Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news.sprintlink.net!news-dc-10.sprintlink.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!miwok!northcoast.com!northcoast.com!not-for-ma! il From: savetz@northcoast.com (Kevin Savetz) Newsgroups: alt.internet.services,alt.online-service,alt.bbs.internet,alt.fax,alt.answers,comp.dcom.fax,comp.mail.misc,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: FAQ: How can I send a fax from the Internet? Followup-To: alt.internet.services Date: 5 Nov 1996 03:00:17 -0800 Organization: Northcoast Internet Lines: 587 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Message-ID: <55n6o1$41b@redwood.northcoast.com> Reply-To: savetz@northcoast.com NNTP-Posting-Host: redwood.northcoast.com Summary: Answers the Frequently Asked Question "How can I send a fax from the Internet?" Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.internet.services:87285 alt.online-service:21383 alt.bbs.internet:56190 comp.dcom.fax:23395 alt.answers:21634 comp.mail.misc:35940 comp.answers:22214 news.answers:86129 Archive-name: internet-services/fax-faq Last-Modified: 1996/2/23 Version: 1.5.1 FAQ: How can I send a fax from the Internet? Version 1.5.1 - February 23 1996 Send comments & updates to Kevin Savetz - savetz@northcoast.com This document is copyright 1994-1996 by Kevin M. Savetz. All rights reserved. More legal stuff is near the end of this file. If you notice that an Internet fax service is missing from this list, or information herein needs updating, please send e-mail to savetz@northcoast.com *** TABLE OF CONTENTS Thanks to the sponsors Can I send a fax from the Internet? Free services - International Destinations TPC.INT Remote Printing *updated* Swedish University Network NCI Free faxes to the Netherlands Philippines *new* Kuwait Faxmail - faxes to New Zealand *new* Faxworks Gateway (Auckland, New Zealand) Free services - United States Destinations Faxes to California's north coast *new* FaxLine Sacramento Fax Service University of Minnesota Fax Service IBAG Faxes to Phoenix University of Washington Princeton University Emory Computer Consultants VersaFax Demonstration Free services - Canadian Destinations University of Calgary Vancouver, Canada area via wimsey.com University of Manitoba for Winnipeg City Quebec (cam.org) Quebec City, Canada (418) *new* Fax the Feds (Canadian Parliament) *new* Commercial Services Elvis FAXiNET InterFax Interpage Borderless World Communications FaxAway *updated* US Fax IndiaFax Calport (India) IndiaCom NCI fax gateway to Western Europe KL Fax - for users in Israel Latvia Fax - for users in Latvia Stupid Internet/Fax Tricks Universal Access WebFax Netoffice Fax Web Fax Services that are no more More Information About Faxing Legal Stuff Where to Find this Document *** THANKS TO THE SPONSORS This FAQ is an independent effort, sponsored in part by: +++ Borderless World Communications BWC provides the full range of enhanced fax/Internet communications services. Send generic or recipient-specific communications via fax or Internet interfaced with your mainframe or PC. Domestic US cost is 50% less than a postage stamp. For info: bwc@atlanta.com +++ FaxSav Incorporated FaxSav Incorporated introduces its new FaxSav for Internet Suite of services for incredibly easy-to-use, convenient, reliable and cost effective fax delivery anywhere worldwide. Use FaxMailer (http://www.faxsav.com/faxsavinternet/html/faxmailer.html) from any e-mail package by typing in the destination address faxnumber@faxsav.com Use the free FaxLauncher utility to fax fully formatted Windows documents from your desktop. For more information, see http://www.faxsav.com *** CAN I SEND A FAX FROM THE INTERNET? Indeed. There are several services for sending a fax via Internet mail - some are free while others are pay services. At least one service even lets you receive a fax the Internet. The services require that you can send and receive electronic mail to the Internet, or that you have Web access. *** FREE SERVICES - International destinations +++ TPC.INT Remote Printing Send electronic mail to a special address, and soon after (if your recipient's fax machine is in a covered area), out comes a fax. You can send a fax to multiple fax machines, or even a combination of faxes and traditional e-mail recipients. This service covers parts of the United States, Canada and other countries. You can't send a fax just anywhere with this service. A variety of companies, institutions and citizens linked to the Internet have joined the experiment by linking a computer and fax modem to the 'net. When an organization joins as a remote-fax server, it specifies what areas to which they are willing to send faxes. When you send an e-mail fax message, you (naturally) must include the phone number of the recipient's fax machine. A computer looks at the phone number and decides if any participating fax machines cover the area to which you want to send a fax. If so, your message is routed to the appropriate machine for faxation. Otherwise, you will receive electronic mail informing you the fax couldn't be delivered. To send a fax by e-mail, send a message To: remote-printer.info@phonenumber.tpc.int Where contains information for the cover page. In , "/" is turned into a line break and "_" is turned into a space. For example: To: remote-printer.Arlo_Cats/Room_123@12025551234.iddd.tpc.int The following addresses can be used to obtain more information: Frequently-Asked-Questions: tpcfaq@info.tpc.int Coverage List: tpccover@info.tpc.int Subscribe to mailing list: majordomo@aarnet.edu.au Body: subscribe tpc-rp Mailing list contributions: tpc-rp@aarnet.edu.au Administrative questions: tpcadmin@info.tpc.int There's are Web pages which provides information about the TPC.INT fax service. You can even fill out a Web form to send a fax. http://www.tpc.int/ +++ Swedish University Network The Swedish University Computer Network (sunet) offers a fax service that can be used by anyone to send faxes anywhere within Sweden (+46). To send a fax to Arlo Cats at +46-87654321 (that's international notation for Sweden, phone number 08/765 43 21) send e-mail: To: Arlo_Cats@F087654321.fax.sunet.se Note that you will always have to preface the phone number with the letter "F" for "fax". Special characters in the body of your message are converted to Nordic characters: ASCII Becomes ASCII Becomes } a with circle accent [ A with diereses { a with diereses (two dots) \ O with diereses | o with diereses ` e with right accent ] A with circle accent For more information, e-mail faxmaster@fax.sunet.se +++ NCI Free faxes to the Netherlands The E-FAX server of NCI will send your message as a fax, including a small advertisement. The company also offers a commercial fax service (see commercial section.) The service is only accessible for users outside The Netherlands and NCI e-mail users. The maximum length of a message is 70 lines. Faxes will be sent only Monday to Friday 18.00h - 08.00h and on the weekend. Format: To: Hansje.Blinker.31206999999@E-FAX.nci.nl For more information: Send a message To: nci@nci.nl For information in Dutch, e-mail: To: info.E-FAX@nci.nl +++ Philippines For information on sending free faxes to the Philippines (Iligan city, Metro Cebu and Metro Manila) see: http://www.msuiit.edu.ph/fax.html +++ Kuwait This service will send a fax to anywhere in Kuwait. Usage: To: fax@kuwait.net Subject: 7 digit phone number without punctuation Body: text of fax For help, visit http://www.kuwait.net/fax.help or send email To: fax@kuwait.net Subject: help +++ Faxmail - faxes to New Zealand This service lets you send a fax anywhere in New Zealand. For information or to send a fax, visit: http://www.actrix.gen.nz/biz/faxmail/faxmail.htm For a fee, the company also allows you to receive faxes via email, broadcast faxes, and other services. +++ Faxworks Gateway (Auckland, New Zealand) Allows you to send a fax to Auckland, New Zealand. Access to all of New Zealand (free for low volumes) and neighboring countries (eg Australia) must be arranged in advance by sending email with your request To: system@codewks.nacjack.gen.nz. This service is run as a hobby and is connected to the Internet by UUCP, so it can take from 12 to 24 hours for your fax to be delivered. It does not support multiple addressing: only one fax number per message. To use fax service, send e-mail To: faxline@codewks.nacjack.gen.nz Subject: (ignored) Body: To: Receiver's name Phone: Receiver's fax number Date: dd/mm/yy format. Time: hh:mm [in 24-hour format] Mode: Fine [For fine resolution; standard res. if omitted] *** FREE SERVICES - United States destinations +++ Faxes to California's north coast This service is offered by Northcoast Internet, an Internet service provider in Eureka, California. Their service lets you send a text-only fax to Eureka and local calling areas (Arcata, Blue Lake, Trinidad, Fortuna, Loleta, Rio Dell & Scotia, and Hydesville California) as well as 1-800 numbers. Visit: http://www.northcoast.com/fax/ +++ FaxLine Sacramento Fax Service This service is a feature of a Sacramento, California-based bulletin board system. You can use it to send faxes to areas that are a local call from Sacramento, including the California State Legislature. This service is run as a hobby and is connected to the Internet by UUCP, so it can take from 12 to 24 hours for your fax to be delivered or for the help files to reach you. It does not support multiple addressing: only one fax number per message. It also does not send a cover page, so be sure to start your message with a note directing it to someone's attention. It will truncate faxes longer than two pages (that's 132 lines.) To use this fax service, send e-mail To: faxline@sacto.com Subject: local (7 digit) phone number, without area code Body: For complete usage information, send e-mail To: request@sacto.com Subject: 052 For a list of some legislators' fax numbers in the Sacramento area, send e-mail: To: request@sacto.com Subject: 050 Information about this service is also available on the Web: http://www.calweb.com/~argek/fax/intro.html +++ The University of Minnesota Fax Service The University of Minnesota operates a fax gateway which allows students and staff to send faxes anywhere. Even if you don't go to UMinn, you may use the service to send faxes to folks at the University and exchanges local to the campus. The structure for e-mailing a fax is: To: /pn=John.Doe/dd.fax=234-5678/@fax.tc.umn.edu Put the recipient's name, with a period between the first and last names, after pn= and put the seven digit fax number after the characters dd.fax=. This name will be printed in the "To:" field on the fax cover page. The area code for the University of Minnesota is 612, so you don't need to supply an area code. For more information, send e-mail to ccs@maroon.tc.umn.edu. +++ IBAG Faxes to Phoenix This Web-to-fax gateway will allow you to send free faxes to the Phoenix, Arizona area (area code 1-602.) To use it, point your forms-capable Web browser to: http://www.ibag.com/fax.html +++ University of Washington Allows "University of Washington affiliates" to send a fax to the Seattle area. No longer available to the general public. Text, PostScript, GIF, JPEG, and TIFF images are supported. The format of the To: line should be: To: John_Jones@365-0000.fax.cac.washington.edu For more information, see http://www.washington.edu:1180/home/announcements/fax.html or send e-mail to: faxhelp@cac.washington.edu +++ Princeton University Princeton University runs a fax gateway for students and faculty. Not available to the general Internet community. http://faxserver.Princeton.EDU:8080/faxhowto.html +++ Emory Computer Consultants This service is not yet in operation. The web page says that if you fill out the form, you'll be able to send faxes for free when their upcoming fax service is ready. Seems dubious to me; they demand a lot of personal information, so take care before jumping in. For information, see http://emory.com/~emory/fax/freefax.html +++ VersaFax Demonstration This service seems to allow you to send