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Newsgroups: comp.dcom.fax,alt.fax,news.answers,alt.answers,comp.answers Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!news.moneng.mei.com!uwm.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!scipio.cyberstore.ca!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!cs.ubc.ca!merlin!eclipse!pajari From: pajari@Faximum.COM (George Pajari) Subject: Fax (comp.dcom.fax) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) [Part 2/2] Message-ID: <D6ADts.479@eclipse.faximum.com> Followup-To: comp.dcom.fax Summary: Frequently asked questions about fax communications, protocols, standards, modems, products, and publications. Keywords: fax faq Sender: pajari@eclipse.faximum.com (George Pajari) Supersedes: <D4q874.Azw@eclipse.faximum.com> Reply-To: faxfaq@faximum.com (FAQ Comments) Organization: Faximum Software, Vancouver, B.C., Canada Date: Fri, 31 Mar 1995 04:01:03 GMT Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: Fri, 5 May 1995 00:00:00 GMT Lines: 1681 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.dcom.fax:13505 news.answers:41021 alt.answers:8401 comp.answers:10950 Archive-name: fax-faq/part2 comp.dcom.fax FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) -- Part 2 of 2 ============================================================= This part of the FAQ (part 2) contains lists of: - questions and answers; - sources of information; and - information on products. Part 1 contains the introduction to the FAQ, the disclaimer, and the definitions of common terms and various background information on fax. How to Get a Current Copy of This FAQ (Especially if you are missing Part 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is crossposted to news.answers. As a consequence, this text will also be automatically archived on many FAQ servers all over the world (e.g., anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu in directory /pub/usenet/news.answers). You'll also find there many other answers to frequently asked questions. This faq is stored in the directory fax-faq. Most FAQs (including the posted flat-text version of this FAQ) are available through Thomas Fine's WWW FAQ archive: <http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu:80/hypertext/faq/usenet/FAQ-List.html>. This FAQ is also available on the WWW at <http://www.faximum.com/faqs/fax>. The WWW version is always the most current version. The text version can lag but up to a month from the html version. The current text version is available by FTP: <ftp://ftp.faximum.com/pub/faqs/fax/fax-faq>. You can also have the current text version of this FAQ mailed to you. Send any message (content not important) to sendfaxfaq@faximum.com. ============================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS A. INTRODUCTION G. GLOSSARY AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION Q. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q.1 Can I use my * data modem to send/receive faxes? Q.1A Can my fax modem transmit data? Q.2 How can I fax PostScript or PCL documents using computer-based fax? Q.3 How can I view incoming faxes on my computer? Q.4 How can I print incoming faxes on my computer? Q.5 Can fax modems also handle data or voice calls? Q.6 What resolution are fax images? Q.7 Can I take a fax file and edit it? Q.8 Is there a standard program interface (API) for fax communications? Q.9 How can I share my single phone line with voice, fax, data, etc. Q.10 How can I send a fax over the Internet? Q.11 What legal restrictions are there on the use of facsimile devices? I. SOURCES OF INFORMATION I.1 Standards Related to Facsimile Communication I.2 Where to Obtain Standards Documents and Related Information I.3 Magazine Reviews of UNIX Fax Software I.4 Magazine Reviews of DOS/Windows Fax Software I.5 Magazine Reviews of Mac Fax Software I.6 Magazine Reviews of Fax Modems (see also O/S specific reviews) I.7 Magazine Reviews of Fax Machines I.8 Publications Devoted to Fax and Telecommunications I.9 Books on Fax I.10 Other Sources of Information on Fax I.11 Conferences on Fax I.12 Associations Related to Fax Technology I.13 Fax-on-Demand Phone Numbers I.14 Related FAQs I.15 Fax-Related URLs P. PRODUCT INFORMATION P.1 List of UNIX Fax Software P.2 List of MS-DOS Fax Software P.3 List of MacIntosh Fax Software P.4 List of Windows Fax Software P.5 List of OS/2 Fax Software P.6 List of Fax Modem Vendors P.7 List of Fax Board Vendors P.8 List of Vendors of Secure Fax Equipment P.9 List of Libraries and Related Information for Writing Fax Servers P.10 List of Vendors of Fax Protocol Test Equipment P.11 List of Vendors of UNIX-Based Fax-On-Demand Software/Systems P.12 List of Vendors of Fax-On-Demand Software/Systems P.13 List of Vendors of Products Delivered by Fax ============================================================================== Q.1 Can I use my * data modem to send/receive faxes? In a word, no. Unless your data modem has specific additional support for fax, you cannot communicate with fax devices using a data (only) modem. Simply put, the problem is that the modulation methods (tones) used to communicate data are different from those used to communicate faxes. Typically the modulation schemes used for fax are synchronous half-duplex while those used for data (at least by most UNIX and PC people) are asynchronous and full-duplex. Also, data modems, once they have negotiated a modulation scheme, tend to continue with the same one through out the session. Fax modems switch before and after each page between a high-speed modulation scheme used to transmit the image data and a lower (300 or 2400 bps) scheme to exchange control information. The following table outlines this briefly (see also part 1 of this FAQ for definitions of V.