1. Printing Services Mechanisms and Processes:
   To begin the process of obtaining a printing requirement, the IC must establish a type “A” Inter-agency agreement (IAA) in the NBS system. This will allow it to procure printing services from HHS/PSC. The IAA can be established at Division/Office level and renewed either quarterly or annually as determined by IC management.
   
   Once the IAA is in place, a completed HHS-26A, Request for Printing Services, is required to obtain printing services. The requester must input both the IAA CAN Number and a Purchase Order Number, and obtain all authorizing signatures. 
   
   When this is completed, the approved HHS-26Awill be routed electronically to the PSC Printing Procurement Office, [email protected] Upon receipt, the PSC Printing Officer will assign a PSC Printing Specialist to process the requirement. 
   
   NIH staff may acquire business cards in accordance with procedures and approvals identified at  https://oamp.od.nih.gov/dsaps/guides-policies-procedures - Acquisition of Employee Business Cards.
    
2. Printing Procured for Directors of Institutes:
   Section 405(c)(4) of the PHS Act, 42 U.S.C. §284(c)(4) exempts Directors of Institutes from the GPO printing requirements as well as from any approval requirements of the HHS for printing by the GPO, including the GP&BR.    Therefore, all contracting officers acquiring printing for Institute Directors may contract for printing services without regard to the statute that requires that printing be acquired through the GPO, however, all relevant FAR regulations apply. Further, they do not need any clearance or approval to proceed with their printing requirements.                  However, see Item 4 below for clearance requirements for publications; Item 5 below for waivers and exemptions; Item 7a below for FDLP and Library of Congress requirements, Item 7b below for C&I requirements, and Item 8 for reporting requirements and for procedures to follow should the Institute decide to utilize the PSC Publishing Service to acquire its printing needs.
    
3. Printing Procured for Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs): 
   Under 44 U.S.C. §501, all printing by Government agencies must be done by the GPO. The contracting officer who is acquiring printing directly, or as a peripheral deliverable under a contract for ICOs must comply with 44 U.S.C. §501 and the GP&BR, and seek approval of these printing requirements from the PSC Publishing Service. In addition, approval must be obtained from the PSC Printing Officer. See Item 4 below for clearance requirements for publications; Item 5 below for waivers and exemptions; and Item 8e below for printing and reporting requirements.
    
4. Clearance Requirements for Publications:
   NIH Manual Chapter 1184 Preparation and Clearance of Scientific, Technical, and Public Information Presented by NIH Employees or Produced for Distribution by NIH, directs NIH staff to follow existing NIH communications clearance procedures. Specific questions on clearance requirements and guidance may be obtained from the NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison. See NIH Manual Chapter 1184 for further information regarding this requirement.
    
5. Waivers and Exemptions:
   On March 19, 1984, the JCP granted the HHS a waiver of paragraphs 38 and 46-1 of the GP&BR to permit the initial publication of articles written by HHS employees in privately published journals, encyclopedias, and textbooks. This includes permission to pay page charges and to purchase separates of the articles (commonly referred to as “reprints without covers” and “associated publication costs”) at the time of their publication, directly from the publisher. 
   
   In addition, under Section 301(a)(1) of the PHS Act, 42 U.S.C. §241, the PHS has allowed private publishers to print the results of PHS scientific research in technical journals and distribute any required copies within the Federal Government or to experts within the specific field.
   
   For printing which is acquired by ICOs, Title III of the GP&BR, Items 35-2, 35-3, and 35-4 exempt three types of printing from the prohibition under 44 U.S.C. §501 to directly contract for printing:
   • writing, editing, and preparing of manuscripts and illustrations, and administrative printing as part of contracts;
   • duplicating of less than 5,000 units of only one page, or less than 25,000 units in the aggregate of multiple pages. Pages may not exceed a maximum image size of 10-3/4 x 14-1/4 inches. (Under Item 2-1, printing in excess of these amounts must be authorized by the PSC Printing Officer, HHS Printing Officer, or by the Joint Committee); and,
   • printing of less than 250 duplicates from original microform.
      
6. Approvals:
   Before publishing reprints, new editions and/or revisions of publications, periodicals, newsletters, informational bulletins and proceedings or transcripts, NIH staff should review the latest edition of the NIH Manual Chapter 1184, Preparation and Clearance of Scientific, Technical, and Public Information Presented by NIH Employees or Produced for Distribution by NIH to determine the proper review and approval procedures.
    
7. Distribution Requirements applicable to all Government publications:
   1. FDLP - 44 U.S.C. §1903 requires that all Government publications, other than those determined to be required for strictly administrative purposes that have no public interest or educational value and documents classified for reasons of national security, be made available to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).
      
