United States Office of EPA 560/1-91-006
Environmental Protection Pollution Prevention December 1991
Agency and Toxics
How To Publish
A Document
In OPPT
How to plan
Where to find help
Printed on Recycled Paper
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Plan Your Efforts 1
Design Your Document 2
Distribution of Your Document 3
Proofreading, Copyediting, or Writing Help 5
Printing 6
Obtain a Publication Number 7
Make the Document Available to the Public 7
TSCA Assistance Information Service (TSCA hotline) . . 7
Public Information Center (PIC) 8
EPA Publications and Information Center (EPIC) 8
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) 8
Government Printing Office 9
U.S. Government Depository Library System 9
U.S. Consumer Information Center (CIC) 10
Office of Communications, Education, and
PublicAffairs 10
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Plan Your Efforts
Keep your objectives in mind as you plan your document. Different
audiences and communication goals require distinct approaches, so
knowing who will be reading the document and how they will use it
will help you decide
what topics to cover and in what detail,
how to design the document,
how many copies of the document will be needed, and
how to distribute the document.
Notes
Before you begin, check around to see if there is an
existing document that can meet your objectives.
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to do this. Suggested
sources are: Hattie Sykes, Information Management
Division, telephone number, 260-0556; Miles Allen,
Editorial Services Division, Office of Communications,
Education, and Public Affairs, telephone number,
260-6642; and the TSCA Assistance Information Service
(TSCA hotline), telephone number, 554-1404.
The Office of Communications, Education, and Public
Affairs has developed a new process to review the
planning and distribution of materials to the public. A
handbook about the processDeveloping Products for
the Public: A Handbook for EPA Communicators, product
number 176-B-91-001 Is available from the Public
Information Center (PIC), telephone number, 260-2080.
For additional information, contact Miles Allen, Editorial
Services Division, Office of Communications, Education,
and Public Affairs, telephone number, 260-6642.
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Design Your Document
It is wise to make arrangements for designing your publication at the
earliest planning stages. There are a number of options available.
Whichever you choose, EPA graphics standards must be followed.
Consider using a desktop system so changes can be made easily
and inexpensively if you plan to update your publication in the future.
The Editorial Services Division in the Office of
Communications, Education, and Public Affairs provides
desktop design services. This is also your resource for
questions about EPA graphics standards, whether you
are designing the document yourself or using a
contractor. Contact: Jim Ingram, Editorial Services
Division, telephone number, 260-6646.
The Printing Services Section in the Office of
Administration and Resources Management provides
limited desktop design services. Contact: Randy Bacon,
Printing Services Section, telephone number,
260-2128.
The Photocopy and Mail Management Section in the
Office of Administration and Resources Management can
familiarize you with U.S. Postal Service regulations for
self-mailers. Designs for self-mailers should be approved
by this section to avoid problems later. Contact: Sylvia
Dodge, Photocopy and Mail Management Section,
telephone number, 260-2096.
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Think about Whether Your Document
Will Be Distributed through the Mail
Getting documents into the mail is time consuming and uses a lot of
resources, so go ahead and arrange for it now to be sure you can
get it done on schedule.
The Photocopy and Mail Management Section may be
able to handle the job, including stuffing envelopes and
printing labels. Although these services are free, they are
not always available due to limited resources. Contact:
Sylvia Dodge, Photocopy and Mall Management
Section, telephone number, 260-2096.
Larger mailings can be handled by the 'company that
prints the document. On your print requisition form, be
sure to specify whether mailing and envelopes are
needed. You'll need to provide pressure-sensitive or
Cheshire labels when you turn the document over to the
EPA print shop. Contact: Randy Bacon, Printing
Services Section, telephone number, 260-2128.
EPA Publications and Information Center (EPIC) is a
relatively new service that is gearing up to become the
agency's central point for storing, handling, and
disseminating outreach materials. When you use EPIC
for bulk or third-class mailings, there is no charge for
postage. EPIC will charge your program office a
processing fee, however, and you will also have to supply
mailing labels. Contact: Earl Eastwood or Deborah
McNeally, Office of Administration and Resource
Management, U.S. EPA, 26 W. Martin Luther King
Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio, telephone number, (FTS)
684-7980.
