Materials Distribution Services

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OPTICAL SCANNING FORMS

Additonal price 23% to standard 60 lb. bond price for 80 lb. bond

Additonal price 23% to standard 60 lb. bond price for 80 lb. bond

Additonal price 23% to standard 60 lb. bond price for 80 lb. bond

Additional price 37% to standard 60 lb. bond price for 100 lb. bond

SPECIFICATIONS

A:         Conformity
All documents must conform to the specifications of the Work Order and for registration, inks, and paper specified by the equipment manufacturer (NCS) and must be approved by Testing and Evaluation.

All documents are to be compatible with and must be able to be read on the following existing equipment owned by the University.

NCS Opscan 21-75 Optical Scanner System with transport printer
NCS 5000I Optical Scanner System
NCS Opscan 5 Optical Scanner System
Compaq Prolinea 4/335
Scan Tools Support

If at any time during the contract, forms are unable to be read on our equipment, the Contractor must furnish no charge loaner equipment within 4 working hours.  The loaners must remain available at the University at no charge until the problem is resolved to the University’s satisfaction..

B:         Paper and Ink Colors
The following paper and ink colors must be available under this contract:

1.     One standard Mark Reflex® Bond, or equivalent paper: color;  white.

2.     Twenty-nine standard reflective ink colors: lavender 02, blue 12, brown 14, violet 18, pine green 22, orange 24, red 28, maroon 31, green 53, dark orange 55, green 56, tan 67, brown 69, blue 72, brown 74, gray 75, avocado 76, gray 77, orange 78, orange 79, blue 83, blue 84, red 85, red 88, blue 89, blue 90, red 91, blue 96, aqua 98.

C:         Color Combinations

         1.  8-1/2x11                   Maximum 6 color including black front & back

         2.  11x17                       Maximum 6 color including black front & back

         3.  12x17                       Maximum 4 color including black front & back

         4.  8-1/2x12                   Maximum 6 color including black front & back

         5.  9-1/2x11                   Maximum 6 color including black front & back

         6.  12x17                       Maximum 6 color including black front & back

D:         Faulty Forms
If all or part of a shipment of forms is determined to be faulty, Testing and Evaluation reserves the option of accepting only the part that is acceptable or of rejecting the entire order.  Contractor shall be notified by telephone and in writing and shall have the option of having the forms returned at Contractor's expense for examination and checking before accepting liability.  Contractor shall not be liable for forms which are faulty because of errors in the mock-up design provided by Testing and Evaluation.

Contractor must bear all costs related to:
1.         Replacement of faulty forms due to Contractor error, including, but not limited to telephone and/or telegraph charges, and postage or other drayage.
2.         Conversion to machine-readable format from the original document including, but not limited to:
a.      handscoring,
b.      special pre- or post-editing procedures as defined by Testing and Evaluation,
c.      terminal entry--NCS scanning system, or key entry into a computer sendable form readable on Testing and Evaluation's computer system,
d.      operator and/or NCS machine costs of Testing and Evaluation associated with any special procedures required to scan the documents,
e.      any special programming for the Opscan 21-75 and/or other
scanner and/or other computer made necessary by the faulty forms, and
f.       transfer of data by manual coding from source document to some other
document which is scannable on NCS scanners and agreed on by Testing and Evaluation -- such costs to be billed at Testing and Evaluation's standard rates.

Any of the above must be performed by Contractors professional staff within a time schedule determined by Testing and Evaluation .  Forms that do not meet the equipment manufacturer's (NCS) specifications or Testing and Evaluation approval must be reprinted within seventy-two hours after notification or other mutually agreed upon time.  Contractor must commit to twenty-four-business-hour shipment response for partial reprints of single sheet forms deemed unacceptable by joint agreement of Testing and Evaluation and Contractor and seventy-two-business-hour shipment turnaround for complete reprints.

The forms Contractor shall assume all costs incurred for scanning system service calls required due to forms not meeting bid specifications as determined by maintenance service Contractor.

Contractor's liability for replacement of faulty forms extends beyond the termination and/or cancellation of this contract.

