Fax Machine
The facsimile, or fax, machine is both a transmitting and receiving device that "reads" text, maps, photographs, fingerprints, and graphics and communicates via telephone line. Since the 1980s, fax machines have undergone rapid development and refinement, and are now indispensable communication aids for news services, businesses, government agencies, and individuals.
The fax was invented by Alexander Bain of Scotland in 1842. His crude device, along with scanning systems invented by Frederick Bakewell in 1848, evolved into several modern versions. In 1869, a Frenchman, Ludovic d'Arlincourt, synchronized transmitters and receivers with tuning forks and thus aided further developments. In 1924, faxes were first used to transmit wire photos from Cleveland to New York, a boon to the newspaper industry. Two years later, RCA inaugurated a trans-Atlantic radio photo service for businesses. Models either required an electrolytic or photo-sensitive paper, which changed color when current passed through it; or thermal paper, a material coated with colorless dye which became visible upon contact with a toner. The use of faxes, and fax technology itself, remained comparatively limited until the mid-1980s.
To used a fax machine, the user inserts the material to be transmitted into a slot, then makes a telephone connection with another facsimile machine. When the number is dialed, the two machines make electronic connection. A rotating drum advances the original before an optical scanner. The scanner reads the original document either in horizontal rows or vertical columns and converts the printed image into a pattern of several million tiny electronic signals, or pixels, per page. The facsimile machine can adjust the number of pixels so that the sender can control the sharpness and quality of the transmission. Within seconds, the encoded pattern is converted into electric current by a photoelectric cell, then travels via telegraph or telephone wires to the receiving fax, which is synchronized to accept the signal and produce an exact replica of the original by reverse process.
In the 1990s, fax machine technology has improved as they have become more common and less expensive. Indeed, most than 600 different fax models were available in this time period. Almost all faxes now employ plain paper (which, unlike thermal paper, avoids curling) and are preferred for their superior reproduction. Another improvement is the invention of a scrambler, an encoder which allows the sender to secure secrecy for documents. While most fax machines still stand alone or are part of a telephone unit, using a computer to fax has become more widespread. Computers can be equipped with a fax board, an electronic circuit that allows the computer to receive messages, thus saving on paper and telephone charges. In the late 1990s, fax machines have also been incorporated into multifunction printers. These printers often contain a laser or ink-jet printer, scanner, copier and fax machine in one. Stand-alone faxes have also become more compact in the late 1990s as problems with roller and chip design have been solved. Hitachi introduced the first compact fax, and since then, faxes have become small enough to be portable.
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