Government Printing: Legal and Regulatory Framework Is Outdated for New Technological Environment (Letter Report, 04/15/94, GAO/NSIAD-94-157). With the emergence of various electronic technologies, the traditional definitions of printing and duplicating have become blurred. As a result, the framework of laws and regulations used to manage government publishing has become outdated. Because outdated definitions drive federal publishing decisions--rather than sound business practices that stress cost-effectiveness and customer service--agencies are confused about how best to manage their publishing activities. Moreover, the federal government's two largest printers, the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the Defense Printing Service (DPS), are operating with excess capacity. In fiscal year 1993, GPO reported revenues of $817 million and DPS reported revenues of $403 million. Both GPO and DPS are challenged with managing current operations under existing laws, regulations, and guidance, while planning future operations that respond to the rapid technological change. Both are experiencing operating losses as a result of diminishing workloads and excess capacity. Some DPS practices are inconsistent with applicable laws, regulations, and congressional guidance. For example, DPS has procured some printing work that should have gone to GPO, has filled a small amount of printing orders for non-DOD agencies, and has acquired duplicating equipment without certification from the Joint Committee on Printing or the Public Printer of the United States. --------------------------- Indexing Terms ----------------------------- REPORTNUM: NSIAD-94-157 TITLE: Government Printing: Legal and Regulatory Framework Is Outdated for New Technological Environment DATE: 04/15/94 SUBJECT: Printing costs Publication costs Government publications Information dissemination operations Life cycle costs Federal regulations Technology transfer Electronic publications Cost analysis ************************************************************************ We regret that the full text of this item is presently unavailable. See the GAO FAQ - Section 2.0 for printed copy ordering information. The FAQ is automatically retrieved with all WAIS search results or can be obtained by sending e-mail to: [email protected]