Why are faxes still around

Further, some regions and government agencies still require a physical signature on various forms, which demands a facsimile of a signed document to be sent over. While faxing is still a common way to transmit a document, whether a fax machine is still useful sort of depends on your industry.

For the most part, if you have a cell phone, you have a fax solution that's cheaper, faster and easier to use than a large, cumbersome fax machine. While fax machines are a common sight in courthouses and hospitals, you wouldn't necessarily see a private attorney using one. Other businesses may still use fax machines or online fax services to send documents because they don't trust the security of email, while some just prefer using the technology they're already familiar with.

Some people may have a fax machine and not even know it, as many popular multifunction printers for a home or small office have one built in. New fax machines usually use the latest tech to make sure they're viable solutions, but unless your job specifically demands one, they're not exactly essential anymore.

Editor's note: Looking for the right digital copier for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. The first fax machine was designed by Scottish inventor Alexander Bain, who patented his "electric printing telegraph" on May 27, , and naturally went on to reproduce the first graphic signs in English physicist Frederick Bakewell refined Bain's original design to create a telefax machine in , which he demonstrated at the World's Fair in London.

Things started getting interesting in , when Italian physicist Giovanni Caselli invented the pantelegraph. The pantelegraph technology is particularly noteworthy because Caselli used it to create the first commercial telefax service between Paris and Lyon, over a decade before telephones were created. Around , the bildtelegraph aka image telegraph was developed by German physicist Arthur Korn, who specialized in electrical engineering and quantum mechanics.

The bildtelegraph was widely used throughout continental Europe, most notably when a photo of a wanted criminal was sent from Paris to London in It continued to be popular until the advent of radiofax. Invented in by American engineer Richard H.

Ranger, the wireless photoradiogram aka radiofax was used to send a photograph of U. By , radiofax was a commercially available service, and in the late s, "radio newspapers" were being transmitted directly to subscribers using an AM radio and a printer. In the s, Xerox introduced the long-distance xerography LDX machine, which was built as a smaller solution to fax and copy machines that used telephone transmissions to transfer a letter-sized document in less than six minutes.

Businesses started adopting fax machines on a much greater scale in the s, and with so much competition creating new innovations, that's when most of the features, like optical scanning and fast transmission, were introduced.

Did you know? Specifically, HIPAA-compliant fax systems ensure the correct number is dialed and limit who can see received faxes. Digital patient-information systems have struggled to meet the same standards of administrative, technical and physical security.

Crucially, rather than forcing competing systems to be compatible in order to receive federal support, the administration believed the market would decide on a standard to communicate. What actually happened was that competing companies deliberately created incompatible systems. Small businesses who find that faxing meets all their needs have little reason to spend the money and effort to try a new technology for document exchange.

Every company that prefers faxes inherently encourages all its customers and suppliers to keep faxing too, to avoid messing up existing ordering processes. This is true beyond faxing: I drive a Camry. There are plenty of cars that are better in some way — safer, more fuel-efficient, more comfortable — but so long as the Camry passes state inspections and performs adequately, I can avoid the challenges and costs of buying a new car and learning how to use its new features.

Faxing is still popular overseas, too. In Britain, the Electronic Communications Act encouraged but did not explicitly authorize electronic signatures. In response, the U. In December, the National Health Service decided to stop buying fax machines in and end their use by the end of Nevertheless, faxing continues because it remains better — cheaper, more convenient, more secure, more comfortable — than the alternatives for many people, businesses and organizations.

Read about eFax vs. Why Does Faxing Still Exist? Thursday, January 03, A popular misconception is that online faxing and fax machine usage is in decline.

Faxing is considered a reliable and trusted source of secure information exchange. One of the key drivers for fax volume is the growing accessibility and simplicity of fax technology. Due to the continued use of fax by consumers as well as suppliers, companies are forced to meet those demands. The growth of cloud fax services is predicted to continue. Send and receive faxes in minutes. Back to Blog. Search When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.

Fax Online. How to Fax. The Easy Way to Fax Online.