*). Data Rate Data Modulation Std. Fax Modulation Std. ========================+==========================+======================== 9,600 bps | V.32 | V.29 ------------------------+--------------------------+------------------------ 14,400 bps | V.32bis | V.17 ========================+==========================+======================== _________________________________________________________________ Q.1A CAN MY FAX MODEM TRANSMIT DATA? In a word, maybe. There is a standard proposed by the EIA/TIA/ANSI called Binary File Transfer (BFT) that extends the fax Group III modulation and protocols for bulk data transfer. The problem, of course, is that few fax modems or software packages provide support for this mechanism. Q.2 How can I fax PostScript or PCL documents using computer-based fax? In addition to the basic software to drive your fax modem/board, you will need specific software that can convert PostScript or PCL files into a raster image format compatible with your fax software package. GhostScript, for example, is a publically available software package that can convert PostScript into raster image format (although there are varying opinions on the quality of the font support). In the commercial world, most of the vendors of fax software provide software that can handle PostScript and/or PCL. When purchasing such software (a) check how many different fonts are supported (it's a pain to be able to use, say, NewCentury on your laser printer only to find it is not included in your fax package), and (b) in the case of PCL, check which level of the language is supported (PCL-4 does not support scalable fonts, PCL-5 does). _________________________________________________________________ Q.3 How can I view incoming faxes on my computer? In the PD world, there are a number of image-viewing packages available for X (such as xv). In the commercial world, most fax vendors provide support for the commonly available devices (in the case of UNIX, X; in the case of PC-UNIX, VGA and HGA support. Some vendors support other graphics-capable terminals such as the Wyse WY-160.) _________________________________________________________________ Q.4 How can I print incoming faxes on my computer? Most fax software packages include software to convert fax images into print data streams compatible with dot matrix, HP PCL, or PostScript printers. Also the publically available (where?) pbmplus filter kit will handle most image formats. _________________________________________________________________ Q.5 Can fax modems also handle data or voice calls? Not all fax boards can handle data (some are fax only). Most (all?) external fax modems can handle data as well as fax. Some (but not all) fax modems and software can automatically distinguish between data and fax calls and answer them appropriately. Some DOS/WINDOWS based products can automatically distinguish between voice and fax/data calls and operate as a digital answer machine as well as a fax machine. Also, several companies sell devices which can switch incoming calls between a fax machine, a telephone answering machine, and a modem. [Suggestions anyone?] _________________________________________________________________ Q.6 What resolution are fax images? The standard resolution for faxes is 3.85 scan lines/mm (approx. 98 dpi vertically) with 1728 pixels across a standard scan line of 215 mm (approx. 204 dpi horizontally). The optional "fine" resolution is 7.7 scan lines/mm (approx. 196 dpi vertically) with the same horizontal resolution. Many Group III fax machines use non-standard frames to negotiate higher resolutions (typically 300x300 dpi and 400x400 dpi) with other fax machines by the same manufacturer. Two fax machines (or modems) must negotiate a common resolution, page width, and page length before sending each page. The standard requires that all Group III fax machines suppport at least standard resolution and A4 size so that common ground can always be found. Extensions to the Group III standard to support these higher resolutions in a standard way have been proposed. Their current status is not known [Need more information]. [Need more information on resolutions supported by Group IV]. _________________________________________________________________ Q.7 Can I take a fax file and edit it? When faxes exchange information, it is done in the form of compressed images (with the exception of BFT). If you wish to edit or otherwise manipulate a received fax file you have two options: 1. edit the file using a "paint" program that will accept the fax file (unfortunately there is a wide range of file formats for image files and you may have to work to find a format that is common between your fax application and your paint program). 2. pass the file through an OCR program that will attempt to convert the image into ASCII (or word processing file format). The problem here is that most OCR programs are tuned to work with 300x300dpi images and faxes are either 98x204 or 196x204. _________________________________________________________________ Q.8 Is there a standard program interface (API) for fax communications? There are many API's that are used for fax communications. Words marked by -word- are further explained in the glossary in Part 1 of this FAQ. At the hardware level, the two standards that govern the exchange of commands between a host computer and a fax modem are EIA-578 (-Class 1-) and EIA-592 (-Class 2-). At the software level there is one "official" standard and a number of "industry standards". The one "official" standard is ITU-T T.611 ([need more information on this standard]). The most widely known industry standards are -CAS- (Communicating Applications Standard (?)) invented by Intel and DCA and tied closely to the Intel architecture, and -FaxBios- (developed by an industry consortium) which is less machine-dependent (implementations for MS-DOS and WINDOWS have been published and sporadic work on UNIX and other bindings is underway). _________________________________________________________________ Q.9 How can I share my