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The TSCA Assistance Information Service (TSCA
hotline) assists OPPT with mailings and distributions that
have over 100 addressees. With adequate notice, the
TSCA hotline can print labels, stuff envelopes, and mail
or arrange special deliveries of the document. Contact:
Wanda Woodburn, Environmental Assistance
Division, telephone number, 260-3795.
Some other questions to consider:
If the document will be mailed, you may want to use a
self- mailer format. Self-mailers save the time needed to
stuff and seal envelopes, and they cost less to mail, too.
If the document is not a self-mailer, envelopes will be
needed. Will the document fit in a standard-size
envelope? Will special envelopes need to be ordered?
Contact: Randy Bacon, Printing Services Section,
telephone number, 260-2128.
Does your distribution deadline allow enough time for
delivery via regular first-class mail? If not, does the
importance of the project justify the use of overnight
services?
Do you have intramural funds to pay for postage or
overnight deliveries? Offices are charged for first-class
postage for mailings of 200 or more pieces or when
envelopes are oversized (oversized envelopes cost more
to mail). Fees for overnight services start at $3.75 per
piece. Contact: Sylvia Dodge, Photocopy and Mail
Management Section, telephone number, 260-2096.
What mailing list will you use? Do names and addresses
need to be updated? Is the mailing list on a diskette that
will print out names and addresses in label format? If you
are able to zip-code sort the mailing list, you may be able
to save some mail costs.
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Arrange for Proofreading,
Copyediting, or Writing Help
It is important to correct any problems with your document before you
go to print. To ensure its accuracy, you may want to submit your
various drafts to people within and outside of EPA for comments.
Once you are satisfied that the document is accurate, it should be
edited for clarity, grammar, and punctuation. Even after these
corrections are made and the document is typeset or laid out on a
desktop system, the page proofs should be closely proofread by
several people. Someone in your office may be able to provide this
expertise or you can arrange copyediting and proofreading
elsewhere.
The Editorial Services Division in the Office of
Communications, Education, and Public Affairs provides
extensive editing services. Contact: Miles Allen,
Editorial Services Division, telephone number,
260-6642.
AScI Corporation will copyedit and proofread technical
and nontechnical documents for a fee. Contact: Denlse
Cobb or Margo Gilmore, AScI Corporation, NE-B001,
telephone number, 260-1594.
If you need a writer to develop public outreach materials
or you have materials that need significant editing,
OPPT's Environmental Assistance Division may be able
to help. Contact: Jane Gurln, telephone number,
260-4032 or Esther Tepper, telephone number,
260-4075.
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Inquire about Printing
Depending on the length of the document and how it will be bound,
the Printing Services Section may be able to print a certain number
of copies free. If the job needs to go outside for printing, ask for a
print estimate.
The Printing Services Section can provide you with a ballpark
estimate of what it will cost to print the document. Let the Printing
Services Section know if the document will require mailing and where
it will be delivered or shipped. This will figure into the estimate. A
caveat: The Government Printing Office, which handles contracting
for all outside printing jobs, does not solicit bids for the job until the
paperwork and document are in hand. So, the estimate you receive
may differ from the actual cost.
Reminder: Time and money are inextricably interwoven when it
comes to print costs. A two-week turnaround will cost you more than
a three-week turnaround. Delays on your end will probably cost you
more money. And every single change to typeset pages will generate
an additional charge. Contact: Randy Bacon, Printing Services
Section, telephone number, 260-2128.
Complete the form required for printing
The form you'll need is EPA form 2340-1, which is available from the
print shop. If funds are needed for outside procurement, you'll need
to obtain signatures from your division director, the appropriate
commitment clerk in the Office of Program Management and
Evaluation, and Alice Greene (representing the OPPTS assistant
administrator, telephone number, 260-2906; room E639A).
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Obtain a Publication Number
Every piece of material distributed by EPA should have a publication
number, which is used for tracking, stocking, and reordering
materials. (See the top right-hand corner of this document's cover for
an example.) OPPT's Information Management Division supplies
these numbers for OPPT documents. (The Office of
Communications, Education, and Public Affairs also supplies
numbers, but it is recommended that all OPPT publications carry an
OPPT number.) Contact: Hattle Sykes, Information Management
Division, telephone number, 260-0556.
