2027 Vacation Guide - Print Project

The South Dakota Department of Tourism is requesting proposals for printing, binding, packaging, palletizing, and delivering 250,000 copies of the 2027 Vacation Guide under RFP 26RFP19906, with proposals due September 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM CDT and an anticipated award decision by September 17, 2026.

The scope covers production of 250,000 guides (plus up to 1% maximum overrun) measuring 8 inches by 10.125 inches with a fold-out back cover and 244 text pages, using perfect binding. Cover stock must be 80# Cover No. 2 Gloss with soft touch aqueous coating; body pages must be 50# No. 4 Gloss Text, virgin stock only. Delivery occurs in two phases: 75,000 guides by January 6, 2027, and the remaining 175,000 by January 29, 2027, to the fulfillment contractor Midstates Group in Aberdeen, South Dakota. All 250,000 guides must be uniformly packed on skids using cardboard sheets, hardboard corner protection, pallet wrap, flat wood boards, and metal banding; full skids contain approximately 2,160 guides and may not exceed 40 inches in height. The vendor serves as single point of responsibility for the entire project and may not assign the contract or replace material production subcontractors without prior State approval.

The initial contract term runs October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, with two optional one-year renewals requiring written notice at least 90 days before expiration and vendor acceptance or rejection at least 60 days before expiration. The proposal price must be firm and fixed, including all paper, labor, materials, proofs, printing, binding, packaging, pallets, freight, fuel, liftgate service, and delivery; vendors must provide total price, unit price per guide, and price for authorized overruns. Liquidated damages of $1,000 per calendar day apply for failure to meet required delivery dates. The vendor must maintain commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, plus automobile and workers' compensation coverage. The State will evaluate proposals on vendor experience with similar high-volume printing projects, production and quality-control capabilities, packaging and delivery planning, project schedule and production capacity, and cost. Vendor questions were due August 19, 2026.