Envelopes

The California Department of General Services, Procurement Division, is soliciting bids for a mandatory statewide envelope contract under IFB 0000039469, with bids due July 31, 2026 at 2:00 PM PT and a mandatory bidders' conference on July 17 at 10:00 AM PT via Microsoft Teams. Award will be made on an "All or None" basis to the lowest-cost responsive and responsible bidder.

All envelopes must contain a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content and carry Forest Stewardship Council or Sustainable Forest Initiative Chain of Custody certification — the central compliance filters. Bidders may claim a 5% Small Business preference, Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise incentive participation, and Target Area Contract Preference Act preference.

The scope spans 146 contract line items covering plain envelopes, window envelopes, booklet envelopes, and catalog envelopes in multiple sizes, weights, and configurations specified in Technical Specification 7504-TS-0245547 and accompanying envelope diagrams. Envelopes must use Bond/White Wove, Brown Kraft, or Manila paper stocks at 24–28 pound basis weights and polystyrene window materials. Performance standards limit jamming to no more than one per 8,000 letter-sized envelopes and one per 5,000 booklet envelopes. Packaging requirements vary by class: 500 units per box for Class 1 and Class 2 envelopes; Class 3 catalog envelopes at 500 per carton with specified reversal intervals; MCC 150109 requires 48" x 40" pallets with maximum 54-inch height and 2,500-pound weight limit.

The estimated contract value is $14.7 million based on historical expenditures. The contract term is two years with three optional one-year extension periods. Total quantities exceed 500,000 envelopes across all line items. Delivery is required statewide within 15 calendar days of order receipt at F.O.B. destination; expedited delivery is available within seven working days at specified pricing. Two additional line items cover expedited truckload delivery for distances of 1,000 miles or fewer and 1,001 miles or more.

Bidders must submit firm fixed prices on the State's Pricing Worksheet with no price adjustments permitted during the original contract term. Compliance certifications required include California Civil Rights Laws, Federal Debarment, Darfur Contracting Act, Iran Contracting Act, and post-consumer recycled content certification. The minimum order quantity is one pallet. A 10% bond requirement applies to all bids, which are subject to the Alternative Protest Process.