Hot Foil Machines RFI.pdf

BUREAU of ENGRAVING and PRINTING

Hot Foil Machine

Request for Information BEP-RFI- 2031ZA21B00015 Page 1 of 3

GENERAL INFORMATION:

This IS NOT a request for bids, quotes, or proposal. This is a sources sought announcement only.

The purpose of this notice is to conduct market research and obtain information from qualified sources. No award may be issued from this Request for Information Notice.

Interested parties of any size may submit a response to this notice.

NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME.

The North American Industries Classification System (NAICS) code for this project is:

323120, Support Activities for Printing.

This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the BEP and does not imply an intention or the opportunity to acquire funding to support current or future efforts. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the information submitted.

OVERVIEW:

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is issuing this Sources Sought Notification for Hot Foil Machines. Specifically, BEP is seeking input from industry to gain knowledge of current solutions to feed from stacks, ability to automatically register and apply patches, stripes or laminates onto currency sheets and report sheets processed on the press.

The BEP produces currency using sheets from 631 mm wide x 561 mm long up to 820mm wide x 700mm long and containing up to 50 banknotes per sheet. Banknotes consist of printed, applied and embedded features applied via multiple processes. One of the potential future processes for currency production will require a Hot Foil Machine.

DESIRED FEATURES AND BENEFITS:

The following represents BEP’s basic desired requirements for this technology:

Feed from stacks and apply onto currency sheets features via hot foil process, 1 or 2 features per note location, at speeds between 7,000 to 10,000 sheets per hour.

Include ability to apply patches, stripes or laminates onto currency sheets.

Include ability to automatically register the patches, stripes or laminates onto the sheets.

System shall have the ability to re-wind the backing material or to shred the backing material and any patches, stripes or laminate that has not been applied to the sheets. Shredding shall reduce the backing material and any feature to no larger than 1.5 mm x 16 mm in size.

Inspect the application of features onto sheets, validate the presence and position of the features, and sort sheets. Inspection shall have a resolution of no greater than

0.2 mm RGB.

Press shall have four (4) full stack deliveries, each configurable by the operator for the sheets to be delivered; two (2) configured for acceptable sheets, one (1)

Request for Information BEP-RFI- 2031ZA21B00015 Page 2 of 3 configured for sheets containing imperfections but reclaimable, and one (1) configured for sheets deemed not to be reclaimable

The system shall have the ability to track and report on the feeding, printing, inspection and delivery of sheets processed on the press. System shall communicate and interface with the BEP’s inventory and accountability systems.

The system shall have an automated data collection system to capture data on the system performance and inspection system, and record the data into an Oracle database.

RESPONSE INFORMATION:

Interested Parties whose products/systems possess the above characteristics are invited to submit the following information in a Capability Statement which includes the following:

1. The Sources Sought number

2. Company name, address, phone number, primary contact(s), email address, ALL applicable NAICS code(s), business size (i.e., small/large), company's socioeconomics

(i.e., woman-owned, HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, etc.) and DUNS

Number.

3. The name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a technical point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with a Government representative

4. Identification of any GSA schedule numbers and SIN categories

5. Brochures, technical manuals and drawings of the system, including;

a) System size, weight and utility requirements

b) Performance capability (sheets per hour processing rate, operational time, registration of features, etc.)

c) Sheet sizes capability (maximum and minimum)

d) Inspection capability (pixel size, tie-points per note, regions per note, special algorithms (streak, spot, etc.)

e) Measurement capability (sheet measurements, note measurements, print phase measurements, etc.)

f) Options or other capabilities offered, in addition to the basic RGB inspection, including IR or special sensors

g) Data and Image capture capability

6. Location of system(s) available for viewing;

7. Availability of warranty, training, and support services to include maintenance and operation (on-site, on-call, remote, etc.);

8. General manufacturing and delivery lead times;

9. Rough-Order-Magnitude (ROM) Cost estimate (for budgetary purposes only)

10. Information on how many products/systems have been delivered and a reference list of customers currently using these products/systems for similar applications; and

11. A statement of whether or not commercially developed/non-developmental items, components and equipment are currently in use to meet BEP's requirements.

Request for Information BEP-RFI- 2031ZA21B00015 Page 3 of 3

DUE DATE:

Interested Parties shall email their Capability Statement to wesley.rankins@bep.gov and

Ronnell.Leggett@bep.gov. File attachments shall be in Portable Document Format (PDF).

Telephone responses will NOT be accepted. Responses must be received no later than 14-

June, 2021, 5:00p.m. (EDT).

AT THIS TIME NO SOLICITATION EXISTS. (DO NOT REQUEST A COPY OF A

SOLICITATION). A FUTURE NOTICE MAY BE POSTED IF A SOLICITATION IS

RELEASED.

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any interested party responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Interested parties are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback with respect to any information submitted.

No Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation.

mailto:wesley.rankins@bep.gov