      For printing that is being acquired for an ICO directly from a commercial source outside the auspices of PSC Publishing Services, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) must contact the GPO Superintendent of Documents prior to issuing the requirement in order to ascertain the additional number of copies required for the FDLP.  The cost for printing these extra copies shall be borne by the ICO responsible for the issuance.
      The FDLP contact information is: By phone at 02-512-1119 or submit an ask GPO inquiry at https:ask.gpo.gov/s/
      With the assistance of the FDLP contact, the project officer must also:
      1. Determine whether the publication is suitable for FDLP distribution, and if so, the number of copies as determined by GPO.
      2. Ascertain how many additional copies are required by the FDLP.
      3. Include this amount plus 15 file copies for the Library of Congress in the print order.
      4. Direct the commercial printer (or contractor) to deliver the required number of copies addressed exactly as follows:
         
         Depository Copies:
         
         Depository Copies
         U.S. Government Printing Office
         Depository Receiving Station, 
         44 H St., NW, Loading Dock
         Stop: FDLP
         Washington, DC 20401
         
         File Copies:
         
         15 File Copies
         Library of Congress
         U.S./Anglo Division
         101 Independence Ave., S.E. 
         Washington, DC 20540-4274 
         
         All copies should be shipped or mailed – No couriers accepted.
         Additionally, the ICO is responsible for bearing the printing and binding costs.
          
   2. C&I Program - The ICO must furnish the C&I with 2 copies of every publication produced or procured through other than GPO sources other than those determined to be required for strictly administrative or operational purposes that have no public interest or educational value. These copies are to be forwarded to:
      
      Chief, Cataloging Branch
      Content Acquisition Specialist
      Information Dissemination Division
      U.S. Government Printing Office
      732 N. Capital Street, N.W., Room A-508
      Stop: IDAD
      Washington, DC 20401
       
   3. GPO Form 3868, "Notification of Intent to Publish." https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/forms-standards-pdf-files/3868.pdf.
      
      The GPO Form 3868 is used to notify the Superintendent of Documents of a forthcoming publication. ICOs acquiring printing commercially should complete and submit GPO Form 3868 and send it electronically to GPO at [email protected] email box at least 30 days prior to submission of the job for printing and binding through the Government Publishing Office (GPO) or other authorized channels (e.g., in-house, or waiver). Hard copy submissions should include two completed copies of the GPO Form 3868 and be mailed to:
      
      U.S. Government Printing Office
      Document Control Branch
      STOP: SSMC
      Washington, DC 20401
      
      GPO can be contacted for additional information by:
      Phone:  202-512-1707
      Fax:  202-512-1657
      email: https://www.gpo.gov 
       
8. Commercial Printing Activity Reports - Monthly and Semi-Annual

   44 U.S.C. §1902 requires ICOs that print publications directly through commercial sources to furnish the information requested below to PSC Publishing Services for consolidation and submission: 

   • A monthly listing of these publications to go to the GPO’s Superintendent of Documents, and

   • A semi-annual Commercial Printing Activity Report to go to the JCP of the U.S. Congress

To facilitate these reporting requirements, PSC Publishing Services has an on-line database (http://mitts.hhs.gov/jcp/scripts/jcp_form.asp) which allows ICOs to input commercial printing information. For additional information, contact PSC Publishing Services at 301-594-0553.

ICOs may request that the PSC Publishing Service conduct a cost analysis based on GPO, FDLP and Library of Congress file copy requirements to determine the most effective procurement method (i.e., commercial printer vs. GPO). If the Director of a National Research Institute decides not to directly acquire printing services, the PSC Publishing Service will handle all FDLP, Library of Congress and C&I requirements, as well as reporting requirements.

If it is decided that PSC Publishing Services will acquire the printing services, then the following procedures are to be followed for ICOs desiring to acquire their printing services using PSC Publishing Services:

• PSC Publishing Services will ensure that printing materials are in compliance with all regulations and reporting requirements and that the required copies have been sent to the FDLP, the Library of Congress, and the C&I.
• ICOs that opt to use the PSC Publishing Service will not be charged by GPO for the cost of printing additional FDLP copies. Please note that the costs of printing the additional copies for the FDLP, Library of Congress, and C&I can be substantial and, therefore, ICOs are encouraged to discuss requirements with a PSC Publishing Service printing specialist prior to commercially procuring such printing.
• All reporting requirements will be handled by PSC Publishing Services. Questions shall be directed to the PSC Printing Officer.