Peace Corps, Office of Contracts, Rm. 6368, 1990 K St. N.W., Washington, DC 20526

T -- PRINTING OF A PEACE CORPS RECRUITMENT CATALOGUE SOL PC-98-16 DUE 073098 POC Judith Dawes (202) 692-1624 E-MAIL: contracting officer, jdawes@peacecorps.gov. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The closing date and time for receipt of proposals is July 30, 1998 at 12:00 local time, 1111 20th Street, NW, Washington DC 20526, 4th Floor, Room 1423E, Attn: Judith Dawes, Contracting Officer, (202) 692-1624. The SIC Code is 2759 and the small business size standard is 500 employees. This solicitation is issued as a Request for Proposals (RFP). Peace Corps intends to award an indefinite-quantity/task order type contract for one year with an option to extend for one additional year. Minimum order will be this Task Order No.1 in the base year. No other orders are guaranteed. Maximum order will be $200,000. Peace Corps anticipates all Task Orders to be Firm Fixed Price. Peace Corps is seeking a firm to print a four-color marketing catalogue for distribution to potential Peace Corps Volunteers. The Contractor shall provide such operations as disk output, color separation, film making, proofs, printing, binding, packing, and distribution to produce approximately 100,000, 125,000 or 150,000 copies. Printing must be done in-house -- subcontracting is not allowed. Production Area: it is assumed that all production facilities used in the manufacture of the publication ordered under this contract will be located within a 3 hour total travel radius of the Peace Corps, 1111 20th St., NW, Washington, DC by air or car. Quantity: 100,000, 125,000 or 150,000 copies, exact quantity will be stated at the time of order. Variation in quantity permitted is a 5% overrun/underrun. with no change in price/cost. Trim Size: 8.125 x 10.5-8.5 x 11". Number of Pages: 48 pages plus cover (52 total). Schedule: Copy to Contractor: approximately August 11, 1998. Complete distribution: September 4, 1998. Peace Corps to Furnish: Text: pages will be furnished on disk, prepared on a Macintosh in QuarkXPress or PageMaker. Screen and printer fonts will also be furnished. A laser- printed dummy will be furnished for reference. The Contractor may have to scan in a halftone. Cover: Artwork on disk (Macintosh). Contractor to Furnish: all materials and operations, other than those listed under "Peace Corps to Furnish", necessary to produce the product in accordance with these specifications. Composition: Output for both film or paper must be from a high-resolution (2400 dots per inch or higher) PostScript compatible printer. No alternate typefaces will be allowed. Films: Contractor must make all required films. All halftones are to be 133-line screen or finer. Proofs: One set of composite Blueline proofs of the entire publication, a contact proof of each halftone in the publication, and one set of Cromalin or MatchPrint proofs of cover. Blueline proofs shall consist of complete signatures with all illustrations in proper position (not pasted up), and all pages imposed in correct location, exposed face and back, folded and trimmed to the finished size of the product. Proofs must clearly show color breaks. Cromalin/MatchPrint proofs must show color, as close as possible, to how it will look when printed. Proofs must be delivered to Peace Corps. If any Contractor errors require revised proofs, the revised proofs are to be provided at no expense to the Government. No extra time can be allowed for this reproofing. Contractor must not print prior to receipt of an "OK to print". Paper: All text stock is to be 80lb white dull coated book, recycled. All cover stock must be 100lb Dull Coated, cover. All paper must be uniform in shade and texture/composition. Contractor must submit paper samples (ten sheets of 8-1/2 x 11"), for approval, of the paper they are planning to use when printing Peace Corps One Book. Paper samples must be marked with the manufacturer and brand name. Printing: print head to head. Four color process must be printed on a press capable of printing four colors in a single pass through the press (minimum four printing units). Four-color process printing throughout. Pages cover will usually bleed and some of the text pages will also contain images that bleed. Gloss varnish on cover. Gloss varnish must be clear, smooth, non-yellowing, and prevent scratching, smearing, or finger printing. Facing pages print to and must align across the bind. Several pages print across the bind. Vertical and/or horizontal deviation of facing pages must not exceed 1/32". Press Sheet Inspections: Final make ready press sheets will be inspected and approved at the contractor's plant for the purpose of establishing specified standards for use during the actual press run. Upon approval of the sheets, the contractor is charged with maintaining those standards throughout the press run and with discarding all make ready sheets that preceded approval. Note: A press sheet inspection is for the purpose of setting specific standards that are to be maintained throughout the entire run. It does not constitute a prior approval of the entire run. In order for proper arrangements to be made, press inspection notification must be given at least one week prior to the inspections. Binding: Saddle-wire stitch in two places and trim on three sides. Quality: Printer must be capable for printing high quality work and have experience in printing magazines and/or