In spite of an old-school transmission method, fax is still being used by quite a large number of people around the world. However, fax is always blamed for its slow speed because it seems that it takes about “a century” to send a fax. Is that true, then? This article will tell you.
Why is Fax Slow?
Generally speaking, traditional fax runs based on the tools and services below:
- A fax machine;
- A landline dedicated for fax;
- Paper, ink, toner, and more.
To send a fax from a fax machine, first of all, you should prepare your paper file. If you have only a digital file, then you should print it out before faxing. Second, place your paper file at the file plate, pick up the receiver on the fax machine and dial the fax number of your recipient’s. Third, as a fax confirmation is received from the recipient’s end, press the fax button on the fax machine to start sending a fax through the steps of scanning, transformation and transmission. Fourth, after several minutes of transmission, your file will be successfully sent to the recipient in a fax.
Based on the working procedure of a fax machine, it can be concluded that traditional fax runs slowly because it depends on the telephone line to transmit digital signals that have a load limit when too many people use it at the same time.
Elements Determining the Transmission Speed of Faxes
To figure out how long it takes to send a fax, the elements should be clarified that determine the transmission speed of faxes and different elements are concerned when it comes to traditional fax and online fax.
When a traditional fax machine is used
When a traditional fax machine is used to send a fax, the elements determining the transmission speed of faxes include:
Fax machine brand and baud rate
Different fax machines run in different ways and speeds due to their different brands and baud rates. It’s understandable to select a reputable brand of a fax machine because it usually implies excellent performance. When it comes to baud rate, however, generally speaking, the higher baud rate a fax machine has, the faster it runs. For example, with the same brand, it takes a fax machine with a baud rate of 2400 2.5 minutes to send a fax while it takes a fax machine with a baud rate of 7200 1.25 minutes.
Fax file format
It takes a shorter time to transmit texts in fax than images or complex graphics. Therefore, next time before you send a fax, check the format of your file and estimate the time to send a fax. You’d better take your time as you send 100 pages of images in fax.
Recipient’s fax number
Similar to a telephone number, a fax number can be classified into a local fax number and an international fax number. It generally takes a longer time to transmit signals to an international fax number because more nodes will be passed.
When online fax is used
When online fax is used to send a fax, the elements determining the transmission speed of faxes include:
Online fax app you’ve chosen
Since multiple online fax apps are available on the market, it’s not an easy job to select the best one among the pile of apps. However, the elements contributing to top fax apps should be clarified, with which you’ll be able to tell the optimal one from others. Different fax apps perform differently in transmission speed, online security and budget.
Fax file format
It takes a shorter time to transmit texts in fax than images or complex graphics. Therefore, next time before you send a fax, check the format of your file and estimate the time to send a fax. You’d better take your time as you send 100 pages of images in the fax.
Internet performance
Is your Internet doing well while you’re sending a fax? If you’re using an online package with a low speed, how can you expect to have a higher fax speed?
Why Online Fax is a Fast Way to Fax?
Up to now, online fax has been so widely used by the world that it saves people’s efforts to find public fax machines everywhere in an emergency. Online fax can be regarded as the best way to fax owing to the following advantages:
Easy and Flexible to Use
Online fax allows you to send and receive a fax at any place and time. Any document can be sent can be transmitted from phones, tablets and computers, without the need to print them out. Online fax also allows users to edit documents before faxing them like adding a cover sheet or a signature.
Cost-Effective
Online fax saves your cost of a fax machine (that’s quite huge for an individual), telephone line, paper, ink and more. To send a fax from an online fax app, you just need nothing but a fax plan and access to the internet and the latter is always available.
Secure
Online fax apps can turn your personal phone into a personal fax machine, boosting the security of your fax files. Using a public fax machine means exposing your confidential files to the public.