Doing Business with GPO 

Publishing Information for Vendors
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Dear Prospective Bidder:

Thank you for your interest in doing 

business with GPO. For more than 

160 years we have supplied printing, 

binding, and related services to 

Congress and agencies of the Federal 

Government.

The majority of the Federal 

Government’s publishing needs 

requisitioned through GPO are 

contracted out to the private 

sector using Customer Service’s 

partnerships with commercial printers 

and the information industry. This 

business model enables the Federal 

Government to take full advantage 

of the vast resources, expertise, and 

specialization within the private sector, 

and ensures open market competition 

for publishing contracts among 

thousands of businesses, large and 

small.

GPO is committed to providing all 

qualified potential contractors with 

an equal opportunity to take part 

in its competitive bidding process. 

This publication was developed to 

explain GPO’s printing procurement 

program and to provide you with the 

information you need to get started as 

a GPO contractor.

We appreciate your interest and look 

forward to working with you in the 

future.

Sincerely,

HUGH NATHANIAL HALPERN

Agency Director

GPO’s Mission

GPO’s mission is to publish 

trusted information for the 

Federal Government to the 

American people.

GPO’s Vision

GPO’s vision is America 

Informed.
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Services

■ Binding

■ Book and eBook Design

■ Consulting and Facility 

Management Services

■ Design Services

■ Distribution Services

■ Digital Printing

■ Disaster Recovery

■ eBook and eMagazine Conversion 

and Dissemination

■ Editorial Design

■ Environmental Graphic Design

■ File Conversion

■ Illustration

■ Indexing Services

■ Magazine/Periodical Design

■ Multimedia Design

■ Order Fulfillment 

■ Print-on-Demand

■ Security Printing/PII

■ Scanning

■ Subscription Services

■ Variable Data Printing

■ Warehousing

■ 508 Compliance

Procurement Products and Services

GPO procures a wide range of printing and publishing products and services from 

traditional print, to specialty products, promotional items, and digital services (see 

below for some examples). GPO welcomes any company, large or small, with the 

capability to produce such items to register with us in order to get started.

Products

■ Banners

■ Books

■ Business Cards and Stationery

■ Braille

■ CDs and DVDs

■ Congressional Publications

■ Direct Mail

■ eBooks and eMagazines

■ Envelopes

■ File Folders

■ Forms

■ Kit Packages

■ Labels

■ Maps & Drawings

■ Pamphlets and Brochures

■ Posters

■ Promotional Merchandise (bags, 

coffee mugs, pens, pencils, t-shirts, 

etc.)

■ Signage

■ Vehicle Wraps
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Procurement Process

Per Federal regulations, GPO’s 

printing procurements use competition 

to the maximum extent practicable, 

and almost all procurements are 

publicized on the GPO.gov website. 

Any vendor who is interested in GPO’s 

procurement activities may submit a 

quote/bid on all posted procurements. 

It is one of the Government’s most 

successful procurement programs, 

ensuring the most cost-effective use 

of the taxpayer’s printing dollars.

First, GPO prepares a written 

description (specification) of the 

work or services to be performed. 

Specifications include information 

about the job such as:

■ Nature of work to be completed

■ Sizes to be produced

■ Color standards

■ Quantities

■ Packaging and marking information

■ Delivery schedules

■ Any additional materials or services 

necessary to completely fulfill the 

requirements

GPO will then advertise online for its 

requirements, inviting any qualified firm 

to submit a bid/quote.

On average, over 150 printrelated projects are procured 

each day to private-sector 

vendors. GPO competitively 

buys products and services to 

thousands of private-sector 

companies in all 50 states and 

territories.

Becoming a 

GPO Contractor

Registration

Firms interested in supplying any 

product or service to GPO must 

register their business online at GPO’s 

Contractor Connection website. The 

site provides prospective contractors 

access to all of the required fields to 

successfully register their firm with 

GPO.

Steps

1. Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier 

– Sam.gov

2. Obtain a Data Universal Number 

– dnb.com

3. Register on Contractor 

Connection —

ContractorConnection.gpo.gov

4. Complete and Submit Required 

Forms 

a. Request for Taxpayer 

Identification Number and 

Certification — IRS Form W-9

b. Payment Information Form for 

Direct Deposit — SF 3881

Return all forms signed and completed 

to GPO via email, bidsection@gpo.

gov, or fax, 202.512.1782. 

