Printer/fax

castle96

Just bought a new Brother printer/all in one. Half the controls are given over to FAX. Do fax's even still exist?? Just suprised !

Neil_Jones

Course it still exists, machines are still available:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-SF-370-Inkjet-Fax-Machine/dp/B0018LS0FC

Just more convenient to have it lumped on a printer which is already printing rather than stock up on ribbons and pads for the occasion in a blue moon you decide to fax.

zagubov

Still big in Japan and if you need to send questions to the FBI I think it still can only be by fax.

Still waiting for a telex about when I can get software to transfer mp3s to 8-track cartridges or laser diiscs.

[Deleted User]

There continued to be some benefits to fax even after email became common that people clung on to:

1. Can be easier for non technical people to get a paper document sent to a remote location - ie rather than scan and save to a computer and then attach to an email.
   
   
2. You get a confirmation that the fax has been printed at the other end - you know for sure there is now a physical piece of paper at the destination with the content of your fax, unlike email which is difficult to confirm receipt.
   
   
3. Some privacy and security benefits, it doesn't pass through an intermediary like an email provider or the internet and there is no electronic copy to be intercepted and re-distributed. 
   
   
4. Financial, medical and legal world have hung on to fax for longer than most, it is considered a legal proof in court. Medical regulations in the US required it for some time for privacy reasons but I think that is now diminishing. 
   
   
5. The NHS only eliminated fax machines in 2020. In 2017 they were the world largest purchaser of fax machines, still had over 11,000 in 2019.
   
   
6. Some countries still don't recognise electronic signatures as legal proof but do accept faxes as legal proof.
   
   
7. Was more difficult to tamper with the transmitted copy unlike an electronic copy on email.
   
   
8. Can be used in locations without internet - a phone line is still more common than internet in developing countries.
   
   
9. No compatibility issues - ie document readers need for opening Word / PDF / Images etc

Much of the above is irrelevant now and other electronic means have caught up with all of that, electronic signatures are now considered as legal in some countries and systems can provide proof of delivery, anti tamper and authentication of the sender but all have a cost and complexity compared to fax that is inescapable.

interstellaflyer

Whether you need the fax facility or not, having an auto document feeder makes scanning and photocopying multiple page documents a lot easier and quicker