The Tennessee Conservationist seeks a printing contract

The Tennessee Conservationist Magazine, published by Tennessee State Parks (TSP) under the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), hereafter referred to as Publisher, seeks a Contractor to print six issues per year on a bi-monthly schedule (attached).

The magazine will be printed on Sustana paper with UV inks. Conventional offset printing or digital printing methods are not desired.

Initial contract will be for two (2) years, with three (3), one (1) year renewal options.

Contractor must be located in the State of Tennessee and provide proof that his or her press is located in Tennessee, and that he or she is a direct employee of said press, and not an intermediary, representative, or broker working from another location.

Contractor must perform all operations under the contract in his/her own facility, except in case of emergency and with written permission of Publisher. Bids submitted by all print brokers will be withdrawn.

Contractor must provide proof of an active G7 Master Print facility certification.

Contractor must use provided pdf file to print a sample of our recent May/June 2026 issue and send it to the provided address to arrive on or before July 10,2026. The State will confirm the quality of printing meets the States technical specifications as mentioned below.

Central Procurement Office ATTN: Sydney Loomans 312 Rosa L Parks Ave., Nashville, TN 37243

Overview:

The Publisher seeks a contract that allows for subscription growth. We anticipate initial press runs to be 7,000 copies. Respondents will quote the following quantities:

7,000 7,500 8,000 8,500 9,000

For each edition, Publisher will send a print order to Contractor with the number of copies to be printed one month before we go on press, so Contractor can order the correct amount of paper stock for each issue.

Contractor shall comply with the following technical specifications for the Conservationist unless otherwise approved in writing by the State.

1. TRIM SIZE: 8.375” X 10.75” full bleed, portrait, binds on the 10.75” side

2. PAGES: 40 inside pages plus paper cover

3. BINDING: Saddle stitch with three staples

4. COVER STOCK: 65# Sustana Enviro Cover 100% FSC Recycled

5. TEXT STOCK: 80# Sustana Enviro Print 100% FSC Recycled

6. INK: UV ink (NOTE: not conventional offset printing or digital printing. Must be UV.)

7. PROOFS: One high-resolution color proof of entire magazine, trimmed and delivered to Publisher before printing.

8. SUBSCRIPTION CARD: A pre-printed subscription card, to be delivered by Publisher, will be stapled into the magazine inside the first reader’s spread

9. PACKAGING: Carton in 60–100 per box and label with magazine’s name and issue date. Delivery/freight via FedEx to the following locations:

1) Mail contractor (currently DNI, 711 Spence Lane, Nashville, TN 37217)

2) Magazine’s Offices (500 James Robertson Pkwy, 8th Floor, Nashville TN 37243)

3) Breakout shipping to 21 Tennessee State Parks (see attachment)

10. Collection of each year’s six magazines into hard cover binder with grade F buckram material (or better) with title, volumes, and year on the cover in foil stamp. 11 bound editions total.

The Tennessee Conservationist is known for beautiful photography. All magazines printed under this contract must be top quality in every respect. Publisher will not accept or pay for inferior work. Publisher reserves the sole right to determine acceptability for each edition and to cancel the contract if any magazine edition fails to meet quality standards required, as per contract cancellation term

Pre-Press Publisher will provide a packaged InDesign file with pdfs included via FTP or to be picked up in person by Contractor. Contractor must deliver one (1) proof including each page of the magazine to Publisher within three days. Publisher has two days to sign off on proofs. Working days are defined as Monday–Friday. State business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Press checks Press checks will be scheduled during reasonable working hours, between 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Notice of 48 hours is required for each press check.

Each printer spread must be press checked and approved in writing by the Publisher. Publisher reserves the right to inspect all printed sheets in person and reject any or all sheets that do not meet proofing standards. If proofs do not meet standards of high quality, Publisher reserves the right to reject sub-standard sheets and require them to be reprinted at the Contractor’s expense to the Publisher’s satisfaction.

If press checks occur outside a 50-mile radius of 500 James Robertson Pkwy, Nashville, TN, Contractor will pay for travel, food and any lodging expenses of magazine’s art director and/or editor-in-chief, according to state travel regulations in place at the time of travel.