a fax anywhere in the United States for free. It is meant as a demonstration of a fax software product. The site claims that the service is no longer free, but free faxing still seems to work?! So don't abuse it, and don't expect it to last. To send a fax, visit: http://www.cosi.com/demo/qfax.html For help from a human, email customer_service@gateway.cosi.com This company also lets you send a message to an alphanumeric pager: for information, visit: http://gus.cosi.com/cgi-bin/qpage For more information about either service, email versafax@cosi.com *** FREE SERVICES - Canadian destinations +++ University of Calgary For faxes to Calgary, Canada. Usage is: To: John_Jones@5551234.fax.ucalgary.ca +++ Vancouver, Canada area via wimsey.com This fax gateway is available for calls to the Vancouver, Canada area. To: 5551234/Fred_Smith@fax.wimsey.com +++ University of Manitoba for Winnipeg City, Canada This service allows you to send a fax to Winnipeg City, Canada (area code 204.) To use, send email To: fax@umanitoba.ca Body: FAXnumber: FAXto: FAXfrom: FAXcontact: FAXmemobegin FAXmemoend +++ Quebec (cam.org) For faxes to the 514 area code (Quebec, Canada.) Usage is: To: John_Jones@5551234.fax.cam.org For more information email marc@cam.org +++ Quebec City area, Province of Quebec, Canada (418) To send a fax by e-mail, send a message To: rp.info@phonenumber.fax.ulaval.ca Where contains information for the cover page. In , "/" is turned into a line break and "_" is turned into a space. Don't use "." and "@" in . For example: To: rp.Arlo_Cats/Room_123@14185551234.fax.ulaval.ca For more information (in French): http://www.gel.ulaval.ca/Fax/manuel_fax.html +++ Fax the Feds For Canadian citizens, lets you send a free fax to your Member of Parliament. http://www.net-efx.com/faxfeds/ *** COMMERCIAL (PAY-FOR-USE) SERVICES +++ Elvis This service allows you to send faxes to the former USSR, Europe, Japan, the United States and Canada. The service is based in Moscow, so faxes to the USSR are relatively cheap, faxes to the rest of the world are relatively expensive. Prices listed are for "standard" fax mode. For fax service to Moscow from former USSR: $0.40 / page fax service to former USSR from former USSR: $0.95 / page For fax service to former USSR from elsewhere: $1.95 / page fax service to Europe and Japan: $2.90 / page fax service to USA and Canada: $3.80 / page fax service to other countries: $5.80 / page You can access the service via an e-mail interface. For more information, send e-mail to To: faxgate@elvis.ru Body: helpenglish (for help in English) or Body: help (for help in Russian) You can reach a human via e-mail at: To: gatemaster@elvis.ru +++ FAXiNET Another fax-by-mail service is FAXiNET, which lets you send any text (ASCII) or PostScript documents to virtually every destination that can be direct dialed from the United States. For an extra fee, the company can also receive faxes for you, which will be delivered to you via electronic mail. FAXiNET offers two rate plans. Plan 1 has a one-time activation fee of $35.00, a monthly maintenance fee of $9.95 and a per-page transmission cost (to US destinations) of 39 cents. Plan two, for lower-volume users, has a one-time activation fee of $20 and no monthly maintenance fee; however faxes cost 65 cents per page. International rates depend on the destination country: from Albania ($2.25/page) to Zimbabwe ($2.52/page). Faxes to the United Kingdom are 56 cents/page; Mexico is $1.52/page. Additional services, including adding your custom logo and signature to your faxes, are available at extra cost. Corporate accounts are also available. More information is available from AnyWare Associates, FAXiNET, 32 Woodland Road, Boston, MA 02130. (617) 522-8102. E-mail: info@awa.com (for automated response) or sales@awa.com (for a human.) Information is also maintained on FAXiNET's web server: http://www.awa.com/faxinet/ +++ InterFax InterFax allows you to send faxes via e-mail within the US or internationally. InterFax is a fee-based service (billed to your credit card) but, unlike the services listed above, InterFax lets you send faxes anywhere, not just select locations. As of this writing, InterFax costs $5 per month, which includes the first five fax pages. Additional pages cost 50 cents each. There is a one-time sign-up charge of $25. For further information, send e-mail to faxmaster@pan.com, or contact InterFax at PO Box 162, Skippack, PA 19474 USA. (215) 584-0300. Fax: (215)584-1038. +++ Interpage Interpage has a unique slant on the faxing-via-email: instead of charging the sender of the fax, Interpage charges the recipient (who must have an Interpage account.) The idea is that you can use Interpage to forward your regular e-mail to you via fax, or you'll give your Interpage e-mail address to correspondents that don't have access to a fax machine. Interpage also offers the more common service of letting its customers send text or postscript e-mail that turns into a fax. Each Interpage Fax Gateway customer receives an e-mail address and a configuration account. Customers may forward their regular e-mail to Interpage for faxing, have correspondents send e-mail directly to their Interpage accounts, or both. Interpage allows users to filter incoming electronic mail in order to only fax messages from specific individuals, for instance. The charge for basic service is $5 per month plus $.20 per minute for faxes destined for the United States or $.30 per minute to Canada. If a fax is dispatched to an 800 number, there is no charge. There is a $10 sign-up fee. There is a one week free trial period, although users will be responsible for any toll charges they incur. For more information: http://www.interpage.net info@interpage.net 1-203-499-5221 +++ Borderless World Communications Borderless World Communications can fax broadcast, e-mail via the net, snail or overnight mail your communications from one batch file via a PC or mainframe. BWC offers several services, including Fax Link (for sending faxes, snail mail or overnight