10980 RFP Printing Only Services Final.pdf

THIS PROPOSAL MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY THROUGH THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN E-

PURCHASING SYSTEM (BIDNET®).

Department of General Services

PURCHASING DIVISION

www.denvergov.org/purchasing

Phone: 720.913.8100

City and County of Denver

Purchasing Division 201 W. Colfax Ave.

Department 304, 11th Floor Denver, CO 80202

Procurement Analyst: Elizabeth Hewes Procurement Analyst Email: elizabeth.hewes@denvergov.org

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Request for Proposal No. 10980A – 2025

Citywide Printing Only Services Defined Pool

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

• RFP Issued August 18, 2025

• Pre-Proposal Conference August 26, 2025 10:30 A.M. Local Time

• Deadline to Submit Additional Questions August 29, 2025 5:00 P.M. Local Time

• Response to Written Questions September 5, 2025

• Proposal Due Date September 18, 2025 2:00 P.M. Local Time

Vendor offers to furnish to the City and County of Denver the materials, supplies, products or services requested in accordance with the specifications and subject to the Terms and Conditions described herein.

VENDOR SIGN HERE

Company Name:

-Note: Vendor company name to be the legal entity that will enter into a contract with the City if awarded pursuant to this solicitation-

By:

(Printed or Typed Name)

Signature:

Signature constitutes acceptance of all Terms and Conditions listed on this form and all documents attached.

Email:

Phone:

The City contracts with Rocky Mountain E-purchasing System (BidNet®) in the advertisement and facilitation of solicitations administered by the City's General Services Purchasing Division; therefore, respondents must ONLY rely on documents provided on the Rocky Mountain E-purchasing System (BidNet®) website or as communicated directly from the analyst. Only rely on this web address: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado http://www.denvergov.org/purchasing

GSPD TEMPLATE 6.23.2025 SD05

Table of Contents

SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION & PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

A.1 BACKGROUND AND SCOPE:

A.2 ROCKY MOUNTAIN E-PURCHASING (BidNet®):

A.3 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS:

A.4 PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING:

A.5 RFP QUESTIONS:

A.6 ADDENDA:

A.7 ACCEPTANCE PERIOD:

A.8 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS/STATEMENT OF WORK:

A.9 RFP CONDITIONS AND PROVISIONS:

A.10 GRATUITIES AND KICKBACKS:

A.11 NON-COLLUSIVE VENDOR CERTIFICATION:

A.12 EVALUATION AND AWARDS:

A.13 DEFINED POOL REQUIREMENTS:

A.14 PROOF OF REGISTRATION WITH THE COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE:

A.15 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS – EXECUTIVE ORDER #101:

SECTION B: SCOPE OF WORK AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

B.1 SCOPE OF WORK/REQUIREMENTS

B.1.a GENERAL REQUIREMENTS B.1.b QUOTES AND ORDERING OF ITEMS:

B.1.c SAMPLES:

B.1.d DESIGNS AND PROOFS:

B.1.e SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

B.1.f ERROR REPLACEMENT RUN REQUIREMENTS:

B.1.g PRODUCT UNDER/OVERRUNS:

B.1.h INVOICING REQUIREMENTS:

B.1.i REPORTING:

B.2 TERM

B.3 CITY SOFTWARE AND SECURITY:

B.4 ONLINE ORDERING:

B.5 PAYMENT CONDITIONS:

B.6 F.O.B. POINT:

B.7 DELIVERY/SERVICE CONSIDERATIONS:

B.8 EMERGENCY PURCHASES:

B.9 VENDOR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:

B.10 COOPERATIVE PURCHASING:

B.11 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, AWARENESS,

AND COMPLIANCE

B.11.a Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Guidance

B.12 VENDOR QUESTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

SECTION C: PRICING

C.1 PRICING INFORMATION:

C.2 PRICING INSTRUCTIONS:

C.3 PRICING:

C.4 PROPOSAL ITEMS:

SECTION D: MASTER PURCHASE ORDER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SECTION E: ADDITIONAL REQUIRED INFORMATION

E.1 MASTER PURCHASE ORDER CERTIFICATION FORM:

E.2 DISCLOSURE OF CONTENTS OF BIDS CERTIFICATION FORM (REDACTED COPY)

E.3 VENDOR'S CHECK LIST:

E.4 BYRD ANTI-LOBBYING:

E.5 DISCLOSURE OF GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (A.I.) USAGE

E.6 VENDOR INFORMATION

SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION & PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

A.1 BACKGROUND AND SCOPE:

The City and County of Denver, hereinafter referred to as the City, desires to solicit proposals relating to the printing of various products with related services as described in the table below:

# Product Category 1 Business cards 2 Cards for the Public 3 Posting and Informational 4 Periodicals 5 Forms 6 Tags/Handouts/Booklets 7 Catalogs 8 Advertising 9 Large Format 10 Financial Reports 11 Calendars 12 Stationary 13 Miscellaneous

The City reserves the right to add additional goods and services as the need becomes known.

