SEC. 2. SPECIFICATIONS — Internal Revenue Bulletin 1996-32

COPY A FOR FORMS W–2G

.01 Color and Quality of Paper— Paper for Copy A must be white chemical wood bond, or equivalent, 20 pound (basis 17 X 22–500), plus or minus 5 percent. The paper must consist substantially of bleached chemical wood pulp and be free from unbleached or ground wood pulp or recycled printed paper. It also must be suitably sized to accept ink without feathering.

.02 Color and Quality of Ink—All printing must be in a high quality non-gloss black ink. Bar codes should be free from picks and voids.

.03 Typography—The type must be substantially identical in size and shape with that on the official form. All rules on the document are either 1⁄2 point (.007 inch), 1 point (0.015 inch), or 3 point (0.045). Vertical rules must be parallel to the left edge of the document; horizontal rules, to the top edge.

.04 Dimensions—The official form is 8 inches wide x 3 ² ⁄3 inches deep, exclusive of a ² ⁄3 inch snap stub on the left side of the form. The snap feature is not required on substitutes. The top and right margins must be 1⁄4 inch plus or minus .0313. If the top and right margins are properly aligned, the left margin for all forms will be correct. All margins must be free of any printing. If the substitute forms are in continuous or strip form, they must be burst and stripped to conform to the size specified for a single form.

(1) The width of a substitute Copy A must be 8 inches. The left margin must be free of all printing other than that shown on the official form.

(2) The depth of a substitute Copy A must be 3 ² ⁄3 inches.

.05 Hot wax and cold carbon spots are not permitted on any of the internal form plies. These spots are permitted on the back of a mailer top envelope ply. Interleaved carbons, if used, should be black and of good quality to preclude smudging.

.06 Printer’s Symbol—The Government Printing Office (GPO) symbol must not be printed on substitute Forms W–2G. Instead the employer identification number (EIN) of the forms printer must be printed in the bottom margin on the face of each individual form of Copy A of such substitute forms. The form must not contain the statement ’’IRS approved.‘‘

PART D. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FORMS 1098, 1099, 5498, AND W–2G