mail); Fax Broadcasting; Fax Merge; Fax On Demand and Fax Polling. For information email bwc@atlanta.com +++ MetroFax A commercial service that can only send faxes to Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. Illinois, Florida, Georgia and Washington state are coming. No pricing information available at the site. A free 30 day demo is available, which will let you send faxes to Washington D.C. http://www.onthego.com/media_blitz/metro_f@x/ +++ Faxaway Allows you to send faxes anywhere in the world. Fee depends on the destination country (US is 10 cents/minute, Germany is 35 cents/minute.) You can test the service by sending a free fax: http://www.faxaway.com/testdrive/testdrive.cgi?20100 For more information, call 1-206-301-7000, send email to info@faxaway.com or visit: http://www.faxaway.com More detailed information about faxing from the Internet using FaxAway is available at: http://www.flexquarters.com/main/faxout.htm Info on receiving faxes via e-mail is at: http://www.flexquarters.com/main/faxin.htm +++ US Fax Provides fax-to-email and e-mail to fax services. That's all I know. For information, email glb@usfx.com or call 1-800-329-1517 +++ IndiaFax Calport (India) Send text or graphic (PCX format) faxes to India. Membership charge is $10 Rs 300 per quarter or $30 Rs 1000 per year. Text only fax (60 lines) $1 Rs 30; Graphical fax (uuencoded .PCX) $2 Rs 60. For more information, email indiafax@calport.wa.com or support@calport.wa.com +++ IndiaCom Will deliver a message to India by fax, letter or phone (voice.) Charges range from US$30 for 6 months (maximum of 150 pages) of faxing to the Bombay area, to US$200 for 6 months (maximum of 150 pages) of faxing to anywhere in India. The service also accepts messages from India via fax, letter or phone, and will email them to you. A free trial offer, 5 pages to Bombay, is available. For information, email bomaad40@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in +++ NCI fax gateway to Western Europe This fax gateway allows customers to send faxes to most of the Western European countries, including the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium and many other countries. Accepts ASCII and WordPerfect 5.1 documents. Monthly fee Dfl. 10,- (US$6); Per page rate depends on destination country, starts at Dfl. 1,- (US$ 0.60). For more information, e-mail nci@nci.nl +++ KL Fax - for users in Israel This service allows users in Israel to send a fax anywhere in the world. For information, email leslie@shani.co.il +++ Latvia Fax - for users in Latvia This service allows users in Latvia to send a fax to many countries. For information, email vit@lvnet.lv *** STUPID INTERNET/FAX TRICKS +++ Universal Access WebFax This service doesn't have much to do with sending a fax via e-mail e-mail, but it's interesting anyway: The Universal Access WebFax server allows retrieval of most World Wide Web documents using any fax machine - no Internet connection is necessary. It works this way: you dial the phone number using the handset of your fax machine and enter the URL of the site you wish to see on the Touchtone keypad (for instance, www.northcoast.com is "999 6678426278 266") and, when prompted, press the "start" button on your fax machine. The selected document will then be transmitted. It supports text and display of forms, inline images, and will even play Web audio files over the phone. The service is free, but you pay for the phone call to Southern California. For more information, call 1-805-730-7777 from the handset of your fax machine, or visit: http://www.datawave.net/ +++ Netoffice Fax Web Allows you to receive your faxes and voicemail messages using the World Wide Web. For information, visit: http://www.netoffice.com/ *** FAX SERVICES THAT ARE NO MORE Don't tell me about these. They have ceased to be. - Digital Chicken was a service that let users send faxes to Canadian government and citizens. Use TPC.INT instead. - cssnet.sanford.nc.us fax server - no longer available due to hard drive crash. - FaxLinq, which used to let users receive faxes via e-mail, was discontinued in Jan 1995. - fax.air.org, faxing to Hong Kong - seems to have disappeared - Stoic Fax/Telex Gateway - Unigate (Russia) - Grand Blanc/Flint (810) via associate.com - Baylor College of Medicine *** MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FAXING For more information about Internet-to-fax gateways, and faxing info in general, check out the Usenet newsgroup alt.fax. For technical information about the data communications aspects of faxing, see the newsgroup comp.dcom.fax *** LEGAL STUFF This document is copyright 1994-1996 by Kevin M. Savetz. All rights reserved. All prices in US Dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Permission for the following types of distribution is hereby granted, provided that this file is distributed intact, including the above copyright notice: - non-commercial distribution - posting to Internet archives, BBSs and online services - distribution by teachers, librarians and Internet trainers - inclusion on software/FAQ/Internet-oriented CD-ROMs Permission for commercial distribution may be obtained from the editor. SHARE THIS INFORMATION FREELY AND IN GOOD FAITH. