ITB-SH24-044 Printing of the City of Sterling Heights Magazine.pdf

Official bid specifications are available only at www.mitn.info.

INVITATION TO BID

ITB-SH24-044

The City of Sterling Heights, Michigan is accepting sealed bids for PRINTING OF THE

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS MAGAZINE until FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2024 AT 2:30

P.M. Please refer to the attached for instructions, specifications, and bid submission procedures.

Office of Purchasing 586-446-2740 http://www.mitn.info/

Official bid specifications are available only at www.mitn.info. Page 1 of 16

INVITATION TO BID

PRINTING OF THE CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS MAGAZINE

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS

40555 UTICA ROAD

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI 48313

CONTACT PERSON: ERIK SKURDA, PURCHASING MANAGER

PHONE: 586-446-2741, FAX: 586-276-4062, E-MAIL: shpurchasing@sterlingheights.gov

INDEX

I. GENERAL CONDITIONS

II. CHECK LIST FOR BIDDERS

III. BID SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

IV. SPECIFICATIONS

V. BID FORM

VI. EQUIPMENT LIST

VII. HOLD HARMLESS AND INDEMNITY

VIII. NON-IRAN LINKED BUSINESS CERTIFICATION

IX. REFERENCES

X. BID SUBMISSION LABEL

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I. GENERAL CONDITIONS

All information requested of the vendor shall be entered in the appropriate space on the form. Failure to do so may result in your bid being deemed non-responsive.

All information shall be entered in ink or typewritten. Mistakes may be crossed out and corrections inserted before submission of your bid. Corrections shall be initialed in ink by the person signing the bid. Corrections and/or modifications received after the closing time specified will not be accepted.

Time of delivery/installation shall be stated as the number of calendar days following receipt of the purchase order by the vendor to receipt of the goods or services by the City. Time of delivery/installation may be a consideration in the award.

Prices shall be stated in units of quantity specified in the bid document. In case of a discrepancy in computing the amount of the bid, the unit price shall govern. All quantities stated, unless indicated otherwise, are estimates and the City reserves the right to increase or decrease the quantity at the unit price bid as best fits its needs.

All prices will be bid F.O.B. Destination and remain in effect for at least 90 days to allow for approval by City Council. The successful bidder's prices will remain firm through the length of the contract as designated within these bid specifications.

Bids shall include all charges for delivery, packing, crating, etc. unless otherwise stated in the bid document. General delivery hours are 7:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Monday – Friday. The City is not to be held responsible for, and will not pay, any fuel surcharges during the term of the contract. Unit prices bid shall include delivery.

Prices will be considered net if no cash discount is shown.

All bids shall be signed by an authorized officer or employee of the bidder.

Bid Submission Options: Please refer to Section III Bid Submission Instructions for directions on submitting a bid electronically. Hard paper copy, email or fax submission of bids / proposals is not an option.

To be considered, your bid must be submitted to the City as instructed prior to the Date and Time specified. No late bids will be accepted. Bids may be withdrawn by a bidder, or authorized representative, provided their identity is made known and an email, phone call or fax is made to the City and the City can verify via return email or phone call the identity of the bidder and the intention to withdraw the bid, and if withdrawal is made prior to the stated bid deadline. On the mitn.info portal, electronic bids may be withdrawn by placing the bid into “storage” through the Edit option prior to the stated bid deadline.

The City of Sterling Heights reserves the right to postpone the bid opening for its own convenience.

Municipalities are exempt from Michigan State Sales and Federal Excise taxes. Do not include such taxes in your bid price. The City will furnish the successful contractor with tax exemption certificates when requested. The following exception shall apply to installation

Official bid specifications are available only at www.mitn.info. Page 3 of 16 projects. When sales tax is charged to the successful contractor for materials to be installed during the project, that cost shall be included in the bid cost and not charged as a separate item. The City is not tax exempt in this case and cannot issue an exemption certificate. If you are unfamiliar with your sales and use tax obligations, please contact the Michigan Department of Treasury for directions, including any applicable Revenue Administrative Bulletins (i.e. 1999-2 and any subsequent replacements / updates).

The City's normal payment terms are 30 days in connection with any cash discounts specified on this bid. Time will be computed from the date of complete delivery of supplies or equipment as specified, or from the date correct invoices are received in the City's Finance Department, if the latter date is later than the date of delivery.

