PICTURES BY TELEGRAPH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20364, 19 September 1929, Page 8

PICTURES BY TELEGRAPH

THE AUSTRALIAN SERVICE.

SUCCESSFUL INAUGURATION. .

FROM SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE,

[7BOJT ODB OWN CORRESPONDENT.] SYDNEY, Sept. 12. One of the latest marvels of the age—the sending of pictures and documents telegraph—has this week come into common use in Australia. The introduction has been wonderfully successful as the number of reproductions which have beim published in the Sydney and 'Melbourne " press bear witness. 'So far the new service is available between these two cities only, but it will bo extended ifthe demand warrants an extension. The new service commenced on Mon - day and on the first day 87 pictures and documents were transmitted with the nt most success. The most stringent tost 1 was, perhaps, given by the Sydney Sun" which had sent to it from Melbourne the leading article which was published in the Melbourne Argus on Monday mcming. This was received so clearly that 'it was ~ reproduced in the Sun, and could be read almost as easily as the ordinary type o! that paper. Then there" was a half-page photograph of a Melbourne crowd goinp to work that morning, a facsimile of greet ings from the Lord Melbourne to the Chief Commissioner of Sydney, be sides two huge advertisement?, On Tuesday the Sydney Morning Heraid ' published a snow scene near Melbourne-r-a picture taken at four o'clock the pre vious afternoon. All these pictures and documents were surprisingly/, clear; in fact, IT/ey were as clear as photographs - taken locally and reproduced in the press. Only an expert could detect the slightly softer outlines. System lor All Languages. "The transmission of pictures over the wire for a distance of more than 600 miles in less than 15 minutes is a most interesting development in the art of communication," said the Director of Postal Services, Mr. H. P. Brown. "Under normal con ditions it is practically impossible to distinguish the pictifre received at the distant end from the orginal photograph. Any kind of picture or document will be accepted for transmission as pictufegrams. ' t including news photographs, photographs of persons, places and things, fingerprints, fashion plates, cartoons, adver tisements containing printed matter, formulas, cheques, prospectuses, bond issues, shorthand notes, trial balances, annual statements, seasonal greetings, agreements and other legal documents, ' news reports, any printed, typewritten or , written matter. "The provision of the picturegram service solves the difficulty of communicating by telegraph in some of the Orie'ntal languages. It is not practicable to transmit with the existing Morse signals Chinese or Japanese characters, but under the picturegraifa system no difficulty will be . , experienced in forwarding ihesa messages in their symbolic form. The* system speak all languages that can bo written." Charges According to Size. The charge for sending a picturegram depends on the size of the document. Picturegrams are spnt in two grades—and the minimum charge is 30s for a B grade transmission and 35s for an A grade transmission. When the picture is lodged for transmission it is fitted to a cylinder without any special treatment before hand. The apparatus is then started, and the picture is reproduced on a film at the receiving end and is then developed by the ordinary method. . The picture grams are delivered in the usual way. The sizes at present provided for range from 7 by 4 inches to 18 by 12 inches. The machines tli'at have been installed by the department are a German invention, but were supplied by a British concern. A young German has been responsible for the supervision of the work of installation, whicn has occupied many months.