Electrical transmission of static images,such as photographs,drawings, maps and written or printed by wire or radio.
The first proposal for an electrical system of transmitting images in faxes was made by the cotsman Alexander Bain in 1842. Among the facsimile systems first put to commercial use were the cablephoto in 1920 and wirephoto in 1924. The most usual method of scanning the fax image is to wrap it around a cylinder which is rotated at a precisely constant rate by a motor drive. Another type of continuous recorder in commercial service is based on the combination of a print blade and a revolving helix. The most widely used facsimile machine is the Desk-Fax,a compact device that is placed in customer's offices and used for speedy transmission and reception of telegrams in picture form. Facsimile systems are widely utilized by business firms and government to transmit all kinds of record and graphic information between their offices and branches. Facsimile systems now in use range from a simple point-to-point connection to nationwide systems.