single phone line with voice, fax, data, etc. There are a number of devices on the market (suggestions from happy campers welcome) that will try to distinguish between an incoming voice, fax, or data call and route the call appropriately. These fax switches attach to the phone line and then the other devices (your normal voice phone/answering machine, fax machine, data modem, etc.) are attached to the fax switch). All devices work on one of two general principles: listening for CNG or voice, or listening for distinctive ring patterns (cadences). In the first case the device will answer the phone and try to guess what it should do based on what it hears. Some machines play back a sound of a phone ringing so that humans dialling in think the phone is still ringing when in fact the fax switch is listening to see if the call is from a fax machine or a human. If the CNG tone (see Part 1 for a definition of CNG) from the calling fax machine is heard, then the switch connects the call to the fax machine, otherwise the call is deemed to be a voice call and is connected to your phone/answering machine. A slightly more sophisticated approach is for the fax switch to answer the phone and play a short recorded announcement. If, during the announcement the CNG tone is heard, then the call is switched to the fax machine. If no CNG tone is heard but sound is heard after the announcement, then the call is assumed to be voice and switched appropriately. If nothing is heard then the switch either considers the call a data call and switches it to a modem or considers it a fax call from a machine that does not generate a CNG and switches it to the fax machine. The other approach relies upon an optional service available from some telcos called "SmartRing", "Distinctive Ring", "RingMaster", "Ident-a-Ring", etc. This feature allows one to have more than one phone number associated with the same phone line. Incoming calls using the different phone numbers can be differentiated by the different ringing patterns (i.e. one long ring, two short rings, three short rings, etc.) The fax switch distributes the call based on the ring cadence it detects. The advantage of the first approach is that one does not have to send more money to the phone company (or depend upon the availability of the "SmartRing" feature being available). The disadvantage is that it is not always reliable (especially in the face of fax machines that do not generate CNG tones). The advantage of the second approach is that it is very very reliable. The disadvantage is that it requires the availability of the "SmartRing" feature from one's telco as well as sending more money to the telco every month. _________________________________________________________________ Q.10 How can I send a fax over the Internet? There are several services (commercial as well as free) that offer to accept e-mail messages and fax them to the specified phone number. To obtain information on the free service, send email to tpc-faq@town.hall.org To obtain information on the commercial services, contact: InterFax PO Box 162, Skippack, PA 19474 USA (610) 584-0300; FAX: (610) 584-1038 FAXiNET 32 Woodland Road, Boston, MA 02130. (617) 522-8102 E-mail: sales@awa.com Information courtesy of savetz@rahul.net (Kevin M. Savetz). For more information, FTP Kevin's FAQ from: * ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/fax -faq * ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Net_info/Technical/net-fax.faq _________________________________________________________________ Q.11 What legal restrictions are there on the use of facsimile devices? ***** FCC January 11, 1993 Public Notice ***** FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION PUBLIC NOTICE (31291 / DA 92-1716) January 11, 1993 INDUSTRY BULLETIN TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS, AUTODIALED AND ARTIFICIAL OR PRERECORDED VOICE MESSAGE TELEPHONE CALLS, AND THE USE OF FACSIMILE MACHINES The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a federal statute that was enacted on December 20, 1991, to address concerns about the growing volume of unsolicited telephone marketing calls and the increasing use of automated and prerecorded telephone calls. The TCPA imposes restrictions on the use of automatic telephone dialing systems ("autodialers"), artificial or prerecorded voice messages, and telephone facsimile machines to send unsolicited advertisements. The TCPA also directs the FCC to adopt regulations to protect residential telephone subscribers' privacy rights to avoid receiving telephone solicitations to which they object. The FCC adopted rules and regulations, effective December 20, 1992, implementing the TCPA. The FCC will be monitoring complaints about automated calls and unwanted telephone solicitations to determine whether additional action to limit or to prohibit such calls would be appropriate. DO FCC RULES BAN UNSOLICITED ADVERTISEMENTS TO TELEPHONE FACSIMILE MACHINES? Yes. Effective December 20, 1992, FCC rules ban the transmission of unsolicited advertisements to telephone facsimile machines. An "unsolicited advertisement" is defined as a transmission advertising the commercial availability or quality of property, goods or services without the prior express invitation or permission of the person or entity receiving the transmission. Unsolicited advertisements may not be transmitted by any device to a telephone facsimile machine unless the person receiving the facsimile has given prior express invitation or permission to receive it. If the sender and the recipient have an established business relationship, an invitation or permission to receive unsolicited facsimile advertisements is presumed to exist. However, the recipient may end an established business relationship by requesting that no further unsolicited advertisements be sent, thus revoking any invitation or permission to receive further transmissions. WHAT