The Fax Machine

A fax machine is a device that can send or receive pictures and text over a telephone line. Fax machines work by digitizing an image; dividing it into a grid of dots. Each dot is either on or off, depending on whether it is black or white. Electronically, each dot is represented by a bit that has a value of either 0 (off) or 1 (on) so it serves as an indicator for the fax machine one what to print based on the dot instruction. In this way, the fax machine translates a picture into a series of zeros and ones, which they call a bitmap that can be transmitted like normal computer data. On the receiving side, a fax machine reads the incoming data, translates the zeros and ones back into dots, and reprints the picture. The most common way to send a fax is through a telephone line, however in today’s world and technology, we can send and receive faxes through our emails, cell-phones, PDA’s and even from our iPods.

In 1986, a decade after the boom of fax machine purchase and after the creation of the first computer fax board, Brothers International Corporation was the leading supplier for the world’s growing demands. In 1996 onwards, Pitney Bowes Facsimile Systems seems to be the market leader of fax machines around the world except for Europe which favors Oki Printing Solutions Company as their main supplier for these fax devices.

Fax machines are similar to e-mails, but based on the procedure of how to use a fax machine wherein the sender has to properly stack the documents face down into the feeder tray and dial more than one number in order to send the documents to the other person. An advantage of this over the e-mail is that this prints the text sheet right away upon receiving the data from the other fax machine. There are no viruses attached to the information form the other line so there is a strong sense o security involved.

A fax machine is a telecommunications technology used to transfer copies of documents, especially using affordable devices operating over the telephone network. Faxes have an advantage over postal mail because the sending of information is instant which allows people to exchange information quickly and over large distances.

References:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1996_May_30/ai_18336463/
http://www.prlog.org/10013246-photocopiers-fax-machines-market-report.html
http://www.okieurope.com/pages/drivers_fr.htm
http://communication.howstuffworks.com/fax-machine4.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/27887/gather/history/fax.shtml

All of which was accessed today, August 4, 2009