In our current culture of rapidly expanding technology and lightning-fast communication, some people haven’t even heard of fax, nor are they aware of any uses of fax machine technology. In fact, many young people wonder: do people still fax?
Are Fax Machines Obsolete?
The fax machine was first invented a long time ago: back in 1843. It didn’t become popular until 1939, but after that, it took off so much that everyone knew the basic concept behind sending fax. You simply place one document into the machine, punch in the number for where you want it to go, and it’s sent to another fax machine. Back when the technology came out, this was quite remarkable. Now, with the rise of email and text communications, it can appear that there are no further uses for fax machine technology.
So, why do people still use fax machines? Why fax instead of email a quick message? Read on, and we’ll discuss eight reasons why.
You Can Send Messages to Incomplete Addresses
One of the coolest uses of fax machine communication is sending a message without knowing many personal details. When it comes to email, you have to know every letter of the address. Get it wrong, and the message won’t get delivered where you want it.
With a fax machine, all you have to know is the business’s name you are sending documents to. This information is easy to get a hold of, making faxes a great way to market your business. It may also be the answer to the question: why fax instead of email?
Messages Don’t Get Lost.
Fax machines continue to be popular because of their reliability.[1] While it’s not uncommon for a text or phone call to never make it much of anywhere, the same isn’t all that true when it comes to faxes.
Not only do signals get frequently interrupted, ruining your communication attempts, but emails are also known to get buried deep within your spam folder. When you send a fax, you can be sure it will reach its intended recipient.
Do people still fax? They do if they want to guarantee their message arrives.
Why Fax Instead of Email?
The internet isn’t needed. When people ask, “are fax machines obsolete, “ they often have the internet in the back of their minds. Though modern-day fax machines can be easily integrated with the worldwide web, making the process even quicker, they can also go offline.
These transmissions remain completely on phone lines, making them accessible for every business. It also prevents messages from getting dropped due to connectivity errors.
It’s Remained Surprisingly Modern
Why do people still use fax in the year 2021? The process of sending fax has remained more modern than you might expect. Their use has leveled off compared to the height of the technology, but there hasn’t been a sharp decline. Why is this? Why do people still fax?
Faxing stayed modern by jumping on the internet bandwagon as soon as it could. Faxes are now sent through email messages, through your cell phone, and through your computer. Traditional fax machines aren’t used as often anymore due to the emergence of computers with fax machine components built-in and printers that act as all-in-one devices. This streamlining helped the service remain modern, as did the easy, Gmail-like interface used.
It Provides Confirmation Pages
When answering the question, “are fax machines obsolete?” it’s important to keep documents like confirmation pages in mind. They’re certainly not obsolete, and neither is the fax machine. In fact, confirmation pages are the most significant reason fax has remained a popular method of business communication.
A confirmation page is a document that confirms your party has received your message. This piece of evidence provides legal protection in some instances and is a useful way to keep a paper trail of your business interactions. This is because the page displays valuable information like sender and receiver fax numbers and the date and time of message transmission.
Almost Every Business Uses It
Fax technology has been around long enough for it to have gained a reputation. You’ve likely heard of it before, maybe even by word-of-mouth recommendation. Almost everyone knows someone who still uses a fax machine, whether personally or in business. It’s more common for a business to utilize fax technology than it is for them not to.
This creates The Bandwagon Effect. Since so many companies already use the technology, more get drawn to it to fit in and keep up with the times. It all boils down to the fear of missing out: if others are doing it, it’s probably well worth it for you to give it a try as well.
It Makes Paperwork Simpler
Every single business on the planet has paperwork. Sometimes, it’s an epic pile of paperwork that’s looked upon with dread. Anything that makes the process of sending, sorting, and keeping this paperwork organized is a useful tool for a business. Using a fax machine helps keep paperwork simple and helps create a record, so you know everything is safe and secured.
This is useful when last-minute negotiations get made with another company. The updated documents can easily get faxed over without running back to the office to print the needed papers.
Why Do People Still Use Fax? It’s More Secure
Lastly, faxing keeps legal documents more secure. This makes them popular with law enforcement services, medical providers, and those working in the legal industry. Plus, without filters like spam folders, authorities can be sure documents actually make it into the right hands.
Sending signatures is best over fax, too, due to this increased security and safety. Since you can send papers directly over phone lines, there’s no chance of these signatures getting tampered with or intercepted. You can rest easy and know that your important documents have gotten to the proper authority by using a fax machine. The same applies to sending protected information, like social security numbers and licenses.
Were you surprised to learn that fax machines are just as relevant today as they were decades ago? Which reason stuck out to you the most?
At Frontier Business Products, our company has been family-owned from the start, and we’re proud to be one of the top 250 female-led companies in the state of Colorado. Schedule a free call with a solution specialist today to learn more. We look forward to hearing from you!