RFQ26006465 Solicitation Specifications.pdf

2021-1.B Page 1 of 8 Revised 01/17/2023

RFQ26006465

AGENCY SOLICITATION SPECIFICATIONS

THERMAL SECURITY VALIDATION STICKERS – CORRECTIONAL INDUSTRIES

SECTION A. BACKGROUND

The mission of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is to contribute to public safety by maintaining a balanced correctional system of institutional programs that provide a range of custodial options, supervision, and rehabilitative services to facilitate successful offender reentry into the community upon release.

Rhode Island is one of six states that have a unified corrections system, incorporating the jail and state prison into one Department This centralized, comprehensive correctional system for men and women is located on the Pastore Complex in Cranston, Rhode Island. There are approximately 2,300 sentenced and awaiting trial incarcerated individuals housed in six facilities on a one-mile square complex. Facilities include the State's only jail for pretrial detainees, four sentenced male facilities and one for incarcerated women.

RIDOC is committed to making available, to the greatest extent possible, programs and services that offer offenders the opportunity to improve their education, health, interpersonal and vocational skills, and acceptance of responsibility for their past criminal behavior.

Inmates working in this shop will have the opportunity to gain skills similar to those learned from working in a warehouse or factory. The inmates operate the machinery, conduct product inspections, clean, inspect and repair machinery thereby gaining real world skills of teamwork, listening to, and respecting a supervisor, responsibility, and the importance of hard work.

SECTION B: SCOPE OF WORK AND REQUIREMENTS

The Rhode Island Department of Corrections is issuing this Request for Quotes with the purpose of selecting a qualified bidder for purchase, delivery on validation stickers.

This specification shall cover the requirements for registration receipt forms with thermal transfer printable retroreflective stickers, printers as well as other performance testing and support services. These preprinted forms with tipped retroreflective stickers containing customer verifiable directional security marks may be used as instruments of vehicle registration and other types of validation. The retroreflective stickers shall be manufactured from a special enclosed lens sheeting with an integral, directional and counterfeit-proof security mark.

Description A registration receipt form shall consist of a thermal transfer printable surface. This form will also contain a thermal transfer receptive validation sticker that may be detached from the form after printing for placement on a license plate of a vehicle.

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The retroreflective (hereafter referred to as “reflective”) stickers shall consist of lens elements enclosed within a transparent resin and shall have a single adhesive layer. This adhesive layer assures maximum adhesion to the license plate.

The stickers shall display protective custom, directional security marks that are visible only at a specific viewing position and are extremely difficult to counterfeit. These security marks shall facilitate visual verification of authenticity.

The reflective stickers shall have a smooth, weather resistant surface and be receptive to a Validation Printing Matched Component Printing System. The print shall be solvent resistant and pass requirements outlined in Appendix C. The surface shall enable high quality imaging when processed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Pre-qualification To verify proven experience, vendors must have existing contracts in at least three (3) other jurisdictions with thermal transfer motor vehicle validation sticker printing systems similar to the requirements contained in this specification. References and contact information for those other jurisdictions shall be submitted in the response to this RFQ. Vendors shall be required to produce sample stickers on cards as required in this RFQ. Failure to provide the required samples will result in disqualification of the bidder.

Prospective contractors who desire to prequalify stickers governed by this specification should submit technical data exhibiting characteristics and processing parameters of the stickers, adhesives and equipment systems for the production of completed validation stickers. If a review of the technical data indicates that the proposed materials and comply with the requirements of this specification, the prospective bidder shall be notified.

The successful Vendor shall be required to provide technical data and performance history to show that the materials, equipment and services proposed can be successfully used for the license plate validation sticker issue of a sovereign state. At a minimum, the successful Vendor must provide samples and performance data on imaged stickers after 2000 hours, of unprotected exposure as stated in ASTM G155 Cycle 1. The performance data must have been obtained using samples made from the same sheeting and ribbon as being proposed by the Vendor.

Finished stickers, including colors and printing, shall remain durable and shall provide a compatible surface for direct application of additional annual validation stickers of the same material.