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT. This document is always in transition. If you notice that something important is missing, or information herein needs updating, please contact the editor. The editor and contributors have developed this FAQ as a service to the Internet community. We hope you find it useful. This FAQ is purely a volunteer effort. Although every effort has been made to insure that answers are as accurate as possible, no guarantee is implied or intended. While the editor tries to keep this document current, remember that the Internet and its services are constantly changing, so don't be surprised if you happen across statements which are obsolete. If you do, please send corrections to the editor. Corrections, questions, and comments should be sent to Kevin Savetz at savetz@northcoast.com (Internet) or "savetz" (America Online/eWorld.) Please indicate what version of this document to which you are referring. *** WHERE TO FIND THIS DOCUMENT On the World Wide Web: http://www.northcoast.com/savetz/fax-faq.html You can receive it via anonymous FTP: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/fax-faq This file is posted twice monthly (on the 5th and 19th of each month) to the Usenet newsgroups alt.internet.services, alt.online-service, alt.bbs.internet, alt.fax, alt.answers, comp.dcom.fax, comp.mail.misc, comp.answers, and news.answers You can receive each new edition of this document automatically via electronic mail, if you are so inclined. This is a low-volume list, with updates every few weeks. To subscribe, send e-mail: To: fax-faq-request@northcoast.com Subject: subscribe fax-faq Body: You can also receive it once via electronic mail (without subscribing to automatic updates). To: fax-faq-request@northcoast.com Subject: archive Body: send fax-faq More goodies from the author of the FAQ can be found at: http://www.northcoast.com/savetz/ ---------- Remote Printing (aka Internet FAX, email-to-fax, freefax, efax etc etc) Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (FAQ) Collated and maintained by Mr. Arlington Hewes Last revised 19 February, 1997 Q. What is TPC.INT (otherwise known as Remote-Printing) all about? A. Remote-Printing started out as an experiment, designed to integrate the FAX and the e-mail communities worldwide. It allows you to send FAXes by using electronic mail. Perhaps more excitingly, it aimed to do this as a service to the Internet Community, thereby making it free of charge to the end user (the sender). The experiment has grown up into a network of remote-printing "cells" all over the world, which continues to grow as you read this. Q. What is a "cell", and why is this a useful concept? A. A cell is a remote-printing server, which has been set up to provide coverage (thereby forwarding your e-mail as FAXes to the fax number of your choosing) for a particular geographical calling area - like the many cells which, together, make up a large organism but which by themselves are useless. When you send a FAX to somewhere in the world which is covered by our project, we direct that FAX to the appropriate cell, and it is delivered locally. (And probably very cheaply for the cell operator. It is still free for you - the sender). Since your FAX has traveled most of its way through the Internet, and not an international telephone network, there is no cost to you (unless you pay to send e-mail). By using many small cells all over the world, we are able to keep the operators' costs very low, so everyone is happy. Q. Why do you use the TPC.INT domain? What does it mean? A. TPC = The Phone Company. INT = International. The reasons are historic, and may be attributed to Marshall Rose, and Carl Malamud - the original consultants who created remote-printing as an experiment. Q. What happened to Malamud and Rose? Who runs the show now? A. In the summer of 1995, Marshall and Rose ended the "experiment", moving on to newer projects. Darren Nickerson, a Ph.D. student at the University of Oxford, re-created the project and has administered it faithfully since that time. Coverage has expanded significantly under his guidance, and with the advent of server software for both Windows and MacOS, allowing almost anyone with a directly-connected PC or workstation to join the project and run a "cell", the project seems likely to grow explosively in the summer of 1996. Q. Who is Mr. Arlington Hewes? A. Mr. Arlington Hewes is Darren's faithful servant, taking care of the daily operation of the project. You may find he sounds very much like Darren - they spend a lot of time working together these days I guess! Q. I get a message from Mr. Arlington Hewes, which says that the number I tried is not covered by a "remote printer". What does this mean? A. The project's coverage depends on individuals all over the world setting up what we call "cells" in their local areas, joining the network and making that area accessible to you. The message you received means that there is no remote printer in the region you attempted. If you know anyone who might be able to set up a server (or a "cell") in that region please let us know. It's possible as well that you formatted the address incorrectly, and it didn't go to the number you had intended it to - more about this later. Q. Can I find out beforehand which areas are currently covered by the project? A. Of course. And we recommend you do so. Coverage fluctuates as technical glitches take cells offline occasionally, or network outages make them inaccessible. It is best to stay current, so fetch a coverage list from us occasionally. To get an up-to-date list of currently covered telephone exchanges worldwide, please send a message to tpccover@info.tpc.int. A blank message is fine, and the subject does not matter. Mr. Hewes will send you a copy of the list immediately. -or- have a look at the list at http://www.tpc.int/fax_cover_auto.html Q. How do I reach the TPC.INT administration? A. Please send a message to Mr. Arlington Hewes Mr. Hewes is an insanely busy man these days though, so make sure you read all the available information before asking a question which may be answered elsewhere. Q. Okay, but what information is available? A. If you have a WWW browser, point it at http://www.tpc.int/ That's a great place to start learning about the project. This document is the FAQ (short for Frequently Asked Questions - and answers), and you can fetch a current copy by sending mail to tpcfaq@info.tpc.int. Again, the message may be blank, and need not have a subject. Mr. Hewes will send you a new copy of this document immediately. Q. Is there a usenet news group, or other discussion forum? A. There is a mailing list, which you can join by sending a message to majordomo@info.tpc.int. This message must have a body, and in that body must appear a single line 'subscribe tpc-rp' The message should