Once the registration process has 

been completed, you will be issued a 

Contractor Code (GPO I.D. Number). 

You will then be invited to bid on 

GPO solicitations based on GPO’s 

evaluation of the information provided 

by you.
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Available Printing 

Procurement Methods

GPO has a wide range of set 

procurement options available. 

Information below contains an 

overview of a few of the different 

contracting methods and a short 

synopsis on each. Please review 

the following procurement methods 

to learn more about the business 

opportunities available with the GPO.

For additional information on any 

of the contracting options, please 

contact a print procurement 

customer service team located on 

the website.

One Time Bids 

Large or complex projects procured 

using formal bidding process 

anticipated to be over $100,000.

Simplified Purchase Agreement 

(SPA) SPAs put the control in the 

hands of the customers. This is a 

streamlined vehicle for agencies to 

acquire printing, related publishing and 

digital services valued up to $10,000 

from qualified commercial vendors.

Small Purchases 

Projects under $100,000, procured 

using a quicker contracting method 

than a One Time Bid.

Term Contracts

Contracts supporting repetitive orders 

for a similar product or service over 

a period of time (1 – 5 years). Each 

contract allows for simple, convenient 

ordering directly from the customer 

agency to the contractor. Estimates for 

individual orders are easily produced 

from a contract schedule of prices that 

are fixed for the contract period.

Single Award - when one vendor can 

satisfy our customer requirements

Multiple Award - when multiple 

vendors would be better positioned to 

meet our customer’s requirements

GPO Onsite and Consulting 

Services 

This umbrella agreement gives prequalified GPO vendors the opportunity 

to provide Onsite Document 

Solutions which offers consulting for 

comprehensive strategies to transform 

and streamline document operations 

to all Federal Government agencies. 

Production support is an innovative 

source delivering effective equipment 

and personnel solutions for in-house 

copy center operations.
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Bid Submissions & 

Contract Awards

Submitting Bids/Quotes

GPO has two primary methods of 

soliciting bids for all Regional and DC 

Teams procurements. One method 

is through solicitations sent directly 

to qualified vendors on a rotational 

basis. These solicitations give you, 

the vendor, a chance to submit a bid/

quote on the specification. These 

solicitations are also available to all 

vendors in the following method.

The second method is through 

posting online in two places. GPO’s 

Quick Quote website will show Small 

Purchase contract opportunities. 

To submit a quote, you must be a 

registered vendor on Contractor 

Connection. GPO requires all small 

purchase quotes be submitted 

through Contractor Connection 

using Quick Quote unless otherwise 

directed. The sealed-bid solicitations 

for One-Time and Term Contracts 

are advertised on gpo.gov under 

Contract Opportunities and are also 

posted on sam.gov.

Reference Material

Prospective bidders have access 

to an online copy of GPO Contract 

Terms, GPO Publication 310.2. This 

document is included by reference in 

all GPO contracts. It should be read 

very carefully and retained for future 

reference. 

Additional pertinent GPO Publications 

may be found online:

■ GPO Publication 310.1, Quality 

Assurance Through Attributes 

Program for Printing and Binding

■ GPO Publication 310.3, Quality 

Assurance Through Attributes 

Program for Microforms

■ Government Paper 

Specification Standards 

September 2019, No. 13

Awarding Jobs

Sealed-bid awards are typically made 

to responsive, responsible contractors 

on the basis of lowest cost to the 

Government after considering the 

contractor’s past performance (both 

on-time delivery and product quality) 

and financial health. Awards under 

competitively negotiated procurements 

are based on best value, price and 

other factors specifically stated in 

the solicitation. In all contracts, GPO 

expects the contractor to conform to 

the contract terms and conditions.

Contractors have the opportunity to 

submit a written request to withdraw 

their bids or offers at any time before 

the time established for the opening of 

the bids or receipt of offers.
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Quality Level 

Sample Submission 

Procedures

Quality Rating Determination

Vendors are assigned a Quality 

Level (QL) based on the company’s 

ability to consistently produce 

orders at the required quality 

level without undue assistance 

on the part of the Government. 

There are five different Quality 

Levels from Best Quality (Level 

I) through Functional Quality 

(Level V). Upon entering GPO’s 

procurement program, a Quality 

Level 5 is automatically assigned. 

In order to get a higher rating, 

vendors are required to submit 

samples reflective of the quality of 

work produced by the company. 

