United States Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20401 OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC PRINTER February 1, 1999 TO: HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES As you know, the Government Printing Office (GPO) provides Federal agencies with highly valuable advice and assistance in obtaining their printing needs. One of the ways in which we provide this assistance is in the development of Government paper standards. The purpose of these standards is to achieve compliance with relevant statutes regarding printing papers; address environmental, workplace safety, and paper longevity issues; and achieve maximum savings in the Government's paper purchases. The standards provide agencies with flexibility to meet their particular papers needs. The enclosed Government Paper Specification Standards, No. 11, has been designed with these objectives in mind. They are effective immediately and supersede all previous issues. These standards fully comply with the intent of P.L. 94-950, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; P.L. 96-482, the Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments of 1980; as well as the President's recycling Executive Order 13101, ``Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition.'' Where practicable, the standards meet or exceed the order's minimum postconsumer content requirements. Certain low usage or specialty papers, however, may not be economically or technologically available with postconsumer fiber content. Barriers to the use of ``chlorine-free'' pulps and BCTMP (bleached- chemi-thermo-mechanical pulps) in the paper manufacturing process have been removed from the specification where the intended use of the paper is not affected. An uncoated, vegetable-fiber, book standard has also been included. Map papers with wet-strength properties meet OSHA requirements on the release of formaldehyde vapors into the atmosphere (29 CFR 1900.1048). Additionally, the specification of a neutral or alkaline pH is a minimum requirement for many grades of paper increasing the paper's longevity (P.L. 101-423, National Policy on Permanent Papers). In addition, these standards utilize metric measurements consistent with the Nation's metric conversion practice. (Omnibus Trade and Competitive Act of 1988, P.L. 100-418, Section 5164.) These specifications and standards are available for use by all departments of the Government and their field activities in the preparation of procurement documents for paper stocks and in specifying paper stocks to be used in printing, binding, copying, or duplicating. To help you, the GPO will furnish copies of these standards and standard paper samples as required for the transaction of public business. We are pleased to provide these standards as a service of the GPO, and we strongly encourage their use in procuring paper stocks to achieve the greatest possible savings for your agency. However, if needed we will also help you modify these standards or develop new ones to meet your specific needs. In addition, any suggestions or recommendations you may have that will result in more responsive, efficient, and economical paper standards will be welcomed. Please do not hesitate to provide them to the GPO's Quality Control and Technical Department, on 202-512-0782, or notify your GPO customer service representative. Sincerely, MICHAEL F. DiMARIO Public Printer