The JCP and the GPO have prominent roles in federal government printing. The oldest joint committee in Congress, the JCP was established in 1846 and is comprised of five Representatives and five Senators. It oversees the operation of GPO, which by law is the principal printing organization for federal agencies. The JCP exercises oversight over government printing, and is authorized to “use any measure it considers necessary to remedy neglect, delay, duplication or waste in the public printing and binding, and the distribution of Government publications.” To assist in carrying out its responsibilities, in 1990 the JCP updated the Government Printing and Binding Regulations, which require agencies to report semi-annually to the JCP any in-house printing and any printing that exceeds 5,000 production units of a single page or 25,000 production units in the aggregate of multiple pages. GPO was established in 1861 to print government documents and disseminate them to the public. Title 44 of the U.S Code, Public Printing and Documents, provides that all printing for Congress, the executive branch, and the judiciary (except the Supreme Court) is to be done by or contracted by GPO, unless otherwise exempted. GPO prints at its in- house plant in Washington, D.C., and one other secure facility for passports and smart cards only, but it contracts with private printers to produce the majority of printing for the federal government. At its in-house plant, GPO prints primarily congressional documents, such as the Congressional Record. GPO offers different programs and services such as GPO Express, which allows agencies to print directly to FedEx Office and other private sector vendors, and the GPO Simplified Purchase Agreement Program, which provides a list of pre-approved private printers and stated prices for federal agencies to use when selecting a printer. GPO receives funding through direct appropriations ($126 million in fiscal year 2012), collection of an approved fee-for-service from other federal agencies for print procurement, and the sale of publications to the public. GPO’s activities also include providing public access to official government documents though the FDLP and GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) website. The Superintendent of Documents, who heads GPO’s Information Dissemination division, is responsible for collecting government products and disseminating them to the public through a network of approximately 1200 depository libraries and online catalogues. GPO evaluates documents to identify those that contain information on U.S. government activities or are important reference publications, and should therefore be disseminated to a depository library. Title 44 requires that federal agencies make their publications available to the Superintendent of Documents for cataloging and distribution though the FDLP. With the onset of digital publishing, the FDLP has been transformed into a primarily electronic program, obtaining and distributing federal documents digitally. GPO’s FDsys website, which offers an online catalogue of official government digital documents, also aids in the collection and preservation of government publications and provides access to the public. Federal government printing definitions are outlined in statute and regulation. Title 44 at Section 501 Note defines printing as the processes of composition, platemaking, presswork, duplicating, silkscreen processes, and binding. The 1990 JCP Regulations include the definitions of key printing terms applicable at that time. Prior to 1994, Title 44 did not include duplicating in the definition of printing, but in 1994, the Title 44 definition was updated to include duplicating (i.e., printing done on high- speed duplication machines) as a printing process. However, the 1990 JCP Regulations were not updated to include duplicating. In our review, we identified two main categories of agency printing used today— ink-based, and toner-based or ink-jet-based: Ink-Based Printing (also referred to as conventional printing) is a water and ink-based process that uses machines called printing presses to produce material such as publications and other documents. Presses use plates to transfer images onto a final paper document. Conventional presses are relatively costly to set up, making the first impression of a document expensive, but costs decline as the volume of copies increases, which makes it cost- effective for high volume print jobs. Ink-based printing uses offset or digital printing presses. Offset printing presses typically have many open areas where the machinery can be manually adjusted, and can take up a large amount of space (see fig. 1). A digital printing press also uses plates to transfer images and ink, but the process is computerized and the press is mostly closed because it does not need the same level of manual adjustments (see fig. 2). Toner-Based Printing (also referred to as duplication) is a process on machines that use either heat to transfer an image on paper or toner or ink-jet to transfer an image to paper. Toner-based printing is typically done on one type of equipment, a high-speed duplication machine, also referred to as a high-speed copier. This refers to a high capacity toner-based machine, typically capable of 100 or more black and white images per minute with some finishing capabilities (e.g., staples, collating, limited binding, etc.) (see fig. 3). These machines typically have a higher printing speed and capacity than typical “walk- up” office copiers. Since the JCP Regulations were updated in 1990, agencies’ printing operations have changed in scale and type. Printing industry and government data suggest that the total volume of printed material has been declining for at least the past 10 years. A major factor in this decline is the use of electronic media options, such as digital publishing. As such, federal agencies publish more documents directly to the Internet where the public can access them, bypassing the need for the agency to print hard copies. At the same time that digital publishing was increasing, digital printer/copier technology was developing. In circumstances where agencies still needed hard copies to be printed, digital printers and copiers allowed federal agencies to produce documents themselves that formerly would have required professional printing expertise from outside vendors such as GPO or private printers. Based on definitions we developed in conjunction with GPO and the Interagency Council on Printing and Publication Services, among the agencies in our survey universe, we measured 64 percent fewer in-house printing plants than the number included in the 1990 JCP Regulations. The 1990 JCP Regulations listed 231 authorized in-house printing plants; agencies we surveyed reported operating 84 in-house plants. Although there was an overall decline in the number of printing plants, there was not a decline across all agencies—9 of the surveyed agencies reported a decrease in the number of plants, 14 agencies reported no change in the number of in-house plants, and 8 agencies reported an increase in the number of in-house plants. DOD accounted for the greatest decline in in-house printing plants. For example, the 1990 JCP Regulations listed 142 in-house printing plants for the armed services and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which currently manages the majority of DOD’s printing infrastructure. DLA officials reported managing 17 in-house plants in our survey (see fig. 4). Other agencies that reported declines showed less dramatic reductions, such as the Department of Energy, which had 18 plants on the 1990 list, and reported 5 plants in our 2013 survey. A decline in the number of in- house plants could be due to some agencies reducing their printing and focusing more on digital publications. One factor that could have influenced the increased emphasis on digital publications is a November 9, 2011, executive order promoting efficient spending. This executive order included a provision encouraging agencies “to limit the publication and printing of hard copy documents and to presume that information should be provided in an electronic form, whenever practicable, permitted by law, and consistent with applicable records retention requirements.” The vast majority of agencies that currently operate in-house printing plants reported operating duplication equipment. That is, most agencies reported operating high-speed duplication machines, and fewer reported operating conventional printing presses. Of the 32 agencies operating in- house printing plants, 17 reported that all of their in-house printing was duplication, and another 14 agencies reported operating some duplication equipment in addition to ink-based conventional printing presses. The remaining agency did not report its type of equipment (see fig. 5). No agency reported having only ink-based conventional printing presses at its in-house plants. In addition to agencies operating fewer printing plants and conducting more duplication, interviews with selected agencies showed declines in printing volumes in recent years. We interviewed six agencies that, according to OMB budget data, accounted for about 80 percent of total federal printing and reproduction obligations. Of those six agencies, five reported declines in total printing volumes between fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2011, ranging from 6 percent to 59 percent. One agency reported an 11 percent increase in printing volumes and told us it was due in part to opening an additional in-house plant in 2009. All six agencies estimated a decrease in total spending on printing and reproduction between fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2011. Decreases ranged from as little as 0.1 percent to over 90 percent. All six agencies also reported greater spending on printing sent to GPO and private printers than on in-house printing or duplication. For example, in fiscal year 2011, USPS reported spending $5.8 million on in-house printing and spending $108.3 million on printing sent to private printers. Similarly, HHS reported spending $0.4 million on in-house printing, and $50.2 million on printing sent to GPO or private printers in fiscal year 2011. Agencies told us that they use a number of factors such as sensitivity, cost, volume, turnaround time, and in-house capabilities to determine if they will print in-house or externally through GPO or private printers.