AGY-1760 | Government Printing Service

Full description

The Government Printing Service was formed in the second half of 1989. There appears to have been no formal constitution. The Service may have commenced immediately upon the abolition of the Government Printing Office in July 1989. The first reference is the advertising of some positions on 6 September, 1989. (1) By 13 September it was known as the 'Government Printing Service' (2)

Its first call for tenders was published in the NSW Government Gazette of on 22 September, 1989. The role of the service, which succeeded the NSW Printing Office, was to provide printing services for government agencies and other clients; to arrange for external providers to undertake printing work; and organise tenders for larger printing jobs. The service originally consisted of the following four sections:
Print procurement service which provided production expertise and prepared specifications for printing tasks for clients. This section dealt with a wide supplier base from which it identified the most suitable printer to carry out a particular job.
Technological services unit. Evaluated emerging publishing technologies, provided advice to inquiries relating to appropriate publishing solutions. Providing training services and made available staff for project work. The technological support group provided independent advice to the government regarding the purchase of publishing and printing equipment.
Document reproduction centres (a network of 25 was operational in 1990) These were co-ordinated by a Regional Control Centre.
Gazette Publishing house which co-ordinated the publication of the weekly and special NSW Government Gazettes. The publishing house was responsible for editorial, advertising and publishing the Gazette the major official publication of government and other notices in New South Wales. (3)

By 1992 the internal structure of the service had altered to include the following:
Print services: filled a similar role to the former Print Procurement section. This section had developed expertise in term contracts, high security work and crisis orders.
Sales/ Marketing: Sales representatives visited client agencies providing advice or papers, inks and other printing requisites not restricted to paper printing.
Forms store: arranged for the supply of standard government and hospital forms.
Publishing and technical services: filled a similar role to the former technological services unit and the Government Gazette continued to be published in a separate section. There was a network of 22 document reproduction centres. (4)

In 1996 the Service purchased a digital system for the storage of Acts of Parliament which could be reproduced when needed, (5) and electronic data interchange improved the system and timeliness of regular reporting to clients. (6) Electronic business continued to expand in the following year with the introduction of electronic proofs using PDF software. (7) In 1998 the Service commenced accepting copy, and receiving and transmitting proofs by email, thus speeding business and bringing particular benefits to remote clients. At the same time the Government Printing Service expanded digital multimedia technologies to architectural and engineering plan printing and began storing images of plans on digital CD. (8)

In January 2002 the Government Printing Service merged with State Mail and the legislative publishing arm of Government Information Services to become cmSolutions. The printing operations of the new service continued to be known as Government Printing Service for the initial trading period. (9)

Endnotes
1. Public Service Notices, 6 September 1989, p.6.
2. Public Service Notices, 13 September 1989, p.4.
3. NSW Government Directory, July 1990, pp.31-33.
4. NSW Government Gazette Second edition 1992, pp.34-35.
5. Department of Public Works and Services report for the year ended 30 June 1996, pp.25-26.
6. Ibid. p.43.
7. Department of Public Works and Services report for the year ended 30 June 1997, p.54.
8. Department of Public Works and Services report for the year ended 30 June 1998, p.38.
9. The establishment of cmSolutions was not officially proclaimed. The date of establishment has been inferred from advertisements in the NSW Government Gazette.