For this solicitation the city has determined the following items to be Out of Scope:

• Promotional items

• Mailing services

• Any printing that involves confidential and Personal Identification Information

Pursuant to Article V of Chapter 28 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code (D.R.M.C.) the Division of Small Business Opportunity (DSBO) has established the following participation requirement for this project:

Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Defined Pool

Award will be strictly limited to SBE firms certified with the City and County of Denver, as listed in the Small Business Certification and Contract Management System, on or before the proposal due date. § 28-141(d) D.R.M.C. The SBE consultant self-performance requirement is 30%. § 28-142 D.R.M.C.

Click HERE to go directly to the City’s detailed Scope of Work/ Requirements

A.2 ROCKY MOUNTAIN E-PURCHASING (BidNet®):

The City is collaborating with Rocky Mountain E-purchasing System (BidNet®) in the advertisement and facilitation of Invitation for Bid (IFB) and Requests for Proposals (RFP) administered by the City's General Services Purchasing Division.

https://denver.mwdbe.com/FrontEnd/SearchCertifiedDirectory.asp?tn=denver https://denver.mwdbe.com/FrontEnd/SearchCertifiedDirectory.asp?tn=denver

It is a requirement of this IFB / RFP that interested parties familiarize themselves and register with BidNet®;

Vendor/ contractors who do not register may be considered non-responsive.

Registration with BidNet® is available at NO CHARGE and allows Vendors access to view governmental bids posted on BidNet®; they offer an additional notification service option with an associated fee. It is the responsibility of the Vendor/ contractor to evaluate and select the service option of their choice.

The City is not responsible for the actions or lack thereof on the part of the Vendor / contractor in regards to their interaction with BidNet®, or any other third-party bid notification service in relation to this IFB/RFP.

More information is available at: www.rockymountainbidsystem.com or by calling 1-800-835-4603.

A.3 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS:

Submission of proposals for this solicitation may only be done electronically through BidNet®. Proposals must be submitted at www.rockymountainbidsystem.com, no later than the date and time indicated in the proposal.

Vendors who feel they are unable to prepare and submit an electronic submittal should submit a request in writing to the Analyst, no later than the Question due date, for permission and instructions for submitting a hardcopy proposal.

Your proposal shall consist of the following separate sections:

i) Signed Coversheet

ii) Response to ‘VENDOR QUESTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS’: Section B.12

iii) Pricing- Section C.4

iv) Section E. Forms

v) Additional Required Information/Forms/ Documentation

A.4 PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING:

A pre-proposal meeting will be conducted the date and time listed in the Schedule of Events, front page. Location of the Pre-Proposal Meeting is:

City and County of Denver 201 W. Colfax Avenue RM 4J1 Denver, CO 80202

This meeting will not be recorded. In order to enter the building, you will need to go through security. There is no parking at the building; please give yourself enough time to find parking in nearby parking lots/garages. You will The proposal terms and conditions will be reviewed and discussed at this time.

A.5 RFP QUESTIONS:

The City shall not be bound by and the Vendor shall not request or rely on any oral interpretation or clarification of this RFP. Therefore, any questions regarding this RFP are encouraged and should be submitted in writing by email to:

http://www.rockymountainbidsystem.com/ http://www.rockymountainbidsystem.com/

City Analyst: Elizabeth Hewes E-Mail: elizabeth.hewes@denvergov.org

Questions received up to deadline to submit question in the Schedule of Events will be answered in writing per the Schedule of Events. Answers to questions from any Vendor will be provided to all Vendors.

All communications regarding this proposal shall only be through the City’s Analyst listed above. No communication is to be directed to any other City personnel.

A.6 ADDENDA:

In the event it becomes necessary to revise, change, modify or cancel this Proposal or to provide additional information, addenda will be issued and made available on BidNet®. It is the responsibility of the vendor to confirm that they have acquired all addenda related to this solicitation and they have reviewed/ complied with the requirements therein.

A.7 ACCEPTANCE PERIOD:

Proposals in response to this RFP shall indicate that they are valid for a period no less than 120 days from the closing date, and if awarded, through the initial contract period.

A.8 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS/STATEMENT OF WORK:

Section B of this RFP contains our proposed Statement of Work and/or Technical Requirements. This document shall form the basis of a Purchase Order or Contract covering the subject matter of this RFP. Exceptions or deviations to this proposal must not be added to the proposal pages but must be on vendor's letterhead and accompany proposal. Any exceptions to this documentation will be taken into consideration when evaluating proposals submitted. The City reserves the right to reject any or all of your proposed modifications. The City welcomes cost saving proposals which still satisfy all technical and business objectives.

A.9 RFP CONDITIONS AND PROVISIONS:

This proposal must be signed by a duly authorized official of the proposing company. The completed and signed proposal (together with all required attachments) must be returned to the Department of General Services on or before the time and date of the deadline shown on page one. This proposal MUST be submitted electronically through the Rocky Mountain E-purchasing System (BidNet®).

All participating Vendors, by their signature hereunder, shall agree to comply with all of the conditions, requirements and instructions of this RFP as stated or implied herein. Any alteration, erasure or interlineation by the Vendor in this proposal shall constitute cause for rejection by the Manager of General Services. Exceptions or deviations to this proposal must not be added to the proposal pages, but must be on vendor's letterhead and accompany proposal. Should the City omit anything from this RFP which is necessary to a clear understanding of the work, or should it appear that various instructions are in conflict, then the Vendor shall secure written instructions from the Manager of General Services at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the time and date shown in page one.

