Library Technology Guides

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Volume 6 Number 10 (October 1986)

Facsimile, increased features and lower cost

The history of technological innovations is replete with incidences of flash-in-the-pan products. Once promising products sometimes falter within the first year of availability, let alone within five years, a minimal period of time over which to amortize equipment costs when projecting an overall investment in a new technology. One striking exception to this is telefacsimile, an idea which originated over 140 years ago and which has recently been the subject of renewed interest. Despite the availability of newer technologies such as electronic mail and integrated office software designed for the advent of the paperless office, fax has become more popular in just the past year or so. This renaissance of fax can be traced to a number of developments. Digital scanning and transmission have increased copy quality, reduced transmission time, and lowered costs. World standards have eliminated compatibility problems. At the same time, manufacturers recently have enhanced the features available on Group 3 machines, the type of equipment most commonly used for standard office applications, and lowered their prices.

The major characteristics of Group 3 equipment include digital transmission of a single printed page in under one minute (15-20 seconds for a standard typed business letter) over regular telephone lines with a minimum resolution of 204 lines per inch horizontally and 98 lines per inch vertically. (These resolution levels are required for satisfactory transmission of articles in scientific journals and footnotes from other journal articles.)

Among the Group 3 machines, a variety of features is available. Discussed below are those with which librarians will be most concerned. The editors believe that these are among the most important features for cost effective and efficient use of facsimile for transmitting documents between libraries.

Electronic handshake is an electronic process that enables a fax machine to determine the correct operational conditions for transmission to the receiving unit. This feature eliminates the need for operators to establish machine identification verbally before commencing to transmit. This ability is essential if a unit is to operate in unattended mode. The feature operates by the sending unit sequentially trying the range of possible identifications. Machines of one manufacturer often are programmed to give priority in handshake protocols to those of models from that same manufacturer. This priority linking is activated after communication has been established and takes approximately 15 seconds for which a line charge is incurred.

Error detection is the ability of a facsimile machine to sense interference / or a disconnect on the communication line. In its simpler form, this usually results in the sending unit terminating operation when the line goes down or line conditions are so poor that a transmission cannot be made. On some machines this may be indicated by a panel display that will instruct the operator to redial the call. In a more sophisticated form, error detection automatically will result in the rescanning or resending of parts of a document that have met with interference. This is accomplished through a series of "check" signals that are sent continually between the two machines throughout a transmission.

Modem stepdown/Automatic baud rate adjustment. The ability to adjust the speed of the transmission automatically is referred to as automatic modem stepdown. This capability is required to enable Group 2 or Group S units to communicate with a slower ,. machine. Automatic stepdown also may be activated when line conditions are such as to require a slower transmission. to achieve adequate copy quality.

Simultaneous transmit and receive capabilities. Transceivers capable of transmitting and receiving simultaneously operate in full duplex mode and require the use of either two regular telephone connections or one line split so that it can operate as a double pair or duplex channel. This feature is available only on the most expensive equipment. For full duplex capabilities to return the investment in equipment and line charges involved, a site should have very heavy inward and outward traffic--thousands of documents monthly.

Automatic document feed. Fully automatic operation requires that a unit be equipped with a document tray capable of holding a number of pages for transmission. Even lower priced machines have document trays that hold up to 30 pages. Most machines have adjustable feed mechanisms capable of handling a variety of page sizes and thicknesses. A few of the more sophisticated units will automatically adjust the feed to correct for documents which have fed in on the skew.

Transmit document size. Some units will only accept documents up to the standard 8.5 x 11 inch format and very small documents may have to be placed in transparent carriers to be fed through the input mechanism, while others will accommodate pages up to 10, 14, or 17 inches wide. Naturally, the document reduction feature identified later would be necessary only where this feature is available to accommodate the wider paper which must be reduced for transmission. Length capabilities also vary. Larger formatted pages usually will take longer to scan and transmit which would increase telecommunications costs.

Document reduction and enlargement capabilities. Upon sensing that they are transmitting to units which can print only material in the standard page size, some of the more expensive machines which can transmit oversize documents will reduce an oversize image to standard size so that it can be reproduced fully by the receiving unit. A few units also are capable of enlarging document images prior to transmission.

Automatic dialing is the ability of a unit to dial telephone numbers automatically and establish a connection with another f ax unit without operator assistance. Auto dialing allows a user to delay transmission to take advantage of lower night time telephone rates when staff are no longer present. Auto dialing may be accomplished through the use of mark sense cards on which the transmission time, phone number and security code are recorded. Other machines offer more sophisticated programmable auto dialing capabilities which will continue to redial calls until the required connection is made. Units equipped with auto dial capabilities must be configured with automatic document feeders to maintain operations without constant staff attention.