The City reserves the right: (1) To award bids received on the basis of individual items, or groups of items, or on the entire list of items, (2) To reject any or all bids, or any part thereof,

(3) To waive any irregularity in the bids, (4) To accept the bid that is in the best interest of the City, (5) To accept an alternate to the product or service being bid out if deemed equivalent in the sole discretion of the city, except where alternates are prohibited by the terms of the invitation to bid (6) To reduce or eliminate this purchase without prior notice,

(7) To split the award to realize the greatest cost savings, (8) To issue Post-Bid Addendums to clarify specifications, modify specifications, or request additional information from the bidders, including pricing, and/or contract terms (9) To require one or more selected bidders to perform the requested service on a trial basis, at the unit prices bid, as evidence of a bidders ability to satisfactorily perform the requested service, prior to a formal recommendation and approval by City Administration / City Council.

This invitation to bid and the acceptance of a bid by the City is not a contract for the purchase of services or products. The City will issue a Purchase Order, which will define, make reference to, and incorporate the bid specifications and the pricing bid as accepted by the City. Winning bidder is not to commence with any service or product order without receiving a Purchase Order signed by the Purchasing Manager. Unless otherwise stated, all contracts for services are subject to additions, reductions and/or termination at the sole discretion of the City and without prior notice by the City. Please forward any questions you may have regarding this solicitation to the Purchasing Manager via email at shpurchasing@sterlingheights.gov.

Bid prices submitted by the successful bidder should remain firm for the length of the contract from date of award by City Council.

ALL BIDS MUST INCLUDE MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS FOR MATERIALS AS

REQUIRED BY M.I.O.S.H.A.

The City of Sterling Heights is now part of an organization called the Michigan Inter-governmental Trade Network (MITN), a group of agencies that joined forces to create a Regional Bid Notification System to notify companies of new bid opportunities. All bids, quotations and proposals are now being posted online. All vendors are encouraged to visit http://www.mitn.info in order to register their company and gain access to new bids and proposals. If you do not have internet access, please call 1-800-835-4603 to speak to a representative at BidNet®, the technical support group that handles the MITN system.

mailto:shpurchasing@sterlingheights.gov

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III. CHECK LIST FOR BIDDERS

All information required by the terms of the bid documents must be furnished.

MISTAKES OR OMISSIONS CAN RESULT IN THE REJECTION OF YOUR BID.

Important items for you to check are included in, but not limited to, those listed below. This checklist is furnished only to assist you in submitting a proper bid.

_____ Is your bid properly signed? (refer to bid documents)

_____ If required, have you entered a unit price or lump sum for each bid item?

_____ Are decimals in unit price in the proper places? Are your figures legible?

_____ Are any bid bonds or bid deposits, if required, included in your bid package? Include a copy of any bid bond or a copy of a certified check to show compliance with this requirement.

_____ Did you submit your original bid form (no additional copies are required)?

PLEASE DO NOT RETURN COPIES OF OUR

SPECIFICATIONS/INSTRUCTIONS. RETURN ONLY THE FORMS

REQUIRING YOUR COMPLETION (Pages 10-16).

_____ Did you complete and include the Equipment List, Hold Harmless, Non-

Iran Linked Business Certification, and References forms?

_____ Bid Submission – Bids are to be submitted via the mitn.info bid submittal system. Bids submitted by email, fax, hard copy drop off, US Mail and delivery service are not options at this time. Please use the bid submission label provided (See section X) as the cover page of your submittal via mitn.info. Include in your bid submittal package all required forms / documents, but please do not include the specifications and instructions.

Return only the forms requiring completion.

_____ Did you check the MITN website (or email the Purchasing Department) for any addendums which may have been posted? Addendums may be posted at any time.

_____ Will your bid arrive on time? Late bids will not be considered. Bids must be received by the City via mitn.info no later than 2:30 p.m. by the date specified.

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III. BID SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Please read these instructions carefully. Your bid / proposal may be deemed non-responsive if it is not submitted as detailed below. Bids / proposals are considered received when downloaded into the mitn.info system before the submission deadline date and time, late bids / proposals will not be considered.

Bid / Proposal Submission Deadline: FRIDAY, December 20, 2024 before 2:30 PM.

Electronic Bid Submission via the MITN system as described below is the only bid submittal option.

Call the Purchasing Office at 586-446-2740 if you have any questions and we will assist.

Electronic Bid Submission Only The vendor / Contractor will need to complete, scan and upload your entire bid package through the MITN system. All electronic bids / proposals will be submitted directly into a secured MITN “vault” that cannot be opened until the bid / proposal submission deadline date and time.

Vendor / Contractor Submittal Procedure:

Login to the MITN website using your previously registered credentials at http://www.mitn.info.

Locate and enter the Sterling Heights Solicitation you have prepared a bid for.

Click on the “Place Bid” button on the upper right side of the page.

