Fax is still the most widely preferred way to send images. The major disadvantage in terms of meetings, at least for collaboration, is that outputs from fax machines cannot be modified. Also, the quality is often very poor. If you want recipients to be able to modify still images, the best bet is to send graphic files as e-mail attachments. Of course, it’s necessary to send it in a format that can be altered and to make sure that any recipients have the appropriate software to alter the files.
Also, make sure that all recipients can receive attachments-and that they know the maximum size allowed. If your files are too big, a compression program (such as WinZip) may reduce them to an acceptable size. Of course, your recipients need to have the same program or one that’s compatible to restore the files to their original format.
As a last resort, you may need to save the files to a CD and send it by mail-which can take a lot of time and effort, especially if there are more than a few people collaborating and/or they’re spread out across borders.
There are other disadvantages to collaborating through email attachments:
- Sending large attachments can take a long time, especially with dialup connections.
- When any member of the group modifies a document, that version needs to be sent to all members.
- If two or more members of the group modify the same document at the same time, somebody must merge the changes into a single version manually.
If your meetings involve much modification of files, data conferencing would be a better way.
Taken From : The Manager’s Guide to Effective Meetings