OTHER REQUIREMENTS APPLY TO THE USE OR MANUFACTURE OF TELEPHONE FACSIMILE MACHINES? FCC rules require that each transmission to a telephone facsimile machine must clearly contain, in a margin at the top or bottom of each transmitted page or on the first page of the transmission, (1) the date and time the transmission is sent (2) the identity of the sender and (3) the telephone number of the sender or of the sending machine. All telephone facsimile machines manufactured on or after December 20, 1992 must have the capacity to clearly mark such identifying information on the first page or on each page of the transmission. [Note, according to the FCC January 13, 1993 Public Notice, the requirement to mark faxes with the above identifying information on applied to fax machines and not for fax cards used in computers pending reconsideration proceedings.] WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH FCC RULES ON TELEPHONE FACSIMILE TRANSMISSIONS? The person on whose behalf a facsimile transmission is sent will ultimately be held liable for violations of the TCPA or FCC rules. DO THE TCPA AND THE FCC'S RULES PREEMPT STATE LAW? The TCPA specifically preempts state law where it conflicts with the technical and procedural requirements for identification of senders of telephone facsimile messages or automated artificial or prerecorded voice messages. The TCPA and the FCC's rules do not preempt state law which imposes more restrictive requirements or regulations for (1) the use of facsimile machines or other electronic devices to send unsolicited advertisements, (2) the use of autodialers, (3) the use of artificial or prerecorded voice messages, or (4) the making of telephone solicitations. Thus, depending on state law, the TCPA, the FCC's rules and/or state laws could apply to your company's services. You should contact the state public utilities commission in each state where your company provides the services listed in the previous paragraph to determine what laws apply in those states. WHERE CAN I ORDER A COMPLETE COPY OF THE TCPA AND THE FCC'S ORDER EXPLAINING IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT ACT? Copies can be ordered from the FCC's contractor for public records duplication: Downtown Copy Center, 1990 M Street, N.W., Suite 640, Washington, D.C. 20036 (telephone: (202) 452-1422). You should ask for copies of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Report and Order in CC Docket No. 92-90 released by the Commission on October 16, 1992 (In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991). ============================================================================== SOURCES OF INFORMATION I.1 Standards Related to Facsimile Communication CCITT (now renamed ITU-T) The Blue Book, Volume VII - Fascicle VII.3 Recommendation T.0 - T.63 EIA/TIA/ANSI EIA/TIA-602 Data Transmission Systems and Equipment-Serial Asynchronous Automatic Dialing and Control "This is the standard for the basic Hayes command set." TIA PN-2388 Asynchronous Facsimile DCE Control Standard (DRAFT), Service Class 2, (also known as Document TR-29/89-21R8, March 21, 1990) "The first draft of the Class 2 standard, voted down, but the basis for all current (93Q1) Class 2 modems." EIA/TIA-578 Asynchronous Facsimile DCE Control Standard, Service Class 1 EIA/TIA-592 Asynchronous Facsimile DCE Control Standard, Service Class 2 _________________________________________________________________ I.2 Where to Obtain Standards Documents and Related Information VENDORS OF PRINTED STANDARDS Bellcore (Bell Communications Research) 1 800 521 CORE Source of telephony standards (i.e. detailed information on how the telephone system works included DID, Caller ID, etc. Does not provide information on facsimile equipment and standards.) EIA/TIA (202) 457-4942 (Yvette Bottoms) Source of draft EIA/TIA standards (final stds available from Global) Global Engineering Documents (800) 854-7179 fax: (202) 331-0960 Distributor for published EIA/TIA standards, as well as ITU-T (CCITT) and standards docs from 400 other organisations and institutions. EIA catalog of standard available at no charge National Technical Information Service (NTIS) (703) 487-4650 Philips Business Information Inc. (has acquired assets of OMNICOM) (301) 424-3338 or 1 (800) 777-5006, FAX: (301) 309-3847 Source of ITU-T (CCITT) and ISO publications UN Bookstore ITU-T (CCITT) Publications +1 (212) 963-7680 or +1 (800) 553-3210 Action Consulting Source of draft communications standards Human Communications (203) 746-4367 FAX: (203) 746-4367 Source of draft communications standards International Telecommunications Union electronic document distribution service (ITUDOC) For more information, send a message with the line HELP in the body to: itudoc@itu.ch. Or telnet to info.itu.ch and type gopher as username (no password needed). Or connect to their gopher server directly: gopher://info.itu.ch/. COMMONLY REFERENCED FAX STANDARDS [E.451] Recommendation E.451 - Facsimile call cut-off performance [E.450] Recommendation E.450 - Facsimile quality of service on PSTN - General aspects [E.452] Recommendation E.452 - Facsimile modem speed reductions and transaction time [F.162] Recommendation F.162 - Service and operational requirements of store-and-forward facsimile service [F.163] Recommendation F.163 - Operational requirements of the interconnection of facsimile store-and-forward units [F.190] Recommendation F.190 - Operational provisions for the international facsimile service between public bureaux and subscriber stations and vice versa (bureaufax-telefax and vice versa) [F.180] Recommendation F.180 - General operational provisions for the international public facsimile service between subscriber stations (telefax) [F.182] Recommendation F.182 - Operational provisions for the international public facsimile service between subscribers' stations with Group 3 facsimile machines (Telefax 3) [F.87] Recommendation