Faxes, fax machines, facsimile machines,

A fax (short for facsimile) is a document sent over a telephone line. Fax machines have existed, in various forms, since the 19th century, though modern fax machines became feasible only in the mid-1970s as the sophistication of technology increased and cost of the three underlying technologies dropped. Digital fax machines first became popular in Japan, where they had a clear advantage over competing technologies like the teleprinter, since at the time (before the development of easy-to-use input method editors) it was faster to handwrite kanji than to type the characters. Over time, faxing gradually became affordable, and by the mid-1980s, fax machines were very popular around the world.