Skew (fax)

Skew, in the context of fax technology, refers to a type of distortion that can occur during the transmission or reception of a fax document. It describes the misalignment of the scanned lines of the document, resulting in a slanted or angled appearance in the received fax.

Skew is often caused by mechanical issues within the fax machine or scanner, such as improperly aligned rollers or movement of the document during the scanning process. Imperfect synchronization between the sending and receiving devices can also contribute to skew. This can happen due to variations in motor speeds or subtle timing differences.

The effect of skew is that straight lines in the original document appear tilted in the received fax. This can make the document difficult to read and can negatively impact the accuracy of character recognition (OCR) if the fax is intended to be processed digitally.

While some modern fax machines and software include features to automatically correct or compensate for minor skew, significant skew can still render a faxed document unusable. Prevention is usually preferred; proper maintenance of the fax machine and ensuring the document is correctly aligned during scanning are key steps.