F.87 - Operational principles for the transfer of messages from terminals on the telex network to Group 3 facsimile terminals connected to the public switched telephone network [F.160] Recommendation F.160 - General operational provisions for the international public facsimile services [T.611] Recommendation T.611 - Programmable communication interface (PCI) APPLI-COM for facsimile group 3, facsimile group 4, teletex and telex services [T.4] Recommendation T.4 - Standardization of Group 3 facsimile apparatus for document transmission [T.30] Recommendation T.30 - Procedures for document facsimile transmission in the general switched telephone network [T.22] Recommendation T.22 - Standardized test charts for document facsimile transmissions [U.207] Recommendation U.207 - Technical requirements to be met for the transfer of messages between terminals of the international telex service and Group 3 facsimile terminals connected to PSTN [V.17 SUMMARY] Summary of Recommendation V.17 - A 2-wire modem for facsimile applications with rates up to 14 400 bit-s [V.17] Recommendation V.17 - A 2-wire modem for facsimile applications with rates up to 14 400 bit-s _________________________________________________________________ I.3 Magazine Reviews of UNIX Fax Software UNIX WORLD, August 1991, pp. 52-60, "Four Fitting Fax Packages", Rick Farris Reviews DigiFax, Faximum, TruFax, and VSI-Fax UNIX REVIEW, V10n11, Nov 1992, pp. 63-76, "Just the Fax, Ma'am", Tim Parker Reviews ArnetFAX, DigiFax, Faximum, FaxLink, FaxTrax, VSI-Fax _________________________________________________________________ I.4 Magazine Reviews of DOS/Windows Fax Software PC Magazine, 8 Dec 1992, v11n21, p275-342, "The Fax Solution", by Joel Dreyfus Reviews BitFax, DosFax Pro, Eclipse FAX, FAXability Plus, Faxit for DOS Faxit for Windows, FaxMaster, Fax Talk Plus, The Fax Window, Mirror III Fax, MTEZ Standard with ExpressFax, PaperWorks, and SuperFax for Windows. PC World, Feb 1993 v11n2, "Windows Fax Software", by Bryan Hastings The article discusses: Bit Software Bit Fax/OCR for windows v2.05; Caere Fax Master 1.01; Delrina WinFax Pro 3.0; Ellipse Fax 1.2; Intel Faxability plus/OCR 1.0; Softnet Faxit 2,.15e; and Zsoft Ultrafax for Windows 1.0. BYTE, Jan 1993, v18n1, p62-64, "First Impressions", by David Andres Discusses Delrina's WinFax Pro 3.0 BYTE, Jan 1993, v18n1, p68, "First Impressions", by Dick Pountain Discusses Trio's Datafax _________________________________________________________________ I.5 Magazine Reviews of Mac Fax Software MacWorld, Feb 1994 v11n2, "Delrina FaxPro for Macintosh 1.0", by Gene Steinberg MacWorld, Nov 1993 v10n11, "SupraFaxModem 144PB", by Gene Steinberg Discusses SupraFaxModem for the Powerbook Information courtesy of wilbe007@gold.tc.umn.edu. _________________________________________________________________ I.6 Magazine Reviews of Fax Modems (see also O/S specific reviews) MacWorld, Oct 1993 v10n10, "High-Speed Fax Modems", by Matthew Clark Discussion and review of 30 modems that run at 9600 bps or faster NeXTWorld Magazine, Winter 1992, v2n4, p59-60, "Just the Fax" by Simson L. Garfinkel Reviews Dove, HSD, and ZyXEL. PC Magazine, 8 Dec 1992, v11n21, p343-361, "Negotiating the Fax Modem Jungle" by Rick Ayre Reviews Computer Peripherals, Hayes, Intel, Practical Modem, Supra, U.S. Robotics, and Zoom. _________________________________________________________________ I.7 Magazine Reviews of Fax Machines Consumer Reports, Nov. 1993, v58n11, p722-728, "Fax machines" A general consumer product review of various fax machines. The article reviews in detail 13 lower-end (i.e thermal paper) fax machines and comments on a couple of higher-end (i.e. plain paper) machines. The Panasonic KX-F230 and the Brother 600 were rated "Best Buys". Get the article to see where the rest ended up and why (reprinting the entire list of ratings would exceed my interpretation of "fair use" w.r.t. copyright). _________________________________________________________________ I.8 Publications Devoted to Fax and Telecommunications Communications Standards Review [10-12/year, $695/year in N.A.; partial or shorter subs avail., contact publisher] 757 Greer Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303-3024 USA Phone: +1-415-856-9018 Fax: +1-415-856-6591 e-mail: 72540.113@Compuserve.Com Communications Standards Review is a journal providing current technical information on work in progress on communications standards (including fax) in US and international standards forums. EMMS [Bi-weekly, $595 per year] published by Telecommunications Reports 1333 H Street, 11th Floor Washington DC 20005 Phone: (202) 842-0520 Fax: (202) 842-3047 Human Communications Digest, [Quarterly, $195 per year within US, contact publisher for outside US] published by Human Communications 12 Kevin Drive, Danbury CT, 06811-2901 Phone: (203) 746-4367 FAX: (203) 746-4367 A digest of recent developments with fax and related standards. NetFax News, published by Davidson Consulting [Monthly, $contact publisher] 530 N. Lamer Street, Burbank, CA, 91506 Phone: (818) 842-5117 FAX: (818) 842-5488 Also publishes Scouting Reports and Buyers' Guides Fax Focus [weekly, $250, free with membership in the AFA) published by the American Facsimile Association Phone: (215) 963-9110 Fax: (215) 451-1156 _________________________________________________________________ I.9 Books on Fax "FAX: Digital Facsimile Technology & Applications", 2nd Ed. 338pp. by Kenneth R. McConnell, Dennis Bodson, Richard Schaphorst 1992, Artech House, Norwood, MA. ISBN: 0-89006-495-5 (Order Book No. H04495, $78, Phone: 1 800 225 9977 or 1 617 769-9750) "C Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications.", 2nd Ed. by Joe Campbell; SAMS Publishing; 1994; ISBN: 0-672-30286-1 (The main addition of the second edition was a monster chapter on facsimile including redrawn T.30 flow charts and narratives to walk the reader through various