Fax (Abbreviation for facsimile), sometimes telefax or telecopy, is the modern form of telephone transmission of printed, scanned material (both text and images), usually to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine, which processes the contents (text or images) as a single still graphic image, turning it into a bitmap, the information is transmitted as electrical signals through the telephone system. The receiving fax machine reconverts the encoded image and the paper image.