Printing of MDOT Transportation Maps

The State of Michigan Department of Transportation issued Request for Proposal No. 180000000088 on October 9, 2017, for the production, printing, and folding of Official Michigan Transportation Maps. The RFP sought qualified vendors to produce up to 750,000 maps annually over a five-year contract period beginning January 1, 2018, with maps to be produced on minimum four-color offset presses using 50-pound basis weight paper and high-grade lithographic inks in black, blue, magenta, and yellow. Key deliverables included mandatory color proof submission by February 15, 2018, with State approval required by March 1, 2018, followed by initial production of 192,000 maps by May 1, 2018, and five subsequent monthly shipments through October 1, 2018, with reprint orders to be fulfilled within 2-3 weeks of receipt. Required qualifications included a minimum of three years' experience printing state maps for a governmental entity, compliance with Michigan Public Act 153 of 1937 regarding union labor participation and prevailing wage compliance, and submission of samples including at least one self-produced folded state map and one sample of proposed 50-pound map paper. Evaluation criteria consisted of adherence to product requirements (40 points), background and experience (20 points), and quality assessment of samples (40 points), with proposals receiving 80 or more technical points advancing to pricing evaluation. The proposal deadline was 3:00 p.m. EST on October 27, 2017, with written questions required by October 17, 2017, and answers posted on October 19, 2017, and proposals remaining irrevocable and binding for 180 calendar days from submission.

The State of Michigan expressed a preference for Michigan-based printing firms and facilities designated as clean corporate citizens under Michigan law, and bidders were required to confirm non-participation in RFP development or evaluation and provide evidence of qualified disabled veteran business status if applicable. No specific incumbent contractor information was disclosed in the available solicitation documents, though the State indicated that previous bid documentation from prior RFP #071I2200233 for the same printing services was available upon request through the Freedom of Information Act. The contract included a mandatory initial five-year base term with firm and fixed pricing during the initial period, followed by option years where pricing adjustments could be negotiated, with contracts exceeding $500,000 requiring State Administrative Board approval. Standard contract terms required contractors to maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including $1,000,000 in commercial general liability and automobile liability per occurrence, $500,000 in employers' liability per accident, and workers' compensation coverage, with all policies naming the State of Michigan as an additional insured. Pricing was required to be quoted separately for paper and production costs using the standardized Schedule B Pricing Matrix, with delivery on F.O.B. destination terms and payment through Electronic Funds Transfer within 45 days of invoice receipt; the five-year anticipated total contract value was not specified in the available documents but would be determined based on vendor pricing submissions for the annual 750,000-map quantity and variable reprint orders across five quantity tiers.