You get a lot of varying opinions on this subject. I like a Word based program, so I use Report Plus. You won’t find a lot of people who agree with me on this one. The printed format is professional looking and very close to what I would write when I was still doing technical writing.
Depending on the amount of items to report, probably 2 to 2.5 hours. I want the sections formatted just so and I always edit the comments from the boilerplate. The boilerplates don’t always fit the situations. There are a lot of shades of gray when you describe things.
Never tried the online services. I e-mail a PDF of the final report to the client. IMHO, a faxed report would be the last resort. A cheap fax machine on the other end of the line will make your report look like crap and any pictures would be useless.
I only add pictures when the problem areas are in places where my clients don’t have any business being there. That would be the attic, crawlspaces, or roof. Otherwise, I try and minimize the use of pictures. They just bloat the size of the report and make it hard to e-mail.
The pictures that I do insert are large enough and have enough resolution to them so that when you print out the report, you can really see what is going on. A low pixel resolution picture looks good on the monitor but is terrible on paper.
If you have to supply a electronic copy, perhaps a CD would be better for your situation. Yes, it may take a day or two longer to get to your client. But, at least you will be supplying a decent report.
