Print technology and associated services

Latest news

12 September 2022 - New print technology and associated services contract launched

What's covered

The contract covers print equipment, print-related software, sector specific products like 3D printers, wide and large format printers and scanners; and related consultancy and provider-enabled services, and maintenance and servicing.

Core products and services

Participating agencies and schools must purchase these products and services from panel suppliers.

• Devices and peripherals
• Device maintenance, consumables and parts
• Print and scanning related software

Value adding products and services

Participating agencies and schools are encouraged to purchase the following products and services from panel suppliers but are not required to.

• Labour (print and scanning consulting, and professional services)
• Provider enabled solutions
• Sector specific solutions

What’s not covered

Some products and services are out of scope as they are covered by alternative contracts (see contract register) or because of the specialist nature of the products and services.

• Paper (and any other stationery requirements not specifically for the device/s)*
• Publications (defined as a document that provides information – eg brochures, magazines, etc.)
• Printed stationery – letterhead, business cards, envelopes (some), internal forms, name badges, desk plates
• Collateral such as branded pens, drink bottles, t-shirts and bags
• Processes necessary to finalise artwork and approve printed proofs
• Mail house services
• Electronic document and records management systems (EDRMS). Note that providers will be expected to provide support in integrating products with EDRMS systems

* Paper and other stationery requirements are available under the AoG office supplies agreement.

How it works

This contract uses Statements of Work as the contracting form between participating agencies/schools and providers.

Agencies/schools may select from a range of different pricing options to source their printing equipment:

• Monthly lease – pay a fixed monthly cost to lease print devices.
• Purchase – outright purchase to own print devices.
• Managed cost per copy – pay a negotiated per copy rate for print devices selected by your provider.
• Short term rental – to provide print devices for six months or less.

All pricing options also have capped service and maintenance rates, which are charged per copy and include the maintenance of devices and provision of all consumables.

The term of any Statement of Work shall be sixty (60) calendar months, unless the AoG Print team approves a different term in writing. This excludes Statements of Work that are based on a short term rental pricing model.

Statements of Work made under the previous print technology and associated services (PTAS) agreement (which expired on 10 September 2022) continue under the current PTAS agreement.

Features and benefits

• Pricing reflects the aggregated value of government spend providing best value for money for participating agencies/schools.
• A range of different pricing options to suit different needs: lease, purchase, managed cost-per-copy and short-term rental.
• Beneficial contract terms, including no minimum or committed volumes and fixed service and maintenance pricing.
• FlexiFleet and core print catalogue. FlexiFleet devices will be available through a ‘core’ print catalogue of devices agencies/schools most often use. This will encourage device standardisation, improve printer costs and access to consumables and maintenance parts.
• Support from the AoG Print team to provide guidance on options available, and to ensure ease of joining, transitioning to and participating in the contract.
• Providers subcontract, where necessary, high quality service partners to provide a comprehensive suite of products and services.
• Supplier-managed reuse and recycling programmes for end-of-life print devices.

Print technology and associated services broader outcomes

Savings and costs

Savings

Agencies/schools which participate in the print technology and associated services (PTAS) contract don't need to go through a full procurement process of their own, which saves time, effort and cost.

Agencies/schools should consider their overall print requirements as well as price. Software solutions and other value adding category products and services may support these requirements to provide a total solution for an agency/school.

Considerations should include:

• choosing the right pricing option (especially if print volumes have dropped)
• choosing the right number of devices
• running a competitive secondary procurement process.

Additional ways to save money include:

• Reduce overall print volumes which also reduces paper and energy costs.
• Optimise the number of devices for your environment.
• Default to double sided printing. Cost is per page, not side.
• Reduce colour printing, as colour can cost up to ten times more than printing in black and white.
• Implement software solutions that:
  • support volume reduction
  • provide user information, to enable on-charging
  • can support behaviour change.
• Consider the implications of owning instead of leasing print devices, or other print related components, with respect to charges and also maximising the useful life. For schools, there may be limits of how much of your budget can be used for leasing: Ministry of Education financial advisors can help you with this.
• Consider the implications of any termination fees from an early exit from existing arrangements.
• Automating processes (Check out the product and service catalogue for value adding categories, and talk to the panel of providers).

The PTAS contract provides great terms and means you will save money. We estimate that participating agencies and schools will save on average over 8%.

Costs

Most AoG contracts include an administration fee. This fee is a simple, effective and transparent way of recovering the cost of developing, sourcing, implementing and managing AoG contracts.

For this contract, the administration fee is 1.5% of the total spend.

Providers collect the administration fee and pass it on to MBIE - agencies/schools do not need to make any payments to MBIE.

Joining this contract