How to make the best use of fax
With today's electronic communication tools, we have truly become a global village, bound together by copper and fibre cables, satellite links, and telephone lines. Furthermore, some of these tools, including mobile phones, e-mails and faxes, have changed the pace of business for ever. In some respects, communication via facsimile machine has been overtaken by e-mail technology, but in certain situations the fax still remains one of the most useful and practical pieces of electronic office equipment available today…
1. Know when faxes are best used.
The fax can be a useful form of business communication:
- Communication by fax is ideally suited for handwritten notes, maps, diagrams, lunch orders, and signatures when it is important to send them instantly to destinations anywhere in the world.
- In addition to immediacy, documents can be forwarded cost-effectively. Fax messages can normally be sent locally less expensively than by mail.
- As a general rule, most people respond faster to faxes than they do to correspondence sent by mail.
- Most fax machines have a range of features that increase the medium’s flexibility.
2. Know the downside of using faxes.
There are disadvantages to using faxes as a means of communication:
- Faxes do not operate in real time - i.e. the sender cannot control when the receiver will read the message.
- Faxes should never be used for confidential or sensitive information. They are like postcards. They have some degree of security, but there is a chance that they will be read by others without your knowledge or the recipient’s.
- The cost of sending a fax equals to the cost of a phone call. Internet e-mails are even cheaper than faxes: all e-mail addresses are the same distance from each other, whether you are communicating with someone in New England, Australia, or New England, USA.
- Most companies do not know what they pay each year to send faxes. Such figures are usually hidden in the cost of phone calls, and the cost of the machines and the paper must be added. Although expenses could be reduced by making use of special fax-machine features that permit faxes to be sent at night, when long-distance telephone rates are lower, few companies take much advantage of this option.
- The fax as a communication medium could have a limited life. Currently, it is easier to send drawings, maps, and photos by fax than it is to attach them to e-mails - although this advantage is being reduced as more offices gain access to scanners, new standards evolve on the Internet, and more office staff gain expertise in using the newer technologies.
Of course, each medium has its pros and cons. For example, response is faster by phone than by fax (but in our hectic world you often end up on a voice mail system). And e-mail eliminates the inaccuracies caused by muddled spoken messages (but you can leave an information trail).
3. Adhere to these rules of presentation.
Here are a few guidelines for preparing faxes:
- When sending a fax to a large organisation, always include a cover sheet containing:
- FAX (clearly visible in larger print)
- Date: (date of despatch)
- To: (name of recipient and position)
- From: (including phone/fax numbers)
- No. of Pages (including cover sheet):
- Topic: (summary of fax intent)
- Message: (in full, or referring to the attachment).
- Always include a phone number to call in case the fax is imperfectly received.
- Several software packages on the market today can help you design a template for your cover sheet.
- When you use a cover sheet, ensure that it is appropriately designed. A good cover sheet includes a logo or slogan that reproduces clearly on fax paper (thermal or plain), giving you another opportunity to reinforce the identity of your company. Don't use your regular letterhead if it has embossing or metallic type: these devices won't reproduce effectively by fax. Nor should your fax contain large black, grey, or colour areas, unless cost is not an issue (the heavier the images, the longer the fax takes to send and the greater the cost if the recipient is outside the local area). If you are in doubt about the reproductive quality of your cover sheet, send one to yourself and check the results.
- When faxing a letter - prepared on letterhead and containing your full address - to a small business, there is no need to attach a cover sheet. There should be no doubt at the receiving end who the sender is.
- People running small businesses often purchase books of cartoon-type fax cover sheets. These can amuse the reader; but make sure they don't detract from your message or the image your organisation is trying to present.
- Check the layout of your fax. Make sure there is a margin of at least two centimetres all around so that words will not be cut off.
- To improve legibility, use a sans serif typeface, such as Helvetica set at 12 point.
- Proofread always. Faxes are legally binding documents. If you quote a price or send contractual information, make sure it is accurate.
- Documents are not always as clear as the original when faxed, so type your message. A fax written in ink could be difficult to read - particularly if it is not black ink.
- Faxes should be prepared with the same care you would use in writing a letter. Make your fax as brief as possible
- a long fax diminishes its sense of urgency. And watch out for spelling and grammatical errors. Remember your image!
4. Become familiar with the special functions.
Take full advantage of the special functions on your fax machine - they could save you time and money. Investigate the paper-saving device, day/night mode, junk mail prohibitors, remote fax receiving, delayed transmission, polling, and the silent ring recognition system. Check out the special features on your equipment.
