Editing Fax (section)

===In the 21st century===
[[Image:Laserfax.JPG|thumb|Laser fax having a compact, built-in [[laser printer]], 2001.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://download.brother.com/welcome/doc000215/FAX8070_GR_UG_0.pdf| title = Manual of fax machine Brother 8070, see 3rd page}}</ref>]]
Although businesses usually maintain some kind of fax capability, the technology has faced increasing competition from [[Internet]]-based alternatives. In some countries, such as Germany, because [[electronic signature]]s on contracts are not yet [[Electronic signature#Enforceability|recognized by law]], while faxed contracts with copies of signatures are, fax machines enjoy continuing support in business.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2007/11/07/fax-and-scanned-signatures/ |title=Enforceability of Fax and Scanned Signature Pages|last=Adams| first=Ken| date=7 November 2007|publisher=AdamsDrafting|access-date=25 July 2012}}</ref>  In [[Japan]], faxes are still used extensively as of September 2020 for cultural and {{Clarify|reason=|date=May 2024|text=[[wiktionary:grapheme|graphemic]] reasons.}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Michael |title=Why is hi-tech Japan using cassette tapes and faxes? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34667380 |work=BBC News |access-date=6 October 2020 |date=3 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Fackler |first1=Martin |title=In High-Tech Japan, the Fax Machines Roll On (Published 2013) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/world/asia/in-japan-the-fax-machine-is-anything-but-a-relic.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=6 October 2020 |date=13 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Low-tech Japan challenged in working from home amid pandemic |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200426/p2g/00m/0na/040000c |website=Mainichi Daily News |publisher=The Mainichi |access-date=6 October 2020 |language=en |date=26 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Osaki |first1=Tomohiro |title=Taro Kono, Japan's administrative reform minister, declares war on faxes |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/27/national/japan-taro-kono-fax-machine-hanko/ |publisher=The Japan Times |access-date=6 October 2020 |date=27 September 2020}}</ref> They are available for sending to both domestic and international recipients from over 81% of all [[convenience stores]] nationwide. Convenience-store fax machines commonly print the slightly re-sized content of the sent fax in the electronic confirmation-slip, in [[A4 paper]] size.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawson.co.jp/service/counter/fax.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210112224/http://www.lawson.co.jp/service/counter/fax.html |archive-date=2015-02-10 |title=FAXサービス｜サービス｜ローソン |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fackler|first=Martin|title=In High-Tech Japan, the Fax Machines Roll On| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/world/asia/in-japan-the-fax-machine-is-anything-but-a-relic.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=world|access-date=14 February 2013|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=13 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Oi |first=Mariko |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19045837 |title=Japan and the fax: A love affair |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=2012-07-31 |access-date=2014-02-16}}</ref> Use of fax machines for reporting cases during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] has been criticised in Japan for introducing data errors and delays in reporting, slowing response efforts to contain the spread of infections and hindering the transition to [[remote work]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Osborne |first1=Samuel |title=Japan's reliance on fax machines lambasted by coronavirus doctor |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/coronavirus-japan-fax-machine-online-hanko-a9501906.html |work=The Independent |access-date=6 October 2020 |language=en |date=6 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Takahashi |first1=Ryusei |title=Tokyo test centers trade fax machines for computers with new coronavirus reporting system |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/08/04/national/tokyo-coronavirus-testing-faxes/ |publisher=The Japan Times |access-date=6 October 2020 |date=4 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Online criticism of outdated paper-and-fax coronavirus infection reports spark change in Japan |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200502/p2a/00m/0na/022000c |website=Mainichi Daily News |publisher=The Mainichi |access-date=6 October 2020 |language=en |date=2 May 2020}}</ref>