Typographical errors in entering quotations on proposal may result in loss of award of this proposal.

All Vendors are required to complete all information requested in this proposal. Failure to do so may result in the disqualification of proposal.

The City reserves the right to postpone or cancel this RFP, or reject all proposals, if determined to be in the best interest of the City.

Unit price for each item shall be shown and shall be for the unit of measurement indicated. In case of error in extension of prices, the unit price will govern.

The Manager of General Services reserves the right to waive any technical or formal errors or omissions and to reject any and all proposal(s), or to award contract for the items hereon, either in part or whole, if deemed to be in the best interests of the City.

The successful Vendor shall be in complete compliance with all of the specifications, terms and conditions of this proposal as outlined above. The City shall have the right to inspect the facilities and equipment of the successful Vendor to ensure such compliance.

No submittal shall be accepted from, and no purchase order or contractual agreement will be awarded to, any person, firm or corporation that is in arrears to the City and County of Denver, upon debt or contract, or that is a defaulter, as surety or otherwise, upon any obligation to the City, or that has failed to attain or demonstrate compliance with any law, ordinance, City regulation, or contract term or condition as may be provided for or required in any City contract, or that may be deemed irresponsible or unreliable by the Manager of General Services. Vendors may be required to submit satisfactory evidence that they have a practical knowledge of the particular work bid upon and that they have the necessary financial resources to perform and complete the work outlined in this invitation.

The vendor agrees to abide by all the laws, regulations and administrative rulings of the United States, the State of Colorado and the City and County of Denver, securing all necessary licenses and permits in connection with the bids.

All materials, supplies and equipment furnished or services performed under the terms of this purchase order or contractual agreement shall comply with the requirements and standards specified in the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of l970 (Public Law 9l-596) as well as with other applicable federal, state and local codes.

All merchandise furnished or service performed must comply with City and State Codes.

In the event that this invitation requires a formal contract to be prepared by the City and County of Denver, the successful vendor will properly sign and furnish necessary performance bonds, insurances, Workers' Compensation, etc., as required by the respective bid within ten (l0) days (unless a longer period is allowed) from the date of receipt of the formal contract forms.

All vendors must take into consideration that only the City's contract documents will be used in the finalization of this agreement. This will include the total bid and the City Attorney's general form.

The City shall not be liable for any costs incurred by Vendor in the preparation of proposals or for any work performed in connection therewith or any work subsequent to the submission and prior to the execution of any contract.

A.10 GRATUITIES AND KICKBACKS:

It shall be a breach of ethical standards for any person to offer, give, or agree to give any employee or former employee (within six months of termination from City employment), or for any employee or former employee (within six months of termination from City employment) to solicit, demand, accept, or agree to accept from another person, a gratuity or an offer of employment in connection with any decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a program requirement or a purchase request, influencing the content of any specification or procurement standard, rendering of advice, investigation, auditing, or in any other advisory capacity in any proceeding of application, request for ruling, determination, claim or controversy, or other particular matter, pertaining to any program requirement or a contract or subcontract, or to any solicitation or proposal therefore.

It shall be a breach of ethical standards for any payment, gratuity, or offer of employment to be made by or on behalf of a subcontractor under a contract to the prime vendor or higher tier subcontractor or any person associated therewith, as an inducement for the award of a subcontract or order.

In the event that any gratuities or kickbacks are offered or tendered to any City and County of Denver employee, the proposal shall be disqualified and shall not be reinstated.

A.11 NON-COLLUSIVE VENDOR CERTIFICATION:

By the submission of this proposal, the vendor certifies that:

A. The proposal has been arrived at by the vendor independently and has been submitted without collusion with any other vendor.

B. The contents of the proposal have not been communicated by the vendor, nor, to its best knowledge and belief, by any of its employees or agents, to any person not an employee or agent of the vendor or its surety on any bond furnished herewith, and will not be communicated to any such person prior to the official opening of the proposal.

C. No vendor shall submit more than one proposal for this purchase. It shall be the responsibility of each vendor to obtain the prior written permission of the Director of Purchasing before proposal opening in every situation in which the vendor, due to corporate association or other affiliation, may be found to be impermissibly associated with another vendor. Failure to observe this requirement could result in all such affiliated proposals being rejected.

A.12 EVALUATION AND AWARDS:

Award(s) will be made to one or more vendors.

The criteria to be used for the proposal evaluation include but are not limited to:

i. Pricing- Section C

ii. Response to ‘VENDOR QUESTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:’ posed in Section B.12

iii. Other Required Submittals (as applicable)

iv. Qualified, Responsible, Responsive {D.R.MC. Sec. 20-61-(e), (g), (h)}

v. Response to the City’s proposed Sample Contract provisions

vi. Responsiveness to Division of Small Business Opportunity requirements for Defined Pool

No weighting or relative importance of criteria is intended or implied by this list.

