Quality That Stacks Up
by Karen Doss
When it comes to newsprint, what you see is not always what you get. Just ask Ed Harrington. For more than 30 years, he has tested newsprint quality--finding flaws in color, texture and weight. Newspapers don't always get what they pay for, he says.
"A lot of people think all newsprint is the same," says Harrington, "but if you spread out a stack of unprinted newsprint, you'll see a lot of variation in shade and color. Inconsistent color means varying reproduction results."
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Harrington began working for the American Newspaper Publishers Association in 1966 as a technician in the newsprint testing laboratory. Now an independent contractor, he began a partnership with NAA in 1996, continuing a service the organization had started for its members.
Harrington tests samples in his temperature- and humidity-controlled garage. His quality program tests for moisture, basis weight, tear strength, color, opacity, brightness, caliper and roughness.
"If newspapers order 30-pound basis weight, and they get 30.6-pound," he says, "they may lose almost 4,000 pages per metric ton."
Though he has seen paper quality significantly improve over the years, Harrington says he still finds problems. Last year, he reported that 15 percent of newsprint samples tested fell below the expected basis weight, while 10 percent were heavier.
Harrington's customers--newspapers and newsprint mills--sign a one-year contract for a price of $1,995. Clients may submit one sample each month for a full evaluation, plus two additional samples at any time during the year. Harrington guarantees results within 10 days. He sends a quarterly summary report to all clients, so they can see how their products measure up against the averages.
When a new customer signs a contract with Harrington, he sends the company a sampling kit, which includes blades to cut the samples, waterproof paper and mailing boxes. "I even give them a pen," he says, laughing.
For more information about Harrington's Newsprint Testing, call Ed Harrington at (703) 754-0996.
Karen Doss is a free-lance writer in Washington, D.C. E-mail, dossk@gunet.georgetown.edu; phone, (202) 687-5374; fax, (202) 687-6721.