Optical Mark Forms

Location:	Federal
Posted:	Feb 2, 2026
Due:	Feb 18, 2026
Agency:	U.S. Government Publishing Office
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	A - Research and development
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Program 574-S

Specifications by SB

Reviewed by JY

Page 1 of 21

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

Washington, DC

GENERAL TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND SPECIFICATIONS

For the Procurement of

Optical Mark Forms

as requisitioned from the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) by

Various Government Agencies

Single Award

TERM OF CONTRACT: The term of this contract is for the period beginning May 1, 2026 and ending April 30,

2027, plus up to four (4) optional 12-month extension periods that may be added in accordance with the “OPTION TO

EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT” clause in SECTION 1 of this contract.

BID OPENING: Bids shall be opened virtually at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time (ET) on February 18, 2026 at the U.S.

Government Publishing Office. All parties interested in attending the bid opening shall email bids@gpo.gov one (1)

hour prior to the bid opening date and time to request a Microsoft Teams live stream link. This must be a separate

email from the bid submission. The link will be emailed prior to the bid opening.

BID SUBMISSION: Bidders must email bids to bids@gpo.gov for this solicitation. No other method of bid

submission will be accepted at this time. The program number and bid opening date must be specified in the subject

line of the emailed bid submission. Bids received after the bid opening date and time specified above will not be

considered for award.

BIDDERS, PLEASE NOTE: These specifications have been extensively revised; therefore, all bidders are cautioned

to familiarize themselves with all provisions of these specifications before bidding.

Abstracts of contract prices are available at: https://www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/vendors/contract-pricing.

For information of a technical nature, contact Stacy Bindernagel at sbindernagel@gpo.gov or (202) 512-2103.

Optical Mark Forms

574-S (4/27)

Page 2 of 21

SECTION 1. – GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

GPO CONTRACT TERMS: Any contract which results from this Invitation for Bid will be subject to the applicable

provisions, clauses, and supplemental specifications of GPO Contract Terms (GPO Publication 310.2, effective

December 1, 1987 (Rev. 01-18)) and GPO Contract Terms, Quality Assurance through Attributes Program for Printing

and Binding (GPO Publication 310.1, effective May 1979 (Rev. 09-19)); and Guidelines for Specifying Quality and

Determining Compliance of MICR, OCR, and OMR (GPO Publication 310.5, effective January 1993).

GPO Contract Terms (GPO Publication 310.2): https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/forms-and-standards-files-

for-vendors/contractterms2018.pdf

GPO QATAP (GPO Publication 310.1): https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/forms-and-standards-files-for-

vendors/qatap-rev-09-19.pdf

Guidelines for Specifying Quality and Determining Compliance of MICR, OCR, and OMR (GPO Publication 310.5):

https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/forms-and-standards-files-for-vendors/gpo-pub-310-5-guidelines-micr-ocr-

omr.pdf

QUALITY ASSURANCE LEVELS AND STANDARDS: The following levels and standards shall apply to these

specifications:

Product Quality Levels:

(a) Printing (page related) Attributes - Level III.

(b) Finishing (item related) Attributes - Level III.

variance in excess of plus or minus 1/32” will be considered a major defect.

Inspection Levels (from ANSI/ASQC Z1.4):

(a) Non-destructive Tests - General Inspection Level I.

(b) Destructive Tests - Special Inspection Level S - 2.

Specified Standards: The specified standards for the attributes requiring them shall be:

Attribute

Specified Standard

P-7. Type Quality and Uniformity

Approved Prior to Production Samples;

Average type dimension in publication

P-9. Solid and Screen Tint Color Match

Approved Prior to Production Samples;

Pantone Matching System

OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT: The Government has the option to extend the term

of this contract for a period of 12 months by written notice to the contractor not later than 30 days before the contract

expires. If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this clause,

except, the total duration of the contract may not exceed five (5) years as a result of, and including, any extension(s)

added under this clause. Further extension may be negotiated under the “EXTENSION OF CONTRACT TERM”

clause. See also “ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT” for authorized pricing adjustment(s).