The City may request oral presentations as part of the evaluation process. Additionally, the City reserves the right to conduct negotiations with one or more Vendors.

While numerical scoring may be used as an aid in the evaluation, the selection ultimately is a business decision that will reflect an integrated assessment of the relative merits of proposals using the factors identified in this

RFP.

Any award as a result of this proposal shall be contingent upon the execution of an appropriate contract. Section D of this proposal contains the City’s terms and conditions. These terms and conditions shall form the basis of a Contract covering the subject matter of this proposal. If there is contention(s) with the Terms and Conditions, a brief explanation and alternative language, if any, should be included in your response in the provided Section E. MASTER PURCHASE ORDER CERTIFICATION FORM. Any exceptions to the Terms and Conditions will be taken into consideration when evaluating proposals submitted. The City reserves the right to reject any or all of the proposed modifications.

A.13 DEFINED POOL REQUIREMENTS:

DSBO has designated this procurement as SBE defined pool. Accordingly, award will be strictly limited to certified SBE firms. § 28-141(d) D.R.M.C. Conditions of responsiveness are listed below; failure to submit a responsive submission constitutes cause for rejection thereof.

1. Certification Before the proposal due date, the proposer (“Proposer”) must be SBE certified by the City in the NAICS work code(s) that coincide with the scope of work they will be performing for SBE self-performance credit.

DSBO maintains an SBE Directory (“Directory”), which is a current listing of SBEs that have been certified by the City. The Directory may be accessed via the DSBO web site at https://www.denvergov.org/dsbo.

2. Joint Ventures

If Proposer is a Joint Venture of SBE firms, bidder must submit the Joint Venture Agreement to DSBO at time of bid opening. A qualified Joint Venture is an association of one or more City and County of Denver-certified SBE firms to carry out a single, for-profit business enterprise, for which the parties combine their property, capital efforts, skills and knowledge. DSBO will count the total dollar value of the joint venture’s collective self-performance toward the SBE self-performance requirement, equal to the distinct, clearly defined portion of the work that a Joint Venture’s member firms perform with their own forces in NAICS code(s) in which the Joint-Venture firms are SBE certified.

3. Authority The DSBO Ordinance and rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto apply to this project and are incorporated into these solicitation documents by reference. Compliance with those, and any additional requirement contained herein, are conditions of responsiveness. The DSBO Ordinance, its accompanying rules and regulations, and additional SBE guidance are available here: https://www.denvergov.org/dsbo.

Proposer is encouraged to contact the procuring agency/Buyer with specific questions related to compliance therewith, who will coordinate with DSBO to reply to Proposer’s questions https://www.denvergov.org/dsbo

A.14 PROOF OF REGISTRATION WITH THE COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE:

Successful vendors are required to furnish a Certificate of Good Standing from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, as proof that they are properly registered to do business in the State of Colorado, prior to finalization of award and contracting.

A.15 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS – EXECUTIVE ORDER #101:

Definitions

Diversity: Diversity refers to the extent to which a vendor has people from diverse background or communities working in its organization at all levels, is committed to providing equal access to business opportunities and achieving diversity in procurement decisions for supplies, equipment, and services, or promotes training and technical assistance to diverse businesses and communities such as mentoring and outreach programs and business engagement opportunities.

Inclusiveness: Inclusiveness, for purposes of Executive Order No. 101, includes the extent to which a contractor/consultant invites values, perspectives and contributions of people from diverse backgrounds and integrates diversity into its hiring and retention policies, training opportunities, and business development methods to provide an equal opportunity for each person to participate, contribute and succeed within the organization’s workplace. Inclusiveness also includes the extent to which businesses have an equal opportunity to compete for new business opportunities and establish new business relationships in the private and public sector.

Requirements

Using the attached form, entitled “Diversity and Inclusiveness in City Solicitations Information Request Form”, please state whether you have a diversity and inclusiveness program for employment and retention, procurement and supply chain activities, or customer service, and provide the additional information requested on the form.

The information provided on the Diversity and Inclusiveness in City Solicitations Request Form will provide an opportunity for City contractors/consultants to describe their own diversity and inclusiveness practices.

Contractors/Consultants are not expected to conduct intrusive examinations of their employees, managers, or business partners in order to describe diversity and inclusiveness measures. Rather, the City simply seeks a description of the contractor/consultant’s current practices, if any.

Diversity and Inclusiveness information provided by City contractors/consultants in response to City solicitations for services or goods will be collated, analyzed, and made available in reports consistent with City Executive Order No. 101. However, no personally identifiable information provided by or obtained from contractors/consultants will be in such reports.

A completed and signed copy of the “Diversity and Inclusiveness in City Solicitations Request Form” must be included with your bid or RFP response. Failure to include this form will render your bid or RFP non-responsive. The required document is available at:

https://us.openforms.com/Form/57f3a8ea-39b7-4115-be17-1770f38d3cf6

Proposing vendors are required to fill in and submit this form online as part of their submission.

https://us.openforms.com/Form/57f3a8ea-39b7-4115-be17-1770f38d3cf6

SECTION B: SCOPE OF WORK AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

B.1 SCOPE OF WORK/REQUIREMENTS

B.1.a GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The awarded vendor will provide an Account Representative.

