24-54.docx

INVITATION FOR BIDS

OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT & CONTRACTS

1. INSTRUCTIONS FOR BIDDERS

a. Sealed bids will be received in the Office of Procurement & Contracts, Mississippi State University, for the purchase of the items listed herein.

b. All bids must be received in the Office of Procurement & Contracts on or before the bid opening time and date listed herein. Delivery of bids must be during normal working hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST, except on weekends and holidays when no delivery is possible.

c. Bidders shall submit their bids either electronically or in a sealed envelope. To submit electronically, follow the instructions below. Bids CANNOT be emailed.

i. Sealed bids should include the bid number on the face of the envelope as well as the bidders’ name and address. Bids should be sent to: 245 Barr Avenue, 610 McArthur Hall, Mississippi State, MS 39762.

ii. At this time we only accept non-ITS bids electronically. For electronic submission of bids, go to: portal.magic.ms.gov.

and use the RFX number on the next page as your reference number.

d. All questions regarding this bid should be directed to the Office of Procurement & Contracts at 662-325-2550.

2. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

a. All bids should be bid “FOB Destination”

b. Bidders must comply with all rules, regulations, and statutes relating to purchasing in the State of Mississippi, in addition to the requirements on this form. General Bid Terms and Conditions can be found here: https://www.procurement.msstate.edu/procurement/bids/Bid_General_Terms_May_2019_V2.pdf

c. Any contract resulting from this Invitation for Bid shall be in substantial compliance with Mississippi State University’s Standard Contract Addendum: https://www.procurement.msstate.edu/contracts/standardaddendum.pdf Bid Number/RFX Number: 24-54/RFX #3160006630 Opening Date: June 12, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.

Description: 2024 MSU Enrollment Marketing Printing Job Vendor Name: ______________________________________________________ Vendor Address: _____________________________________________________ Telephone Number: __________________________________________________ Days the Offer is Firm: ________________________________________________ Authorized Signature: ________________________________________________ Name: _____________________________________________________________ Title: ______________________________________________________________

2024 MSU Enrollment Marketing Printing Job Requirements (Updated 5.23.2024):

1. No partial bids, each printed piece must be included in overall bid total. Partial bids will not be considered. Vendors must send a spreadsheet file (via physical and digital) of overall total with their completed bid.

2. No brokers – the respondent of this bid must be the company doing the work.

3. If the respondent of this bid has not previously provided printing services to the Office of Admissions & Scholarships at Mississippi State University, three references must be provided (university/company name and contact information). The references must be of similar size and scope to this job.

4. Within 72 hours of receipt of printer-ready files furnished by Raborn Media, one set of digital proofs and one set of Epson proofs must be provided to both the Assistant Director of Enrollment Marketing at Mississippi State University and to the Project Manager at Raborn Media. If changes or color adjustments are required, the second set of proofs (digital and Epson) must be provided to both entities (prior to printing) within 36 hours of receiving said changes. The Office of Admissions and Scholarships will not be responsible for mailing or returning physical proofs to the printer. If color matching is needed based on approved proof, the printer should print two, mail one, and keep one for color matching purposes.

5. At a minimum, one staff member of the Enrollment Marketing team at MSU will be on-site for press checks. One additional person may also be on-site for press checks; therefore, a minimum of a 36-hour notice must be provided before press runs begin.

6. No printing will be outsourced to another facility. All printing must take place at one site – not to exceed a 200-mile radius of Starkville, MS.

7. Finished products must be scratch-resistant, have no smearing or potential for the smearing of printed areas in future mailing processes, and match the Mississippi State University maroon consistently across pieces. All pieces will be submitted in CMYK color formats, and the printer must match MSU color standards in CMYK (maroon and grey colors). All pieces will have bleeds as well as multiple colors on both sides of their pages. Please provide three samples of similar printing work along with the bid.

8. All specs for printing have been listed by piece in the accompanying spreadsheet, MSU Print Bid for 2024-2025. The two tabs in the accompanying spreadsheet identify which pieces will be printed, fulfilled, and mailed by the bidding vendor (tab: Pieces to print and fulfill). The second tab identifies which pieces will be printed and shipped to Mail Managers (tab: Pieces to print and ship to MM).

9. MSU Print Bid for 2024-2025 (tab: Pieces to print and fulfill) includes a price per unit system up to a maximum amount. The respondent of this bid is required to provide a price per unit (refer to column E in the first tab) bid and can include a range of prices if the cost varies based on the amount printed (EX: price per unit for 100,000-110,000 postcards is $.27 per unit and 110,000-120,000 postcards is $.26 per unit).

10. MSU will be charged based on the number of pieces printed/mailed and NOT the maximum range unless we print up to that amount for pieces listed on the spreadsheet’s first tab.

11. The respondent of this bid is in charge of printing, fulfilling, and mailing all materials listed in the first tab of the accompanying spreadsheet, whether they have their own mailing fulfillment center or partner with another mail house. Refer to the accompanying spreadsheet’s first tab (column F) to determine how many times each piece will be printed/mailed. The pieces that will be mailed more than once need to be printed at different times due to not knowing the number within the population.

12. Print-ready files will be submitted to the printer 21 days before the mailing date along with the mailing recipient list. The printer is required to print, fulfill, sort, and mail within that 21-day period to meet MSU’s deadline for all per-unit mailings in the accompanying spreadsheets’ first tab.

13. All pieces that are being mailed to Mail Managers (specs in accompanying spreadsheet on tab two) located at 423 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive East, Starkville, MS 39759, will be completed in two print runs. The printer will receive files for the first print run by June 21, 2024. (Some flexibility on the due date will be given if MSU does not provide final files for pieces by the above dates, but most files will be provided by then.) Mail Managers must receive all material no later than July 22, 2024. The printer will receive files for the second print run by August 23, 2024. Mail Managers must receive all material no later than September 23, 2024.

14. Raborn Media and/or MSU will furnish print-ready files. If unavoidable, it may be necessary for the printer to purchase fonts in order to open files successfully and legally (per copyrights). Most fonts will be available from Adobe or provided by MSU.

15. All items must be shipped boxed/bulk with quantities and the name of the item labeled on the exterior of each box, with a sample of each item taped to the exterior of each box. Certain pieces (specified on the spreadsheet) should be boxed in quantities in order for the weight of each box to not exceed 35 pounds.

16. The final quote should also list any additional charges for color correction and/or shipping costs.

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