Faxing continues to be an important part of communication today. It remains a cheap, quick, convenient, and easy way to correspond, without having to worry about delays associated with the various postal services around the globe.

Business

Despite the recent increase in popularity in e-mail, faxes are still an integral part of the business world. Many government agencies and corporate interests rely on faxes for the quick dissemination of information, such as proof of signed contracts.

For the most part, your fax transmission should follow the suggestions in other chapters for the writing of business correspondence. It is important to include a cover page, described later in this section.

Personal Correspondence

The business world isn't the only place faxes are used. Many people use faxes to send letters quickly to family and friends, especially when a family member doesn't having keyboarding skills and prefers to write out such correspondence in longhand. Faxes send the message quickly and easily, while allowing family members and close friends to keep in touch, especially if those loved ones are halfway around the world.

Because a fax merely reproduces the original page at another destination, you can send anything you like, as long as the letter or item is legible and will be able to be read once it is printed out on the receiving fax machine.

The Fax Cover Page

The cover page ensures that your fax is delivered to the person for whom it is intended, and gives your fax transmission a little bit of privacy — people don't have to read through the entire document to see where it's supposed to be going.

The fax cover page should clearly indicate the following:

• The intended recipient. It's a good idea to list the person's name, title, and department in case the fax gets misdirected.

• The intended recipient's fax number. If your fax does not go through, and it must be sent again, this will save you (or your personal assistant) from having to find the fax number to re-send the message.

• The sender. You should include your name, your title, your department, and both your fax and voice numbers so that the recipient can respond.

• Instructions on what to do if the fax is received in error. Sometimes, fax numbers get mixed up, and documents go to the wrong machine (or even the wrong company). Most companies will have a standard clause on their fax cover sheets instructing people to notify the sender and destroy the fax or return it to the sender at the sender's expense. If no such instructions exist, it's acceptable to attempt to call the company collect to advise of the fax error.

(Refer to Appendix B for an example of a Fax Cover Page.)