Form Design The information required on the regular issue form is shown in Appendix A. Information on the form will be printed in black. The Vendor will use a blank form and print all the fixed information at the same time the forms and stickers are printed with the variable information.

The State reserves the right to amend the fixed or variable information to be printed on the form at any time prior to award of the contract. Changes of fixed and variable information will not be made once layout is approved for first year of contract. Changes can be made prior to ordering of second year consumables. If the State elects to change fixed or variable information during contract, the State is able to make changes independent of the Vendor.

(1) Legibility and Durability of Registration Form Printing The font size on the vehicle owner’s registration card must provide readily legible information for law enforcement personnel. The printed information on the registration card must remain legible for a minimum of two years of normal service use such as carrying the folded card in a wallet or billfold or in the vehicle glove compartment.

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(2) Mailing Requirements

To be determined by State and successful Vendor.

(3) Perforations The forms can have a continuous horizontal and/or vertical perforation for separating the form into individual forms.

(4) Bar Code The Vendor’s printing system must have the ability to print 3 of 9, 128 or PDF417 barcodes on forms. The system must also be capable of printing barcodes on the stickers, but the type of barcodes will be limited by the size of the sticker.

Validation Stickers

(1) Retroreflective Characteristics The unprinted reflective stickers shall have the following minimum coefficients of retroreflection expressed as candlepower per foot candle per square foot of material (candelas per lux per square meter). Test samples shall be oriented as specified in the manufacturer’s instructions. The coefficient of retroreflection shall be measured in accordance with ASTM E-810, “Standard Test Method for Coefficient of Retroreflection of Retroreflective Sheeting,” except that only one reading shall be taken at each position; the sample shall not be rotated 90 degrees.

Entrance Angle -4 Deg 40 Deg

Observation Angle .2 Deg

White 50 10

(2) Rainfall Performance The coefficient of retroreflection of the same stickers, totally wet by rain, shall not be less than 90% of the above values. Wet performance measurements shall be conducted at 0.2 degrees observation and -4 degrees entrance angle in accordance with ASTM-E-810 and using the test set-up described in FHWA Specification FP-96, the latest revision of AASHTO M 268 and ASTM D 4956.

(3) Adhesive and Protective Liner The pressure-sensitive adhesive shall form a durable bond to clean, dry reflective sheeting license plate surfaces or clean sticker surfaces of the same material. The minimum application temperature for the stickers is –10 deg., F (-23 deg. C).

The adhesive shall not exude from the stickers’ edges as to cause pieces to stick together during printing, handling or while packaged in shipment and distribution, as long as Vendors follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for printing, handling and shipping.

(4) Diffuse Daytime Color Through instrumental color testing, the diffuse daytime color of the reflective stickers before printing shall conform to color requirements as determined spectrophotometrically in accordance with ASTM E-1164 and E-1349, utilizing either 45/0 or 0/45 degree illumination/viewing conditions as described in E-1164 and E-1349 for retroreflective materials. Chromaticity and the Luminance Factor based on CIE tristimulus values for the 2° observer and Illuminant D65, shall be calculated in accordance with ASTM E-308. Colors, after processing or imaging, shall remain similar for Daytime and Nighttime viewing.

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Color Chromaticity Coordinate

Corner Points Luminance

Factor White X Y Y (%)

.303 .290 35 Min.

.365 .354 .340 .378 .278 .316

(5) Directional Security Marks

The stickers shall have protective Custom Designed directional security marks which are an integral part of the sheeting, and which make unauthorized sticker reproduction extremely difficult. To assure authenticity, the integral security marks used on a nominal 1 inch x 1.5 inch (2.54 cm x 3.81 cm) sticker shall be separated by no more than .75 inch (1.91 cm). The security marks shall be of a design mutually agreed upon by the state and the manufacturer and shall meet the following additional requirements:

• Stickers (25 inches - 64 cm - from the ground) properly applied to a vertically-mounted license plate shall provide effective visual verification by exhibiting the following:

o The marks shall be visible to a 6-ft. (180 cm) tall viewer directly facing the sticker’s surface at 30 degrees above the perpendicular to the sticker.

o The marks shall not be visible to the viewer standing 2 ft. (.6m) and 20 ft. (6.1m) from and directly facing the sticker;

o The marks shall not be visible when viewed at an angle greater than 45 degrees to the left or right side of the sticker.

