Request for Information - High Speed Printer

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

PROJECT TITLE: SSS High-speed Printer Replacement-Selective Service

                             System (SSS)

1.  Background

The Selective Service System’s (SSS) mission is to register men and maintain a system that, when authorized by the President and Congress, rapidly provides personnel in a fair and equitable manner while managing an alternative service program for conscientious objectors. The agency registers approximately 2 million men annually.  The SSS has approximately 120 full-time employees to support its National Headquarters, three regional headquarters, and our Data Management Center in geographically dispersed areas. The agency also has up to 56 state directors, and part-time employees representing the 50 states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, America Samoa, the District of Columbia, and New York City. 

2.  Project Summary

The SSS is seeking information for market research and future procurement of a new high-speed printer in support of the Mail Center Branch at the Data Management Center in North Chicago, Illinois.  Due to the unique mission of SSS the high-speed printer must be able to ramp up to the upper limit indicated below (see IV. General Information paragraph) to support the mission of rapidly providing personnel in a fair and equitable manner when authorized by the President and Congress.  SSS requires the high-speed printer to adhere with the latest federal acquisition regulations, federal security, and privacy mandates.  Additionally, the high-speed printer must adhere to the federal acquisition regulations pertaining to supply chain risk management.

3.  Note To Vendors

This RFI is issued solely for conducting market research and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), or a Request for Quote (RFQ) and does not obligate the Government to any current or future commitments.  The Government will not pay/reimburse any costs or charges resulting from contractors’ responses to this RFI.

The Government greatly appreciates your response, which will be used for planning purposes in enhancing our RFQ or RFP and further acquisition development for this requirement.  Once a formal RFQ or RFP is released, we will send your point of contact a link to the solicitation.  The requesting organization’s address is: Selective Service System, National Headquarters, Arlington, VA 22209-2461.

4.  General Information/Requirements/Specifications

Please find below some general information for reference.

1. Printer speed lower limit of 160 ppm
2. Printer speed upper limit of 340 ppm (as close as possible)
3. Digital printer required
4. Print quality of at least 600x600 dpi
5. Ability to store multiple queues
6. Black ink printing only
7. Process and print on 20# grade paper
8. Printer must have networking capability
9. Ability to interface with Planet Press or comparable automated mail preparation solution
10. Printer must be Energy Star qualified
11. Printer must work with low VOC ink
12. Printer must allow for job scheduling and workload management
13. Onsite training and support is required
14. Remote diagnostics service required
15. Ability to process and print PDF, PDF-VT, IPDS, Post Script, TIFF
16. No ink transfer, streaking, and scuffing
17. Establish automated workflows

5.  Instructions To Respond To The RFI

If your firm is interested, capable, and qualified to provide the Government’s requirements described herein, please submit written information supporting this capability.  Include any brochures or illustrations of the product or products being recommended.

Questions from capable vendors are due by May 09, 2024.   

The suspense date for vendor’s responses to this RFI is 2:00 pm on May 16, 2024. Please email your capability statement and other information or product literature and responses to the questions to:  Georgette Hendricksen, Contracting Officer @ georgette.hendricksen@sss.gov  and Imani Armstrong, Acquisition Specialist at Imani.armstrong@sss.gov .  The vendor’s email subject line shall state: “High-speed Printer Replacement Project.”  Telephone calls regarding this RFI will not be accepted.  The RFI closes at 2:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Government Questions for Vendor Responses

1. Provide a non-binding pricing estimate that will be kept confidential for this requirement based on your catalog prices or pricing lists.  Please break it down into categories by pricing model (lease vs. purchase) and cost structure, it may be submitted as a range of prices – high and low.  It may be submitted on an Excel spreadsheet.
2. Company profile and history
3. Overview of the proposed solution, including the features and functionalities
4. Overview of on-site installation and training
5. What are your service level agreements – please provide response times for both onsite and virtual service calls?
6. References and case studies from similar installations
7. Define your approved security practices, cybersecurity, data protection, and data integrity.
8. Roadmap for implementation, including timelines and milestones.
9. How do you ensure business continuity, and what is your approach for disaster recovery?
10. Describe your ticketing system and customer support system.
11. Provide examples of data reporting and dashboards.
12. Describe the level of support that can be expected during the implementation and go live phases of the project.
13. Describe the level of support that can be provided after the go-live phase of the project.
14. Describe your warranty terms and conditions and your maintenance support.