CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 759

January 14, 2010

TO: Printing and Publishing Officials of the Federal Government

SUBJECT: Future pricing structure for the cost to publish in the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations.

Currently, the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) accept documents for publication in the Federal Register as native MS Word files; SGML tagged and validated files, and camera copy and manuscript copy as necessary. Agencies that create and submit SGML tagged files have received an additional discount in the GPO’s current production system. 

GPO and OFR are developing new and more efficient technologies for the production process, which will improve and simplify the way in which agencies submit Federal Register documents.  It is now possible for GPO and OFR to automatically convert native Word files to fully validated SGML or XML for print and online dissemination.  Federal Register/CFR publications will operate in an XML environment for the Federal Digital System (FDsys.gov), and XML documents will drive applications that serve the President’s Open Government initiative. 

To that end, GPO and OFR would like to announce to our customers that in the near future, native Word files will become the preferred method for Federal Register submission, eliminating the need for agencies to create SGML tagged versions of documents. Due to this production efficiency, the discounted rate for SGML submission will eventually be discontinued.   

Once our improved production system is fully in place, a restructured pricing guide will be made available to all customers, along with additional information on the process for submitting documents to the Federal Register.

If you have any questions about the information contained in this Circular Letter, please contact the Office of Official Journals of Government on 512-2100.

Sincerely,

DR. RICARDO GARCIA,
Managing Director, Print Procurement