How To Recieve Fax
by Matt Gerchow
There is now more than one way to receive a fax, so the answer to the
question, how to receive a fax? Is not as straight forward as “buying a
fax machine of course” anymore.
Although the fax has only taken off in approximately the last 30 years, the technology has actually been with us since 1843. The fax machine is really an improvement on the telegraph machine, which was the popular way to send messages at the time. The telegraph used Morse code and messages where coded and decoded either end by trained telegraph operators. The fax differs in the way that it is an exact copy of a document, which is then coded into an electrical signal by a machine not a human being. This is then decoded and reproduced by another machine the other end of the telephone wire.
These first machines for faxing where very basic and very costly, remember you needed your recipient to have another machine their end otherwise your machine was effectively useless. Over the next one hundred years, science made a few jumps in faxing technology, but it was not till 1955 that the first fax was sent between continents. However is was not until the late 1970’s that fax machines starting to make their way into the corporate world and the business office, even then they where expensive in comparison to now. Digital technology made the machines smaller and more affordable and the Japanese where at the forefront of faxing technology. By the mid 1980’s fax machines where all over the world and had become an essential part of most businesses.
These days, technology has moved on to another stage. The Internet and email has revolutionized the way we communicate and the way we do business and are making fax machines all but obsolete. The low cost of scanning machines, often integrated into printer/photocopiers, has replaced a lot of the need for fax machines. We can now scan any document digitally and send it via email as an attached file.
Although fax machines maybe decreasing in number, fax numbers are not. Modern businesses are keeping their fax numbers and switching from a machine to a virtual fax service. Fax service companies will take an email address of your choosing and link to a fax number, and then they will manage your incoming and outgoing faxes. This means that effectively someone who has a physical fax machine can send a fax in the traditional method to your fax number. This will then be received by your online fax service management company, converted to an email format and forwarded on to your linked email address, giving a nice seamless transition from fax to email.
This modern way of sending and receiving faxes has several advantages over the fax machine. Firstly, there is no cost outlay for a fax machine and no phone bills, as you are not using a telephone line. This is especially good for international businesses that are regularly sending faxes between countries with costly phone bills. Another advantage is saving space in the office and saving paper, which helps the environment. So if you have not already, why not look into getting an online fax service and start saving money and the environment?
Test drive RingCentral and fax free for 30 days
Although the fax has only taken off in approximately the last 30 years, the technology has actually been with us since 1843. The fax machine is really an improvement on the telegraph machine, which was the popular way to send messages at the time. The telegraph used Morse code and messages where coded and decoded either end by trained telegraph operators. The fax differs in the way that it is an exact copy of a document, which is then coded into an electrical signal by a machine not a human being. This is then decoded and reproduced by another machine the other end of the telephone wire.
These first machines for faxing where very basic and very costly, remember you needed your recipient to have another machine their end otherwise your machine was effectively useless. Over the next one hundred years, science made a few jumps in faxing technology, but it was not till 1955 that the first fax was sent between continents. However is was not until the late 1970’s that fax machines starting to make their way into the corporate world and the business office, even then they where expensive in comparison to now. Digital technology made the machines smaller and more affordable and the Japanese where at the forefront of faxing technology. By the mid 1980’s fax machines where all over the world and had become an essential part of most businesses.
These days, technology has moved on to another stage. The Internet and email has revolutionized the way we communicate and the way we do business and are making fax machines all but obsolete. The low cost of scanning machines, often integrated into printer/photocopiers, has replaced a lot of the need for fax machines. We can now scan any document digitally and send it via email as an attached file.
Although fax machines maybe decreasing in number, fax numbers are not. Modern businesses are keeping their fax numbers and switching from a machine to a virtual fax service. Fax service companies will take an email address of your choosing and link to a fax number, and then they will manage your incoming and outgoing faxes. This means that effectively someone who has a physical fax machine can send a fax in the traditional method to your fax number. This will then be received by your online fax service management company, converted to an email format and forwarded on to your linked email address, giving a nice seamless transition from fax to email.
This modern way of sending and receiving faxes has several advantages over the fax machine. Firstly, there is no cost outlay for a fax machine and no phone bills, as you are not using a telephone line. This is especially good for international businesses that are regularly sending faxes between countries with costly phone bills. Another advantage is saving space in the office and saving paper, which helps the environment. So if you have not already, why not look into getting an online fax service and start saving money and the environment?
Test drive RingCentral and fax free for 30 days