Department of the Treasury (DY), Bureau of Engraving and Printing Office of Procurement, 14th & C Sts., SW, Room 708-A, Washington, DC 20228

36 -- SUPER SHEETFED PERFECTING OFFSET PRESS SOL BEP-98-34(N) DUE 072298 POC Joan C. Waters (202) 874-2183, Efrain J. Fernandez, Contracting Officer (202) 874-3142 E-MAIL: efrain.fernandez@bep.treas.gov, joan.waters@bep.treas.gov. SHEETFED, PERFECTING, OFFSET PRESS FOR PRINTING CURRENCY This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12.6 and FAR 15, 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. This Request for Proposal (RFP) is identified as No. BEP-98-34(N). This solicitation document, incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Regulation Circular 97-04. This acquisition is unrestricted. The contract type will be firm fixed price. The Standard Industrial Classification Code (SIC) for this procurement is 3555 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. The Contractor shall manufacture, deliver, and install one sheetfed, perfecting, offset press for printing currency. The Contractor shall also conduct acceptance testing and conduct operator and maintenance training. The press shall be capable of printing quality currency using the following materials as specified herein: (1) Paper, uncalendered and uncoated all cotton and linen fiber with thread/watermark or (2) plastic film substrate. Material specifications: (1) Paper or plastic film size is 24.81 inches (622 mm) wide by 22.07 inches (560 mm) long (minimum) to 32.28 inches (820 mm) wide by 27.56 inches (700 mm) long (maximum); (2) Paper/plastic thickness varies from 0.003 inches to 0.007 inches (0.076 mm to 0.178 mm); (3) Dampening solution and inks used in the printing process are non-alcohol based; (4) Printing plates are aluminum, 0.012 inch thick (0.305 mm) for wet offset and photo-polymer for dry offset 0.031 inch thick (0.787 mm). The thickness of the photo-polymer plate can be to press manufacturer's specification. The manufacturer shall recommend several suppliers of plates and type of plates to be used on their press. Plates shall be commercially available in the U.S. with multiple suppliers. The press shall have the following salient features: (1) perfecting offset printing blanket to blanket; (2) sheetfed; (3) four printing plate units each side to a common blanket; (4) two plate units shall be convertible between wet and dry offset and the other two shall be dry offset only; (5) the two dry offset only units and one convertible wet/dry unit shall have two ink fountains for supplying two colors of ink; (6) three units (two dry only and one convertible dry/offset) shall have vibrating (oscillating) ink roller adjustment for providing rainbow effect printing; (7) continuous infeed; (8) capable of maintaining a printing production speed of 8500 sheets per hour minimum; (9) registration controls, laterally and circumferentially, while the press is running; (10) remote inking control for all fountains including electronic memory (tape or disk storage) for electronically resetting ink fountains for a particular job; (11) ink agitator in each ink fountain; (12) individual roller oscillations adjustablefrom the exterior of the press; (13) manual ink replenishment acceptable; (14) automatic blanket washing system; (15) printing plates are pin registered; (16) continuous delivery; (17) dampening solution control unit for wet offset units; (18) ink roller wash up units shall be provided for each inking train; (19) both the feeder piles and the delivery piles shall be capable of stacks of paper 0.0052" (0.13mm) thick for a pile height of 52" (1321 mm); (20) delivery with two piles & a method to pull sample sheets; (21) pile switch automatically upon the preset count per pile; (22) a press sheet counter that cannot be reset and counters that are resettable on the feeder, printing impressions, and delivery (a means to have a hard copy printout of the counters shall be provided); (23) printing plate bending device; (24) sheet cleaning and demagnetizing; (25) printer for sheet numbering; (26) electronic system to capture production and operating data which interfaces with the Bureau's system. The Bureau's system interface is based on the ORACLE data base (ver 7.3 or higher) operating in the OS/390 (ver. 2.5 or higher) or Windows NT (ver 4.0 or higher) environment. A separate port to provide ORACLE format operation faults/error data for maintenance personnel to troubleshoot equipment errors shall be provided (the data capture shall be the one commercially supplied to others but detailed in the proposal for technical evaluation); (27) The press shall be equipped with a full set of inking rollers and an additional complete set of all covered inking rollers; (28) All necessary licenses for operating software program in the press shall be provided; (29) Capable of fitting into the space as shown on the attached drawing; and (30) Capable of operating three 8-hour shifts per day, (5) days per week, (50) weeks per year. Spoilage is defined, but not limited to, printed matter not meeting the identified quality attributes. The printing quality attributes are (1) Color-to-Color registration, + or -- 0.0015" (0.038 mm); (2) Back-to-Back registration, + or -- 0.003" (0.076 mm)and (3) Print it to lead edge + or 0.015" (0.381 mm). The press shall be constructed in accordance with the National Electric Code or equivalent international code and applicable sections of OSHA regulations or equivalent international safety code and have single point connections for main electricity and compressed air; require 480-volt, 60 Hertz, three phase, have a noise level which does not exceed 85 dB, A-Scale, at a distance of 36 inches (914 mm) from any point on the press at a height of 48 inches (1,220 mm) above the floor; and require no more than 80 psig, 15 scfm compressed air (if higher pressure is needed, the manufacturer shall provide an appropriate air compressor). The Contractor shall deliver the press within 365 days of contract award. (Offerors who propose an accelerated delivery schedule will receive a higher technical ranking.) The Contractor shall deliver F.O.B. destination within consignee's premises to the Bureau's Main Building Basement A Wing located on 14th Street, SW, Washington. The Contractor shall provide all rigging and crane service to deliver the press through a window opening prepared by the Bureau. The Bureau will repair and reinstall the window after the press has been delivered. Delivery shall be made on a weekend or during the BEP's Year End Shutdown (YES) December 24 through January 1. The Contractor shall contact the BEP's Shipping and Receiving section's appointment hotline, (202) 874-2333, at least 24 hours in advance to schedule all deliveries. The Contractor is responsible for transporting, unpacking, and installing the press in the designated room (Main Building). The contractor is also responsible for conducting the Bureau Acceptance Test (BAT) to inspect and operate the press for compliance with the specifications. The press will be inspected, mechanically and electrically, insuring compliance with the salient characteristics, and tested for print quality using plates provided by the contractor. The printing plates shall become the property of the Bureau as a benchmark to troubleshoot any operating problems. The Bureau will provide the paper and ink for the Bureau Acceptance Test. The inspecting and testing period shall be 3 days or less in length. During the BAT, the contractor shall demonstrate the following: The press shall (1) maintain perfecting print; (2) maintain a continuous infeed; (3) maintain a printing speed of, at a minimum, 8500 sheets per hour; (4) maintain lateral and circumferential registration; (5) maintain ink control electronically; (6) maintain print quality within registration requirements, i.e., color-to-color, back-to-back, and print-to-edge; and (7) maintain spoilage at 5% or less. The BAT shall last three (3) eight-hour operating shifts (6.5 hours of press operation with an acceptable production of 55,250 sheets). After successful completion of the BAT, the Contractor shall provide a start-up technician to conduct five consecutive weeks of training and troubleshooting (8 hours each day, excluding weekends and Federal holidays). The Contractor shall also provide three (3) weeks of follow-up training within three months after the initial five (5) weeks of training. The Contractor shall provide a warranty for one year or their commercial warranty period, whichever is longer. The Contractor will provide certification regarding the National Electric Code and OSHA regulation compliance. A factory test to the extent normally provided to customers by the offeror shall be conducted by the contractor and attended by Bureau personnel. The proposal shall state the extent of the factory test. Based on a 365 day delivery, the following is the schedule of milestones in weeks after contract date: (1) 8 weeks -- Submission of necessary site information by the contractor to the Bureau including electrical power, compressed air, water, water disposal, space requirements, foundations, and anything else relative to site preparation. (2) 36 weeks The graphic design of the image being printed shall be submitted to the Bureau for approval. (3) 46 weeks -- Complete factory test. (4) 52 weeks -- Complete delivery to the Bureau. (5) 58 weeks -- The contractor shall provide three copies of all technical literature consisting of a part's list, recommended list of spare parts, consumable parts, spare price list, electrical/electronic wiring diagram, control program listings, plc program listing with full line comments and cross reference, mechanical assembly and detail drawings provided as paper hard copy and in digital form of "TIFF" [ver. #1 to 