A fax machine or facsimile is an affordable device capable of sending document copies using the telephone line. The first model that came out was developed in 1861. But the fully functional telephone was invented in 1876. It popularity only increased in the last decade however.

Fax machines are undisputed king in the office environment. This important home or office equipment has improved with time. Internet-based document transmission is its closest rival. But still fax machines have the edge in transmitting sensitive materials. This made it a very reliable equipment in the office. The popular brands include Brother, Canon, Panasonic, Epson, HP and Sharp.

Small and big offices alike send and receive large volumes of fax transmissions in their daily transactions. The manufacturers appreciate the positive feedbacks and reward clients with further innovations. Modern fax machines provide many features for the convenience of the user. Facsimile machine now offers more than just transmitting and receiving document.

There are things to consider before buying a fax machine. The most important aspect is the type of printing technology. The most inexpensive is the film cartridge fax machines. The inkjet fax machine is reasonably priced while the laser fax machine is the most expensive. Take a good look at the printing capability because a document is deemed useless if one could not read the prints and images clearly.

Fax machines using inkjet printing is suitable if you receive from 20 to 30 documents every day. It cost relatively low and it provides clear texts. But for heavy users it is not cost-efficient because of the recurring cost of ink. Laser fax machines use laser or LED in printing documents. This type proved to be cost-effective for its heavy duty use. It uses a toner that produces a high quality text on plain paper. A toner can print a big bulk of documents.

The oldest technology in fax machine is the thermal transfer type. Heat is used to print texts from ink ribbon onto a thermal or shiny paper. Thermal transfer fax machines are cheap, reliable, and usually found in home-office environment. However, these types offer a poor print quality.

Some of fax machine features include dual access. It allows transmitting a fax while printing incoming documents from the memory. The data compression protocol Modified Read (MR) and MMR or Modified Modified Read increase the transmission speed making the machine more effective. Another important feature is it receives and stores incoming fax in the memory when the machine runs out of paper.

Some model offers a hook up to the computer. It allows faxing through the personal computer. The most sophisticated fax machines can serve as phone, scanner, copier and printer. It is known as Multifunction Device or MFD. The most common yet essential feature is the speed dialing. Quick scan lessen the time needed to scan the original document making the machine more efficient.

Here are some basic procedures in using fax machine. Include a cover letter on the document you are sending. Always write the name of the recipient before faxing the document. Keep the documents in order on the tray if you are using automatic fax machine. Dial the phone number starting with the area code of the recipient of the documents. The machine will start sending the document. You can press the speed dial feature if the contact is already saved on the phonebook.

Older machines require you to wait for the fax tone. Enter the area code followed by the phone number of the recipient. When you heard the fax tone, manually transmit the document by inserting it in the scanner with the head facing downwards. If the machine at the other end is not set to automatically receive incoming fax, someone will pick up the phone and you can ask the person to manually receive the document.