look something like: To : majordomo@info.tpc.int Cc : Attchmnt: Subject : ----- Message Text ----- subscribe tpc-rp You should receive information about the discussion list quite soon after subscribing. Keep this information in a safe spot, because it tells you what to do when you want to leave the list. In fact, print it out! To send a message to the discussion list, send it to tpc-rp@info.tpc.int. Once it is approved by the moderator, it will be distributed to the over 850 people currently subscribed to the list, so please ensure that it is relevant to the project in some way. The list is a place to ask your questions, but please take the time to read all the information which is available to you (such as this document - and our WWW site) before filling up everyone's mailboxes. Q. I've read about the project, but I still can't get the address right - what am I doing wrong? A. Make sure you conform exactly with the format: remote-printer.1st_Address_Line/2st_Address_Line@##########.iddd.tpc.int The "remote-printer" bit is required for now. We are trying to phase it out, but use it to be safe for the time being. When the coverpage of your FAX is generated, it will use the Address Lines to generate a "Please deliver this fax to:" message on the coverpage. Thus one would usually use a name for the 1st_address_line and a place for the 2nd_address_line (see examples below). The underline character "_" will be converted to a space, and the backslash "/" character will be converted to a new line when the coverpage is created. You may have as many "_" as you like, but only one newline "/" may be used per fax. The "#" characters represent the fax number, which should include the country code, the local prefix, and the number (not the international code). Examples: remote-printer.Arlington_Hewes/Room_403@441865271503.iddd.tpc.int (to send a fax to Arlington Hewes in Room 403, at the FAX number, in England (where the country code is 44), of +44 1865 271503) remote-printer.Mr_Paul_Katz/The_Manor@19025842817.iddd.tpc.int (to send a fax to Mr (no punctuation marks like a "." here please) Paul Katz in The Manor at the FAX number, in North America (where the country code is 1) of +1 902 584 2817) **NOTE** You may encounter references to our old address form, which requires the number to be reversed and separated by periods. Although this form will still work, we recommend you use the more intuitive "iddd" form as explained above (IDDD = International Direct Dialling Designator). Q. Is there a limit to how many FAXes I can send through a TPC cell? A. Yes - each cell is permitted to define an 'acceptable use policy' based on the levels of traffic they are prepared to handle. Any FAXes which exceed this weekly (or indeed hourly) limit will not be processed, and you will be notified as to which limit has been exceeded. Q. I think I am doing everything correctly, but still it fails. What can I do? A. Occasionally, something may be broken. It may be your end or our end of things, but without more information we're not going to be able to help. Please post your query to the tpc-rp mailing list, including as much detail as you can about the address you used, the mailer you used, and include any error messages (including the mail headers) which have been returned to you. Knowledge is power, and with enough information, some kind soul should be able to sort out what is going wrong. Q. I wanted to fax (insert your favorite place here) but Mr Arlington Hewes said that it was not covered by a remote printer. I think (my favorite place) is a very important region, so please can you cover it? A. We can't help you, but you can help yourself. The very nature of the project means that we need someone in that area (the one you are trying to reach) to join our project, thereby extending our coverage to that region. If they have a PC, a Mac, or a UNIX workstation and a bit of computer expertise then they're capable of becoming a part of TPC.INT - please put them in touch with Mr. Arlington Hewes immediately. Q. I formatted everything correctly, but I got a message back from someone called "mailer-daemon" or "postmaster" which says "host not found", or "unknown host". Help!? A. Because the project is global, and depends on the health of a lot of small systems all over the world, sometimes there are transient (unpredictable) outages. This seems to be what has happened to you. We are committed to improving service and rectifying such shortcomings however, so please forward the exact message you received to Mr. Arlington Hewes, along with an explanation including the number you were trying to reach, and the exact address which you used, and he will let you know what happened and how to proceed. Please give him as much detail as possible. Q. I formatted everything correctly, but I have not yet received any message about the status of my FAX. Has it been delivered? How long will I have to wait? A. It is possible that either your original FAX or the remote-printing cell's message to you is delayed. . . it's only as reliable as e-mail after all. It is also possible that your FAX is waiting in a queue of backlogged FAXes on a busy cell. In most cases, you should receive confirmation of a successful transmission within 15 minutes, but it could be as long as a day before you hear. . . there is no hard rule, and experience is perhaps the best teacher here. Q. What type of documents can I FAX through TPC.INT? A. Plain text, Postscript, or TIFF-F (G3-encoded bilevel TIFF). Q. I can send plain (ASCII) text easily enough, but how about this Postscript/TIFF stuff? A. To include these types of documents in your fax, use a MIME compliant mailer to "attach" them to your message. This will ensure that they are added correctly, with the proper formatting, headers and encoding so that they may be decoded at the remote-printer end. If you're uncertain whether or not your mailer is MIME compliant, check with the manufacturer, your system administrator, or a knowledgeable friend.. Q. Why use Postscript/TIFF, and