How to Fax Using a Fax Machine

Faxing documents using a fax machine is not difficult. There are many fax and fax-printer-scanner combination machines that vary slightly in their design. The process of faxing documents is almost the same regardless of the machine.  Consult the owner's manual for instructions regarding features specific to a particular model.

1. Confirm that the fax machine is connected to power and a phone jack.


2. Turn on the machine.


3. Collect the documents to be faxed and place them in order. The order in which you send the documents is the order in which the recipient will receive them.


4. Write a coversheet.  Coversheets usually follow the format of a memo. The coversheet should include the sender's name, the company name if applicable, the sender's fax number, the sender's contact phone number, the number of pages in the fax (note whether this number includes the coversheet or not), and a short note of instruction or explanation if applicable.  The coversheet must also include the recipient's name, the recipient's company name if applicable, and the recipient's fax number.  


5. Locate the document tray, and place the documents in the tray.  There will be a picture indicating whether the documents should be face up or face down.  For dedicated fax machines the documents usually go in face down; for fax-printer-combo machines, the documents may go in face up.


6. Dial the recipient's fax number.  If the number is out of the area, dial the area code and then the number. 


7. Press the "Fax" button or the "Send" button.


8. The machine will scan one page at a time until all pages have been scanned.  It will then dial the number and transmit the document.  The machine provides a confirmation page if it has been set up to do so.  This is proof that the document was faxed.