E:         Ownership
All pertinent camera copy and negatives produced under this contract are to be the property of the University.  The camera copy and/or negatives in existence must be delivered in satisfactory condition, as determined by Testing and Evaluation, at Contractor's expense within fifteen days after written notice to surrender said camera copy and/or negatives has been sent to Contractor, including after the termination and/or  cancellation of this contract.  All camera copy must be given by Contractor a form number which shall appear on all printed sheets.  Any camera copy and/or negatives for optical scanning forms previously designed for the University of Wisconsin-Madison prior to the award of this contract shall remain the sole property of the University.

All forms composed and/or printed by the Contractor as a result of the award of this contract are copyrighted by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.  Reproduction or use for other buyers of any camera copy and/or negatives, either in part or in their entirety, designed for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Testing and Evaluation Services cannot be made without the prior written approval of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Testing and Evaluation Services.

When Testing and Evaluation furnishes camera ready copy produced by another Contractor, no composition charges will be allowed except when alterations are required to the existing camera copy.

F:         Quality Control Procedures
As a separate attachment, contractors must include with their bid a brief statement of the quality control procedures and the statistical quality control methods used.

Contractor should perform such product tests as deemed advisable and appropriate throughout the composition and printing processes to assure a product acceptable to Testing and Evaluation.  Contractor must, however, complete at least the following tests on printed forms.

Each roll of paper, before being hung on the press, is to be subjected to an opacity test.  These measurements are to be repeated at the end of the press run.  Papers used must be Mark Reflex®, or equivalent.

The following are Mark Reflex ® Bond paper specifications:
a.     100% wood pulp paper without water marks, embossed or printed patterns, or
fluorescent additives.
b.     Weight:  50 to 80 lb. Bond.
c.     Color:  White
d.     Printed sheets must not curl or change dimensions under normal humidity
conditions.
e.     Free of all foreign elements causing false mark detection or failure to detect
light valid marks.
f.      Caliper must be within the range of .0036" - .008".
g.     Smoothness (Sheffield):  101-5449400
h.     Dimensional stability within an 8-1/2" length:
Grain Direction--Plus 0.010"; Minus 0.005"
Cross Direction--Plus 0.025"; Minus 0.010"
i.      Reflectance:  Minimum-70%

Note:  The weight and caliper may slightly vary for the 80 to 100 lb. Bond. 

Contractor must have a monitored quality control program at the time the paper is manufactured that insures its uniform readability on NCS scanners. 

a.     Ink.  Colored non-scannable inks must not exceed one read level above the average read level of the paper tested on an OpScan scanner.  Black scannable ink must be printed dark enough to register at a minimum read level of E (or level fifteen) on an OpScan scanner.

        Conformance to the ink requirements is based on using approved Mark Reflex® paper or equivalent, using a properly calibrated OpScan scanner with an LED (Light Emitting Diode) read head, and firmware which incorporates the sixteen-level read technology.

b.     Registration.  Contractor must guarantee the following tolerances for register and image size: (1) guide edge in relation to timing track and response positions--plus or minus 0.010", (2) printing:  color to color in relation to guide edge and read head--plus or minus 0.010", and (3) guide edge trim and printing combined--plus or minus 0.020".

c.     Testing.  Contractor is expected to provide an air-conditioned, climate controlled manufacturing environment to insure that the consistency of the documents does not vary due to changes in climatic conditions.  Sample forms must be regularly tested during the course of manufacturing and verified for:

d.     Visual: appearance, color, register, and trim.

e.     Size (printed image length): size in relationship to the readhead, and size in relationship to travel through a line printer (10 character/inch horizontal; 6 character/inch vertical).

f.      NCS Scanner Readings: paper voltage, color bar voltage, black bar voltage, timing marks voltage, and skunk mark voltage.

Contractor is to have available quality control check lists for an individual order against which Testing and Evaluation may inspect the forms upon receipt.

Ordinarily two-sided timing tracks are required to avoid ink offset caused by excessive ink and to avoid unscannable timing marks.  If timing tracks are requested on only one side of the sheet, the timing tracks must be such that the sheet will scan correctly on a properly calibrated NCS scanner.

G:         Backup and Customer Support
The Contractor must:
1.     have multiple facilities in the continental United States producing forms for use with NCS scanners.  This capability helps ensure support in the event of a catastrophe or plant capacity overload.  The Contractor may not subcontract any printing of jobs to outside printers.

