Why Do People Still Use Fax Machines?

How do fax machines work, and why do people still use them in the age of e-mail?

[HussainAkbar]

I set up a fax modem in my computer at work and used that to send faxes. Recipients were amazed at the quality as they had never seen such a clear copy.

[LazerLord]

Linus media group:

Thousands of dollars worth of modern computer components.

_Doesn't have a fax machine to use in video_.

[soopahfly]

Just to add, there is also the cultural context to take in consideration. Japan, for example. put a lot of importance on hand-written documents. They consider such documents as something that contain sincerity or of great importance so a fax machine is a great medium to use for that.

[boe]

Sorry I'm late. I got the notification by fax.

[brooksbrandenburg]

As a graphic designer, I often have clients trying to send me faxes assuming they will have color. No one seems to know anything anymore...

[AtomicAJ]

I work at a nuclear power plant (United States). When our emergency organizations are communicating with off-site agencies like the county and state, we have to send them faxes. We're just now convincing them that email is a preferred method, but faxes are actually more reliable. Reliability is kind of important in emergencies, so even after we start using emails, we'll probably keep the fax machines for backup purposes.

[marlz]

Canadian maple syrup as thermal paste

[PtrkHrnk]

2:29 Most modern standalone desktop fax machines used thermal-transfer print
4:23 400 DPI is plenty enough, there's no use for more than that in an office

[iownalx]

still to this day ive never seen one used with my own two eyes.

[throwback]

A company I used to work for interacts closely with Doctors, receiving medical records and whatnot, almost exclusively via fax, many doctors have a policy against sending sensitive information any other way, even when we introduced a "secure" online system, there was a very low implementation rate. Almost every one of them preferred to download the forms and fax them to us instead

[konatadesuka]

>Dot matrix, inkjet or laser printer.
Linus seems to have forgotten the kind of printer in 99% of fax machines, which is a thermal printer.
Some used thermal paper in a roll and there were other brands using regular paper but used a "thermal ink film" with the same basic concept to transfer an image into a sheet of plain paper.

[nikkiiv]

I am not gonna lie, it is SO convenient to use fax instead of email when dealing with bank, law, insurance and medical industries. Faxing documents is just way better than emailing. only downside is that the FAX line is quite expensive as it landline, but there are efax services out there that solve this problem.

[hikingpete]

The only problem with all your advantages, is that the phone company turns around, digitizes the audio signal, and transfers it over the internet...

[TwistyTrav]

Fax machines are really a solid staple in the sales industry. Nearly every manufacturer and supplier require any and all purchase orders to be sent by fax. They often will not accept email PO's or phone PO's.

[TheGlockowner]

We used a fax machine in the US Army that would transmit via FM radio signal and used a spinning cylinder (sized for 8.5 x 11.5 inch paper) and a stylus/carbon paper setup to make the document.

[franzfms]

Good thing I was able to use one during my office job and some staff taught me the simplest way of handling and using the fax machine.

[the_danksmith]

"Telephone lines are more reliable"




*laughs in crappy ADSL*

[LReBe]

3:29 they're not necessarily more secure, because they're going over an unencrypted shared medium. It does require hardware access to said bus and the message is never stored, but it's hardly a replacement for end-to-end encryption.

[royalmastergaming]

80years Later





Why do people Still Use SMARTPHONE??

[bonnome]

400dpi is actually pretty good. Professional printing for books is usually 300dpi