THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/SOURCES SOUGHT IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION. THE SUBMISSION OF PRICING, CAPABILITIES FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, AND OTHER MARKET INFORMATION IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED AND ALLOWED UNDER THIS RFI IN ACCORDANCE WITH (IAW) FAR 12. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. IAW FAR 12, responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. SOURCES SOUGHT DESCRIPTION This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is a sources sought/RFI only. The purpose of this sources sought/RFI is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 334516- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (size standard of 1,000 Employees). Responses to this sources sought will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this sources sought, a solicitation announcement may be published. Responses to this sources sought synopsis are not considered adequate responses for a solicitation announcement. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 02 Network Contracting Office, is seeking sources that can provide PrintMate as On-Demand System and PrintMate AS Cassette Printer that at a minimum meet the following salient characteristics for the Hudson Valley Healthcare System: To Be Delivered to: Hudson Valley Medical Center Castle Point Campus 41 Castle Point Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 The VA has a preference for domestic (manufactured in the United States) content where available. Salient Characteristics: For Cassette Printer Print Method: Thermal Transfer (Ribbon) Print Speed: ~10 seconds per cassette Connectivity: USB Power: 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 150 VA Footprint: Compact, designed for grossing stations Media: Thermal transfer ribbon (approx. 20,000 prints/roll) PrintMate cassettes Color: Black print on cassette Capacities: Available in 150, 450, or 900 cassette hopper sizes Weight (Unit Only): Approx 31 lbs. (14 kg) Features and Benefits: Point-of-Use Printing: Prints needed cassettes directly at the grossing station Workflow Automation: Prints barcodes for downstream processes Reduces Error: Eliminates manual handwriting for better accuracy Ease of Use: Cassettes come in tubes for easy loading For the SlideMate Must have on demand slide generating capability by scanning the barcode printed on the tissue cassette block at the individual microtomy workstation Label must transfer directly onto the glass slide with no additional step Must have a small footprint (no more than 13 d x 7 w x 12 h) Must have a heat transfer toner as the printing method. …