Print technology and associated services

What's covered

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

Core products and services

It is mandatory for participating agencies to use the contract to procure any requirements they have for Category 1, 2 and 3 products and services.

• Category 1 - Device and peripherals
• Category 2 - Device maintenance, and consumables and parts
• Category 3 - Print and scanning related software

Value adding products and services

It is optional for participating agencies to procure from the following categories:

• Category 4 - Print and scanning consulting, and professional services
• Category 5 - Provider enabled solutions
• Category 6 - 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)
• Mail house services
• 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
• Processes necessary to approve printed proofs
• Electronic document and records management systems (EDRMS). Note that providers will be expected to provide support in integrating products with EDRMS systems
• Stand-alone facsimiles.

How it works

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

Agencies 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.  
• Standard Cost per Copy – pay a fixed per copy rate for selected 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 three 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 NZGP approves a different term in writing. This excludes Statements of Work that are based on a Short Term Rental Pricing Model.   

Statements of Work will survive the expiry of PTAS, meaning NZGP will continue to support the relationship and delivery under the AoG PTAS contract. However there will be a point where no new Statements of Work can be entered into under the AoG PTAS contract (eg once there is a 3rd generation print contract).

Features and benefits

• New products and services can be added to the catalogue during the life of the contract.
• Pricing reflects the aggregated value of government spend providing best value for money for participating agencies.
• A range of different pricing options are available.
• A Product and Service Catalogue to provide a comparison of products and services between providers on the panel.
• Support from NZGP 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.

Savings and costs

Savings

Agencies who participate in the Print Technology and Associated Services contract don't need to go through a full procurement process of their own, which saves time, effort and cost.

Agencies 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.

Considerations should include:

• choosing the right pricing option
• choosing the right number of devices
• running a competitive secondary procurement process
• looking at the total product and service requirements with one provider.

Additional ways to save money include:

• Reduce overall print volumes which also reduces paper and energy costs.
• Optimize the number of devices for your environment.
• Default to double sided printing. Cost is per page, not side.
• Reduce colour printing, as colour costs over 25% more than printing in black and white.
• Implement software solutions that:
  • supports volume reduction
  • provides user information, to enable on-charging
  • can support behaviour change.
• Consider the implications of owning vs leasing print devices, or other print related components, with respect to charges and also maximizing the useful life.
• Consider the implications of any termination fees arising from an early exit from existing arrangements.
• Automating processes (Check out the Product and Service catalogue (agency login required) for value adding categories, and talk to the panel of providers).

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 represents 1.5% of the total spend.

Providers collect the administration fee and pass it on to MBIE - agencies don't need to make any payments to MBIE.