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p AX machines are becoming almost as common as f the telephone for a variety of communication purposes.

From 1984 to 1986, 433,000 fax machines were sold. fn 1987, 424,000 machines sold. In 1988 that figure doubled to 864,000. Industry predictions call for it to double again this year to about 1.6 million.

Today, the fax for many people is a substitute for a stamp or a telephone call. Once the initial cost, which ranges from under $1000 for the most basic to $5000 for the model with all the options, is made, operation expense is nominal.

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Fascination with faxes will double this year . ways to help you get the most for the least out of your equipment. a collection of practical suggestions and tips.

Fax fanatics claim sending a document by fax costs only pennies as opposed to dollars for overnight delivery. They also recommend laxing as a way to avoid the telephone tag syndrome.

The following is a collection of ideas to help you get the most use out of your fax for the least cost.

o While many companies have incoming and outgoing fax machines, it is more economical to have two or more machines connected with lines that rotate or hunt. This will make both (or all) machines available for either incoming or outgoing documents and allow incoming calls to be switched to a machine that is not occupied.

o Many fax owners are concerned about junk faxes or unsolicited faxes clogging their fax line and wasting fax paper. While there is legislation proposed in some states to stop this practice, it will probably continue much like unsolicited telephone calls. About the only solution, other than warning maverick senders by return fax that you don't want their material, is to pull the plug on your machine. Since most unsolicited faxes come after business hours, this may not be as drastic as it sounds. Of course, this won't work if you are receiving legitimate faxes 24 hours a day.

o Although the fax provides a fast, efficient way of placing orders, receiving confirmation order, shipping manifests, copies of credit invoices and checks, it can be used by unscrupulous persons to bill you for unprovided services. The most common scam is sending a bill requesting payment for a fax directory listing. All invoices arriving by fax should be carefully checked before payment.

. Another hazard of faxing is the number of eyes to which material is exposed before reaching the recipient. Confidential or personal information should never be sent via fax.

o Documents sent by fax are perishable. Copies start fading in as little as a week and may become illegible after a time. Light accelerates the fading. Decomposition of the chemical coating used on the paper to create the facsimile image causes the fading. Faxes should be photocopied if the information is to be kept in permanent storage.

o When you can't reach a person by phone and your messages are being ignored, fill out a standard phone message slip with a detailed note, enlarge it on a photo copier and fax it to the hard-to-reach person. Communication experts say it brings results.