Polling a feature related to automatic dialing enables a machine to call another unit and activate a transmission from that unit. In a polling situation, the remote unit must be able to operate in an unattended mode, although the unit making the request may be either attended or unattended.

Turnaround polling/send and receive on the same call reduces communications costs by enabling units in communication for a transmission in one direction to reverse the direction of the exchange (to send and receive on the same call) thus eliminating the need for the telecommunications connection to be severed and reestablished. This eliminates the repetition of the handshake and the higher "first minute" charge of some telecommunications companies.

Automatic answer and disconnect allows a fax unit to receive incoming calls and accept remote transmission automatically without operator intervention. To operate in this mode, the unit also must be equipped with a continuous paper supply, either a roll or a cartridge unit capable of storing multiple sheets if single pre-cut sheets are used. A unit with this feature, when linked to equipment with the ability to perform automatic dialing or polling, provides for the unattended use of facsimile at times when communications charges are lower.

Self-test/Copy mode refers to the ability of a unit to run a test copy without using outside phone lines. Such a test copy is used to evaluate the performance of a unit. This feature also may be used to produce on site copies of documents. Because the machine uses the regular facsimile scanning process to copy the material, however, this is a slower and more expensive method of copying than using a regular photocopier. Related features on some units are self diagnostic display capabilities. Units so equipped display codes which represent particular equipment malfunctions. Use of the operator's manual supplied with the equipment enables users to correct many of these problems on site without the assistance of service personnel. Many of the equipment manufacturers also provide service hotlines which have the capability of remotely diagnosing and correcting malfunctions in facsimile networks, thus eliminating the need for site visits by service personnel.

Automatic answer is the ability of a unit automatically to sense and answer an incoming call. This feature is essential in a unit that is to receive facsimile transmissions unattended. A related capability, automatic disconnect, also must be present so that a unit which has received a transmission may be freed to accept other incoming calls.

Grey scale recognition. While the continuously varying waveform signal produced by analog telefacsimile units makes them particularly suited for registering the tonal variations between white and black (grey scale), digital facsimile technology also can register and record tonal variations. In digital units, the process requires more complex scanners and decision circuits as each pixel is evaluated against a range of potential information values. As a result of these decisions, more information has to be recorded to depict a range of conditions more extensive than on/off or black/white. Accordingly, the digital representation of each pixel requires more bits, a number dependent upon the number of grey scale conditions the unit recognizes. With the application of grey scale recording techniques, more data is generated for transmission, increasing the time and expense of sending a> page. Transmissions which record grey scale tonal variations will not be out put as grey scale unless the receiving unit is capable of reproducing these variations in the printing process.

Document enhancement/contrast control capabilities permits the degree of contrast between the tonal variations recognized by a scanner to be manipulated. An input document containing six shades of grey between black and white, with each shade supposedly representing an equal tonal stop between the base registers of white and black, may have been degraded to the point where all eight tones are accommodated within the span of the "lower" half of the continuum, with white registering as white, but black represented as only mid grey. The application of document enhancement techniques to the output from the scanning process prior to printing can reproduce the unfaded tonal variation of the original in the facsimile copy. In less sophisticated systems in which the scanner only registers two values, white and black as corresponding to background and information, contrast control also may be used to adjust image clarity.

Automatic paper feed. Most units have automatic paper feed capabilities, and nearly all use roll paper. Only a few units use single sheets which must be inserted individually for printing. Automatic paper feed is essential for any machine handling a volume of incoming transmissions, as manual loading for printing is labor intensive. The use of roll paper, which offers a range of document length capabilities, is essential for units which are to receive transmissions of material longer than the standard 11 inches.

Automatic paper cutting. Units which use roll paper offer a variety of methods 'of treating incoming documents. The least sophisticated have no paper cutting capabilities. Incoming documents are output continuously on roll paper which must be detached and torn or cut to size by an operator. Other units automatically cut paper, but only to a standard size. Such units cannot handle oversized pages. Others offer two cutting lengths, standard and oversize, while the most advanced machines have the ability to sense the length of the incoming document and cut the copy to size.

Transaction logging. Manufacturers offer a variety of methods for transaction logging. The simplest transmit terminal identification whereby the incoming document is imprinted with the identification/phone number of the terminal from which it was transmitted. Enhancements available for some units expand this information to include date, time, and duration of the transmission, and the total number of documents transmitted in a session. A temporary remote terminal identification feature on some equipment displays the identification of the terminal to which the transmission is being directed on a display console on the unit undertaking the transmission. Other machines record incoming and outgoing transactions on slips of paper printed out between transactions. Many top-of-the-line units offer transaction/activity report logs which store the data for print-out either at a predetermined time or on demand.

Message received verification/Message assurance is a check feature whereby the receiving unit signals the transmitting unit that the transmission has been received and printed successfully.

