ASCII TO ASCII TRANSFER USING FAX PROTOCOL

Disclosed is a system that transmits a data file between two computer systems using facsimile transmission. The file is converted into a FAX graphical image by the transmitting system, then transmitted using a standard CCITT FAX protocol, and converted back to an ASCII format in the receiving computer system using optical character recognition (OCR). A significant advantage of this system is that it avoids the requirement that the two FAX facilities be capable of directly transmitting an ASCII file. Instead, the two FAX facilities need only be capable of using the CCITT standard FAX protocol. Another advantage is the elimination of the noise induced by the printing and re-scanning of the file during file transfer.