Make Arrangements for the
Document to Be Available to the
Public
The TSCA Assistance Information Service (TSCA
hotline)
Any member of the public can call, write, or fax the TSCA hotline to
request a copy of an OPPT publication. To find out if it's possible to
make your document available through the hotline, contact Wanda
Woodburn, Environmental Assistance Division, telephone
number, 260-3795.
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The Public Information Center (PIC)
Whatever channels you use to make your document available to the
public, be sure to also supply PIC with copies. PIC is a well-
established resource among the public for obtaining EPA
information. It is listed as a source for EPA publications in the phone
book's Blue Pages of Government Listings and in public resource
books. PIC responds to written and phone inquiries for information.
Up to 10 copies of the publication will be mailed per request. Contact:
Kevin Rosseel or Alison Cook, Public Information Center,
telephone number, 260-7751.
The EPA Publications and Information Center (EPIC)
EPIC'S long-term goal is to disseminate all EPA technical and public
outreach material. It currently houses more than 8.6 million copies of
7,000 titles, and 32,000 titles are referenced in its automated
inventory system. Efforts will be made to publicize EPIC in the future.
Contact: Earl Eastwood or Deborah McNeally, Office of
Administration and Resource Management, U.S. EPA, 26 W.
Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio, fax number, (513)
569-7186, telephone number, (FTS) 684-7980.
The National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
You can make the document available for sale through NTIS. NTIS
makes a microfiche of the document, which it blows up and
photocopies for each request. The advantage to this system is that
the document is stocked more or less forever. The disadvantages
are that the fee is generally higher than that charged by the
Government Printing Office (see page 9) and that what is distributed
will be of poorer physical quality than your original printed material.
To submit the document to NTIS, fill out NTIS optional form 272 and
a document clearance request on EPA form 1300-14. When the
forms are submitted, you will also have to supply 12 copies of the
document to NTIS. To obtain or to submit the necessary forms,
contact Hattle Sykes, Information Management Division,
telephone number, 260-0556
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The Government Printing Office (GPO)
It is up to GPO to decide whether to stock a document in its
bookstores. But it is up to you to let GPO know that your document
exists. To do so, fill out GPO form 3868, which is available from EPA's
Printing Services Section. GPO has bookstores in every city in which
there is an EPA regional office, and it also has a toll-free phone
number for ordering.
GPO will use the description you provide on form 3868 to evaluate
whether a market exists for the document. If the answer is yes, GPO
will order additional copies at its own expense and publicize the
document. If demand for a document justifies reprinting the
document, GPO will pay for it, too. What's nice about this
arrangement is that (1) people receive an actual printed copy of the
document rather than a photocopy and (2) GPO generally charges
less for documents than NTIS does. If, at some point, GPO decides
not to stock the document any longer, you can still make the
document available through NTIS. Contact: Randy Bacon,
Printing Services Section, telephone number, 260-2128.
The U.S. Government Depository Library System
If you decide against stocking the document through NTIS or GPO,
the public can obtain a copy through the U.S. Government Depository
Library System. You don't have to do a thing; the EPA print shop
automatically sends two copies of every document it handles to the
U.S. Government Depository Library System. There are 50 regional
depository libraries and 1,399 smaller depository libraries throughout
the United States. People can request a copy of your document from
any of these libraries. Any local library should be able to help an
interested citizen find the closest depository library. In addition, two
resource books list depository libraries: the American Library
Directoryand the Directory of U.S. Government Depository Libraries.
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The U.S. Consumer Information Center (CIC)
CIC actively promotes and distributes consumer information
published by the federal government. The public receives the
materials at no cost or for a small fee. The cost of distributing booklets
through CIC varies. Contact: Paula Moss, CIC Liason to EPA,
(FTS) 241-1794; or Charlie Osolin or Miles Allen, Editorial
Services Division, phone 260-4359.
The Office of Communications, Education, and
Public Affairs
Yourpublication may be suitable for distribution through otherfederal
agencies, non-profit organizations, or trade associations. The Office
of Communications, Education, and Public Affairs will be able to help
you find appropriate channels for distribution. Contact: Miles Allen,
Editorial Services Division, telephone number, 260-6642.
Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
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