Unattended receive. To be capable of un-attended reception, a facsimile transceiver must be equipped with automatic answer and disconnect features and ~ some form of continuous paper supply.

Unattended transmission may be achieved in two ways. The less complex, from the viewpoint of the transmitting site, requires that the transmitting unit have automatic answer and disconnect capabilities, an automatic document feed feature, a document tray to hold the material, and the capability of being polled by a remote unit. In this configuration, more complex features are required at the receiving site which initiates and controls the polling operation either automatically or with operator intervention. Unattended transmission also may be initiated by the transmitting machine. Such a unit requires, in addition to automatic feed and a document tray, auto dial and auto disconnect features.

The terminology used in product literature from various manufacturers is not always consistent. Some units that are described as offering automatic transmission do so only after the initial line connection has been established by an operator. Thereafter, an automatic document feeder frees the operator until the transmission is completed. Line disconnection may or may not require operator intervention. Similarly, what are described as automatic receive capabilities may, in fact, depend upon different degrees of operator intervention.

Libraries investigating the use of facsimile for document delivery should keep in mind that related costs lie in at least four areas: equipment, telecommunications charges, labor, and supplies. A fifth factor, the cost of photocopying material held in bound form, may not be important since most libraries incur this expense regardless of the delivery method.

Following is a list of 9 machines selling for $2,495 to $3,595, a price range within reach of many libraries. They are Group 3 machines capable of handling the volume likely required for all but the heaviest interlibrary loan activity. The information was culled from product literature and conversations with manufacturers' salespeople.

Alden 340	$3,395
NEC Bit III	$2,785
Panafax 400 AD	$2,995
Pitney Bowes 8150	$3,495
Ricoh Rapicom 210 $3,595
Sanyo 625	$3,195
Sharp 2715	$3,095
Telauto Omnifax G-93	$2,995
3M 2110	$2,495

The features that all 9 machines have in common are: electronic handshake, error detection, modem stepdown/auto adjust, auto document feed for up to 30 pages, polling/auto transmission, automatic answer/disconnect, self test/copy mode, automatic answer, document enhancement/contrast (a manual operation) , automatic paper feed, automatic paper cutting, transaction logging, message received verification, unattended receive, unattended/delayed transmission, roll paper, and speed dial. In addition, except for the Alden 340, all machines also have automatic dialing and redialing. Except for the Alden 340, the Pitney Bowes 8150, and the Sanyo 625, all machines have document reduction. And, except for the Alden 340 and the NEC Bit III, all have turnaround polling. Only the Ricoh Rapicom 210 and the Telautograph Omnifax G-93 have grey scale recognition. The transmit document widths range from 8 to 11 inches. The Alden has the narrowest at 8 inches, followed by Pitney Bowes 8150 and Sanyo 625 at 8.5 inches, the NEC Bit III and Ricoh Rapicom 210 at 10 inches and the remaining four machines at 11 inches.

It is interesting to note that the machine with the lowest number of features and the narrowest transmit document size is also one of the most expensive!

University Microfilms releases GammaFax

University Microfilms International (UMI) has announced the availability of GammaFax as a means of linking an IBM PC/XT or AT using MS-DOS with facsimile machines. GammaFax enables a personal computer to communicate with any Group 3 facsimile machine worldwide over standard dial-up telephone lines and no fax machine is required at the location of the PC. The GammaFax hardware includes a facsimile compatible, 9600 bps modem for direct communication to the telephone network. With GammaFax, a PC user is able to compose text or graphics documents using standard packages and send them directly to a fax machine. There is no need to print the documents and insert them in a fax machine for transmission. GammaFax also provides for receipt of messages from remote fax machines. Each page is saved on disk as a file which either can be displayed on a monitor or printed. Other IBM PC compatible hardware may also be used. So far, AT&T and NCR machines have been approved.

In order to establish the GammaFax linkage, one hardware board is installed in a slot in the PC and a telephone cable is connected directly to the board by a modular jack. A manual is provided for installation by local library staff. A service telephone number is provided for assistance where necessary. The software consists of the main communications program for sending and receiving, plus several utility programs. These utilities convert ASCII documents and PC-generated graphics to fax format for transmission and also display received images on the monitor as well as provide for print capability. Many of the important features (auto answer, auto dial, modem stepdown) of Group 3 machines which are important to libraries using fax for cost efficient interlibrary loan and transmission of documents are incorporated into GammaFax.

The principal advantages of GammaFax over conventional, low-cost facsimile equipment are a store-and-forward capability and printing on plain paper. GammaFax is not designed per se to replace the need for fax machines, but rather to take advantage of a library's existing printers and peripherals purchased for a PC. Indeed, a library likely would need to purchase additional equipment if it were considering GammaFax as a substitute for a conventional facsimile machine, even if it already had a PC, since a scanner would be required to convert the documents to machine-readable form. Suitable scanners are available for approximately $1,200, nearly half the cost of some of the less expensive Group 3 fax machines available today. In addition, unless the library's PC were equipped with a modem, one would have to be purchased at a cost of $400-$600.