Pre-press/printing schedule:

3 days for prepress 2 days for Publisher to sign off on proofs 7 days on press 3 days for folding, stitching, boxing, delivery

Tentative schedule for the contract to begin with the Nov/Dec 2026 issue:

Nov/Dec 2026 Sept. 25 to pre-press Oct. 2 on press Oct. 16 all magazines delivered

Jan/Feb 2027 Nov. 25, 2026 to pre -press Dec. 4, 2026 on press Dec. 17, 2026 all magazines delivered

March/April 2027 Jan. 26 to pre-press Feb. 3 on press Feb. 17 all magazines delivered

May/June 2027 March 25 to pre-press April 1 on press April 16 all magazines delivered

July/Aug 2027 May 24 to pre-press June 3 on press June 17 all magazines delivered

Sep/Oct 2027 July 28 to pre-press Aug. 5 on press Aug. 19 all magazines delivered

Nov/Dec 2027 Sep. 27 to pre-press Oct. 4 on press Oct. 18 all magazines delivered

Jan/Feb 2028 Nov. 24, 2027 to pre-press Dec. 3, 2027 on press Dec. 17, 2027 all magazines delivered

March/April 2028 Jan. 26 to pre-press Feb. 3 on press Feb. 17 all magazines delivered

May/June 2028 March 27 to pre-press April 4 on press April 17 all magazines delivered

July/Aug 2028 May 25 to pre-press June 2 on press June 16 all magazines delivered

Sep/Oct 2028 July 28 to pre-press Aug. 4 on press Aug. 18 all magazines delivered

Nov/Dec 2028 Sep. 25 to pre-press Oct. 3 on press Oct. 18 all magazines delivered

Specific pre-press, press, and delivery dates for 2029 and years following is to be determined, but press runs will follow the same cadence as shown above.

Bulk Shipping Breakouts example

Name Quantity Address City ST Zip Attn:

Fall Creek Falls State Park Lodge 130 2536 Lakeland Dr Spencer TN 38585 Attn: Zonda Holloway - Lodge/Cabins

Lodge 85

Cabins 30

Extras 15

Natchez Trace State Park Lodge 36 24845 Natchez Trace Road

Wildersville TN 38388-

Attn: Cindy Morish - Lodge/Cabins

Lodge 0

Cabins 25

Extras 11

Lodge Montgomery Bell State Park 135 1000 Hotel Ave Burns TN 37029-

5040 Attn: Brian Hughes - Lodge/Cabins

Lodge 117

Cabins 8

Extras 10

Henry Horton State Park Lodge 90 4209 Nashville HWY Chapel Hill TN 37034-

2127 Attn: Penny Hood - Lodge/Cabins

Lodge 72

Pickwick Landing State Park Lodge 145 116 State Park Lane Counce TN 38326 Attn: Sandy Jerrolds - Lodge/Cabins

Lodge 119

Cabins 17

Extras 9

Paris Landing State Park Lodge 110 16055 Hwy 79 N Buchanan TN 38222 Attn: Mitzi Hamonds - Lodge/Cabins

Lodge 91

Cabins 10

Extras 9

Big Ridge State Park 25 1015 Big Ridge Park Road

Maynardville TN 37807-

1727 Attn: Keith Montgomery - Cabins

Cabins 20

Extras 5

Cedars of Lebanon State Park 15 328 Cedar Forest Road

Lebanon TN 37090-

7678 Attn: Jeff Buchanan - Cabins

Chickasaw State Park 20 20 Cabin Lane Henderson TN 38340 Attn: Ron Elder - Cabins

Cabins 13

Extras 7

Cumberland Mountain State Park 47 24 Office Drive Crossville TN 38555 Attn:Chip Hillis - Cabins

Cabins 37

David Crockett State Park 10 23 Crockett Park Rd Lawrenceburg TN 37464 Attn: Donna Johnson - Cabins

Cabins 7

Extras 3

Edgar Evins State Park 40 1630 Edgar Evins State Park Road

Silver Point TN 38582-

7917 Attn: Brad Halfacre - Cabins

Cabins 34

Extras 6

Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park 10 910 Riddick Road Millington TN 38053 Attn: James Wilkinson - Cabins

Cabins 6

Extras 4

Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park 10 1825 Pilot Knob Road Eva TN 38333-

6099 Attn: Josh Justice - Cabins

Extras 2

Norris Dam State Park 40 125 Village Green Circle

Rocky Top TN 37769-

5932 Attn: Cindy Morish - Cabins

Pickett CCC Memorial State Park 25 4605 Pickett Park

HWY

Jamestown TN 38556-

5889 Attn: Amanda Allen - Cabins

Reelfoot Lake State Park 10 2595 State Route 21 East

Tiptonville TN 38079-

9799 Attn: Penny Simmons - Cabins

Cabins 7

Extras 3

Roan Mountain State Park 40 1015 HWY 143 Roan Mountain

TN

37687 Attn: Monica Johnson - Cabins

Rock Island State Park 15 82 Beach Road Rock Island TN 38581-

4200 Attn: Donna Basham - Cabins

Standing Stone State Park 25 1674 Standing Stone Park HWY

Hilham TN 38568-

6610 Attn: Allie Stover - Cabins

Cabins 21

Extras 4

Tims Ford State Park

570 Tims Ford Drive Winchester TN 37398-

4136 Attn: Charlotte Jones - Cabins

TOTAL 1007