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Supply, Delivery, Installation & On-Site Maintenance of Digitisation Scanning Equipment

UK Hydrographic Office · Central government

In brief

UK Hydrographic Office has announced plans to buy laboratory equipment work. This is an early notice: there is nothing to bid on yet, but it tells you a tender may follow.

The estimated value is £80,000 excluding VAT.

The contract runs for 11 months, starting 1 August 2026.

The buyer says it is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.

Built from the notice's own fields. Always check the official notice before you bid.

Can I win this?

Competition

Usually low: a median of 1 bid per contract for this buyer (from 7 awards in the last 12 months).

What the notice says

The objective of this tender is to procure brand-new digitisation equipment and accompanying software (with licence) to support the high-quality, digital capture of a wide range of archival and heritage materials of varying size, thickness and weight in this Financial Year. We require a large format floor mounted image scanner (up to A0 size) with a mobile scanning bed. Among other features, it must be capable of manual access, integrated quality control, resolution up to 600PPI optical (however higher levels can be offered) and integrated software with OCR ability. The equipment required includes: • Overhead planetary scanner for fragile, rare, or bound documents like books and maps with…Read the full description
The objective of this tender is to procure brand-new digitisation equipment and accompanying software (with licence) to support the high-quality, digital capture of a wide range of archival and heritage materials of varying size, thickness and weight in this Financial Year. We require a large format floor mounted image scanner (up to A0 size) with a mobile scanning bed. Among other features, it must be capable of manual access, integrated quality control, resolution up to 600PPI optical (however higher levels can be offered) and integrated software with OCR ability. The equipment required includes: • Overhead planetary scanner for fragile, rare, or bound documents like books and maps with a stand mounted camera system to capture images without any contact with the document. • The ability for the scanner to scan oversized documents, such as folios, plans, surveys, maps, atlases, books, illustrations, paintings, sketches and charts. • It should have the flexibility to allow for scanning of historic books that are unable to be fully opened due to their spine integrity and delicate condition. System Depth of Field - should be capable of scanning thick books and folded materials. Cradle/Stage/Platform requirements: • Adjustable bed frame or camera position with manual or automated control • Book cradle table for originals up to 645 mm x 860 mm (>A0) and self-aligning and height-adjustable (motorised) able to accommodate books up to 50 cm thick and weighing up to 50Kgs • Image Quality - Resolution from 300 PPI - 600PPI. Scans need to have even and uniform illumination - even at the image corners and edges. The Scanner requires controlled lighting within book curves to prevent loss of image details. • Conservation lighting - Modern, LED lighting concept (UV / IR and ozone free). Glare and flicker-free lighting during capturing (no flash effects). Colour temperature from 5,500 to 6,500 Kelvin. Adjustable light intensity from 1,000 to 3,500 lux. Scanning Outputs • Internal colour depth: 48-bit colour. • 24/48-bit colour, 8/16 bit grey and 1 bit B/W. • Colour ranges: sRGB, Adobe 1998 RGB, or according to ICC standard • File formats: Archival TIFF/RAW, JPEG, JPEG 2000, PDF, PDF-A, PDF OCR (searchable content), Multipage TIFF and PDF. • System Data Transfer rate - Use of USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 connectivity with data transfer rate of 5GB per second. i. Functional Requirements o Image Quality: The primary goal is to create images that are as legible as the original. o Resolution (PPI): Up to 600 PPI for documents. o Colour Depth: Scan ordinary documents up to 48-bit colour as required ii. Performance Requirements o Image Integrity: Scans should capture the entire page with a clear border, be size-for-size, and be free from digital artifacts like spots or dark patches. o File Format Master Files: Use preservation-grade, lossless formats like TIFF or JPEG2000 for master archive copies. Should use formats like PDF/A (ISO19005 standard) for distribution, accessibility, and general use, as they support long-term preservation and text searching. o The scanner needs to produce high-quality images to ISO19264, ISO19005 standards (full capture area, full resolution, in colour). There should be image previews while scanning. o Metadata: A comprehensive metadata framework is essential for searchability and context. Metadata should include information such as title, author, date, keywords, unique identifiers, and retention periods. iii. Technical Requirements o Building Access: The scanner stage and equipment should be able to be brought into the Archive facility through standard door apertures to be assembled within the space required in the Scanning Room facility. o Dimensions: The area for installation of the new system should fit within the areas allowed  2.5M deep  3.5M wide  3.0M high o Power: The system should be operable using normal UK mains power voltage (230V) and frequency (50Hz). o Training: We require orientation and training for all the staff of the Archives (up to 10 people) on the operation and use of the scanning systems supplied. o Warrantee and Maintenance: The procured system should be covered by a minimum three-year warrantee for all defects and should not require maintenance until operational year 4.

How to bid

  1. Read the full notice on Find a Tender, including any tender documents it links to.
  2. Register your organisation on the Central Digital Platform (through Find a Tender) if you have not already. Suppliers need to be registered to take part in procurements under the Procurement Act 2023.
  3. Follow the submission instructions in the notice; it does not name an e-tendering portal.

Timeline

  1. Preliminary market engagement notice · UK2, notice 053823-2026

About the buyer

Procurements

39

Awards

21

Suppliers it has used most for laboratory equipment

  1. BAS - SDA - Scientific Mooring Hoist

    UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)South WestLifts and escalators, Laboratory and scientific equipment

    Open12 days leftSuitable for SMEs

    £320kestimated
  2. Heating, Electrical, Mechanical and Decarbonisation Framework

    Eastern Procurement LimitedNorth East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West, Wales, ScotlandEnergy and utilities, Construction

    Open21 days leftSuitable for SMEsFramework

    £1.06bnframework ceiling

From notice 053823-2026 on Find a Tender, first published 8 June 2026. We last checked for changes on 28 September 2026.