In the “Place a Bid” window, select “Place a new Bid” or “Place a No Bid”

(Depending on your response). Select the “Continue” button .

On the next page, in the “Documents” tab, select “Add File” or “Import

Zip file” (Depending on your file type). Complete all required actions and click the “Next” button.

This will bring you to the “Pricing” tab. There you will see a reminder to “Don’t forget to attach your pricing in the ‘Documents’ section”. Select the “Next” button.

On the following screen, in the “Exceptions” section, select “No” or “Yes” (depending on your response). In the “Bidder Compliance & Authentication” section, you will enter your full name and password where prompted. Click the “Submit Bid” button.

In the “Bid Submission Confirmation” window, select “No” or “Yes” (depending on your response).

Finally, the next screen will confirm your bid submission. Here you will receive a confirmation number and will be able to download a PDF version of the confirmation for your records.

Important: The mitn.info system locks at 2:30 pm (Sterling Heights, Michigan Time) on the due date, and no bids / proposals can be downloaded after that time. No exceptions.

Bids / proposals must be downloaded and accepted by the mitn.info downloading portal before 2:30 pm. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your bid / proposal, internet connections, computer systems failures on the submitter’s part could cause a bid /

Official bid specifications are available only at www.mitn.info. Page 6 of 16 proposal to be denied from downloading into mitn.info system. The system locks at 2:30

pm. Late bids / proposals will not be considered.

If you have questions with the electronic bid submission procedures, please contact the MITN Vendor Support Department at (800) 835-4603, option #2 or email:

e-procurementsupport@bidnet.com

The City of Sterling Heights officially distributes bid and RFP documents through the Michigan Inter-governmental Trade Network (MITN). Copies of bid and RFP documents obtained from any other source are not considered official copies. Bids or notification of bids issued by members of MITN are to be posted, in whole or in part, ONLY on the MITN system. Any other use is prohibited. Only those vendors who obtain bid documents from the MITN system are guaranteed access to receive addendum information, if such information is issued. The City of Sterling Heights cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information not obtained from the MITN website and is not responsible for any errors contained by information received from alternate sources.

The City reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to allow a bidder to resubmit a copy of a bid that was otherwise submitted via the mitn.info system before the bid due date and time, when the bid document submitted via the mitn.info system is corrupt or otherwise not readable / downloadable by the City, and when in the opinion of the City, the fault was not that of the bidder.

If you received this document from a source other than the sources indicated, please notify us. It is recommended that all vendors register on the MITN website at www.mitn.info to obtain an official copy. All future bids, proposals, quotes and any addenda and tabulations will be posted on the MITN website.

BID BOND SUBMITTAL: Please refer to the specifications and forms for bid bond requirements and additional information. When bid bonds are required, all bidders must submit a photocopy of the Bid Bond (surety, cashier check, certified check) as part of the electronic bid submission. The photocopy must be of sufficient resolution to show a valid stamp, seal, signatures, names, dates, etc. The original Bid Bond must be provided upon request of the City. Failure to submit the original Bid Bond, upon request by the City, may result in the bid being deemed unresponsive and the bid rejected without further evaluation.

PUBLIC BID OPENING: A public bid opening will be conducted via conference call, 30 minutes after the above posted due date and time, all interested participants must call 586-446-2663, (enter Conference ID Code 4462740 when prompted) 30 minutes after the date / time of the bid / proposal due date / deadline listed. A Purchasing Department representative will read the bids / name of firms submitting proposals as they are downloaded and made available. Please be patient as the process may take a few minutes before a representative is on the line to moderate the bid / proposal opening.

mailto:e-procurementsupport@bidnet.com

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IV. SPECIFICATIONS

The City of Sterling Heights is seeking bids for the production/printing of its tri-annual publication entitled the “Sterling Heights Magazine”. Included in this bid are two (2) paper choices: one (1) specified and one (1) alternate. Three (3) magazines to be published per each year: Spring / Summer, Fall and Winter. The city reserves the right to reduce the number of issues printed in this bid based on changes to the publishing schedule.

Please see the bid specifications as follows:

Year 1 Pricing: All bidders must bid Year 1 pricing at a minimum. Price adjustments will be allowed during the first year. Due to the unstable paper market, if paper products costs increase or decrease from bid amounts, an adjustment may be necessary. Written documentation must be provided of paper product cost for each edition. Written documentation must include prior edition paper costs and new edition paper costs. Only adjustments of the paper cost to the vendor will be allowed. No mark up on the increase/decrease will be allowed.

Please include current paper cost in your bid for estimated product needed for the first printing. If costs fluctuation from the time of bidding to the time of the first edition, a price adjustment may be necessary.

