Fax

This topic describes how to design effective fax campaigns and improve response rates.

Even when emails are commonplace, do not underestimate the advantages of using faxes as a marketing tool. Episerver Campaign makes designing and sending fax campaigns easy and convenient. Direct marketing by fax informs recipients about special offers and reminders. Customers can place an order by returning the fax.

Consent

Recipients must provide consent to receive a fax. Otherwise, sending a fax is a violation of §1 of the Unfair Trade Practices Act (UWG). In contrast, B2B marketing permits the sending of faxes within the scope of existing business relationships.

Designing fax mailings

Your template determines the effect a fax on its recipients. There is great variation in the quality of printout from Fax machines, from thermal paper to A4 laser printing. When creating a template, assume the lowest common denominator. That way, the printout is at least clear and legible. Excessive use of design elements distracts from the message being communicated in the fax.

Template format

• The type of template format depends on whether you want to personalize the fax.
  • For fax mailings that are not personalized, PDF documents may be the best choice. They generally include font definitions that a fax machine can read.
  • Personalizing a fax requires that the template is copied to an HTML file, which then generates a PDF file to send to each recipient.
• The common resolution for a fax is 96 dpi. Therefore, the total width of the template should be 794 pixels (21 cm, including margins) for the content to fill out a page (an A4 sheet of paper). Graphics should also have a 96 dpi resolution. A higher resolution does not produce a better result. A finely detailed design is also unnecessary, because a fax machine cannot support it. Moreover, very large volumes of data make handling more difficult—longer transmission times slow down processing.

Personalization in faxes

Episerver Campaign lets you personalize faxes, provided you have information for each recipient (such as name and salutation).

Layout tips

Keep the template simple, using few design elements and stating the core message clearly. Do not cram too much information. For details, direct the reader to your website, or offer to send a brochure and so on, by mail. Bear in mind that a multi-page fax uses up paper and toner, straining the recipient's patience and costs.

Choice of color

• Black and white. Many fax machines print only black, where "white" may depend on the type of paper. For the more important elements in a fax, such as text and logos, use these two color formats only (corresponding to RGB 0/0/0 and 255/255/255, or hex #FFFFFF and #000000 color codes).
• Gray-scale. Normally used for shading. It is unsuitable for the template's core elements because it renders text illegible and makes images fuzzy.
• Color. Do not use color because it is usually converted to gray-scale. Different colors may be rendered in the same gray-scale and cannot be distinguished from one another, as shown in the following image.

  

Text and typeface

• Keep informative elements (running text and titles) in a standard typeface (such as Arial or Verdana).
• Where possible, set a generic typeface serif or sans-serif to let the fax machine produce the best quality printout.
• Only use bold, italics, or underline for emphasis.
• Do not use special fonts or color highlighting.
• For creative text design (for example, in images), use a distinct B/W contrast without gray-scale and smooth edges to enhance legibility.
• Use fonts of 10 pt and above to produce clear text. Titles should be 12 pt or above. See formatting templates.
• Avoid inverted text.

Images and graphics

• Minimize images and graphics. Large-format images consume a lot of fax toner.
• Contrasting colors may be lost when converted to gray-scale.
• Edit and save images and graphics in B/W mode. For best results, use bright, large format and high-contrast images. Color images are often altered through reproduction on a fax machine.

  

• Do not use photographs because they consist of many shades of gray.

  

Other layout elements

• Use a medium stroke width for separator lines, table frames, contours, and so on. Fine lines may be omitted or print irregularly when reproduced by fax machines.

Keep messages short and concise

• Avoid long, complex sentences. Provide essential information only.
• Try to fit everything onto a single page of A4 paper.
• The title should summarize what the fax is about.

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