The fax was a great invention. So large that, established in 1900, it is still in use well into 2019. That's not to say it hasn't changed. In fact, the fax was first allied with the telephone line and later with the personal computer. Like a good fashion strategist, now the fax machine has gone virtual.

Always young and at the forefront of technology, the fax has been able to adapt to the company culture and that is where it has prospered for decades. It is still used today even without the huge fax machines of old. This leads us to the question: if a fax can be virtual, what exactly is it?

Index

1. What is fax?
2. From what devices can you send a fax?
3. How to send and receive a fax?

The virtual fax, a protocol for sending information

Wikipedia says that “a fax is essentially an image scanner, a modem and a printer combined in a specialized device”. But if we only need the scanner part, a mobile phone camera, a 4G card or a Wi-Fi connection, and its screen are enough.

Formally, the fax is the telephone transmission that takes place after scanning a document in order to generate the same one on the other side. That is, information in the form of electron flow from one place to another. But it happens that in the end the sending and receiving device adopted the same name.

Can I send a fax with my mobile?

Yes. In fact, you can send a fax from any device that has a connection and in turn has a camera or scanner. From the other side of the equation, a fax can be received to any connected device. The sent fax does not care if it came from a scanner, a connected printer, a PC or a mobile phone.

That said, a common protocol is needed to make sending possible. That is, the mobile phone needs to be dialed as a fax machine. Although there are some virtual faxes that dispense with telephone numbers, they are generally still used for obvious reasons:

In other words, the virtual fax uses part of the classic infrastructure of the traditional fax. But also part of the new telecommunications infrastructure such as fiber optics. In fact, if you hire a virtual fax service you will receive a phone number (maybe virtual and therefore without SIM). For whoever is on the other side it will be impossible to detect what kind of machine you use.

How does virtual fax work and where can I get it?

Traditional fax machines are like landlines: they have to be turned on to work. Also, most are not portable and all waste ink. It is normal for many companies to seek to eliminate this old device and process everything via the internet.

The scanned document does not care if it travels through copper, fiber optics, ADSL or VoIP. We have many alternatives on the market and they are all similar. Popfax, Virtual Fax, Telefácil or Voice are just some of them. Virtually all of them operate via email and use PDF to save the image.

How to receive a fax on my mobile

Suppose we have contracted any of the above services, or any other. As a result, we have received a fax number and have been asked for an email account. Now, if anyone sends a fax to that number, it will also reach us at that email we gave.

How do I send a fax from my mobile?

The sending mechanism is a bit more difficult, but still simple. Some companies work through an app, others by entering through a web page and, finally, there are those that have protocols within Outlook, Webmail and other mail managers.

In all cases, it involves taking a photo on the mobile, attaching it to the app, web or email, and sending it to a fax number. As we said above, the recipient will not notice that it comes from a mobile phone, a computer or a tablet.

Does virtual fax have a future?

Considering the path of the fax, it would be strange if it ceased to exist. In fact, many administrations demand its use for certain communications. This makes it difficult to get rid of it in the medium term. That said, there are alternatives to faxing, such as digitally signed emails.

The virtual fax will continue with us because we need to send images of a certain quality so that we know that it has reached the other side. But for that there is also the acknowledgment of receipt of the email, present on almost all platforms, and even the double confirmation of WhatsApp that companies already use.

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Pictures | iStock/demaerre, iStock/anyaberkut, iStock/millann

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