Fax, No Printer

About

Fax, No Printer, or Facts, No Printer, is an extension of the slang term "fax," a misspelling and mispronunciation of "facts," used to say that you agree with something undeniably, referring to a fax machine and printer. It is unknown who coined the phrase, but it is most frequently used on TikTok. It gained a significant boost in popularity in late April 2021, driving the "Fax, no printer. Copy, no translate" trend that month.

Origin

It is unknown who first used the phrase "fax, no printer." An early example is in the November 2014 Omarion and Chris Brown track, "Post to Be,"^[1] featuring the lyrics, "And that's facts, no printer (No printer)." The earliest example on Twitter^[8] dates back to September of that year.

She came down like she knew me (Hey)
Gave it up like a groupie (True)
And that's facts, no printer (No printer)
Cold nigga turn the summer to the winter

Spread

Fax, No Printer. Copy, No Translate

On April 3rd, 2021, TikToker^[2] @briaalanaa, aka Bria, posted a video of herself and a man standing in the bathroom. In the video, Bria says, "Heyo, the person that sent you this wants you to know," then the man continues, "we need to get the gang together for a little road trip. You heard me?" Bria continues, "No cap. Facts, no printer," then three other people pop into frame, saying in unison, Copy, no translate." The video gained over 9.8 million views in a month (shown below).

"Copy, no translate" means you understand something, no translation needed, with "copy" being shorthand used often in radio communications for "understood."

On April 21st, TikToker^[3] @_samueladrian_ posted a video recreating and mocking Bria's video, speaking gibberish instead of saying the phrase and imitating Bria's tone, garnering over 19.4 million views in two weeks (shown below). Samuel has posted a number of similar videos making fun of Bria's original since, many going viral.

Samuel's post inspired a number of other TikTok^[4][5] stitches and videos mocking various aspects of it, from the slang used to the voices of the speakers (examples shown below, left and right). Many add other made-up phrases after "copy, no translate" (for example, 'cake, no top,' 'tree, no branch').

On April 28th, Bria and Samuel went on TikTok Live together (shown below, reuploaded to YouTube) after Bria expressed anger about Samuel posting another TikTok mocking the video, particularly stating she doesn't like people making fun of her voice, and that Samuel saying, "tree, no branch" will inspire people to make fun of her weight. Samuel argues that it's just a joke and she is taking the whole thing too seriously throughout, continuing to mock her.

On April 29th, rapper Doja Cat made a TikTok^[7] participating in the trend, garnering over 23 million views in a week (shown below).

On April 30th, StayHipp^[6] published an article explaining the trend.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References