• The security marks shall: a) be verifiable in diffuse daylight and by retroreflected light at night; b) be visible on a sticker when held at arm’s length and slightly tilted; c) not alter sticker colors or reduce sticker brightness below specified levels; and d) not be removable by chemical or physical means from the finished validation sticker, applied or unapplied, without irreparable damaged to the reflective system. These same marks shall not be visible when rotated 90 degrees from the first viewing position

(6) Colors

When required by the state for the purposes of designating vehicle class or year of registration, the reflective stickers may be colored, including but not limited to Lemon Yellow, White, Red, Green, Blue, Gold, Orange, Magenta, and Yellow validation stickers, as well as the Registration Card for Validation Stickers. In addition to meeting all of the serviceability aspects of this specification, each sticker color must be transparent. Adequate transparency is indicated when the sticker color appears similar under both diffused and retroreflected light. Appropriate characteristics such as color, reflectivity, and the like shall be compatible with the Contractor’s system. The State and successful Contractor shall determine specifics of the final format.

(7) Outdoor Durability

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Validation stickers processed according to manufacturer's instructions shall be considered to perform effectively for the service life specified if:

a. The stickers show no fading, cracking, blistering or peeling which will significantly impair the intended visibility or legibility of the sticker, and if

b. The clean stickers retain at least 50% of the specified minimum brightness values for the performance life of 2 years. Measurements shall be made in the unprinted areas of the stickers at 0.2 deg observation angle and -4 deg entrance angle. The Coefficients of Retroreflection shall be measured using the test method outlined in Appendix B.

(8) Processability

Die cut stickers shall be supplied affixed onto paper stock to the size and shape specified. Print quality of finished stickers shall meet commonly accepted industry standards to include machine-readable symbology, when required.

(9) Cleanability The finished stickers, when printed in accordance with the recommendations of the reflective sticker manufacturer, shall be readily cleansed of normal dirt accumulation by washing with water and mild detergent.

The surface shall also be sufficiently solvent-resistant to permit cleaning with solvents commonly used to clean vehicle finishes. Accordingly, the surface printed colorant shall show no loss of legibility after exposure to 25 cycle rubs (one cycle equals one rub back and forth) with a type cotton swab with gasoline, kerosene, mineral spirits, VM & P naphtha, 409 cleaner, window cleaners, and other common cleaners used to clean automotive paint finishes. See Appendix II for the test method.

(10) Wet Abrasion Resistance Finished stickers shall show good wet abrasion resistance after 1000 cycles of “Wet Scrub” testing.

No appreciable wear or loss of legibility shall be observed. See Appendix C for the test method.

(11) Packaging and Delivery All reflective stickers and other materials shall be packaged in accordance with accepted commercial standards. Improperly packaged stickers or stickers on forms can lead to performance and imaging problems. Contact sticker manufacturer if there are any questions regarding the packaging, shipping and storage of stickers or stickers on forms.

Comparable Alternatives Permitted This RFQ sets forth specific requirements for sticker materials to be used for the production of the state registration validation stickers. In order to obtain the most cost-effective products and services, vendors may submit proposals including services or products that are substantially comparable to the materials and services listed herein, so long as those products and services produce a product effectively equivalent to those in the specifications and currently in service.

Alternate printers shall be able to print at least 44 forms (cab cards) per minute and must use ribbons that have been tested and documented to be solvent resistant. Alternate stickers shall be comparable in the following areas: Reflective Characteristics in E (1), (2) and (4); Adhesion in E. (3) and (10);

Durability in E. (7) and (9); and Anti-Counterfeiting Measures in E. (5).

Any comparable alternative proposed shall include a description and assurances as to how the alternate materials will satisfy Reflective Characteristics in E.(1), (2) and (4); Adhesion in E. (3) and (10); Durability in E. (7) and (9); and Anti-Counterfeiting Measures in E. (5).

