Department of Printing Nepal: Services and Who Can Use It
Quick answer: The Department of Printing is the Government of Nepal's printing agency. It publishes the Nepal Gazette, prints for government bodies, runs printing services and handles the government's security printing. It prints for public bodies on an official request letter, not for private commercial orders, and it prices work from the printing specification, the print quantity and its printing fee booklet.
If you are a private business, the department is not your printing supplier. It is, however, a useful official reference: its published service rules show exactly what a printer needs in a brief to give a price.
What the department does
The department's own "duties, responsibilities and powers" page lists its work as:
- publishing and distributing the Nepal Gazette,
- doing printing work for government bodies,
- running and managing printing services,
- arranging the training needed in printing services, and
- carrying out the Government of Nepal's security printing.
The Gazette is published as a regular issue every Monday and Thursday, with extra issues as needed. For ministries and bodies that submit the required request documents, Gazette publication carries no fee. Printed Gazette fees and prices are set by a separate fee notice that took effect from 1 Baisakh 2080 BS.
How it takes a printing order
The department's service page for printing sets these conditions:
| Item | What the department states |
|---|---|
| Who can ask | A public body, with an official request letter |
| Documents needed | Details of the content to print, paper quality, print size, colour, security marks and other specification |
| Fee | Set from the printing specification, the print quantity and the printing fee booklet |
| Time | Set by workload and the material being printed |
| Service hours | Office hours, with extra time for urgent printing |
| Complaints | Senior Printing Officer, Printing Management Branch |
The department also publishes tenders for its own inputs, for example a notice inviting bids for supply of art board paper for printing.
What a private buyer can take from this
The state's own printer needs the same facts any commercial printer needs to quote:
- Content: what is being printed, with the final file or a clear draft.
- Paper quality: stock and weight, such as 150 GSM art paper or 300 GSM board.
- Size: the finished dimensions.
- Colour: how many colours, one or both sides.
- Security or special marks: numbering, holograms, foil or other features.
- Quantity: the fee depends directly on it.
Use this as your brief. How to request a printing quotation in Nepal gives a copy-ready version, and printing prices in Nepal shows what public price lists look like for the same variables.
Do not use government rates as market rates
A government fee booklet or tender price reflects a public body's volumes, procurement terms and the state's own specification. It is not a rate card for private commercial work and should not be used to judge a private quote.
Why the Gazette matters to businesses
The Nepal Gazette (Nepal Rajpatra) is where the government publishes laws, amendments, notices and rules. For a printer or packaging buyer, the Gazette is the primary place to confirm that a rule exists and what it says. The department hosts a Gazette archive from 2008 BS to the present. When a label, tax or standard rule changes, check the Gazette or the responsible ministry's site rather than a third-party summary.
| Where to check | What you will find |
|---|---|
| Nepal Gazette (Department of Printing) | Acts, rules, notices as published |
| Nepal Law Commission | Consolidated laws and translations |
| Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection | Consumer-protection notices, MRP and label notices |
| Inland Revenue Department | VAT, invoicing and e-invoice procedures |
| Department of Food Technology and Quality Control | Food standards and labelling |
See product label requirements, MRP printing and bill book printing for guides built on these sources.
Security printing and why it is separate
The department's duties include security printing for the Government of Nepal. Security printing covers documents such as ID cards, passports and banknotes, which need special materials and controls. Searches such as "security printing center" appear among the rising related queries in the Google Trends data for Nepal. A private commercial printer does not print these items, and no guide on this site explains how to reproduce them.
How the department prices work
The department's printing service says its fee is set from the printing specification, the print quantity and its printing fee booklet. That is the same logic any printer uses: a fee that follows what is printed and how many. A private quote differs because it also reflects the printer's own costs, workload and finishing options. See how to request a printing quotation and printing prices in Nepal.
How public bodies buy printing
Public bodies in Nepal buy goods and services under public-procurement rules, and the department's own site lists bids and notices. A notice inviting bids to supply art board paper for printing is an example of a published bid. A bid notice is not a price list. If you want to supply a public body, read the bid notice, the eligibility terms and the specification carefully.
What a small business can learn from the department's process
- Write the request in a letter or email with the specification attached.
- State the content, paper quality, size and colours before you ask for a price.
- Name security or special marks, such as numbering, if any.
- State the quantity and the delivery place.
- Keep a record of the request and the answer.
Frequently confused terms
- Department of Printing is a government department that prints the Gazette and public-body work.
- A printing press is a commercial business that prints for clients.
- Printing press (machine) is the equipment used for printing.
- Gorkhapatra is a newspaper published by a government-owned corporation.
Frequently asked questions
Can a private company order from the Department of Printing?
The department's service rules describe printing for public bodies on an official request letter. Private commercial orders go to commercial printers.
Where do I read the Nepal Gazette?
The department hosts the Nepal Gazette collection online at rajpatra.dop.gov.np.
Does Gazette publication cost anything?
For a ministry or body that submits the required request documents, the department's service page states there is no fee.
Find a commercial printer for your job
For business printing, see offset printing services and how to choose a printing press in Nepal, or contact Thankyooou.
Sources
- Printing service — Department of Printing — eligibility, documents, fee basis, time, hours.
- Duties, responsibilities and powers — Department of Printing — what the department does.
- Gazette publication service — Department of Printing — Monday and Thursday issues, no fee for eligible bodies.
- Bid notice for art board paper for printing — Department of Printing — the department's own tender.
- Department of Printing homepage — official site and Gazette link.