In a facsimile transmitting apparatus, the scanning of the plane (developed in the case of a drum transmitter) of the message surface along lines running from right to left commencing at the top so that scanning commences at the top right-hand corner of the surface and finishes at the bottom left-hand corner; this is equivalent to scanning over a right-hand helix on a drum. Note 1: The orientation of the message on the scanning plane will depend upon its dimensions and is of no consequence. At the receiving apparatus, scanning takes place from right to left and top to bottom (in the above sense) for "positive" reception and from left to right and top to bottom (in the above sense) for "negative" reception. Note 2: This is the ITU-T Recommendation for phototelegraphic equipment.