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Appendix B - Validation Sheeting Retroreflective Characteristics The coefficient of Retroreflection shall be measured on flat, clean, unprinted Validation Stickers and shall have the following minimum values at 0.2° observation angle, expressed as candlepower per foot-candle per square foot (candelas per lux per square meter) of material. Measurements shall be conducted in accordance with ASTM E-810, “Standard Test Method for Coefficient of Retroreflection of Retroreflective Sheeting”.

Integral Colored Sheeting Entrance Angles

-4° 40°

White 50 10 Blue 14 5

Lemon-Yellow 28 11

Appendix C - Testing of Thermal Transfer Printed Validation Stickers

These testing procedures cover the testing of thermal transfer printed validation stickers for abrasion resistance and resistance to cleaners and solvents. Note: Only cleaners and solvents commonly used on or around vehicle paint finishes need be tested.

A. Wet Scrub Abrasion Resistance References: Federal Test Method Standard 141a, Method 6142; Gardner Laboratory Bulletin WG

Equipment:

The test used here is a modification of the Federal Test Standard No. 141a, Method 6142, “Scrub Resistance”. An apparatus such as Gardner Model M-105 or the Gardner Straight Line Washability and Abrasion Tester No. 1364 is required.

Sample Preparation:

• Prepare samples by adhering two test stickers to conversion coated aluminum weathering panels available from The Q-Panel Co., 26200 First St., Cleveland, Ohio 44145 (216-835- 8700). Panels measure 11 x 2.75 inches. After applying the stickers, roll them down firmly with a small wallpaper rubber roller (approximate 1.5-inch dia).

• Allow samples to stand for 48 hours in a constant temperature/humidity room before testing.

Procedure:

• After conditioning the brush in lukewarm warm water for 30 minutes, shake out the excess water. Then condition the brush in a 0.5 percent detergent (Dreft) solution for 5 minutes.

Place the Chinese hogs bristle brush in the brush holder.

• Mount the test panel in the test apparatus. The test apparatus may need to be modified slightly to accommodate the 11 x 2.75 inches test panel.

• Turn on the machine and allow 1,000 scrub cycles to pass before stopping the machine.

During the test period, a 0.5% detergent (Dreft) solution is dripped on the test panel at the approximate rate of 12 drops per minute through a titration column or just enough to keep the panel wet.

• Rinse and dry the test panel.

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Results:

If the sticker print does not show sufficient wear so that the tester can see the substrate sheeting, the sample sticker passes the test.

B. Resistance to Solvents and Cleaners Test Solvents:1,5000 mineral spirits, kerosene, VM & P naphtha, methanol and gasoline. (Note:

Solvents that damage automobile paint or lacquer finishes should not be used as a test solvent).

Test Cleaners: “409”, window glass, ammonia, bug and tar remover (with petroleum distillates or mineral spirits)

Procedure:

• Wet type cotton swab (mounted on the end of a stick) with the respective solvent or test cleaner.

• The tester holds the swab at a 45 degree angle to the test sticker and with approximately 40 grams of pressure, wipes the wet swab back and forth across the printed sticker for 10 cycles (one cycle is once across the sample and back). The tester conducts the same test on a second sample for 25 cycles.

Results:

The sample passes if the solvent or cleaner does not solvate the print sufficiently to wear through to the substrate and cause loss of legibility.

C. Daytime and Nighttime Reflectivity To ensure that the colors of the imaged stickers remain the same when viewed under daylight and retro reflected light.

Procedure:

• Bring stickers into a room that can be darkened enough to simulate nighttime viewing conditions. Note sticker colors before beginning test.

• Position stickers vertically on a wall, board or in standing position on table.

• Turn on flashlight before turning off room lights.

• Hold flashlight at tip of nose and note color of stickers under retro reflective light.

Results:

The color of the non-imaged area and imaged area should be the same as viewed with room lights on.

If imaged area looks black under retro reflective light, opaque colorants have been used. If non-imaged area shows a diminished reflectivity, a coating has been applied that alters the appearance of the stickers under retro reflective light.