                                        
                      CREATE PCX FILES USING A FAX MACHINE
                                        
How would you like to be able to get line art which you already own into your
computer without buying a hand-held or flat-bed scanner?

If you have a Fax card that receives faxes as well as sends you can do it.

All you need is someone to fax you the artwork.

Step-by-step instructions follow.

First as in any good recipe, are the needed ingredients.
I will mention what I used. What you use is up to you.

1. An Audiovox AFX-1000 Fax machine bought on sale at 47 Street Photo for
$339.00
2. XT Clone computer, 640 memory, 20 meg hard drive, PanaSync C1381 VGA monitor
3. JT Fax Card (Hayes) 4800bps
3. Assorted artwork
4. GRAPHIC WORKSHOP program, available as shareware on BBS's
5. ICONVERT program, available as shareware on BBS's
6. DESK TOP PAINT program, available as shareware on BBS's

The above shareware programs are on Invention Factory BBS 212-431-1254.

And now the step-by-step instructions.

1. Fax the artwork to the fax card. Try to center the art as it is faxed to your
computer. Very small art can be taped on a larger blank sheet of white paper. If
you have a full page but only want a small part you can fold a blank sheet over
the sheet with artwork so that only desired section is seen by the fax machine.
This makes faxing faster, editing easier and will use less memory at the
computer end.

2. Use the software that comes with the fax card to crop the area that you want
from the fax you received at your computer. With JT Fax card, when viewing fax
on screen you use the "C" key as the hot key to mark for CUTting. Of course if
you want the whole image no cropping is necessary. But if the image is too large
and you only have 640K of RAM you may have problems. Crop as much as you can.

3. Use the software that comes with the fax card to convert the above to PCX
format. With JT Fax card the format is:
FAX2PCX.EXE INPUTFILE.* OUTPUTFILE.PCX

4. At this point you may want to view your PCX files using Graphic Workshop. You
may have files with: "Dimensions: 1728x432" which may be too big to load for my
640K machine. Graphics which you think are otherwise too big for your liking can
be reduced.

5. Use Iconvert to convert the PCX to a new PCX. Iconvert will create a new PCX
file with a slightly different name so as not to overwrite your previous PCX.
The new PCX will have more reasonable dimensions. The new dimensions will vary
with the artwork that you worked on. As an example, a new PCX with dimensions of
640x400 is normal now, instead of 1728x432.

6. Now you can do whatever you normally do with PCX files. If it is a cartoon
from a newspaper or a joke catalog you can customize it with Desk Top Paint.
Desk Top Paint allows you to do shading, type in new sharp text in various fonts
and sizes and as they say "And much, much more."

7. To print labels I recommend Labels Unlimited from Power Up Software. Labels
Unlimited will automatically adjust the sizes of the PCX's to fit labels any
size from normal up to a full 8.5" x 11" sheet, great for posters. You can do
everything from shipping labels to VHS cassette labels. Power Up can be reached
at 800-851-2917. They have a whole catalog of reasonably priced software
including desktop publishing software such as "Desktop Express."

Rita and I are performers, members of Screen Actors Guild as well as the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. We are not "stars", so you
won't get to see us too often. We work mainly as "Extras".

This file was written on September 11, 1991. Later in the month the movie
"McBain" is scheduled to be released. If Rita's scene was not cut out, she is a
paramedic with a speaking role of a few words while she is bringing a patient on
a stretcher into a hospital emergency room. Rita created the scene.

In June 1991, Ray had a speaking part with Susan Sarandon and WIllem Dafoe. The
movie is called "Light Sleeper." Ray is a chef touring the dining room. He stops
at the stars' table and speaks in French. We don't have a release date yet.

For the trivia buffs:
The hospital is really Coler Hospital on Roosevelt Island,
The restaurant is really Le Cote Basque in Manhattan.
We operate the Normandeau Newswire Conference on Invention Factory BBS
212-431-1254.

It is due to our being performers that we got interested in PCX creation.
Performers use photos to help promote themselves. Mailing labels that get your
mail opened with interest may wind up getting you a job paying thousands of
dollars.

We have included some sample PCX files that we created while learning, using the
steps described in this text file. Here is a description of the files describing
the source artwork:

REYOURS.PCX use this to answer letters you don't like. Text was entered using
Desk Top Paint

RAYMDFI.PCX from 5"x7" velox print with fax machine in "Fine" mode

RAYPRFI.PCX from 5"x7" velox print with fax machine in "Fine" mode

LINC.PCX from sample "Press-on" sample art from Letraset

CUBES.PCX from match book catalog

CHAIR.PCX from magazine story

MGRCUT.PCX from newspaper story, original picture full length

PCSIGNYN.PCX from advertisement for NY Telephone Infolook

MEMOPADS.PCX from print shop catalog advertising memo pads

COUPLE.PCX XXX illustration with some shading added using Desk Top Paint

THINGS8.PCX memo pad illustration, cropped, with some shading and text added
using Desk Top Paint

NOIND8A.PCX cartoon from newspaper. I added some text using Desk Top Paint

IFAD6A.PCX an ad scanned from a newspaper

ROACH.PCX a cockroach scanned from a Neva-Mor Roach Powder flyer, original about
one inch square

SCOTCUT.PCX original about one inch square

RITANEG.PCX an 8x10 photo NEGATIVE was reversed in computer after scanning

Want art scanned that you think others would also like? Mail it to me at:
Ray Normandeau
P O Box 854
Times Square Station
New York, NY 10108-0854

When I get around to it I will turn it into PCX. That PCX file along with others
then will be uploaded to Invention Factory BBS 212-431-1254. From there it
should reach you the same way that this ZIP reached you. Files will start with
name "RAYTA" as in RAYTA9109.ZIP" etc.

Since I am doing this for free don't expect super fast service. Your artwork
will not be returned (unless you include a SASE). Best size for artwork is
business card size.

Send to POB

Have fun,
Ray Normandeau and Rita Frazier Normandeau
