone number for the recipient's fax machine, then gather the documents you want to send and put them in the correct order. Fax etiquette recommends sending a cover sheet to the recipient that includes your company logo, originating fax machine number from, the recipient, contact number and what the facsimile is regarding. Place the documents in the scan tray (facing up or down depends upon the particular machine), dial the recipient's fax number and press send. Make sure you program your fax machine to print a confirmation page so that you have documentation proving when you sent the fax (date and time) and that the recipient's fax machine received it.

Types/Brands

The major difference in fax machines is how they print. Facsimilies print using thermal paper, thermal film, inkjet, on a laser printer or on a computer printer through a fax modem. Xerox is among the leading brand names in fax machines, offering machines that not only fax, but print, copy and scan as well. Xerox's FaxCentre machine is great for high volume facsimilies, at a rate of 18 to 21 pages per minute. Additional fax machine brands include Brother, HP, Lexmark, Samsung, Canon and IBM.

Features

Businesses most frequently use the confirmation feature on a fax machine, which shows the date and time of fax and confirms the transmission was successful to the recipient's machine. Activity reports can be set to print as frequently as once a day or once a week. Most fax machines have redial and speed dial (autodial) features, as well as automatic document feeders. Batch processing features allow you to send multiple, separate faxes to the same recipient or one fax to several recipients.

A fax machine is a machine that sends messages to another fax machine by a phone line. When the message is sent to the other machine it decodes the message and prints it out. In order for the fax machine to work, the machine has to scan the paper. To scan the paper, it has to use photosensitive devices which basically send a message whether there is or is not ink on the page. When the fax machine receives this information, it uses this on-off signal to either apply or not apply ink to the page. You can walk into almost any office in the United States and you will find a fax machine. Fax machines have been around for more than one hundred years

What are the difference between telex and fax?

Telex uses a dedicated telegraphic network. Fax uses a phone network.

Therefore telex is more reliable in countries where the phone network is unreliable (ex: some remote areas in Africa, Central Asia etc...)

Moreover, telex sends a typed text (same as in a telegraph) whereas fax sends a copy of a text. Therefore telex is more accurate than fax.

Uses of fax machines=Nowadays fax machines are one of the most important office equipment. This fax machine usually sends and receives a document through a telephone line. Using fax machine (facsimile machine) we can send documents to any point of the world as very convenient and easy. The important feature of the fax machine is that printing technology. Nearly all the fax machines use plain office paper. Inkjet faxes can usually print, copy and fax the text in color. Laser fax machines are also available usually to print sharper text. Before buying fax machine we have to see the memory storage capacity. Normally fax machines store incoming and outgoing pages in the memory. Since business fax machines are used in most business transactions, these should be reliable in terms of speed. So another import feature considering is that speed. There are so many of variety models coming in Panasonic and Brother printing technologies. In the brother fax machine there are much more facilities available is that automatically paper cutting, auto switching system, automatic redialing, on-hook dialing, journal report preparation, 512KB Memory (20 pages), key lock system, multi ringing sound, 104 station quick dials, up to 20 pages of memory transmission, fax forwarding, polling, speed dialing and so on.

Advantages=The standardization of written communications used by an organization

improves credibility within the firm as well as with customers and suppliers. Standardized communications are easily identifiable. Standardized written communications may also improve accuracy and save time. The use of standardized communications can also help prevent fraud. For example, if a customer becomes accustomed to receiving specifically formatted emails from her bank, she will be more likely to recognize an email from a scammer pretending to work at the bank. The customer may then report the scam email to the appropriate authorities.

Disadvantages
While standardization of written communications may be useful to an organization, it is essential to understand that there are some disadvantages. For example, the organization must train workers to use the acceptable format, which may sometimes be costly. Finally, extremely rigid standards may inhibit the worker from completely expressing the message in an easily understandable manner. Strict standardization may also impair creativity. It is essential for managers and workers at all levels to understand when it is appropriate to stray from the organization's guidelines for written communications