GPO will evaluate these samples 

and each vendor will be issued a 

quality level rating. This rating will 

determine the types and levels of 

work you will be invited to bid on.

Follow the instructions in 

the Quality Level Sample 

Submission Procedures. Send 

samples along with a GPO Sample 

Certificate Form 2689.

The definitions of levels and basis 

for the evaluation of the samples 

are found in the GPO Publication 

310.1, Quality Assurance Through 

Attributes Program for Printing and 

Binding (QATAP).

Quality Assurance Through 

Attributes Program (QATAP)

All work performed under a 

contract with the GPO is subject 

to inspection and testing to ensure 

that all contract terms are fulfilled. 

Contracted work is inspected using 

the Quality Assurance Through 

Attributes Program (QATAP). This 

program provides for the precise 

expression, prior to production, of 

quality requirements for printing and 

related products. The program also 

provides for the clear determination, 

based on objective methods, of 

conformance to these requirements 

once the product has been produced 

or received. Items failing inspection 

will be rejected. You may be required 

to correct or replace defective items 

at your own expense, or to reimburse 

the GPO for any additional expenses 

incurred as a result of noncompliance.

Buy American Act

BUY AMERICAN ACT - NOTE: In 

compliance with Contract Terms 310.2 

(Rev. 01-18), Contractor must state 

within [quote/bid] submitted either that 

the end product is a Domestic end 

product or a Foreign end product as 

defined in Contract Clause 37 for the 

requested promotional item. ([Indicate 

either Domestic end product or 

Foreign end product in the comments 

field when submitting Quotes using 

Contractor Connection, or indicate 

either Domestic end product or 

Foreign end product on the face 

of the bid submitted for sealed bid 

procurements.]) 

If the contractor fails to state either 

that the end product is Domestic 

or Foreign, GPO will consider the 

[quote/bid] as a Foreign end product, 

in accordance with Contract Terms, 

Certifications C-2 (Buy American 

Certification) ...that components of 

unknown origin have been considered 

to have been mined, produced, or 

manufactured outside the United 

States.
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Getting Paid

GPO’s goal is to pay invoices 

according to the payment terms. 

Please read the following information 

to ensure your invoices are submitted 

properly in order to avoid payment 

delays.

The preferred method of submitting 

your invoices for payment is through 

the GPO fax gateway. 

If samples are required with your 

invoice submittal, you can mail them 

as specified in your GPO contract 

terms.

Invoice Submission Information

When completing your invoice 

package, please be sure to include 

all required information as outlined 

in GPO’s Billing Instruction (GPO 

Publication 300.3). The invoice 

should include the following:

■ The Purchase Order Number

■ Jacket Number 

■ Print order and program number 

on term contracts

■ Proof of delivery detailing exact 

quantity delivered and evidence 

that all contractual requirements 

have been met, including sample 

copies, negatives returned, sales 

copies, etc. **Please note that 

delivery receipts must also support 

any sample copy deliveries, 

negatives returned, sales copies, 

etc.

Please read your contract carefully 

to ensure all requirements have 

been met and are supported with 

documentation where required.

Note: In the GPO Billing Instructions, 

special attention should be paid to 

the requirements regarding evidence 

of shipment or delivery. We find noncompliance with these requirements results 

in a major portion of payment delays.

GPO’s Payment Program (EFT)

GPO is required to pay all contractors 

through the Electronic Funds 

Transfer (EFT) program. Under 

EFT, payments are in your account 

quickly. Accounting data is furnished 

electronically to your bank or financial 

institution. Your bank or financial 

institution is responsible for providing 

you with the accounting data you 

need to settle your accounts. To 

receive payment through EFT, 

contractors must complete an SF 

3881, ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous 

Payment Enrollment Form.

If you have questions regarding EFT 

payments or any billing concerns, 

please 

e-mail GPO at invoice-inquiry@gpo.

gov.

Contacts and Reference

GPO offers fair and equitable 

treatment to all suppliers. Thousands 

of small business firms obtain GPO 

contracts and continue to seek them 

because they are profitable. Our 

contracting personnel will give you 

full support and cooperation so that 

we obtain an acceptable product 

reasonably priced and timely.

Questions and Information

Please email GPO Bid Section at

bidsection@gpo.gov or call 

202.512.0526

Contractor Registration 

Information 

Contractor Connection

We hope this answers most of your 

questions about doing business with 

GPO. If you have other questions, 

please contact any of the GPO teams. 

They will be glad to help you.