Telefax

A telefax (short for telefacsimile) is a method of transmitting scanned printed materials, such as text documents or images, over a telephone line from one fax machine to another. The term originated in the mid-20th century, when early telecommunication and facsimile technologies were combined to create a system for transmitting copies of documents over long distances. In fact, telefax was the standard term used before “fax” became the simplified, widely adopted shorthand in the 1980s and 1990s.

It was one of the earliest forms of electronic document sharing, enabling instant transmission of paper-based information long before email or cloud fax became common.

Today, while traditional fax machines have declined in use, telefaxing continues to play a vital role in industries that require document authenticity and secure fax transmission, such as healthcare, government, and finance. The term telefax is often used interchangeably with fax, though it technically refers to the process or technology behind fax communication rather than the device itself. 

How Telefax Works

A telefax system scans a physical document, converts it into an electronic signal, and transmits it through telephone lines to another fax device, which then reconstructs and prints the document at the receiving end.

A telefax number functions just like a regular telephone number but is specifically assigned to a fax machine or fax line. When a document is sent to a telefax number, the signal is routed through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and received by the corresponding fax device or online fax service. This number serves as the unique identifier for sending and receiving faxes between parties.

Modern faxing, however, no longer relies solely on analog phone lines. Through digital fax technology and online fax services, businesses can now send and receive faxes securely over the internet (known as FoIP, or Fax over IP).

Key components of a telefax process include:

• Scanning: Converts the original document into a digital signal.

• Transmission: Sends the encoded signal through a phone or IP network.

• Reception: The recipient’s fax system decodes the signal and reproduces the document as a printout or PDF file. 

Benefits of Telefax in Modern Business

Despite the rise of email and cloud storage, telefax remains valuable for certain sectors because it provides:

• Security: Faxes are transmitted point-to-point, making them less vulnerable to interception than unencrypted email.

• Legal Validity: Many contracts, medical records, and government forms are still accepted via fax due to signature authenticity.

• Reliability: Fax technology does not depend on internet speed or server uptime.

• Compliance: Telefaxing using online fax services supports regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA and ISO 27001 when managed through secure online fax providers. 

Telefax vs. Online Faxing

Traditional telefax relies on phone lines and fax machines, while online faxing, like the service offered by Notifyre, uses the internet to send faxes directly from any device. 

Modern cloud faxing keeps the reliability of telefax while eliminating the need for physical infrastructure, making it the smarter, greener, and more scalable choice for businesses.