how do I generate them? A. These formats allow you to send richly formatted text (including foreign fonts and characters), and complex images which would not otherwise be possible with simple ASCII text messages. To generate a postscript file, select a laserwriter print driver (on a Mac or a PC) and use the "print-to-file" option. Use basic fonts such as times-new-roman for the most reliable results, and if you're going to get more fancy than that it is best to select the option which allows you to include the font descriptions in the postscript file itself. This will result in a very large postscript file, but one which may be successfully imaged by a remote-printer which may not already know about the font you are using. NOTE - some "laser" print drivers create files which use non-standard commands and instructions. . . to be safe use as generic a driver as possible. If in doubt, use Apple's Laserwriter driver, which is known to work. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) specifies a number of options that can be set. One of these is the compression method used within the file. The only compression method supported by the TPC-RP software is CCITT FAX compression, called "TIFF/F" for short. Most software packages do not support all TIFF options and your software may not be capable of generating this format. Unless you know what it is, is it probably safe to assume that if you have a TIFF file, it is normal TIFF, and cannot (as yet) be imaged by our remote-printers. We hope to support TIFF and several other formats within 3 months. Q. I know I can send e-mail --> FAX, but can I send FAX--> e-mail? A. Not with TPC.INT. We only do e-mail --> FAX. Q. I find all this e-mail stuff confusing - isn't there a tool I can use to make this all much easier? A. Of course. . . sort of. We now have clients (programs which help you use TPC.INT, as opposed to servers which would allow you to join us by running a cell) which can make sending a FAX through our service almost as easy as printing. Unfortunately, we only have such clients for "wintel" Windows-based machines, or UNIX workstations running x-windows. Nothing for the Mac, as yet. If you think you could put something together for the Mac, please mail Mr. Arlington Hewes right away! To see the clients which you may retrieve and install on your machines, have a look at the client section on our WWW pages - as it is likely to change very much in the coming months we offer no absolute path to the programs here. Q. I'm thinking of joining you and running a remote-printing cell. What does it involve, and what's in it for me? A. Great idea, but that's the wrong attitude! This is about providing a service to the community, helping out your fellow man etc. Okay, . . . we realize this may not be motivation enough for many of you, so how about this: you are permitted to acknowledge a sponsor on the coverpage of each FAX you deliver, and to use any advertising revenue accrued in this manner to offset any costs from running your cell - if you manage to make a profit then even better! To run a cell you will need a Mac, PC, or UNIX machine directly connected to the Internet, and on this you must run a server which drives a faxmodem for delivering the FAXes. The type of server, along with the demands it will place on your system, varies depending on your hardware and operating system, but your machine should still be useful for whatever else it is meant to be doing. ---------------------------------------- Hardware for Remote Printing kindly provided by the folks at Netcentric Corporation - http://www.netcentric.com/ ---------- Remote Printing Coverage List (last updated 24 July, 1997) (in numerical order by country code) **** Recent additions **** (most recent at bottom) - South-Western Ontario, Canada - Salt Lake City, Utah, USA - Mumbai (Bombay), India - Louisville, OH, USA - Miami, FL, USA - Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada - Chicago, IL, USA - Dubrovnik, Croatia - Havana City, Cuba Canada and the United States (+1) +1-201 Bloomfield, Chatham, Livingston, Millburn, Newark, Orange, South Orange / Maplewood +1-205 Birmingham, Alabama (Metropolitan) +1-206 Seattle (complete coverage) +1-209 Fresno, Clovis +1-212 Manhattan +1-281 Houston (complete coverage) +1-305 Miami, Miami Beach, Kendall, Hialeah, Homestead, Florida Keys +1-310 La Habra, Pico Rivera, Whittier +1-312 Chicago (complete coverage) +1-313 Monroe, Carleton, Newport, Maybee, Ida University of Michigan - Ann Arbor University of Michigan - Dearborn +1-330 Alliance, Bolivar, Canal Fulton, Canton, Carrollton, Dellroy, Hartville, Louisville, Magnolia-Waynesburg, Malvern, Marlboro, Massillon, Mineral City, Minerva, Navarre, North Canton, Paris +1-402 Lincoln +1-403 Calgary (complete coverage) Surrounding local calling area including Carstairs, Airdrie, Crossfield, Acme, Beiseker, Irricana, Strathmore, Langdon, Blackie, High River, Okotoks, Priddis, Longview, Turner Valley, Bragg Creek, Morley Cochrane, Cremona +1-408 Northern California, South Bay including San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Santa Cruz, Gilroy +1-409 Bay City, Beaumont, Bryan, Freeport, Galveston, Huntsville, Orange +1-412 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh +1-415 Northern California, North and West Bay including San Francisco, Palo Alto, Millbrae, Sausalito, Redwood City, San Mateo, San Carlos, Mountain View, Los Altos, Corte Madera, Belvedere, Benicia, Sausalito +1-416 Metro Toronto +1 416 University of Toronto, St. George Campus and Scarborough Campus Royal Conservatory of Music, Victoria College, Aerospace Studies, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Mt. Michael's Hospital, and College Hospital for Sick Children, Sunnybrook Hospital, East General Hospital, Toronto Hospital, Women's College Hospital, Newman Centre, Centre for Health Promotion, St. Joesph's College +1-423 Knoxville, Bean Station, Bent Creek, Chestnut Hill, Claxton Clinton, Concord, Dandridge, Gatlinburg, Greenback, Halls Cross