Keep it Simple! Photographs and fancy graphics may look
good on your original but they look ugly when they are received
on a fax machine. And many machines have trouble even receiving
complex faxes.
Avoid fine print! Your flyer may go through many generations
of faxing and copying. Details get lost very quickly.
Watch your margins!Different fax machines have different
abilities to print close to the sides or bottom of pages. Leave
at least a half-inch at the sides and an inch at the bottom to be
safe.
Use standard paper size! Every fax machine can receive letter
size documents. If your fax is on legal size paper, be aware that
many machines will either truncate it at 11 inches or split it onto
two pages.
Avoid Grey! Fax machines don't like grey. They use black
and white. Grey is simulated by not printing all the black dots.
Not only does this look ugly but it slows down sending the fax dramatically.
Avoid Black! It looks dramatic but it uses a lot of ink or toner
when it is printed or copied.
Avoid White! Do you really need to space out the information
that much or could it be compressed to fit onto a single page?
Don't Waste Paper! Do you really need to print a separate
flyer for each event you sponsor or would a single-page calendar
do? Remember, a calendar can give people greater notice and they
are more likely to be willing to accept a single page coming every
now and again. Also, a single page is more likely to be copied and
posted.
Let them know in time! Give people at least a week's notice
where possible. It may take several days just for your flyer to
get out to everyone. If the recipient gets it and posts it a day
or two before your event, few people will see it. Most people receive
faxes at their workplace so you also have to make sure it can get
to them before they leave for the weekend!
Let them know who you are!And include a contact number
on your flyer in case people have questions.
Keep it clear! Send the original to FaxLeft in as high a
resolution as your fax machine can handle - or send it via E-mail
if you created it on a computer. And avoid sending flyers on coloured
paper if you can. Some fax machines are a lot better than others
at filtering out the background.
Keep your equipment maintained! Some fax machines leave
streaks and lines on the faxes they send.
Keep it stocked! It doesn't receive faxes when the paper
or ink/toner supply is out.
Keep it running! Faxes are sent at all times of day and
night. Retrying sends takes time. Resubmitting failed faxes takes
time also. Keep your fax machine turned on.
FaxLeft is the Greater Toronto Area's largest and most progressive
public service fax network. Operating for community, recreation,
arts, environmental, labour and social justice groups, FaxLeft provides
a quick and effective means of distributing information about events
and issues. Visit FaxLeft's World Wide Web site at http://www.echo-on.net/~faxleft.
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