In many corporate environments, freestanding fax machines have been replaced by [[fax server]]s and other computerized systems capable of receiving and storing incoming faxes electronically, and then routing them to users on paper or via an [[email]] (which may be secured).<ref>{{cite news|last=Coopersmith|first=Jonathan|date=16 June 2021|title=Faxing is old tech. So why is it also growing in popularity?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/faxing-is-old-tech-so-why-is-it-also-growing-in-popularity/2019/03/08/d01c638a-2f0b-11e9-86ab-5d02109aeb01_story.html|url-status=live|newspaper=Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526102333/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/faxing-is-old-tech-so-why-is-it-also-growing-in-popularity/2019/03/08/d01c638a-2f0b-11e9-86ab-5d02109aeb01_story.html|archive-date=May 26, 2023}}</ref> Such systems have the advantage of reducing costs by eliminating unnecessary printouts and reducing the number of inbound analog phone lines needed by an office.

[[Image:Canon Laser Class 710 fax machine.JPG|thumb|left|Professional laser fax machine for office use with the Super G3 standard for faster transmission.]]

The once ubiquitous fax machine has also begun to disappear from the small office and home office environments.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} Remotely hosted fax-server services are widely available from VoIP and e-mail providers. Users can send and receive faxes using them with their existing e-mail accounts instead of dedicated hardware and fax lines. Personal computers have also long been able to handle incoming and outgoing faxes using analog modems or [[Integrated Services Digital Network|ISDN]]. These solutions are often ideally suited for users who only very occasionally need to use fax services.  In July 2017 the United Kingdom's [[National Health Service]] was said to be the world's largest purchaser of fax machines because the digital revolution has largely bypassed it.<ref>{{cite news|title=Digital doldrums: NHS remains world's largest purchaser of fax machines|url=http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/Health-Care-News/digital-doldrums-nhs-remains-worlds-largest-purchaser-of-fax-machines|access-date=1 March 2018|publisher=National Health Executive|date=5 July 2017}}</ref>  In June 2018 the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] said that the NHS had at least 11,620 fax machines in operation<ref>{{cite news |title=NHS 'Struggling To Keep Up' As It Holds On To Thousands Of Fax Machines |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/nhs-fax-machines-labour_uk_5b1e5f83e4b09d7a3d7508e7 |access-date=11 June 2018 |work=Huffington Post |date=11 June 2018}}</ref> and in December the [[Department of Health and Social Care]] said that no more fax machines could be bought from 2019 and that the existing ones must be replaced by secure email by March 31, 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=NHS told to ditch 'absurd' fax machines |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46497526 |access-date=9 December 2018 |work=BBC |date=9 December 2018}}</ref>

[[Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust]], generally viewed as digitally advanced in the NHS, was engaged in a process of removing its fax machines in early 2019.  This involved quite a lot of [[e-fax]] solutions because of the need to communicate with pharmacies and nursing homes which may not have access to the NHS email system and may need something in their paper records.<ref>{{cite news |title=OK, it's early 2019. Has Leeds Hospital finally managed to 'axe the fax'? Um, yes and no |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/02/04/leeds_hospital_nhs_trust_efax/ |access-date=5 February 2019 |work=[[The Register]] |date=4 February 2019 |first=Rebecca |last=Hill}}</ref>

In 2018 two-thirds of Canadian doctors reported that they primarily used fax machines to communicate with other doctors. Faxes are still seen as safer and more secure and electronic systems are often unable to communicate with each other.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why are fax machines still the norm in 21st-century health care? |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-why-are-fax-machines-still-the-norm-in-21st-century-health-care/ |access-date=21 April 2019 |newspaper=Globe and Mail |date=11 June 2018}}</ref>

Hospitals are the leading users for fax machines in the United States where some doctors prefer fax machines over emails, often due to concerns about accidentally violating [[HIPAA]].<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |title=The Fax Is Not Yet Obsolete |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/11/why-people-still-use-fax-machines/576070/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118233042/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/11/why-people-still-use-fax-machines/576070/ |archive-date=2018-11-18 |first=Sophie |last=Haigney}}</ref>