At this time, you can find fax machines in almost any office in the United States or anyplace in this world, large or small office, hi tech or low tech office. The primary function of fax machine is it will help you to transmit pieces of paper to someone else immediately!
History of Fax Machine
Fax machine was first designed by a Scottish mechanic, Alexander Bain in 1843 by combining clock and telegraph technology. Then, Giovanni Caselli created a pantelegraph used by French Post in 1862. In 1902, Arthur Korn invented a way of transmitting picture through electric wires. Edouard Belin in 1914 established the concept for remote fax photo and news reporting.
In 1924 AT&T (US Telephone and Telegraph Company) modernized telephone faximile technology by making a telephotography machine that was used to send political convention photos.
Again by Edouard Belin in 1925, he developed the Belinograph. Then in March 5, 1955 the first radio faximile was sent across the country. In 1966, Xerox introduced a fax machine that was smaller and easier to use which motivate offices to use them. At around 1980’s the fax machines were very popular.
How Fax Machine Works
Early fax machine was created by involving a rotating drum. You require to attach a paper to the drum with print facing forward to send a fax. The rest of the fax machine using photo sensor with lens and light. The sensor was attached to an arm and faced the sheet of paper. The the arm could move downward over the sheet of paper from one to the other while the sheet rotated to the drum.
The photo sensor was able to focus in and look at a very small spot on the paper in an area of around 0,01 inches square. The drum then would rotate so that the photo sensor could analyze one line of the paper and then move down a line.
To send the information through a telephone line early fax machine utilizing a color code that is black and white. If the spot of paper was white the fax machine would send one tone, if it were black then it would send another tone. For example, 800Hz for white and 1.300Hz for black.
At the receiving end, there would be an identical rotating drum, with some type of pen to mark on the paper. When the receiving fax machine got a 1,300-Hertz tone, it would apply the pen to the paper. When it heard an 800-Hertz tone, it would withdraw the pen from the paper.
Today’s fax machine still use sensors to read the paper. Most of newer fax machines have paper feed system to send multi pages fax.
Modern technology is employed in fax machines that use photo-diode sensor system, consisting 1,728 sensors that scans an entire line of the paper simultaneously.
There are several different methods of printing the fax on the receiving terminal. The oldest method, mentioned earlier, is using rolls of thermal paper. Fax machines that use this paper have some major advantages: they’re cheap to make; they have no moving parts, other than the paper-feed mechanism; there is no need of printer ink cartridge or ribbons (the paper contains the ink); and they’re practically indestructible. Other methods involve thermal film (which is more complicated than thermal paper, but less complicated than inkjet), inkjet and laser. Also, faxes can be received directly into a computer that has a fax modem, and printed out with whatever printer is attached to the computer.
That’s it, a little bit about fax machine that can help you understand more about the system that is nearly impossible to do business without one today.