EXTENSION OF CONTRACT TERM: At the request of the Government, the term of any contract resulting from

this solicitation may be extended for such period of time as may be mutually agreeable to the GPO and the contractor.

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574-S (4/27)

Page 3 of 21

ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT: The pricing under this contract shall be adjusted in accordance with this

clause, provided that in no event will any pricing adjustment be made that would exceed the maximum permissible

under any law in effect at the time of the adjustment. There will be no adjustment for orders placed during the first

period specified below. Pricing will thereafter be eligible for adjustment during the second and any succeeding

performance period(s). For each performance period after the first, a percentage figure will be calculated as described

below and that figure will be the economic price adjustment for that entire next period. Pricing adjustments under this

clause are not applicable to reimbursable postage or transportation costs, or to paper, if paper prices are subject to

adjustment by separate clause elsewhere in this contract.

For the purpose of this clause, performance under this contract will be divided into successive periods. The first period

will extend from May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, and the second and any succeeding period(s) will extend for 12

months from the end of the last preceding period, except that the length of the final period may vary. The first day of

the second and any succeeding period(s) will be the effective date of the economic price adjustment for that period.

Pricing adjustments in accordance with this clause will be based on changes in the seasonally adjusted “Consumer

Price Index For All Urban Consumers - Commodities Less Food” (Index) published monthly in the CPI Detailed

Report by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The economic price adjustment will be the percentage difference between Index averages as specified in this

paragraph. An index called the variable index will be calculated by averaging the monthly Indexes from the 12-month

interval ending three (3) months prior to the beginning of the period being considered for adjustment. This average is

then compared to the average of the monthly Indexes for the 12-month interval ending January 31, 2026, called the

base index. The percentage change (plus or minus) of the variable index from the base index will be the economic

price adjustment for the period being considered for adjustment.

The Government will notify the contractor by contract modification specifying the percentage increase or decrease to

be applied to invoices for orders placed during the period indicated. The contractor shall apply the percentage

increase or decrease against the total price of the invoice less reimbursable postage or transportation costs and

separately adjusted paper prices. Payment discounts shall be applied after the invoice price is adjusted.

PAPER PRICE ADJUSTMENT: Paper prices charged under this contract will be adjusted in accordance with

“Table 9 - Producer Price Indexes and Percent Changes for Commodity Groupings and Individual Items” in Producer

Price Indexes report, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as follows:

1. BLS code 0913 for All Paper will apply to all paper required under this contract.

2. The applicable index figures for the month of April 2026 will establish the base index.

3. There shall be no price adjustment for the first three (3) production months of the contract.

4. Price adjustments may be monthly thereafter, but only if the index varies by an amount (plus or minus)

exceeding 5% by comparing the base index to the index for that month, which is two months prior to the month

being considered for adjustment.

5. Beginning with order placement in the fourth month, index variances will be calculated in accordance with the

following formula:

X - base index

______________ x 100

base index

= _______%

where X = the index for that month which is two months prior to the month being considered for adjustment.

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574-S (4/27)

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6. The contract adjustment amount, if any, will be the percentage calculated in 5 above less 5%.

7. Adjustments under this clause will be applied to the contractor’s bid price(s) for Item III. “PAPER” in the

“SCHEDULE OF PRICES” and will be effective on the first day of any month for which prices are to be

adjusted.

The Contracting Officer will give written notice to the contractor of any adjustments to be applied to invoices for

orders placed during months affected by this clause.

In no event, however, will any price adjustment be made which would exceed the maximum permissible under any

law in effect at the time of the adjustment. The adjustment, if any, shall not be based upon the actual change in cost to

the contractor, but shall be computed as provided above.

The contractor warrants that the paper prices set forth in this contract do not include any allowance for any

contingency to cover anticipated increased costs of paper to the extent such increases are covered by this price

adjustment clause.