scenarios (e.g., EOP, EOM, MPS). It's got good source code for T.4 encoding and decoding. In general, I believe it's the only intelligible discussion of the subject available to programmers.) Information supplied by the author, Joe Campbell (joec@calon.com). "C++ Communications Utilities" by Michael Holmes and Bob Flanders; Ziff-Davis (Contains a good description of fax software and includes C++ source and exe code for Class 1 fax sending and receiving. Courtesy Bruce Seiler, Bruce.Seiler%porch@cjbbs.com) _________________________________________________________________ I.10 Other Sources of Information on Fax More detailed information on image file formats and compression may be obtained from the comp.graphics FAQ. The latest version of this FAQ is available as ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/graphics/faq . Information on the Microsoft Windows Telephony API spec is kept in the following FTP directory: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/developr/TAPI Information on the Internet/fax gateway project may be obtained by sending e-mail to: tpc-faq@town.hall.org A mailing list related to the Internet/fax gateway project may be reached through: tpc-rp-request@aarnet.edu.au The full text of the DCA/Intel Communicating Applications Specification (CAS) may be obtained from ftp://ftp.faximum.com/pub/documents/cas.txt. If you want comprehensive information on fax-on-demand and/or broadcast fax suppliers, contact Sarah Stambler at Techprose, 370 Central Park West, #210, New York, NY, 10025, (212) 222 1765, Fax: (212) 678-6357. She sells a number of reports on FoD and fax broadcast technology. See also the section on related FAQs and URLs (below). VENDORS BBSS ZyXEL BBS: (714) 693-0762 Supra BBS: (503) 967-2444 Intel BBS: (503) 645-6275 _________________________________________________________________ I.11 Conferences on Fax BIS STRATEGIC DECISIONS BIS Strategic Decisions runs several conferences on fax and related technologies. Historically they ran the "Facsimile and Image Communications Conference" every spring and every fall they held the "Annual Computer Fax Conference). In 1995, however, BIS is planning to merge these two conferences into a single "FAXWORLD'95" conference. Current plans are to hold this in San Francisco from June 5-7th, 1995 but rumours abound that it will be pushed back to the first week in December, 1995. EUROFAX'95 is planned for Amsterdam in October'95. For more information on BIS conferences, call: (800) 874-9980 ext 178 or (617) 982-9500 ext 178, (Fax: 617 982-1724) _________________________________________________________________ I.12 Associations Related to Fax Technology American Facsimile Association Phone: (215) 963-9110 Fax: (215) 451-1156 International Computer Fax Association Phone (617) 982-9500 _________________________________________________________________ I.13 Fax-on-Demand Phone Numbers This is a list of collected fax-on-demand numbers for various major computer companies. Please email any additions or corrections to: faxfaq@faximum.com * Hewlett-Packard 1 800 333 1917 All Products (?) * Intel 1 800 525 3019 All Products (?) * WordPerfect 1 801 228-9923 WordPerfect Solutions Guide * Frame Technology 1 408-428-6153 FrameFacts _________________________________________________________________ I.14 Related FAQs FAQS RELATED TO FAX FAQ: How can I send a fax from the Internet? ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/f ax-faq FlexFax Frequently Asked Questions http://www.vix.com/flexfax/FAQ GammaLink intelligent fax boards, Frequently Asked Questions. ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/fax-faq/GammaLink Mgetty+Sendfax with Vgetty Extensions (FAQ) ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/fax-faq/mgetty+send fax+vgetty Object-Fax Frequently Asked Questions ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/fax-faq/Object-Fax Windows NT Fax Solutions Frequently Asked Questions http://www.mcs.net:80/~sculptor/NTFAX-FAQ.HTML FAQS RELATED TO MODEMS Digicom Frequently Asked Questions ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/Digicom-faq NetComm Frequently Asked Questions List ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/NetComm-faq Practical Peripherals Frequently Asked Questions ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/practical-pe ripherals-FAQ Configuring the Telebit Trailblazer for Use with UNIX ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/trailblazer- faq ZyXEL Modems Frequently Asked Questions List ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/ZyXEL/FAQ/pa rt1 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/ZyXEL/FAQ/pa rt2 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/ZyXEL/FAQ/pa rt3 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/ZyXEL/FAQ/pa rt4 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/ZyXEL/FAQ/pa rt5 ZyXEL U1496 series modems resellers FAQ ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/modems/ZyXEL/resale rs-FAQ OTHER FAQS OF RELATED INTEREST comp.graphics Frequently Asked Questions (Information on compression algorithms) ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/graphics/faq _________________________________________________________________ I.15 Fax-Related URLs For the URLs of vendors, please see the Product Information section of this FAQ. STANDARDS AND RELATED INFORMATION ITU (The standards setting body for fax, modems, and telephony.) Coies of many ITU (formerly CCITT) standards can be obtained through their gopher server gopher://info.itu.ch/. Standards are in the ITU section. Those related to fax are in the T Series, modem standards are in the V Series. Gray Associates (manufacturers of fax protocol testing equipment) also have an in-depth discussion of fax protocols at http://www.grayfax.com/FAXSMNAR.html. Supra Corporation has put draft versions of the Class 1 and Class 2 specs up on FTP (the final, official