Awarded vendor will be able to satisfy the general expectations that come with a printing company and will perform all the items listed above in Section A.1. Depending upon each requested job, the City may need different sizes of paper for each requested job, however, the City does utilize letter, legal, and 11” x 17” as standard printing sizes whenever these are applicable to the requested job.

Awarded vendor will perform work that is considered part of the industry norms and abilities of a printing house and be performed repeatedly at a high level. Examples of work expected include the following, but are not limited to these items:

• Cutting • Binding • Punching • Stapling

• Collating • Perforating • Padding • Folding/Insertion

• Single sided runs • Numbering • Saddle stitching • Scoring

• Multiple Color runs • Double sided runs • Graphic

Design/Artwork

• Half/Duo tones

The City reserves the right to add additional goods and services as the need becomes known.

For this solicitation the city has determined the following items to be Out of Scope:

• Promotional items

• Mailing services

• Any printing that involves confidential and Personal Identification Information

B.1.b QUOTES AND ORDERING OF ITEMS:

The City is an expansive market with different City Agencies ordering different items throughout the year. The City’s Central Services team will be the Program Administrator for the City’s general printing needs, in addition, other City Agencies, such as Public Works, will also require constant service. When a requesting City Agency has contacted the awarded vendor’s Account Representative for a written quote, the Account Representative will provide the written quote (e.g., email, Microsoft Word, PDF, etc.) with the following information included:

• The requesting City Agency and its contact person’s name

• The Vendor’s quote number

• The date of the quote

• The Job title o The Job description, including any applicable items, such as Flat size, Ink, Stock, Prepress, Proof, Finishing, Color Process, Paper Type

• Quantity requested to be printed

• Price per printed unit (lump sum pricing is unacceptable)

• If mailed to a City of Denver owned building, the location of the delivery

• Completion date (if a specific date is requested) or estimated delivery date

It is the City’s intention that all orders for the City’s Central Services team for printing and be submitted using an order form or via the awarded vendor’s digital store front and/or website. The awarded vendor’s may provide the City with their order form for use, or one can be created as a template.

All orders will be for specific jobs. They may be run as either a one time or on an annual need basis, depending on each City Agency’s need. All orders, no matter the requesting City Agency, will be placed by the awarded Vendor’s assigned Account Representative or by an approved City personnel through the Vendor’s website.

B.1.c SAMPLES:

Samples may be requested by the City during the evaluation period of this RFP; upon this request, Proposing Vendors will be required to furnish a sample of the goods and/or services to be supplied at no cost to the City.

The sample must be submitted, at no expense to the City. Any sample submitted shall create an express warranty that the whole of the goods and/or services shall conform to the sample submitted. All samples become the property of the City and are required to be submitted to the City within seven (7) business days, or by the time stated by the City. All samples shall not include any of the proposing vendors logos or emblems. During the contractual agreement with the awarded vendor, the City may request samples of prints prior to an authorized print run, to ensure quality standards are continually being adhered to.

B.1.d DESIGNS AND PROOFS:

Prior to the printing request being completed by an awarded vendor, the City will require a design and proof to be sent to the requesting City Agency contact for verification and acceptance, prior to a printing run being started by the awarded vendor. These designs and proofs may be requested through a PDF format, or if necessary, mailed directly to the City Agency contact. All designs and proofs are considered proprietary and property of the City.

Use of the City’s logo and designs for purposes other than official City business, and without written consent from authorized City personnel may result in an immediate termination of the awarded vendor’s contract.

B.1.e SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

B.1.e.1 Paper

The City is continuing to strive towards green and environmentally friendly products when printing is considered.

The City’s current overall standard for printing is for all printed materials to be on thirty percent post-consumer waste (30% PCW) product or greater. During the resulting contractual agreement, the City may adjust this requirement to 100% PCW product to be used in the printing process. The awarded vendor’s shall provide costing for 30% and 100% PCW for each job, to assist the City in its budget planning. When paper with 100% PCW content is available, cost-effective to the ordering agency, and meets the required form, function, and utility, 100% PCW shall be used.

Paper products shall be derived from a sustainably managed renewable resource and certified as such through an appropriate third-party certification program recognized by the paper industry, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), to the extent practicable, unless the cost of the product is not competitive. To the maximum extent practicable and whenever feasible, these standards shall apply to other printed items such as brochures, envelopes, letterheads, business cards, and forms. In addition, awarded vendors are encouraged to print publications and other printed items on processed chlorine free (PCF) paper to the maximum extent practicable. A recycled paper logo or the words “Printed on Recycled Paper” shall be an option offered to all Agencies if the publication(s) is printed on recycled paper. The Agency will have the option to accept or reject this option.

All publications shall be printed double-sided, to the maximum extent practicable.

Some City agencies printing requests shall be printed on 100% PCW paper, without exception. An awarded Vendor that receives a printing request from these agencies will be required to adhere to this 100% PCW requirement for each request. Failure to print this agency’s requests on 100% PCW paper may result in a vendor deficiency, which may result in the termination of an awarded vendor’s contractual agreement.

