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