large piece marketing materials. Printer must be capable of printing quality work, at a minimum, comparable to a Government Printing Office quality level 2. Examples of Tolerances -- One half row of dots for multicolor halftone registration; no more than one broken characters per page for type quality; and 1/8" variance for trim size. Note: Some imperfections may by themselves render a product unacceptable. The major quality standards are process color match, halftone match, and type quality and uniformity. Process color match refers to the fidelity of color match between the specified standard (original photo, approved proof, approved press sheet) and the printed sample. Examples are fleshtones shifting slightly towards a yellow or magenta hue, green grass taking on a yellow or cyan cast, etc., and overall density change. Halftone match refers to the contractor maintaining dot structure to the specified standard (original halftone on disk, approved press sheet). Because proofs such as dyluxes do not truly reflect the quality of the finished product, their "OK" does not relieve the contractor form maintaining high quality halftones. Type quality and uniformity refers to type density, variation in type density, and broken characters. Rejection of Workmanship: Inferior and unsatisfactory workmanship as determined by the Peace Corps Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) shall be rejected and reported to the Contractor who shall correct the deficiency, at no additional cost to the Peace Corps, within 48 hrs. following receipt of written notice of rejection. Packaging: pack in shipping containers so that no damage occurs to publications. Each shipping container must not exceed 40 lbs. when fully packed. Packaging shall be in accordance with good commercial practice and adequate to insure acceptance by common carrier and safe transportation at the most economical rates. Distribution: The Contractor is responsible for having all copies delivered. The majority of the order must be delivered to: DDD, 9060 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 (301) 498-1990. Balance of the order, along with all furnished material, should be delivered to: Peace Corps, 1990 K St., NW, Room 8510, Washington, DC 20526. Exact quantities to be furnished with each order. Deliveries made to DDD must be delivered on a dock high truck; Contractor is responsible for unloading. Inside delivery is required for orders delivering to Peace Corps. Price/Costs: Contractor shall be paid, upon the submission of proper vouchers, and acceptance of services, the amounts specified below, as full consideration for all effort provided herein. Base Year:52 pages -- $___________ per 100,000 book using the attached specifications. Each additional 1,000 copies at the rate of $__________. 52 pages -- $____________ per 125,000 book using the attached specifications. Each additional 1,000 copies at the rate of $__________. 52 pages -- $____________ per 150,000 book using the attached specifications. Each additional 1,000 copies at the rate of $__________. Option Year 1: 52 pages -- $____________ per 100,000 book using the attached specifications. Each additional 1,000 copies at the rate of $__________. 52 pages -- $____________ per 125,000 book using the attached specifications. Each additional 1,000 copies at the rate of $__________. 52 pages -- $____________ per 150,000 book using the attached specifications. Each additional 1,000 copies at the rate of $__________. Offerors bidding on printing a book in a size other than listed above must indicate the size being offered ____________. AUTHOR'S ALTERATIONS/PROOF CHANGES: Changes to proofs may bemade on the disk(s) by Peace Corps, the Contractor is to output the film again and strip into the flat. Contractor must submit a price for the negatives along with the price for restripping the negatives. Any other author's alterations must be specifically requested by Peace Corps and the cost negotiated at that time. Unit price of $___ per page Revised Bluelines: $____ per each set of blueline proofs. This solicitation document and following incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-04: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items. Offerors shall include in their proposal at least 5 samples of previous printing products that are close to the specifications listed herein and 5 paper samples of cover stocks and both text stocks, along with a description of the Offeror's prior experience, facilities, and equipment. Offerors shall submit two separate proposals: one technical (including samples) and one cost. 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items, para(a)is filled in as follows: "The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price, and other factors considered. The following factors, listed in descending order of importance, shall be used to evaluate offers: 1) Prior Relevant Experience ; 2) Quality of Samples- Evenness of ink; Reproduction of four color process photos on covers; Reproduction of halftones; Correct registration; Quality of binding and trimming; 3) Relevant/Equipment; and 4) Price. 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Offerors must include a completed copy with their offer. 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items. 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items. Posted 07/23/98 (W-SN227605). (0204)

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