This REQUEST FOR INFORMATION is issued to assist the VHA Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) Contracting Office in performing market research. No proposals are being requested or accepted with this notice. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR QUOTES, AND NO CONTRACTS SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS INQUIRY. The VHA Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) Contracting Office is conducting market research on industry standards and best practices regarding multi-function printers (MFP) on behalf of the Meds by Mail (MbM) facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming. MbM has a future requirement for a color MFP and at least one black and white MFP. Meds by Mail manages non-urgent, maintenance prescription medications delivered directly to CHAMPVA Beneficiaries and children diagnosed with spina bifida, and has requirements for printing and disseminating patient information mailings on a monthly and quarterly basis. These requirements regularly include six (6) black & white reports printed monthly, and one (1) color report printed quarterly. Occasional ad hoc reports are required; e.g., 30,000 pages were printed for a one-time, unscheduled patient information mailing earlier this year. Additional prints of approximately 3,000 B&W prints a month are required for routine office requirements. The estimated number of prints are indicated below. Print Reports Estimated Quarterly Prints Estimated Annual Prints Quarterly Color Report 10,000 40,000 Black & White Reports Estimated Monthly Prints Estimated Annual Prints B&W Report 1 3,000 36,000 B&W Report 2 3,000 36,000 B&W Report 3 5,000 60,000 B&W Report 4 3,000 36,000 B&W Report 5 1,000 12,000 B&W Report 6 1,500 18,000 Total B&W Prints 16,500 198,000 Additional requirements for the MFPs will include: Network printing capability Dual Document Feeder (DIDF) Ability to print double-sided copies Finisher to sort and collate Optical Character Reader (OCR) for scanning documents Large capacity paper trays (500± pages) for 8½" x 11" paper CAC/PIV card reader eMail capability Hard drive retention (the VA will retain the hard drive because of patient data) Lease or rental plan to with maintenance plan to include toner and consumables (except paper) Questions In consideration of the above-mentioned requirements, frequency, and volume of prints, the CMOP Contracting Office is requesting input to answer the following questions to determine what MFP features will best suit the needs of MbM. What is the recommended copy speed (CPM) for these print volumes? Which is more cost effective to print color copies: Inkjet or laser toner? Which is more time efficient way to print color copies (CPM): Inkjet or laser toner? To better leverage costs versus time, would it be better to acquire multiple smaller MFPs to print multiple jobs simultaneously or a larger, faster MFPs? Because print volumes are inconsistent month to month, is it possible to pay monthly for each individual print based on an annual estimated volume than a monthly volume? (e.g., pay each print during a month for an estimated 50,000 prints a year rather than 4,000 monthly volume band.) Industry expertise and recommendations are desired to make a knowledgeable decision. Please provide input to these questions along with MFP CPM rates for calculations by the Contracting Officer. This RFI is issued solely for Market Research purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal/Quote (RFP/RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFP/RFQ in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to solicit or award a contract for this requirement. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Responders are advised that ALL costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested parties expense and the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or costs incurred or associated with submitting an RFI response.

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