Local RightFax distributor AmVia marked the 160th birthday of one of the oldest pieces of office equipment still in use, the fax machine, last week.
The patent for the first facsimile machine was granted to Scottish mechanic Alexander Bain on 27 May 1843 - 33 years before the patent for the telephone.
The first commercial fax service, in which so-called 'pantelegraphes` were transmitted, was opened between Paris and Lyon in 1865. However, faxes came into their own in the early 1900s, when engineer and inventor Edouard Belin perfected a method of transmitting photos and news for newspapers via fax. Global weather services were quick to follow, using the technology to transmit information around the world.
While fax machines may be fading from use amid the growth of the paperless office, fax machines are credited with establishing the technological foundation that led to the development of wireless communications and television.
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