USASOC Standard for Black and White and Color Printers

The United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) is soliciting interest and capability statements for a competitive acquisition to establish a color and black and white network printer standard within the command. Once selected, the standard will be in place for approximately 5-10 years. The Command currently has over 1,300 black and white and 600 color networked printers. Our goal is to sustain a lifecycle program replacing approximately 25 percent of the devices annually. This sources sought notice is for planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. It is not the intention of the Government to enter into a contract based on this notice or to otherwise pay for information solicited. Once the standard is identified and selected, all USASOC printer purchases will be solicited competitively as brand name requests identifying the brand selected based on the information provided in this notice. In preparation for developing the USASOC printer standard, the government is requesting input from vendors interested in having their printers evaluated and considered as the new printer standard for USASOC units. An initial paper review will be performed to pick the best two or three printers, based on established criteria in each category, e.g. color and black and white. Those companies will then be contacted to participate in a pilot evaluation environment where they will be asked to provide their equipment for a 30-day testing phase. The equipment provided shall be at no cost to the government, and will be returned once testing is completed. After conclusion of the evaluation a printer or printers will be selected, resulting in a 5 to 10 year program to utilize the selected models for all life-cycle replacements. Focusing on basic requirements identified below for color and black and white networked printers, the Government requests solution proposals to meet or exceed each of the categories. A printer evaluation criteria document is also provided identifying those areas to be considered during the evaluation process. Networked Black & White Printer Requirement: Low End - For small groups/low volume (15,000 pg/month) Prints 8 - x 11 to 8 - x 14 size paper Network ready with embedded print server Auto duplex Print Resolution: Not less than1200x1200 dpi Print Speed: Not less than 27 ppm Input Trays: Not less than 250 sheet tray and 50 sheet multi-purpose tray Memory: Not less than 256 MB Must be IPV6 Compatible Must be compatible with MS XP and MS VISTA Operating Systems. Compliance needs to be with Server OS as well (Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 x64) for support. Warranty: 4 year warranty onsite next-day Medium - Graphics/ Low-medium volume (175,000/month) Prints 8 - x 11 to 8 - x 14 size paper Network ready with embedded print server Auto Duplex Print Resolution: Not less than 1200x1200 dpi Print Speed: Not less than 40 ppm Input Trays: two 500 sheet trays and a 100 sheet multi-purpose tray Memory: Not less than 512mb Must be IPV6 Compatible Must be compatible with MS XP and MS VISTA Operating Systems. Compliance needs to be with Server OS as well (Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 x64) for support. Warranty: 4 year warranty onsite next-day High End Black&White - High Volume (300,000 pg/month) Prints 8 - x 11 to 8 - x 14 size paper Network ready with embedded print server Auto Duplex Print Resolution: Not less than 1200x1200 dpi Print Speed: Not less than 50 ppm Input Trays: one 2,000 sheet tray, two 500 sheet trays, one 100 sheet multi-purpose tray Output Tray: Offset between print jobs Memory: Not less than 512 MB Must be IPV6 Compatible Printer stand Must be compatible with MS XP and MS VISTA Operating Systems. Compliance needs to be with Server OS as well (Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 x64) for support. Warranty: 4 year warranty onsite next-day USASOC Networked Color Printer Requirement Medium End - For small groups/medium volume (60,000 pg/month) Prints 8 - x 11 to 8 - x 14 size paper Network ready with embedded print server Auto Duplex Print Resolution: Not less than 600x600 dpi Print Speed: Not less than 15 ppm (Color) Input Trays: 250 sheet tray and 100 sheet multi-purpose tray Memory: Not less than 512 mb Must be IPV6 Compatible Must be compatible with MS XP and MS VISTA Operating Systems. Compliance needs to be with Server OS as well (Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 x64) for support. Warranty: 4 year warranty onsite next-day High End - Graphics/High Volume (120,000 pg/month) Prints 8 - x 11 to 11 x 17 size paper Network ready with embedded print server Auto Duplex Print Resolution: Not less than 600x600 dpi Print Speed: Not less than 27 ppm (Color) Input Trays: two 500 sheet trays and one 100 sheet multi-purpose tray Memory: Not less than 512 mb Must be IPV6 Compatible Printer Stand Must be compatible with MS XP and MS VISTA Operating Systems. Compliance needs to be with Server OS as well (Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 x64) for support. Warranty: 4year warranty onsite next-day EVALUATION CRITERIA: 1. How will vendor printer solutions enhance USASOC's ability to deploy a networked printing service minimizing number of printers and infrastructure required? 2. Cost advantages as in price per page (not including initial product cost) 3. Price/performance ratio as in total product cost to pages per minute 4. Hardware configuration flexibility (i.e. hot swapping, scaling vertically) a. Number of input trays, size, and available configurations b. Number of output trays and ability to offset print jobs and collate copies c. Memory enhancements d. Ease of replacing expendable parts e. Expendable supplies proprietary or generically replaceable f. Equipment footprint (space required for operation) g. Ability to comply with requirement to not have any non-volatile storage 5. New emerging technologies that a customer may or may not be aware of 6. Predictive diagnostics that alert a management system 7. Networking cards and other capabilities that distinguishes themselves from competitors 8. Power requirements 9. Warranties and support 10. Remote Management capabilities / ability to update vulnerabilities 11. Security features or issues (i.e. wireless not authorized) 12. Ability to purge printed image at completion of print Potential interested sources are required to respond to this notice NOT LATER THAN 2:00 pm EDT, 5 June 2008. Firms interested are asked to provide the following information: (1) Descriptive literature, pictures, product brochures, data sheets, websites (URLs) containing additional information, etc. for the printers being recommended; (2) Technical specifications for the printers being recommended; (3) Responses to the evaluation criteria provided herein; (4) Name and address of firm; and (5) Business size and socioeconomic classification. Submission of responses in electronic format/media is preferred. Submit responses via email to: Sandra Aman at sandra.aman@us.army.mil or by fax to: (910) 432-9345. Responses may be submitted through the mail to: HQ, USASOC, ATTN: DCSAC (Sandra Aman), 1 Desert Storm Drive, Fort Bragg, NC 28310. The North American Industrial Classification Standard (NAICS) code applicable to this notice is 334119. NO PHONE INQUIRIES. All communications shall be in writing.