Price adjustments will not exceed +/-10% of bid price.

Specifications also seek pricing for an option of an extra eight (8) text pages that could be added/deleted in each edition printing.

Specifications include an option for four (4) colors CMYK on all pages (including text pages).

Specifications include creating a Web-friendly and interactive Flipbook of the entire completed magazine for inclusion on the City’s website. Per unit pricing is also being requested for the conversion of other city provided PDF documents to interactive flipbooks.

Vendor shall not be permitted to assign or transfer this Contract to another party, company, partnership, corporation, or sublet any part of the work embraced by it without specific consent and approval in writing by the City Designate of Sterling Heights

Any exceptions or deviations from any specifications must be noted and included with your bid.

Include with your bid a complete mock-up of the magazine based on samples of each paper on which you are submitting pricing. Each mock-up shall be labeled with the option letter, weight, type of paper and company name.

Quantity: 53,500 magazines per printing

Format: Booklet

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Page Size: 8.5" x 11" (17" x 11" full sheet size, 1/2 folded) Stitched and trimmed to a finish size of at least 8.125" x 10.375" (or larger) for full bleed purposes

Pages: 68 total pages: Four (4) cover pages and sixty-four (64) text pages

Please provide cost of additional text pages in eight (8) page increments

Paper: Option A) 70# Gloss Text #3 enamel/gloss (4 pages) for magazine cover 35# Offset Newsprint (64 internal pages)

Option B) Alternate Stocks (Please keep alternate quality similar to specified papers in regard to weight and brightness of stock) If alternate stock is proposed a sample will be requested subsequent to the bid opening.

Ink: Cover pages: Four (4) color (CMYK)

Text pages: Two (2) colors (Black and PMS)

Option for Text pages: Four (4) colors (CMYK)

Pre-Press: Camera-ready copy via FTP. Vendor must produce PDF proof.

Magazine to be supplied to printer in, InDesign CS3 for Macintosh or PDF files.

Post Press: Vendor MUST supply an electronic copy of assembled proofed magazine

(with cover) suitable for Web viewing/downloading on the City’s Web site.

Over/Underruns:

There shall be zero (0) overruns, and zero (0) underruns. Overruns will not be approved for payment, unless the overruns were requested by the City prior to printing. Costs for unrequested overruns will be the obligation of the Vendor.

The Vendor shall be responsible for underruns and shall forfeit an amount equivalent to the percentage of cost for "additional publication copies," plus 1% of the total newsletter bid price for the term of the approved bid.

Post Office Mailing/Bundling:

Newsletters are to be bundled according to the U.S. Post Office specifications for routes within the City of Sterling Heights Post Office (Residential Customers Only).

NOTE: It is the obligation of the Vendor to acquire the route quantities including carrier route box section from the Sterling Heights Post Office for each mailing period.

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Delivery: The printed newsletter in quantities required by the Sterling Heights Post Office delivery routes is to be delivered to the Sterling Heights Post Office, no later than ten business days after initial art has been submitted to the Vendor by the designee of the City. The remaining copies are to be delivered to the Community Relations Department. The Vendor shall forfeit $200.00 per day calendar day past the date the printed newsletter is due to the Post Office. The amount shall be reduced at a comparable rate if a delay is the direct result of action(s) of the City, i.e. copy submitted later than specified.

Please indicate your estimated turn-around time from the date art is received for pre-press to delivery to the Post Office on the Bid Form.

Schedule: To be determined based on pre-press production schedules.

See proposed schedule below.

PROPOSED MAGAZINE SCHEDULES

Magazine Magazine Due to Printer Magazine Due to Post Office

Spring/Summer 2025

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Friday, March 28, 2025

Fall 2025

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Friday, August 8, 2025

Winter 2025/2026

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025

Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

* ALL dates are subject to change

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V. BID FORM PAGE 1 OF 2

The undersigned hereby declares that the instructions and specifications have been carefully examined and will print the CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS MAGAZINE will be printed for the prices set forth in this bid. It is understood and agreed that all bids are F.O.B.

DESTINATION, that all bid prices shall remain in effect for at least ninety (90) days from the date of the bid opening to allow for the award of the contract. Pricing will remain firm for the first year, however price adjustments may be warranted with proper documentation of paper costs. Price adjustments not to exceed +/-10% of bid price. Three (3) magazines will be published in each year (Spring / Summer, Fall and Winter). The city reserves the right to reduce the number of issues printed in this bid based on changes to the publishing schedule.