versions are copyright and cannot legally be made available over the net). Download ftp://ftp.supra.com/gen_info/class_1.txt and ftp://ftp.supra.com/gen_info/class_2.txt. WWW VIRTUAL LIBRARY Communications Section http://www.analysys.co.uk/commslib.htm Facsimile Communications Sub-Section http://www.faximum.com/w3vlib/fax ============================================================================== PRODUCT INFORMATION P.1 List of UNIX Fax Software COMMERCIAL Format of listing: <product > <company > <URL (if available) > <address > <phone > <fax > <email > _________________________________________________________________ NORTH AMERICA DFax Alembic Systems International (800) 452-7608 info@alembic.com ArnetFAX Arnet (615) 834-8000 clarence@arnet.com NXFax Black and White Software (802) 496-8500 (802) 496-5112 (fax) nxfax@bandw.com ISOfax Bristol TruFax COS Inc. (609) 771-6705 (609) 530-0898 (fax) trufax@cosi.com DigiFAX DigiBoard http://www.digibd.com/ (612) 943-9020 support@dbsales.digibd.com Faximum ELS, Faximum PLUS, Faximum Client/Server Faximum Software Inc. http://www.faximum.com/ 1497 Marine Drive, Suite 300, West Vancouver, BC, Canada, V7T 1B8 +1 604 925 3600 +1 604 926-8182 (fax) info@faximum.com FAXPak Ready-to-Run Software Inc http://www.rtr.com 4 Pleasant Street Forge Village, MA 01886 (800)743-1723 (508)692-9922 (508)692-9990 (fax) info@rtr.com Note, FAXPak is a commercially enhanced and supported collection of FreeWare and other tools to form a complete FAX system, based on Sam Leffler's FlexFax. See below for more information on FlexFax. ICSW 800.486.7274 or 602.998.8623 FaxLink Intuitive Technology (409) 762-8456 PerfectFAX Perfect Byte (402) 398-938 (402) 384-1122 (fax) info@pbi.com Siren Fax Siren Software 1 800 45-SIREN Replix SoftLinx, Inc. (508) 392-0001 (508)392-9009 (fax) replix@softlinx.com FaxTrax UniSal System (201) 729-9221 VSI*FAX V-Systems, Inc. 32232 Paseo Adelanto, Suite 100, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 (714) 489-8778 (714) 489-2486 (fax) info@vsi.com FaxFX Company Unknown (708) 574-3600 FAXSMART Company Unknown Phone Unknown Fax*Starx Company Unknown (800) 327 9859 _________________________________________________________________ EUROPE Com-M-Tex comFax +49 89 546130-0 mix fax i link GmbH +49 30 216 20 48 netFAX netCS GmbH +49 30 787999-0 FaxX QUEST systems GmbH +49 231 914028-0 +49 231 914028-40 faxx@quest.sub.org i(F)x Faxsoftware for UNIX Signify Software Products +31-(0)3480-30131 +31-(0)3480-30182 gerard@integrity.nl smoFax SMO GmbH +49 721 551971 _________________________________________________________________ PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE FlexFAX For current information on FlexFAX, please see http://www.vix.com/flexfax/ or ftp://sgi.com/sgi/fax/. GNU NetFax (a.k.a. fax-3.2.1) This software may be obtained from ftp://ftp.uu.net/systems/gnu/fax-3.2.1.tar.z . _________________________________________________________________ P.2 List of MS-DOS Fax Software Object-Fax Traffic Software (212) 714-1584 (212) 714-1691 (fax) Outside of USA +354-1-687 150 +354-1-687-239 (fax) [Need more information] _________________________________________________________________ P.3 List of MacIntosh Fax Software Global Village Communication, Inc. http://www.globalcenter.net/ [Need more information] _________________________________________________________________ P.4 List of Windows Fax Software [Need more information] _________________________________________________________________ P.5 List of OS/2 Fax Software [Need more information] _________________________________________________________________ P.6 List of Fax Modem Vendors NORTH AMERICA AT&T Paradyne Class: 1 (813) 530-2090 (813) 530-2103 (fax) Computer Peripherals Class: 2 (805) 499-5751 (805) 498-8306 Hayes Class: 1 (404) 441-1617 (404) 441-1213 (fax) Intel Class: 1 (503) 629-7354 (503) 629-7580 (fax) MICC Class: 2 (408) 980-9565 (408) 980-9568 Macronix Class: 2 (408) 453-8088 MultiTech Systems Class: 2 (612) 785-3500 (612) 785-9874 (fax) Practical Peripherals Class: 1,2 Supra Corporation Class: 1,2 http://www.supra.com/ ftp://ftp.supra.com/ (503) 967-2400 (503) 967-2401 (fax) Telebit Class: 2 http://www.telebit.com/ (408) 734-4333 (408) 734-3333 (fax) The Complete PC Class: 1,2 (408) 434-0145 (408) 434-1048 (fax) U.S. Robotics Class: 1,2.0 http://www.primenet.com/usr/ (800) DIAL-USR (708) 982-5253 (fax) Zoom Class: 2 (617) 423-1072 (617) 423-9231 (fax) ZyXEL USA Class: 2,2.0 http://www.zyxel.com/ (714) 693-0808 (714) 693-8811 (fax) AUSTRALIA (COURTESY OF ADAM@SAKI.COM.AU ) NetComm M4F, M7F Class: 2,2.0 +61 2 888 5533 Dataplex DPX-223 DPX-225 Class: 2 +61 3 210 3333 Interlink Fax Modem 3 Class: 2 +61 3 525 3388 Maestro 9600XR Class: 2 +61 6 239 2369 Banksia BitBlitzer Class: 2 +61 2 418 6033 EUROPE Dr. Neuhaus ? Class: ? +49 40 55304290 +49 40 55304180 (fax) _________________________________________________________________ P.7 List of Fax Board Vendors This lists companies that produce intelligent fax boards typically intended for high-volume and multi-line operation. Reliability and functionality rather than price are the consideration here. Brooktrout Technology Operating System: dos,unix,OS/2,others Needham, MA 617-449-4100 Dialogic Operating System: dos,unix 201-334-8450 Gammalink Operating System: dos,OS/2 408-744-1400 [Need more information] _________________________________________________________________ P.8 List of Vendors of Secure Fax Equipment Mr David COHEN SKTT Henry Kam Technologies & Telecommunations 2d rue de l'Epine Prolongee 93541 Bagnolet Cedex +33 1 42 87 54 00 +33 1 42 87 23 91 (fax) (courtesy of Jean-Bernard Condat) Ken Stokes, CES Ltd 146 Papanui Rd. Christchurch, NZ +64-3-355-5631 +64-3-355-3730 (fax) (courtesy of Arnim Littek, arnim2digitech.co.nz) [Need more information] _________________________________________________________________ P.9 List of Libraries and Related Information for