Awarded Vendors will keep a continuous and plentiful stock of both 30% and 100% PCW paper. If a particular PCW percentage of paper cannot be obtained through an awarded vendor’s supply chain, they must notify the requesting City Agency Contact and the City Program Administrator printing program in writing and within one

(1) business day. The City shall not be liable for any additional paper ordering and storage fees during the life of a contractual agreement with an awarded Vendor.

B.1.e.2 Printing

Ecologo™ is a North American Type I environmental leadership standard setting and third-party certification program as defined by ISO 14024. It has developed environmental standards for a wide range of consumer and commercial products and certifies products meeting those standards. For additional information, visit the Ecologo™ website at: http://www.ecologo.org/en/.

Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP): is an organization that provides voluntary audits to criteria for sustainable printing practices. For additional information, visit the SGP website at:

http://www.sgppartnership.org/.

B.1.e.3 Ink

Bio-based Content:

To the maximum extent practicable, provide water-based or vegetable based lithographic ink, which will reduce the amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) released into the environment.

Unless it is determined that the cost of printing with vegetable-based ink is significantly greater than the cost of printing with petroleum-based ink, all lithographic inks used in the production of printing requirements shall contain the following minimum percentages of vegetable oil: News Inks - 40%; Sheet Fed Inks - 20%; Forms Inks - 20%; Heat Set Inks - 10%.

Heavy Metal Content:

http://www.ecologo.org/en/ http://www.sgppartnership.org/

To the maximum extent practicable, provide ink where the sum or incidental concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium in ink shall not exceed 100 parts per million (ppm) by weight.

Environmental Performance:

To the maximum extent practicable, provide ink which meets or exceeds the Ecologo™ Certification Criteria Document for Printing Inks (CCD-040).

B.1.f ERROR REPLACEMENT RUN REQUIREMENTS:

All awarded vendor’s printing jobs are expected to be in compliance with the standards and expectations set forth by the City. If a print job is run by an awarded vendor that does not meet the expectations of the City, then they shall remedy this in a timely manner and to the best of their abilities, at no additional cost to the City. (Example

– An awarded Vendor runs a print job, and the artwork is not centered prior to the print run, then the awarded vendor will correct the artwork to the City’s satisfaction and re-run the print at a $0.00 additional cost to the City for the re-run.)

Failure to meet or exceed the City’s standards and expectations without a remedy in the timeline requested by the City may result in a cancellation of the contract if repeated Vendor deficiencies are documented.

B.1.g PRODUCT UNDER/OVERRUNS:

Awarded vendor’s will not only produce a high-quality product, but also be able to produce a print run goal of ±1% under/over. The City will not pay for any overruns.

B.1.h INVOICING REQUIREMENTS:

The awarded vendor shall be able to direct bill to each City Agency, with a clear description and contain enough detail to be self-explanatory. The awarded vendor shall provide a statement to be reviewed and approved prior to invoicing. All statements and invoices will be mailed to the City Agency contact person.

The City utilizes approximately one hundred fifty (150) different bill codes that are typically invoiced monthly, as the City conducts business on a net 30 schedule. The City will not consider an invoice to be available for payment until the City has reviewed, received, and accepted the awarded vendor’s printing run as having been complete and to the satisfaction of the requesting City Agency.

The awarded vendor must be capable of providing invoices that include the following details:

• Name of the person placing the order

• Invoice number

• Invoice date

• Item description for each line item

• Itemized charges, including unit of measurement

• Total charge

• Service date(s) or service period

• Supplier Contract number – SC-######## (provided upon acceptance of award)

• PO number (will be provided to awarded Vendor with each internal Agency request)

• Delivery location (Building name and address)

B.1.i REPORTING:

The awarded vendor will provide the City’s Program Administrator monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.

Each report would include at least, but is not limited to the following:

• Name of the requesting City Agency and the name of the Agency contact

• Name and date of requested printing job

• Number of requested prints

• Description of requested prints (e.g., color process, size, etc.)

• Confirmation of print jobs completed on recycled-content paper, noting the breakout of PCW content per job

• If the job has been completed and on what date completion was done

• If the job has been invoiced, with an invoice #, and if that invoice has been paid

• Miscellaneous notes by the Vendor

Additional report information may be requested by the Program Administrator during the term of the resulting contract.

B.2 TERM

The term of this Master Purchase Order shall be from date of City signature to and including 12/31/2028.

B.3 CITY SOFTWARE AND SECURITY:

During the period of a resulting contractual agreement, the City may have certain software that requires a compatibility for the awarded vendor’s system to interface with the City’s network. At this time, the City does not anticipate this as a need; however, all awarded Vendors that offer a website or portal for ordering, shall adhere to all City Technology Services security requirements, when applicable. The City will work in good faith with an awarded Vendor if an integration is necessary with the Vendor’s site if it affects an ordering and/or transference of information.

City Data Rights and Ownership City Data shall remain the exclusive property of the City. All City Data created and/or processed is and shall remain the property of the City.