PREAWARD SURVEY: In order to determine the responsibility of the prime contractor/subcontractor, the

Government reserves the right to conduct an on-site preaward survey at the contractor’s/subcontractors’ facility or to

require other evidence of technical, production, managerial, financial, and similar abilities to perform, prior to the

award of a contract. As part of the financial determination, the contractor in line for award may be required to provide

one or more of the following financial documents:

1) Most recent profit and loss statement

2) Most recent balance sheet

3) Statement of cash flows

4) Current official bank statement

5) Current lines of credit (with amounts available)

6) Letter of commitment from paper supplier(s)

7) Letter of commitment from any subcontractor

The documents will be reviewed to validate that adequate financial resources are available to perform the contract

requirements. Documents submitted will be kept confidential, and used only for the determination of responsibility by

the Government. Failure to provide the requested information in the time specified by the Government may result in

the Contracting Officer not having adequate information to reach an affirmative determination of responsibility.

PREAWARD TEST: The contractor being considered for award may be required to demonstrate their ability to

produce the items required in these specifications at the requisite quality level by completing a preaward test. The

Government reserves the right to waive the preaward test if there is other evidence that, in the opinion of the

Contracting Officer, indicates that the contractor being considered for award has the capability to successfully produce

the items required.

For the preaward test, the Government will furnish an electronic file(s) that is representative of the items that are to be

produced under these specifications.

NOTE: Test materials will be furnished via email or FTP.

The contractor will be required to design and print 1,000 copies each (total of 2,000 copies) of the following forms:

 Two-sided NCS mark reflex. Forty-seven channels. Mark position format: 0.166 inch. Single cut sheet,

printed on both sides. Final trim size 8-1/2 x 11”. All response positions in the grid shall contain a printed

bubble.

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574-S (4/27)

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 Two-sided Scantron. Forty-eight channels. Mark position format: 6 per inch/48 per line. Single cut sheet,

printed on both sides. Final trim size 8-1/2 x 11”. All response positions in the grid shall contain a printed

bubble.

These two (2) sets of sample forms shall meet all applicable specifications of this contract.

The contractor will be required to submit the two (2) sets (1,000 each) of preaward test samples (as specified above)

and a set of the final production files(as specified under “COMPOSITION” in SECTION 2).

Preaward test samples must be packed and marked in a manner which readily indicates order of printing (i.e., first to

last forms off press).

Sample forms must be delivered to: U.S. Government Publishing Office, Quality Control for Published Products,

Mail Stop: CSPS, Room C-613, 732 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401. NOTE: Each shipping

container must be addressed properly (identifying the program number) and be marked as “Preaward Test

Samples.”

Contractor must notify Stacy Bindernagel at sbindernagel@gpo.gov when samples have been delivered.

Samples must be submitted within five (5) workdays of notification of the preaward test.

If the test samples are disapproved by the Government, the Government, at its option, may require the contractor to

submit an additional set of test samples for inspection and test, in the time and under the terms and conditions

specified in the notice of rejection. Such additional samples shall be furnished, and necessary changes made, at no

additional cost to the Government.

In the event the revised test samples are disapproved by the Government, the contractor shall be deemed to have failed

to comply with the applicable requirements of these specifications and may be reason for a determination of non-

responsibility.

Failure to deliver the completed test within the stated time period may disqualify the contractor from further

consideration for award.

All operations necessary in the performance of this test shall be performed at the facilities and on the equipment in

which the contract production will be performed.

No charges will be allowed for costs incurred in the performance of this preaward test.

ASSIGNMENT OF JACKETS, PURCHASE AND PRINT ORDERS: A GPO jacket number will be assigned and

a purchase order issued to the contractor to cover work performed. The purchase order will be supplemented by an

individual print order for each job placed with the contractor. The print order, when issued, will indicate the quantity

to be produced and any other information pertinent to the particular order.

ORDERING: Items to be furnished under the contract shall be ordered by the issuance of print orders by the

Government. Orders may be issued under the contract from May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, plus for such

additional period(s) as the contract is extended. All print orders issued hereunder are subject to the terms and

conditions of the contract. The contract shall control in the event of conflict with any print order. A print order shall

be “issued” upon notification by the Government for purposes of the contract when it is electronically transmitted or

otherwise physically furnished to the contractor in conformance with the schedule.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.