Fax machines slowly headed to extinction

Digital documents sent via email are replacing once-vital communication method

I was working on a project this week that had me cross-checking contact information to make sure it was still correct.

Most of the information was fine: phone number, fax number, hours, address, email address, and so on. But then on one entry’s website, the company noted that as of 2017, it no longer had a fax line, and instead asked people to send information to a specific email address.

I paused for a moment, and realized I don’t remember the last time I had to fax a document somewhere.

We have a fax machine in the newsroom, but I primarily use it to scan in documents. The fax machine then emails me a digital copy of whatever I need, which I then email out.

The Yuma Sun newsroom still gets faxes, although the vast majority of those faxes are actually spammy junk mail. “Sign up today for cheaper widget production!” Since we don’t use widgets, clearly, the fax sender has a few mistakes on its target distribution list.

And when we do get faxes, we no longer have to walk to the fax machine to pick them up. Instead, through the magic of technology, every fax that comes to the newsroom actually becomes an email, and lands in the newsroom email account. It’s labeled as coming from the fax machine, so we know it started its journey as a fax, but no longer do we use paper for it. Instead, those faxes are converted to digital documents.

Once upon a time, that fax machine was a vital way of sending and receiving information. But as more companies expand their digital presence, the fax machine is going extinct. The newsroom has gone from receiving several faxes a day to receiving maybe six to 10 a month. And of those that we receive now, most are spam.

The move away from faxes makes sense. Businesses with email no longer need to fax information in and out, so eliminating the fax machine also eliminates the cost of a dedicated phone line, and saves a few trees along the way.

Sometimes, technological evolutions happen abruptly. Others, more gradually. The fax machine is dropping off the scene rather quietly, but it’s a change that I prefer.