| Extension | .fax |
| Category | images |
| Description | Early fax technology used analog phone lines to transmit documents as audio frequency signals. However, digital wireless technology and the internet have transformed faxing. Now, faxing no longer relies on traditional telephone systems, emphasizing the importance of the Group 3 FAX format. This format compresses TIFF images created by scanning documents, significantly reducing file transmission time. Excessive compression beyond the standard 10:1 ratio can compromise image quality, but users can adjust this ratio as needed to maintain image quality. |
| Technical details | Many fax machines adhere to the Group 3 standards, set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). These machines operate at resolutions of 203 x 98 dpi and 203 x 196 dpi for standard and high quality, respectively. However, these resolutions are not explicitly stated as being horizontal or vertical. They employ encoding techniques like Modified Huffman (MH) or Modified Read (MR) to compress data, thus reducing transmission time. Transmission speeds range from 2400 bits per second (bps) to 33600 bps, depending on phone line quality and machine capabilities. Traditional faxing used analog signals, but digital faxing's arrival revolutionized the process by converting documents into digital files for transmission over the internet. Despite the rise of digital communication, faxing remains a popular method due to its simplicity and the legal validity of faxed documents. |