B.4 ONLINE ORDERING:

The City would like to have the option to order products online through a vendor website. The website must meet the following criteria:

1. User Experience

a. Anonymous browsing capability that allows login-free access to view products

b. User-specific product access

c. User-friendly interactive product access

d. On-screen previews

e. Product library

f. Unique login for each user

2. Expanded Products

a. Static print on demand and inventory products

b. Upload pdf file products

c. Ability to setup product templates

d. Variable products with unlimited customizable fields

e. Ability to have a product template library

f. Ability to review and approve proofs.

3. Payment Functionality

a. Credit card payment ability

b. Split payment billing options

c. Purchase order validation

4. Increased Administrative Capabilities

a. Administrative access ability to add, remove, or modify user

b. Multiple administrative users

c. Approved users can approve/reject orders

d. Approval at line item and order levels

e. Approved user group for easy access control

f. Configurable checkout steps

B.5 PAYMENT CONDITIONS:

Progress payments are not authorized in this procurement. Payment will be made upon final delivery and acceptance of the supplies or service by the City for each printing job. The awarded Vendor may submit invoices to be paid, but only after that project’s goods have had a purchase order issued for them, the goods have been received by the City, passed through a final inspection, and accepted by the City.

Final payment for work accomplished will not be considered until final inspection and approval by the City.

B.6 F.O.B. POINT:

All prices quoted must be quoted at a firm price F.O.B. Denver, Colorado, delivered to any City and County location. No separate shipping charges for delivery will be considered by the City, no matter the size of the order, nor the location within the City and County of Denver owned property.

B.7 DELIVERY/SERVICE CONSIDERATIONS:

When a date is quoted and set for the delivery of goods or the performance of work by the awarded vendor, the goods must be delivered, or work performed in accordance with the specifications or description from this RFP.

Deliveries of goods or the performance of work by the awarded vendor is expected to be completed within the industry defined normal standards and by the date agreed upon by the awarded vendor and the requesting City Agency.

On certain occasions, the City may request rush orders to be placed and run by the awarded Vendor. It is the expectation from the City that the awarded vendor place a rush order and complete it within the agreed upon timeline for the requesting City Agency.

B.8 EMERGENCY PURCHASES:

The City and County of Denver reserves the right to purchase from other sources those items which are required on an emergency basis and cannot be supplied immediately by the vendor.

B.9 VENDOR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:

The Purchasing Department may administer a vendor performance management program as part this proposal and resulting contract. The purpose of this program is to create a method for documenting and advising the Purchasing Department of exceptional performance or any problems related to the purchased goods and services.

Propose as part of your response specific performance measures that may be used to develop a vendor performance management report card. Also provide any other data, criterion or methods that would be effective in measuring vendor performance over the life of this contract.

FOR SERVICES

• Total dollar value of purchases per City Agency

• Total number of transactions per City Agency

• Average response time after receipt of call from the City

• Average time for job completion

B.10 COOPERATIVE PURCHASING:

The City and County of Denver encourages and participates in cooperative purchasing endeavors undertaken by or on behalf of other governmental jurisdictions, pursuant to Denver Revised Municipal Code Sec. 20-64.5. To the extent other governmental jurisdictions are legally able to participate in cooperative purchasing endeavors, the City and County of Denver supports such cooperative activities. Further, it is a specific requirement of this proposal or Request for Proposal that pricing offered herein to the City and County of Denver may be offered by the vendor to any other governmental jurisdiction purchasing the same products.

Vendor(s) must contract directly with any interested governmental agency concerning the matters within this

RFP.

B.11 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, AWARENESS, AND

COMPLIANCE

Some City operations can pose risks to human health and the environment. Proactive environmental management can reduce risk and prevent harm. The Denver Environmental Performance Program (DEPP) is the City’s ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS). The DEPP ensures all aspects of City operations with the potential to cause environmental impacts are proactively managed. The DEPP reinforces the City’s position that the City’s business partners are aware of the City’s Environmental Policy, and are responsible for supplying goods and services in a manner consistent with this policy. The DEPP also requires business partners ensure the competency of their staff with respect to the environmental impacts of their duties.

The Environmental Policy of the City & County of Denver, may be found at:

https://denvergov.org/files/assets/public/v/2/public-health-and-environment/documents/eq/2024-denver-environmental-policy.pdf

All City business partners are required to comply with federal, state, and local environmental regulations. The DEPP requires all City business partners to be aware of the impacts their products and services have on the environment and implement practices to minimize impacts, prevent pollution, and align outcomes with the City’s environmental performance goals.

The Contractor shall provide products and services under this agreement consistent with the City’s Environmental Policy and any environmental performance goals identified by the agency for whom the contractor is performing work.

B.11.a Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Guidance

The City defines Environmentally Preferable products and services as those having a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products and services serving the same purpose. The City’s EPP evaluation may extend to materials of manufacture, packaging, transport, recycled content, energy consumption, local recyclability, waste disposal, and other factors.

Vendors are encouraged to describe any EPP attributes of the goods or services they offer to the City. Applicable EPP considerations may factor in product and service evaluations.

