DPPS is the only resource on the Madison campus with the authority to purchase printing services from sources external to the university. If for any reason DPPS cannot produce your job in-house, it is turned over to our Contract Printing team which then acts as your purchasing agent to a wide variety of commercial printers.  

CONTRACTS

The DOA’s Bureau of Procurement has developed a very complete series of contracts for the purchase of virtually any type of printing that might be required by State agencies. The prices associated with these contracts are formally negotiated and discounted; if a printing order meets ALL of the specifications that are covered by a state contract, DPPS is required to use that contract to make the purchase.

When work falls outside the scope of a State contract, DPPS is required to engage in a Simplified Bid process with at least three companies with capability to complete the work. This bidding process generally allows for a shorter turnaround time than the State contracts and has a lower volume of use; therefore, the printing from a Simplified Bid vendor will cost more than from a contracted vendor.

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THE LAW

Law specifically regarding printing is found in both the State Constitution and the Wisconsin Statutes. Article IV, Section 25 of the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin states, “The legislature shall provide by law that all stationery required for the use of the State, and all printing authorized and required by them to be done for their use, or for the State, shall be let by contract to the lowest bidder, but the legislature may establish a maximum price; no member of the legislature or other State officer shall be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any such contract.”

This article allows that certain policies and procedures applicable to all other purchasing processes may not be applied to the purchases of printing. Included among those policies unique to State print purchasing are:

• No “best judgment process” or “best buy”
• No preferences (i.e. minority business preference, sheltered workshop requirement)
• No request for proposal process
• No waiver of bid process

Printing at all dollar levels must go through the bidding process.  Chapter 35 of the Wisconsin Statutes defines printing and established the Classes of Printing and Contracts that DOA bids. Additionally, three types of printing are defined as exempt from the statutes:

• Any printing published by students of the University of Wisconsin System which is funded solely from student fees or student organization income
• Any printing for a single job which costs less than $50.00, other than stationery (letterheads, envelopes, business cards)
• Printing done by the State itself, such as UW-Madison / DoIT Printing Services and Badger State Industries
• Prison services for state forms

DOA does distinguish between “print” and “print-related” services to determine the applicable procurement policies and authorized purchasing channels. Print covers all graphic reproduction by any process, including necessary materials and binding.  This includes digital reproduction of a document. Print-related items are those where the printing is incidental to the total cost or purpose of the item.  These purchases can be made through normal channels.

EXAMPLES OF ITEMS CONSIDERED PRINT BY DOA

• Books and journals, including those bound with stitch, hot glue or case 
• Envelopes; large or small quantity of commercial, catalog or miscellaneous which require custom printing (i.e. return address)
• Forms with custom printing, including snap sets, snap sets bound in books (single or multiple ply), printed continuous data processing forms, carbon interleaved or carbonless
• Job printing which includes letterhead, envelopes, mailing labels, other cut-to-order pressure-sensitive items, business cards, circulars, brochures, posters, programs, etc
• Job printing (forms) which includes flat forms (single sheets or padded carbonless sets) with or without numbering, die cutting, perforation or other special features
• Newsprint or other publications done by web printing process
• Pocket folders to be manufactured or furnished that require custom printing
• Tab cards (machine) that require custom printing
• Photocopying

EXAMPLES OF ITEMS CONSIDERED PRINT-RELATED BY DOA

• Binders requiring print on the surface of the binder (excludes contents of binder)
• Binding services of books, journals or periodicals
• High resolution image setting computer-generated graphics
• Unprinted/plain labels
• Plastic cards, badges, plaques, signs, name tags, packaging materials, etc., requiring printing somewhere on a surface
• Printing, quick copy/duplicating or photocopying in which the total cost per transaction does not exceed $49.99 and is NOT forms, stationery, letterhead or business cards
• Student-funded printing by student segregated fees and/or student organizational income
• Tab dividers

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ORDER PROCEDURES

Orders should be placed using our online portal at https://printing.wisc.edu. Our team will review the specifications and work with you throughout the process to ensure the scope and requirements are clearly communicated.

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THE PURCHASE ORDER

The DPPS Contract team examines the specifications of each order to determine whether a State contract or Simplified Bid will be used to order the printing. If the job can be ordered on contract, a Purchase Order is executed and forwarded to the contract vendor within two working days.

If the printing requested does not fit the parameters of a State contract, it must go out for bid. If the order value is less than $50,000, the Contract team will solicit bids from three or more printers capable of satisfactorily completing the job. If the estimated order cost exceeds $50,000, then an “Official Sealed Bid” must be prepared, a process which takes a minimum of four to six weeks to complete.

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LEAD TIME

All contracts have a lead time. The “clock” starts the day after the printer receives the Purchase Order with the print-ready art and includes the delivery date as one of the days.

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PROOFS

PRINTERS’ PROOFS MUST BE APPROVED AND SIGNED. Inadvertent changes or errors can occur during the upload, transfer, and processing of files.  As such, the printer will provide a proof to the client for review; the proof must be approved and returned as quickly as possible.  The printer is not liable for errors in finished product resulting from unapproved proofs.  

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DELIVERY

Your order will be delivered in the communicated lead time to the location specified in the purchase order. Upon receipt, the finished product should be inspected thoroughly, and any concerns or questions should be communicated to DPPS immediately.