January 1999

Price: 4 Port with Modem Support - $79.95; 4 Port with Board Support - $495.00; 12 Port with Board Support - $995.00; Unlimited Ports - $1495.00.

RATINGS (0-5)
Installation: 5
Documentation: 4.5
Features: 3.5
Operational Testing: 4.5
GUI: 4
Overall: A-

Black Ice Software offers a scalable fax development toolkit for Windows, Windows 95 and Windows NT. This is the Impact Fax line of products, which includes Impact Fax Pro, Impact Fax On Demand, Impact Fax From Web, and Impact Fax Server for the Internet. In particular, we brought Impact Fax Pro into our labs for testing. This product is aimed to compete directly with WinFax Pro and provide an alternative solution for VARS, OEMs, and advanced end-users. It is designed to run on the NT 3.5, 4.0 and Windows Win95 platforms as stand alone software.

INSTALLATION
We decided to install the Impact Fax Pro software on a PC running Windows 95. The installation was extremely simple, requiring us only to insert the CD that came with the package and run a setup file. The prompts that followed were brief and uncomplicated, with the entire process taking no more than five minutes. When we ran the program we noticed our oversight, as we had installed the software on a PC with no modem. So, we moved over to another computer and reinstalled the software. Luckily, this only cost us five minutes of our time.

DOCUMENTATION
Everything that Black Ice sent to us came on the same CD as the installation file. This included the documentation for the software. Of we have noticed, manuals that are supplied in a digital format rather than n a paper tend to be more meticulous in nature, with no exception here. The documentation covered everything we hoped to learn about the software and some things that are only pertinent to developers and advanced users that have more time to devote to the software.

We also took a look at Black Ice's Web site and found this to be complete as well. It provided us with another means of downloading Impact Fax Pro as well as many of Black Ice's other products, thorough their HTTP or their FTP site. Information on all these products was also easy to find, and there was even a section of safe fax jokes. One thing we did think should be made available is the documentation for the software.

FEATURES
Impact Fax Pro comes in the three different configurations. These are a 4 port or 4-channel version, a 12 port version, and an unlimited port version. Al these configurations require Windows 95/98 or NT 3.5/4.0. Impact Fax Pro supports any Class 1, Class 2, or Class 2.0, BICOM, Brooktrout, Dialogic, and GammaLink board and is compatible with most modems.

With the software, users have the following capabilities:

• Multi-port faxing, voice-mail, fax on demand and fax broadcasting.
• Send and receive picture quality color faxes with industry standard ITU T.30E.
• A cover page editor.
• Fax and fax queue management.
• Fax annotation capabilities.
• Automatic printing of incoming faxes.
• Automatic faxing of files dropped into directories.
• The ability to view, print, import or export many different file-formats.
• Phonebook with export and import.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
We tested the features of Impact Fax Pro by setting it up to do some simple faxing. We faxed a couple of documents both in black and white and color to our existing fax-lines in the office, and also received a few faxes from the other direction. Each of these faxes succeeded and the quality was definitely there. What we especially enjoyed was the automatic faxing ability. By dragging and dropping files into a reserved folder, Impact Fax Pro was able to automatically send these files to the destination fax.

The GUI for the software was also good quality, with plenty of buttons for easy access. The menu system for the interface is extensive, and the options are plentiful. It provides both a Send Log and a Receive Log for the management of files, both sortable by date, time, ID, fax number and the type of fax. This makes it easy to locate faxes. From the GUI, we were also able to access the phone book for the software.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
For the most part, the Impact Fax Pro software from Black Ice is a deployable solution for faxing in the workplace. We found this especially the case in the small to mid-size company. About the only thing hindering the software is the pricing for the installations with board support. With four port fax capabilities at $79.95 for modem support, the pricing is reasonable. When moving up to a four port system with board support, the savings seem more obscured. Of course, as more ports are added, the price per port is mathematically better. Since so many companies have fax products, the pricing seems a little steep. This, however, does not detract from the software itself which is very good.

CONCLUSION
While we were impressed with the abilities of Black Ice's Impact Fax Pro, we must stress that this is one of many solutions for faxing from the PC. Potential buyers should plan on looking deeper into their needs and assessing some of the products. Many of these products have passed through our hands and performed very well. Evaluating these products with your company's specific needs is something that should be done on a case by case basis. When determining these needs for our company, be sure to consider this product as it excels in it's faxing capabilities.