I’m sure that if we took some sort survey about the number of faxes vs. the number of emails last year, the number of faxes would only be a fraction of the number of emails. I’m also certain that the rise of emails in the early to mid-nineties led to a decrease in the amount of faxes.

I suppose it stands to reason that someone would invent a fax machine that works more like email than an actual fax. Panasonic of Japan is the company who is offering these paperless fax machines as part of the KX-PW 608 series.

So how does one fax without fax paper? A built-in keypad allows the user to type out the messages, and he or she also has the option of sending Word documents.

Of course, you have to ask yourself why paperless information can’t be sent with e-mail, especially when a Word document can be sent as an attachment. That way, changes can be made if needed, rather than a one-time only digital copy of something that is about as useful as a text message.

Still, it is a step in the right direction for a technological society that needs to use less paper. Who knows if this paperless fax will catch on, but it is due to be released in Japan on January 23rd.

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