2.     provide a company representative residing in the area and customer support at the printing facilities to manage the forms needs of the customer.

3.     provide, on request, forms design reference materials, layout sheets, instructional programs and materials used in the design of Mark Reflex®, or equivalent documents.

4.     provide assistance on the design of scannable forms, including consulting on technical questions and issues and availability of complete forms design service from customer specifications.

5.     provide assistance on the design of scanning systems applications, including technical consulting on the integration of scanner hardware, scanning software, forms design, and forms handling by both respondent and customer.

6.     have Design Expert forms design software package, or equivalent, for the Windows platform, which includes the ability to locally overprint standard forms from the Contractor.

If forms design software training is available on video, or other medium or method, the Contractor should supply one copy at no cost or on-site training, if available. 

H:         Packaging and Shipping Cartons
The minimum packaging requirements consist of shrink-wrapping AND inner boxing in packages of 500, single 8 x 11 or 8 x 12, or 250 double 11 x 17 forms as specified on the work order, unless special requirements are requested at the time of ordering.  Include a sample of packaging with your bid.  (This sample can be combined with the general purpose answer sheets requested in 18.7 of the Special Conditions of Bid.)  If other than standard packaging is required, it will be requested at the time of ordering.

The maximum weight for any shipping carton should not exceed sixty-five (65) pounds unless otherwise agreed to by Testing and Evaluation.

I:          Plus or Minus Quantity
Unless specified otherwise in the Work Order, the contractor may ship the ordered quantity plus or minus five percent and shall charge for the delivered quantity according to the per/M price for the ordered quantity.  In the event a shortage of up to minus five percent is delivered despite Work Order prohibition, the Contractor may be required to supply by Air Express or equivalent a quantity to meet the ordered number at no expense to the University.

Testing and Evaluation shall have the option of accepting or rejecting any excess over the plus five percent.  If accepted, the price shall be at the per/M rate for the larger total quantity.  If Testing and Evaluation rejects excess over the plus five percent, the contractor shall be responsible for the disposition of such excess and shall be liable for all costs related to that disposition.

If Contractor supplies a quantity of forms less than ninety-five per cent of that specified in the Work Order which has no statement as to quantity acceptable, Testing and Evaluation has the option of accepting such shipment with the provision that the unit price shall be that specified in the Work Order; or Testing and Evaluation may request that the contractor complete the shipment.  Contractor must then complete the shipment within seventy-two hours or other mutually agreed upon time.  Air Express or an equivalent method of transportation may be required at Contractor's expense for the completion of such an order.

J:         Assessments
If Contractor shall neglect, fail, or refuse to return the camera copy and/or negatives as specified in this contract, or if Contractor shall reproduce or use for other buyers any camera copy and/or negative in violation of this contract, the Contractor must pay the University following such reproduction or use or failure to return $40.00 per calendar day per camera copy and/or negative, not to exceed $3,000.00 for any one camera copy and/or negative.  Such liability extends beyond the cancellation or termination of this contract.

The assessments provision does not relieve Contractor from the responsibility for production and delivery of acceptable quality forms.  The University's failure to invoke the assessment provision as to one or more purchases under this agreement does not constitute a waiver of the University’s right to assess other purchases under this agreement.

Payment of assessments by Contractor will be within thirty days after notice.  Such payment will be by check unless the University notifies Contractor that in kind or other arrangements are permissible.

Delivery is of the essence.  Late shipments may be assessed ten percent of total cost of order per day.

K:         General Purpose Answer Sheets
The Contractor is required to inventory and guarantee the availability of at least 25,000 five-responses-per-item "general purpose answer sheets" for immediate off the shelf delivery at all times.  Contractors must supply pricing per/M for both sequence numbered and unnumbered.  Twenty-five copies of Contractor's version of an 8-1/2 x 11 inch "general purpose answer sheet" with five responses per item  must be included with the bid.  The twenty-five copies will be used to determine whether or not the bidder's forms can be processed on Testing and Evaluation's NCS scanning systems.  Include also with the bid a copy of your current price list for "general purpose answer sheet" stock.

Revision History