the 



FAX 

 BOOM 



of the 



Margaret J. Pratt 



Fax machines have almost become a 

 way of Hfe in the '90s. At one time it 

 was something special to ask a person 

 "What's you fax number?" Even more 

 suprising was to have them give it to 

 youl Today, if you don't have a fax 

 number, you are considered behind 

 the times. 



Just what does a fax do? A facsimile 

 machine will transmit an exact copy 

 ofyour document (anythingon paper) 

 to anyone else in any part of the coun- 

 try or world who also has a fax. It does 

 this by "scanning" each page that's 

 fed into the unit, and then sending 

 that information over an ordinary 

 telephone line to the desired recipi- 

 ent. The recipient's fax machine 

 receives the transmission from your 

 machine, and automatically prints 

 out an exact duplicate of the trans- 

 mitted pages. Typically it takes about 

 20 seconds to send each page. 



A fax machine looks outwardly like a 

 copier or a copier crossed with a tele- 

 phone. To have fax capabilities all 

 you need is a fax machine, a phone 

 line and an electrical outlet. 



Why might you want to purchase a 

 fax machine? There's no doubt that 

 owning a fax is a bit faddish. Industry 

 experts estimate that more than 

 1,500,000 fax machines were sold in 

 1990, and over one million entered 

 homes and offices in 1989. But the 

 major reason that a business ac- 

 quires a fax is that it can't afford 

 not to. Fax machines allow for instant 

 communication; this can streamline 

 operations and help save on costs. 



For example, sales personnel who are 

 on the road can fax in orders as soon 

 as they are obtained. This order form 

 is filled out in the field, faxed back to 

 the office, and the order can be pro- 

 cessed the same day, rather than at 

 a later date when the salesperson re- 

 turns to the office or when the order 

 arrives by mail. The result is a faster 

 turnaround on orders. 



Or, you can send an overdue bill, and 

 then call a few minutes later. This 

 avoids all the excuses about late or 

 lost mail. Or you can fax an ad into 

 the newspaper. Or use it to smooth 

 out the working of a document with- 

 out running up a big phone bill. One 

 of the nicest features of a fax ma- 

 chine is its ability to send signatures 

 over the telephone line. This is not to 

 say that the courts will accept a fax 

 as legal evidence, but sometimes it's 



14 THE PLANTSMAN 