[append here the customized EPP attributes list for each solicitation]

B.12 VENDOR QUESTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

Your proposal must specifically address each of the questions/issues that are listed below. The quality and detail of your responses will figure significantly in the overall evaluation of your proposal. Vendors are encouraged to give examples and provide additional information to support your compliance on each point. To standardize the format of all proposals, vendors are required to respond to all questions in the order given and to list the item number and restate the question prior to giving their answer.

1. General Vendor Summary: Describe in detailed response the following:

a. Proposing Vendor Name

b. Headquarters and the designated location(s) of where the City’s printing will take place

c. How many years has Proposing Vendor been in business?

d. How many employees does Proposing Vendor employ overall?

e. How many employees does the Proposing Vendor employ at the designated printing location(s) for the City’s needs?

2. Project Personnel: Identify specific personnel who will be assigned to the engagement and the role/discipline of each. Briefly discuss why this individual(s) is/are uniquely qualified to be assigned to this engagement. Include in response, who the designated Account Rep/Project Lead for assignments, billing and general contract administration will be for the City’s account and who their back-up is when https://denvergov.org/files/assets/public/v/2/public-health-and-environment/documents/eq/2024-denver-environmental-policy.pdf https://denvergov.org/files/assets/public/v/2/public-health-and-environment/documents/eq/2024-denver-environmental-policy.pdf they are not available. These individuals should have at least two years of experience with similar accounts or with municipalities in general.

a. Where Account Rep/Project Lead is located?

b. Proposing Vendors may provide resumes for personnel as an appendix as additional information.

3. References:

a. Provide at least three but no more than five municipality entities that the Proposing Vendor has provided printing services for in the past five years. For these references, please start with the largest printing instance (number of prints in a single job) for a municipality. With this information, list the following items:

i. Name of the municipality, including current contact information

ii. The number of items that were printed for each municipality by the Proposing Vendor for each reference

1. Was this number from one printing location or was it parsed/farmed out to multiple printing locations owned or sub-contracted by the Proposing Vendor?

iii. (Answer only if applicable) If the Proposing Vendor has not performed these services for other municipalities, but has the capability to adhere to all of the scope and work listed in Section B, provide explicit details within the response to question number 4 below and include up to five additional firms that the Proposing Vendor has provided printing services for in the past five years, including the largest print run for each.

4. Process Approach and Understanding:

a. How will service be provided to the City’s requesting Agencies when a defined/requested need is presented to the Proposing Vendor? Provide a summary for each of the touch points, and how you will process/perform each point, including but not limited to:

i. Quoting

ii. Order submission (assume order is placed by Account Representative)

iii. Proofing

iv. Print Run

v. Delivery to a City location

vi. Invoicing

vii. Include any additional touch points in the process not listed by the City above.

5. Experience – General and Specific:

a. What is your experience with various types of rush orders when a requesting client has requested a rush order? Please describe at least one, but no more than three, occurrences of when the Proposing Vendor has been asked by a client to perform this type of work.

i. Include in description at least the following items:

1. Name of the client

2. How this was determined to be a “rush” order and what the timeframe for completion was, including the number of days in advance the Proposing Vendor was assigned the project

3. What the project was for

4. The quantity of the project

5. Did you have to become flexible with its own internal staff and other clients’ requested work?

6. What the outcome of the project was

a. Including what complexities or hurdles, if any, you had to face when completing the project

6. Capacity: The following questions will be focused on the Proposing Vendor’s total printing capacity, as the City does have larger quantities that require the capacity.

a. For general printing equipment and capacity, please answer the following:

i. How many machines do you have available at one time for one job?

ii. What is your equipment capacity and speed?

1. Include for printing the number of prints per hour for:

a. Letter size paper front only

b. Letter size paper front and back

c. Legal size paper front and back

iii. What are the total printing hours for 100,000 double sided statements in legal sized paper?

b. How many separate printing jobs has your print shop handled at any one time for all customers?

i. How many of the printing jobs from one single customer have you handled at any one given time?

c. What is the typical lead time needed by the Proposing Vendor to order enough paper stock for larger orders placed for Citywide printing needs (quantities greater than 100,000)?

i. What is the quantity of 30% and 100% PCW you keep on hand for the following sizes:

1. Letter size

2. Legal size

3. 11” x 17”

7. Quality Control: Provide a detailed description of the Proposing Vendor’s quality control program.

a. Describe your quality control measures that ensure that each print job is printed free of error and matches the approve proof.

b. Describe your quality control measures for paper shipping and storage to ensure that paper quality is maintained in varying environmental conditions

c. Describe a time that a significant error occurred in production (be specific)

i. What was the error that was discovered?

ii. How was the error discovered and how far into production was it detected?

iii. How was the error resolved with that client?

d. Describe a time that a significant error occurred post production and delivery to the client (be specific)

i. What was the error that was discovered?

ii. How did the client contact your firm? Designated Account Rep? General customer service line?

iii. What were the steps that that were taken to correct the error once you had been notified by the client?

iv. How was the error resolved with that client?

e. Has the Proposing Vendor undergone an operational audit in the past five (5) years? If yes, describe the scope of the audit and any findings.

i. Include any corrective actions, the viability of these actions, and monitoring activities

f. Does the Proposing Vendor experience any…