SpaceXML Completes  Industry Comment Period

The month of November is the industry comment period for the new IDEAlliance SPACE XML standard.  Review copies were available at http://www.idealliance.org/spacexml.  The comment deadline was November 30, so now the group must aggregrate and resolve comments.  

The purpose of SpaceXML is to create a standard format for the print/publishing supply chain. SpaceXML takes the information that is exchanged between an ad agency, printer, and publisher, and puts it into a completely standardized electronic format. This allows the process of exchanging information to be well defined and creates a definitive way of conducting business.

Space XML has its roots in the Digital Distribution of Advertising for Publications (DDAP).  DDAP was founded in 1994 and worked closely with the 

In 1994, IDEAlliance (founded as the GCA) joined with the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) to develop a standard for overall agency-to-print publisher business information exchange. This committee eventually developed the SPACE X12 document. The document was written to create specifications for ad insertion orders to eliminate much of the confusion and misinformation that can result when insertion orders are sent by fax or mail. By establishing this set of standards, any publication or agency could receive an insertion order from any source.

Today, a new IDEAlliance group, the B2B Advertising Committee, chaired by Craig Shrader, President of Intersect Technologies, has launched the XML version of SPACE X12. This new committee was formed nearly one year ago and is comprised of ad agency printers, publishers, and software developers. XML makes this new initiative even more standardized and usable across many different platforms, allowing for greater accuracy and reliability in the insertion order process. The Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), Newspaper Association of America (NAA), and Digital Distribution of Advertising for Publication (DDAP) are among the organizations that have endorsed this new IDEAlliance recommendation.

SpaceXML currently has standardized coding for the following:

• Space reservations
• Insertion orders
• Material job tickets
• Change order
• Confirmation

According to Craig Shrader, "Billing errors are the largest source of operation inefficiencies and waste time to resolve. SPACE XML has been designed to permit computer reconciliation at various points in the workflow. This will permit people to check on discrepancies before they become major problems." 

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