Communication is the fundamental necessity of all business firms. Passing message either in written form or through voice is the basic form of sending message. Messages that are passed to a person need to be relevant and useful to the receiver. Sending written message through telephone lines is made possible with fax machines. A fax machine does not need the use of an internet facility.

Fax machines are now seen almost in all offices, business industries and at homes. Fax machines work on the process of reading the information and converting them in to electronic form. This form of message is sent through the telephone lines. When the message reaches the receiver’s machine, the electronic message is again decoded back in to the original form. This is then replicated and printed on to a blank sheet of paper.

The different types of fax machines are inkjet, laser and thermal. Inkjet fax machines work on the principle of spraying ink by forcing the ink out of the cartridge with slight pressure or by heating the ink slightly by current to create bubbles, which is spayed on to the paper. Laser fax machines work on the principle of electrostatic charge on a rotating drum. The black and colour sections of the document attract different charges. The toner that is inside the machine attracts the electrostatic charge and this is deposited on to the paper that runs through the machine. Thermal fax machines does not need ink cartridges, instead the thermal paper that is covered with chemicals get heated up in those areas where the text and images appear. The disadvantage of thermal fax machines is that if the paper is exposed for long hours in the sun, it gets ruined.

Modern fax machines do not just perform faxing instead they also print, scan and perform photo copying functions. Laser fax machines are more cost effective than the inkjet printers. Maintenance of such fax machines is more important to ensure long run of the machine.