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OFFICE AUTOMATION – I

MODERN OFFICE EQUIPMENT

8. USE OF FACSIMILE MACHINE

In the previous lesson you have learnt about the process of photocopying and how a photocopied document is laminated to convert it into a folder for use in meetings etc. In this lesson you will learn about the Facsimile machine, or as it is commonly known - the Fax machine .This machine has revolutionized the mode of transportation of documents across the globe.

8.0 Objectives After reading this lesson, you shall be able to understand:

• How a Fax machine communicates

• Basics of a Communication system

• Types of Faxs available

• Basic features in a fax machine

• How to operate the basic features of any fax available in Modern Offices of today.

8.1 Introduction The fax machine evolved from the telegraph technology. Alexander Bain invented a fax machine capable of receiving signals from a telegraph wire and translating them into images on paper. First introduced in 1842, facsimile did not have a real impact until computers and telecommunication networks were developed.

8.2 What Is A Facsimile (Commonly Referred to as Fax)? The term ‘Fax’ refers to a device that transmits still pictures, or printed matter, over an electrical circuit to another destination. It is also called facsimile or picture telegraphy. It is a method of sending messages by a telecommunications link. It transmits text and graphic data such as photographs, maps and diagrams. Virtually anything on paper can be transmitted by facsimile equipment. Most fax transmissions are via the telephone network. A fax machine is especially useful when documents are to be sent urgently. The basic technique is not new – for years it has been

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possible to wire photographs – but recent advances in technology have made it cheap and reliable, and it is now in widespread use. Seen below are some images of fax machines:

8.3 Types of Facsimile Devices Currently, there are three basic types of facsimile devices available. The first group, analog units, is declining in popularity.

• Low speed Units: This group includes devices that scan, transmit, and print out at the receiving end in 4 to 6 minutes. These were the first machines introduced and they use analog technology. These are rarely used nowadays.

• Medium Speed Units: Devices in this group have transmission speeds that range from 1 to 3 minutes and use either analog or digital technology. Many units in this category are compatible with units in the slower category and hence may have lower transmission speeds.

• High speed Units: Devices in this category use digital technology exclusively and feature transmission speeds of less than a minute. These type of machines are most popularly used in organizations.

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8.4 Principle of Operation

Facsimile Transmission requires two facsimile machines – a sender and a receiver- connected by a telephone line .

• Sending Unit: The document is scanned optically (by the means of a light spot), line by line, or by breaking it into a pattern of dots, which are transmitted as electrical pulses. The variations in tone of the picture are interpreted into variations in the amplitude of a.c. passed to line to a receiver.

• Receiving Unit: Here a light from a constant source is arranged to fall on a piece of photographic material and scan this at exactly the same rate as the sender light spot. The variation of incoming current from the line operates a light valve, which controls the intensity of the light falling on the photographic material to reproduce the original picture. The receiving device reconstructs the image from this digital information and outputs it on photosensitive paper or in some machines, xerographically.

8.5 Procedure

Step 1: The image of the document to be faxed is scanned Step 2: It is transmitted as a series of impulses Step 3: The image is reconstructed by the facsimile receiver at the receiving end Step 4: After the successful transmission of fax message, a transaction report is generated by the sending unit. The transaction report consists of details of fax message transmitted

Example: The above transaction report shows the following details:

• Communication mode: The fax was manually transmitted, hence the phrase ‘manual transmit’

• Communication speed: The speed of transmission is mentioned

• Connection telephone: The telephone number of the Receiving unit is mentioned

• Pages: Number of pages faxed

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• Start time: The time at which fax transmission was done

• Duration: The transmission time spent in sending the fax

• Result: PASS result indicates successful transmission of fax message What is a Facsimile receiver A device that reproduces an image transmitted over a conventional telephone line by accepting and converting AM voice –frequency or digital signals to dc signals. The dc signals activate a stylus on the receiver, or modulate light when making a photographic recording. Facsimile scanner A synchronously rotating drum or flat plate on which a document is spirally scanned by a light bean to produce a varying dc signal which is then converted to an AM voice –frequency signal for transmission of the facsimile.

8.6 Buttons of a Fax Machine

The model of fax machine shown below combines Fax, Scanner and a Copier.