6] and/or "DXF" [ver #12 or 13] auto cad interchange, and operating and maintenance manuals/instructions at least four weeks before the BAT. (6) 60 weeks -- Complete installation. (7) 62 weeks -- Complete BAT. (8) 67 weeks -- Place into service and complete training. If the offeror propose s a schedule for press delivery less than the required 365 days, a revised schedule of performance shall be provided. The FAR provision at 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and includes the following addendum: For those offerors that wish to visit the facility, a site visit has been scheduled for July 15, 1998 at 10:00 a.m. Those offerors that wish to attend should contact Joan C. Waters at (202) 874-2183 not later than July 10, 1998. The FAR provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation Commercial Items is applicable and includes the following addenda: Paragraph (a) is hereby modified to identify the following evaluation factors: (1) Conformance to technical specifications; (2) Electronic data accumulation with Bureau interface; (3) Offeror's proposed delivery schedule; and (4) Offeror's past performance. In determining which proposal offers the greatest value or advantage to the Government, technical merit shall be more important than overall price or cost. The machine's technical requirements will be rated the most important. Electronic data accumulation will be rated the second most important. The Offeror's proposed delivery will be rated thirdin importance. NOTE: Ability to shorten the delivery schedule will provide additional technical evaluation points. Past performance will be rated of least importance. Between substantially equal proposals, the proposed price will become the determining factor in selection for award. Between proposals with different proposal ratings, a determination will be made as to whether the additional technical merit or benefits reflected by a higher priced proposal warrants payment of the additional price. The FAR provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and includes the following addenda: The offeror shall submit a completed copy of the provisions at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items, with their proposal. The FAR provision at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and includes the following addendum: Paragraph (a) is hereby modified to identify the constructive acceptance period of seven calendar days after completion of the Bureau Acceptance Test (BAT). The FAR provision at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items, applies to his acquisition and the following clauses cited in the clause are applicable to this acquisition: 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.233-3, Protest After Award; 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate 1, 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns and Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns; 52.219-9, Small, Small Disadvantaged and Women-Owned Small Business Subcontracting Plan; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; and 52.225-3, Buy American Act Supplies. Offers may be submitted on letterhead stationary and, at a minimum, must provide(1) the solicitation number; (2) the name, address, point of contact and telephone number of the offeror; (3) terms of any express warranty; (4) price and discount terms (if any); (5) "remit to" address, if different from mailing address; (6) a completed copy of the representations and certifications; (7) a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation; (8) sufficient technical literature and description to enable the Bureau to evaluate conformance with the technical requirements; (9) provide a list of three references for the past three (3) years for the same or similar equipment (please include names, phone numbers, and dollar value); and (10) The offeror's proposed delivery schedule. Offerors who fail to furnish the required representation or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation, may be excluded from consideration. The following documents are available via our Home Page at www.bep.treas.gov/procurement/index.cfm: Section B (pricing information); 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications; and the CBD/Solicitation, or you can request a copy in writing. A copy of the drawing of the area for the installation of the press must be requested by fax. Requests should be faxed to Joan C. Waters at (202) 874-2200). Offers may also be faxed to the number listed above or mailed to the following address: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Office of Procurement, 14th & C Streets, S.W., Rm. 705A, Washington, D.C. 20228-0001, Attn: Joan C. Waters. All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. Offers are due by July 22, 1998, 10:00 a.m. local time. Posted 07/02/98. (0183)

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