Roads, Harriman, Jefferson City, Kingston, Lake City, Lenoir City, Loudon, Maryville, Mascot-Strawberry Plains Maynardville, Norris, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, Powell, Rockwood, Rutledge, Sevierville, Sharps Chapel, Solway, Sweetwater, Tate Springs, Townsend, Washburn, White Pine +1-502 Louisville, LaGrange, Crestwood +1-503 Portland, Gresham, Beaverton, Hillsboro & surrounding areas. +1-510 Northern California, East Bay including Oakland, Pleasanton, Richmond, Livermore, Concord, Hayward, Walnut Creek, Fremont, Antioch, Clayton, Danville, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pittsburg West +1-514 Montreal (Cell closed permanently 26 May - replacement(s) needed) +1-516 Floral Park, Cedarhurst, Valley Stream, Great Neck, Manhassett, Port Washington +1-519 Chatham, Blenheim, Merlin, Tilbury +1-540 Lexington, Buena Vista, Natural Bridge, Glasgow, Brownsburg +1-603 New Hampshire (complete coverage) +1-604 (offline for maintenance) Coquitlam, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Vancouver, West Vancouver, Whalley, Haney +1-613 Canada's National Capital Region: Ottawa, Gloucester, Nepean, Vanier, Orleans, Almonte, Bourget, Carleton Place, Carp, Casselman, Clarence Creek, Constance Bay, Crysler, Cumberland, Embrun, Jockvale, Kemptville, Manotick, Merrickville, Metcalfe, Navan, North Gower, Osgoode, Pakenham, Plantagenet, Richmond, Rockland, Russell +1-614 Gambier, Danville, Martinsburg and Mount Vernon +1-617 Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Lexington Medford, Somerville, Winchester +1-630 Chicago (complete coverage) +1-706 Athens, Bogart-Statham, Carlton, Colbert Comer, Commerce, Danielsville, Ila, Jefferson, Lexington, Maxeys, Nicholson, Watkinsville, Winterville +1-707 Marin, Northwest California +1-708 Chicago (complete coverage) +1-713 Houston Texas (complete coverage) +1-714 Brea +1-718 Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc., NY Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, NY Tinkelman Enterprises, Inc. and Staten Island, NY +1-765 Battle Ground, Brookston, Buck Creek, Clarks Hill, Lafayette/West Lafayette (Purdue University) Mulberry, Otterbein, Romney, West Point +1-773 Chicago (complete coverage) +1-800 Toll-Free (our call will be placed from Nebraska) +1-801 Kaysville, Farmington, Bountiful, Salt Lake City, Magna, Kearns, Riverton, Draper, Midvale, Murray, Holladay, Cottonwood +1-810 University of Michigan - Flint +1-812 NewAlbany, Jeff, Charlestown, Galena, Sellersburg +1-813 Tampa +1-818 Arcadia, Azusa, Covina, El Monte, La Puente, Monrovia, San Gabriel Canyon, Sierra Madre +1-819 Alymer, Buckingham, Chelsea, Gatineau, Low, Luskville, Perkins, Quyon, St. Pierre de Wakefield, Thurso, Wakefield Ecole d'ingenierie de Trois-Rivieres, UQTR Campus, Trois-Rivieres, Ste. Angele de Laval, St. Wenceslas, Maskinonge, Louisville, St. Celestin, St-Gregoire, St. Pierre les Becquets, St. Barnabe, Ste. Marie de Blandford, St. Sylvere, Ste. Sofie de Levrard, Ste. Monique de Nicolet, Becancour, Champlain, Yamachiche, Ste. Gertrude, Gentilly, Shawinigan, St. Mathieu, St. Boniface de Shawinigan, Batiscan. +1-847 Chicago (complete coverage) +1-888 Toll-Free (our call will be placed from Nebraska) +1-904 Alligator Point, Bristol, Carrabelle, Crawfordville, Greensboro, Greenville, Gretna, Gretna, Hosford, Monticello, Panacea, Quincy, St. Marks, Sopchoppy, Tallahassee +1-905 University of Toronto, Erindale Campus +1-908 Cranford, Elizabeth, Fanwood, Roselle, Summit, Unionville, Westfield +1-909 Chino, Claremont, Diamond Bar, Ontario, Pomona, Upland +1-917 New York City (misc), NY +1-919 Chapel and Carrboro, Mebane, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, RTP, RDU Airport, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill South Africa (+27) +27-31 Durban +27-322 Tongaat +27-325 Cato Ridge +27-80 Toll-free Greece (+30) +30-1 Athens +30-31 Thessaloniki +30-321 Serres +30-661 Corfu +30-81 Iraklio +30-831 Rethymno +30-843 Sitia +30-897 Hersonissos/Mallia (offline) Portugal (+351) +351-1 Lisbon Southern Cyprus (+357 - complete coverage) Croatia (+385) +385-1 Zagreb +385-20 Dubrovnik +385-21 Split Italy (+39) +39-50 Pisa (select CNR institute numbers only) United Kingdom, IOM, and the Channel Islands (+44 - complete coverage) Sweden (+46 - complete coverage, does not support TIFF) Germany (+49 - complete coverage, evening delivery only) Cuba (+53) +53-7 Havana City Brazil (+55) +55-192 Campinas city, Sao Paulo State +55-21 Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan area +55-92 Manaus Australia (+61) +61-1-800 (currently offline) Australia-freecall +61-29 The University of Sydney (internal only) Sydney Metro, Suburbs and Inner West +61-39 Melbourne +61-35 Morwell, Traralgon, Lara, Trafalgar, Kilmore, Emerald, Healesville, Mornington, Rosebud, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Bacchus Marsh, Balliang, Gisborne, Romsey +61-53 Ballarat (currently offline) +61-8-89 Darwin New Zealand (+64) +64-4 Wellington +64-508 Freecall +64-75 Tauranga, Katikati, Mt Maunganui, Te Puke +64-7823,7824,7825,7827,7829,783,784,785 Hamilton +64-800 Freecall +64-9 Whangarei, North Shore, Auckland, Waitakere, Manukau Singapore (+65 Complete coverage) Russia (+7) +7-095 Moscow Hong Kong (+852 Complete coverage) China (+86) +86-28 Sichuan Province - Chengdu City +86-750 GuangDong Province - JiangMen City +86-755 GuangDong Province - Shenzhen City Taiwan (+886) +886-3 Tauyuan county +886-2 Taipei +886-35 HsinChu +886-37 Maioli +886-39 Ilan Turkey (+90 Complete coverage) India (+91) +91-22 Mumbai (Bombay), New Mumbai +91-44 Madras United Arab Emirates (+971) +971-6 Ajman, Sharjah (Currently Offline) *****Apple MacOS test sites***** (currently ASCII text transmissions only - sorry) +1-504 New Orleans, Harahan, Jesuit Bend, Kenner, Lafitte, Lake Catherine, St. Bernard, Metairie, Kenner, Gretna ---------------------------------------- Hardware for Remote Printing kindly provided by the folks at Netcentric Corporation - http://www.netcentric.com/ ---------- End of Document