ON: Power Button – This switches on the power . ENTER: It works like the ‘select’ key of the various options displayed. The left and the right arrows above this button display various menu and submenus of options. These options may relate to light / dark print or the resolution etc. The desired options may be selected by pressing the enter button. FAX: To select the fax option. (Scan and copy options are meant for scanning and photocopying) CANCEL: To cancel the command given to the machine.

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BLACK, COLOUR: For the colour of printing (some models have a printer facility too. ) NUMBER PAD: Number pad on the left is used to key in the numbers. REDIAL: To dial the last dialled number again SPEED DIAL: To speed up the dialling

START: To send / receive a fax

SETUP: Default options are restored Just below the main machine set-up is the in-paper tray, where the papers are inserted. The fax messages are received on these sheets. These sheets are ejected from the paper tray placed just above the number pad. Fax messages may be received on two kinds of paper:

• Thermal: Glossy paper, print is removable. After a few days of storing this paper, the message fades off.

• Ordinary Paper: Ordinary paper may alternatively be used to receive fax messages. Its print is long lasting.

8.7 Application / Usage of a Fax Machine It is now finding increasing application, particularly for press work. Organisations such as banks, insurance companies, brokerage houses, and other financial institutions frequently have a need to transmit applications, transfers, letters of credit, and other forms requiring a legally valid signature. Because many businesses utilize widely dispersed branch offices, the transmission of such documents by fax can permit a greater degree of consultation between geographically distant people. It shall be particularly useful in circumstances where agreement must be reached on a complex document by an imminent deadline.

8.8 Advantages and Limitations

Fax machines are essential tools of any office that needs to transmit graphic images. Some of its benefits are:

• Precise reproduction of an original document: It provides the recipient with a document that is an exact copy of the sender’s original document. Other type of transmission devices can’t duplicate this capability of exact duplication. An inbuilt advantage is that the message transmitted is available for records. For ex: A telephone conversation can transmit the same information but at the end of the conversation, there is no hard copy of what transpired. On the

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contrary, fax equipment transmits a message by generating a duplicate copy of the original message. Hence, it is only natural that a hard copy is available for record purposes.

• High Transmission speed: The transmission of document from the sending machine to the facsimile receiver is almost instantaneous. Just as the sending and receiving of voice is immediate in a telephone, so is the case with the transmission of a document through a fax equipment. It provides an alternative to regular postal service; because the transmission time is much faster than either postal service or specialized couriers.

• Accuracy of data: Also, by not having to rekey data, the facsimile eliminates one of the principal sources of errors.

• Facsimile equipment can operate unattended at night, thus reducing costs because it operates at low phone-line rates during that time. If instructed, it can also produce a self-monitoring report of what it sent, to where, and when, which can be checked the next morning.

• A fax machine can be cost-justified on its own unique capabilities. For example: Fax transmission can eliminate postage costs and delivery delays.

• Facsimile transmission of correspondence and other routine business communication saves labor as well as processing and distribution time.

• There is no risk of loosing the documents in transit.

• Despite its advantages, certain small establishments may find its cost to be relatively higher.

Self-Check Questions Answer True or False 1. Fax machines cannot use plain paper ? 2. Documents can be reproduced accurately in a FAX machine? 3. The ‘Enter’ button starts the FAX process ? 4. Companies with many offices cannot use Fax machines as they are expensive ? Fill in the blanks 5. There is no risk of the documents in transit when using a Fax machine . 6. Fax machines are tools of any office 7. The term ‘Fax’ refers to a device that still pictures, or printed matter, over an

circuit to another destination.

8.9 Summing Up In this lesson you have learnt about the basic principle on which a FAX machine operates. You have also learnt about the various types of machines being used and the types of paper being utilized in these machines today.

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You have also learnt how to use the buttons of a FAX machine to transmit a document. In addition , you have also come to know the advantages of using a FAX machine.

8.10 Answers to Self-Check Questions

1. False 2. Yes 3. False 4. False 5. Loosing 6. Essential 7. transmits, electrical

8.11 Terminal Questions

• How can the use of a Fax machine assist you in effectively managing office operations?

• What is the primary function of a fax machine?

• How does a fax machine operate? Describe in your own words.

8.12 Glossary

Fax: Same as Facsimile and usually used interchangeably Telegraph: The process of transmitting documents electrically through a phone line