Writing Fax Servers Black Ice Software 113 Route 122, Amherst, NH 03031 1 603 673 1019 603 672 4112 (fax) blackice@mv.mv.com Products: TIFF SDK for Windows/DOS; IMAGE SDK for Windows, VB, and NT; Fax C++ SDK for Class 1, 2, and 2.0; and other related libraries (Demos are available on Compuserve under "Go Blackice"). Diamond Head Software Inc. Ocean View Center Penthouse 3 707 Richards Street Honolulu, Hawaii, 96813 (808) 545 2377 (phone) (909) 545-7042 (fax) Products: Image Basic, a VBX control for building imaging solutions. Metasoft Systems 2nd Floor 575 Richards Street Vancouver, BCm V6B 2Z5 (604) 683-6711 (604) 683-6704 k_davies@cyberstore.ca Products: Image Maker, "Bolt On Fax Components", a series of products which enable users to build custom fax applications. Stylus Innovation, Inc. One Kendall Square, Building 300 Cambridge, MA, 02139 617 621 9545 (phone) 617 621 7862 (fax) Products: Visual Fax, a VBX control for building fax solutions. UNIX-BASED PRODUCTS See also Joe Campbell's book in section I.9 above for sample fax code. _________________________________________________________________ P.10 List of Vendors of Fax Protocol Test Equipment Genoa Technology, Inc. 5401 Tech Circle Moorpark, CA 93021 (805) 531-9030 (805) 531-9045 (fax) email: gajames@gentech.com Products: Group 3 Basic Test Suite; FaxProbe (Fax Protocol Analyser); FaxLab (Fax device emulator with 60 device emulations); PostScript Fax functional test suite; also many other testing products for printers, IEEE 1284 Interfaces, IrDA, etc. and etc. Also offers courses in Facsimile Technology and Protocols Gray Associates 10760 Hubbard Way San Jose, CA 95127 (408) 251-0263 (408) 251-0264 http://www.grayfax.com/ email: mrehmus@ix.netcom.com Products: GD-Fax Protocol Analyser(TM)- T.30, T.4 & T.6 measurements; GD-SYM Fax Emulator(TM) with editable Simulation Library, also converts real world calls into simulations. Multiple units can operate in one computer; FAX COLLECTOR(TM) archiving system for fax. Training & consulting services. All products include one year's consulting, warranty & updates. _________________________________________________________________ P.11 List of Vendors of UNIX-Based Fax-On-Demand Software/Systems FAXSTREAM CALLSTREAM Communications Inc. 871-9 Equestrian Court Oakville, ON Canada L6L 6L7 (905) 847-5362 (905) 847-3421 (fax) info@callstream.com _________________________________________________________________ P.12 List of Vendors of Fax-On-Demand Software/Systems DOS/WINDOWS-BASED PRODUCTS FaxBack, Inc. 1100 NW Compton Drive Beaverton, OR 97006 690-6353 1-800-873-8753 (503) 690-6390 (demo line) 1-800-FaxBack (demo line) sales@faxback.com Ibex Technologies 550 Main Street, Suite G Placerville, CA, 95667 916 621 4342 1 800 289 9998 VISUAL BASIC TOOLKITS Visual Voice Pro Visual Voice for Mwave Stylus Innovation, Inc. One Kendall Square, Building 300 Cambridge, MA, 02139 617 621 9545 (phone) 617 621 7862 (fax) UNIX-BASED PRODUCTS FaxStream CallStream Communications Inc. 871-9 Equestrian Court Oakville, ON Canada L6L 6L7 (905) 847-5362 (905) 847-3421 (fax) RESEARCH REPORTS ETC. If you want comprehensive information on fax-on-demand suppliers, contact Sarah Stambler at: Techprose 370 Central Park West, #210 New York, NY 10025 (212) 222 1765 (212) 678-6357 (fax) She sells a number of reports on FoD technology. P.13 List of Vendors of Products Delivered by Fax * New York Times Newspaper (Fax Edition) http://nytimesfax.com/about.html ============================================================================== FAX FAQ LEGAL NOTICE COPYRIGHT 1994, 1995 George Pajari ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The FAQ has been written in part, and compiled by, George Pajari. While reasonable efforts have been made to verify the information in this document, no liability can be accepted by George Pajari, Faximum Software, or the many contributors for the correctness of the information herein. Readers are cautioned to take such measures as they deem necessary to verify the information herein before taking any action based on this information. Limited permission is granted to copy or distribute this faq for non-commercial purposes as long as: (a) the FAQ is reproduced in its entirety (including this NOTICE) without any changes, and (b) the distribution is done for non-commercial purposes. Electronic distribution of this FAQ (in its entirely) as part of electronic mail and the Usenet Netnews system is specifically permitted. Including this FAQ in a printed book or CD-ROM is specifically not permitted without prior permission from the author and copyright holder. Permission is almost always granted. It is just considered polite to ask. ============================================================================== FAX FAQ CONTRIBUTORS Contributors to and/or Sources of Information Used in this FAQ adam@shinto.saki.com.au (Adam Donnison) dir@teal.csn.org (Daniel I. Rosenblatt) gerard@integrity.nl (Gerard Huysmans) glen.griffith@nb.rockwell.com (Glen Griffith) hrs1@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (herman.r.silbiger) jbcondat@attmail.com (Jean-Bernard Condat) jfreeman@frontporch.win.net (Jeff Freeman) jmccormack@wrglex.uucp (Jim McCormack) johnh@cs.arizona.edu (John M Hughes) jr9283@rapa1.sbc.com (Joe Richmeyer) mckeeveb@monashee.sfu.ca (Rob McKeever) mintha@geog.ubc.ca (Jim Mintha) mparker@mv.us.adobe.com (Mike Parker). naddy@mips.ruessel.sub.org (Christian Weisgerber) pso@ibid.gatech.edu (Paul O'Fallon) regebro@stacken.kth.se (Lennart Regebro) root@gandalf.greenie.gold.sub.org (KlausRosenauer) sam@sgi.com (Sam Leffler) savetz@rahul.net (Kevin M. Savetz) tnixon@microsoft.com (Toby Nixon) udo@sensai.quest.sub.org (Udo Klimaschewski) uli@sensai.quest.sub.org (Uli Zug) wes@kofax.com (Wes Chalfant) wilbe007@gold.tc.umn.edu wrob@unixg.ubc.ca (Robert Wong) and of course, the author/editor of this FAQ: pajari@Faximum.com (George Pajari)