GammaFax is a product of GammaLink, a leading supplier of synchronous, 9600 bps, dial-up data communications equipment. UMI is offering GammaFax at a list price of $995. Quantity discounts are available.

[Contact: Sue Kennedy, UMI, 300 North Zeeb Road, Box 11, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; (313) 732-0616.]

Geac posts loss

Geac Computer Corporation Ltd. of Canada, a major vendor of automated library systems, posted a loss of $2.9 million (Canadian) on sales of $15.9 for the quarter ended July 31, 1986. In the same period last year, Geac had a profit of $400,000 on revenues of $17 million. Library system sales accounted for approximately 31 percent of revenues for that year. Profit and loss figures for the company's division are not disclosed, but business analysts attribute the losses to conditions in the banking sector. Geac has reacted by cutting staff from 900 to 760. The top priority is returning the company to profitability, a goal the company hopes to achieve before the end of fiscal 1987.

EBSCO announces interfaces

EBSCO Subscription Services has announced the release of a tape interface for processing EBSCO invoices with the Geac acquisition system. EBSCO will supply a machine-readable invoice tape to those of its customers using a Geac system. The invoice information is read into the Geac accounting function. Information on the invoice includes bibliographic and explanatory data as well as price and subscription data. The interface eliminates keying data into the Geac system to post orders. Testing of the interface has been completed at the University of Houston.

An interface between the NOTIS integrated library system and EBSCO's Subscription Online System has also been announced. When the NOTIS serials control system detects an issue of a serial that requires claiming by EBSCO, it keeps track of it and transmits the claim in batch mode to the EBSCO computer. The frequency with which the batches are submitted to EBSCO is determined by the NOTIS user. This procedure simplifies the claiming process by eliminating the need for rekeying the claim data and sending pieces of paper. Error checking is performed at each end of the transfer. The claim interface is the first phase of the interface to be developed by NOTIS and EBSCO. Other applications are scheduled for development and testing later.

A third cooperative venture was announced by EBSCO and CLASS in which EBSCO will provide selected data for CHECKMATE II, CLASS' serials control software. Bibliographic information from an EBSCO customer's subscription records can be downloaded into the master bibliographic record of CHECKMATE II. From EBSCO supplied fields, a profile of selected fields may be developed to be added to the library's data base, eliminating the need of keying basic bibliographic data into CHECKMATE II. Only local information, such as holdings, route lists, and local notes, then need to be keyed. CLASS charges $300 for the downloading service.

[Contact: EBSCO, P.O. Box 1943, Birmingham, AL 35210; (205) 991-1368. Attn: Mary Beth Vanderpoorten.]

Post processing explained

One of the highlights of the ASIDIC Fall Meeting in New York City was a detailed presentation on post processing by Victor Rosenberg, President of Personal Bibliographic Software, Inc., and a professor at the University of Michigan Library School. Post processing was described as the automation of the process of using the information retrieved in a data base search and involves the storage and retrieval of a distillate of information, formatting and reformatting of data, indexing--both manual and automatic, the elimination of duplicates, and typesetting and printing for desktop publishing. It is also involved with the generation of information products such as bibliographies and footnotes to documents and catalog cards, merging of the contents with other data bases, uploading into other systems, and document delivery.

The message was that merely providing information was no longer enough (if it ever was); providers of information must now present it in forms that are amenable to manipulation and must also supply the tools for manipulating the data. Personal Bibliographic Services, Inc., is one of several firms that are developing software products to support post processing.

Apple IIe package available for Grolier's Electronic Encyclopedia

The leading CD-ROM product in sales during the past month appears to have been the Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia. As might be expected, schools are the principal purchasers. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that while over 95 percent of all CD-ROM products are supported with systems configured around IBM PCs, schools are opting for Apple lIe configurations. Microtrends, Inc., is selling a package that includes 'a Jonathan 68000 card, a daughter board that supports the Phillips CM-100 drive, and KnowledgeSet retrieval software, along with the CD-ROM encyclopedia for a bundled price of $2,588. Many local Apple dealers can also supply the package.

[Contact: Microtrends Inc., 650 Woodfield Drive, Suite 730, Schaumburg, IL 60173; (312) 310-8928.]

IBM and Apple lost market share

IBM and Apple were still the market leaders in retail personal microcomputer sales during the second quarter of 1986, ranking number 1 and number 2 respectively. However their market shares dropped from 40 percent to 34 percent for IBM and from 18 percent to 12 percent for Apple compared with the same period last year. This year's market shares for the next three highest companies were 8 percent for Compaq, and 6 percent each for Epson and Hewlett- Packard.

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