SNAP Decisions
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by Tom Di Nome
The newspaper industry has been armed with new guidelines governing newsprint-reproduction quality. More accurately, they’re “newly revised” guidelines.
First introduced in 1984 as Specifications for Non-heat Advertising Printing, or SNAP, this newest version maintains the same acronym but includes several major revisions designed to provide a common point of reference for a broader range of print operations.
Renamed Specifications for Newsprint Advertising Production, the guidelines have been updated to address advancements in print technology and expand the terminology used to categorize different print processes.
“The original iterations of SNAP were geared toward nonheatset printing in the commercial market,” says Peter Brehm of the North American Graphic Arts Suppliers Association in Washington, D.C., chairman of the SNAP Committee. “This time around, it was determined that the difference between commercial and newspaper printing is fairly small. Also, this document has much more material relating to pre-press.” The new document also has added specifications for flexographic and letterpress printing, and the committee has changed the term “non-heatset” to “coldset.”
The new guidelines will be distributed by NAA and the Web Printing Association, as well as affiliated organizations. Two versions are being produced: a full document, and a summary brochure called SNAPShot.
NAA’s role in the SNAP revision process essentially was to “make sure that newspapers are represented in the specifications,” says NAA Production Materials Manager John D’Alessandro, who also touts SNAP’s expanded scope. “It goes from concept to print, which it didn’t before.”
Adds NAA Technology Senior Vice President Tom Croteau, “The SNAP Committee has recognized that it takes more than good printing to produce a desired outcome. It requires pre-press work and extends to original photography.”
“They’re also addressing major technology advancements, especially in pre-press,” Croteau continues, “including digital advertising and other breakthroughs that weren’t even thought of in the early ’80s.”
SNAP has undergone three previous revisions, and more than 25,000 copies have been distributed worldwide. To order, call (800) 451-4NAA, or 1 (304) 725-7050 from overseas, and request item 70100.
Di Nome is a Mamaroneck, N.Y., free-lancer.
E-mail, Tomdinome@aol.com.