All quantities indicated are estimated amounts for one (1) year and may vary during the course of the contract. The estimated quantities are used for assisting in the determination of the lowest responsible bidder. It is the intent of the City to purchase the services in the quantity and frequency as listed in this bid, however, the City reserves the right to reduce or eliminate this purchase without prior notice.

I hereby state that I have read, understand and agree to be bound by all the terms of this bid document. The undersigned certifies that he has downloaded all documents/addendums associated with this bid from the MITN website.

Complete Bid Form page 2 for bid pricing.

Indicate any additional charges:

Indicate your turn-around time after receipt of art:

Please list below any exceptions to the bid specifications: ________________________

Company

Address

City/State/Zip

Representative/Title

Telephone/Fax

Terms

E-Mail Address/Website

Signature/Date

V. BID FORM (CONT’D) Page 2 of 2

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Page Size: 8.5" x 11" (17" x 11" full sheet size, 1/2 folded) Stitched and trimmed to a finish size of at least 8.125" x 10.375" (or larger) for full bleed purposes. Camera-ready copy via CD-R. Vendor must produce silver print and color key. Please provide current paper costs used for bid pricing.

Year 1 Unit (per 53,500)

Yearly (unit x 3)

Add'l lots of 1,000

Add'l text pages*

A: 70# Gloss Text #3 enamel/gloss (4 pages) for magazine cover)

35# Offset Newsprint (64 internal pages)

B: Alternate Stocks $__________ $__________ $__________ $__________

C. City Option: Four (4) Color CMYK on all pages, including text pages

D: Additional interactive Flip-book creation $__________ $__________ $__________ $__________

*Unit cost for each additional eight (8) page internal page increase, per unit run of 53,500 pieces. A pro-rated cost would be added to the unit price for any additional lots of 1,000 pieces requested by the City.

Company

This form must be completed and returned with your bid.

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VI. EQUIPMENT LISTING

List equipment (type, condition, year, owned, leased, borrowed, etc.) to be used in performance of the contract if so awarded. If insufficient space below, list separately and attach to your bid.

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VII. HOLD HARMLESS AND INDEMNITY

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the contractor expressly agrees to indemnify and hold the City of Sterling Heights (City), its elected and appointed officials, employees and volunteer and others working on behalf of the City, harmless from and against all loss, cost, expense, damage, liability or claims, whether groundless or not, arising out of the bodily injury, sickness or disease (including death resulting at any time therefrom) which may be sustained or claimed by any person or persons, or the damage or destruction of any property, including the loss of use thereof, based on any act or omission, negligent or otherwise, of contractor or anyone acting in its behalf in connection with or incident to this contract or the work to be performed hereunder, except that the contractor shall not be responsible to the City on indemnity for damages caused by or resulting from the City's sole negligence; and the Contractor shall, at its own cost and expense, defend any such claim and any suit, action, or proceeding which may be commenced hereunder, and the Contractor shall pay any and all judgments which may be recovered in any such suit, action or proceeding, and any and all expense, including, but not limited to, costs, attorneys' fees and settlement expenses which may be incurred therein.

PLEASE PRINT:

Company Name

Authorized Representative

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VIII. NON-IRAN LINKED BUSINESS CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to Michigan law before accepting any bid or proposal or entering into any contract for goods and services with any prospective Vendor, the Vendor must certify that it is not an "Iran Linked Business".

By signing below, I certify and agree on behalf of myself and the company submitting this proposal the following: (1) that I am duly authorized to legally bind the company submitting this proposal; and (2) that the company submitting this proposal is not an "Iran Linked Business," as that term is defined in Section 2(e) of the Iran Economic Sanctions Act, being Michigan Public Act No. 517 of 2012; and (3) That I and the company submitting this proposal will immediately comply with any further certifications or information submissions requested by the City in this regard."

PLEASE PRINT:

Company Name

Authorized Representative

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IX. REFERENCES

List at least three references with whom you have had similar contracts during the past three years. Include letters of reference when available.

1. Company or City

Contact Name

Telephone Number

E-mail

2. Company or City

3. Company or City

Bidder’s Signature Date

Company

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X. BID SUBMISSION LABEL

Please complete and affix scanned copy as cover page to Bid submission.

Bid Document Cover Page From:

Company Name: ______________________________________________ Contact Person: ______________________________________________ Phone Number: ______________________________________________

Solicitation Title:

PRINTING OF THE CITY OF STERLING

HEIGHTS MAGAZINE

Solicitation Number:

ITB-SH24-044

Due Date: DECEMBER 20, 2024 Time: 2:30 p.m.

Submit to:

City of Sterling Heights Office of Purchasing

Via the following submittal method:

Electronic: mitn.info