The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Reserve Notes (paper money) for the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank.

With production facilities in Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, Texas, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is the largest producer of government security documents in the United States.

In July 1861, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to issue paper currency in lieu of coins due to the lack of funds needed to support the conflict.

It was not until 1874 that the "Bureau of Engraving and Printing" was officially recognized in congressional legislation with a specific allocation of operating funds for the fiscal year of 1875.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing officially took over production of postage stamps for the United States government in July 1894.

The United States Postal Service switched purely to private postage stamp printers in 2005, ending 111 years of production by the Bureau.

Plate capacity on power presses increased from four to eight notes per sheet in 1918 in order to meet the greatly expanded production requirements related to World War I.

The redesign effort came about for several reasons, chief among them a reduction in paper costs and improved counterfeit deterrence through better public recognition of currency features.

Five years later in 1957, the Bureau began printing currency via the dry intaglio method that utilizes special paper and non-offset inks, enabling a further increase from 18 to 32 notes per sheet.

In this process, fine-line engravings are transferred to steel plates from which an impression is made on sheets of distinctive paper.

The Washington, D.C., location offers a free 30-minute guided tour which features the various phases of currency production.

In addition to meeting increased production requirements, a western location was seen to serve as a contingency operation in case of emergencies in the DC metropolitan area; additionally, costs for transporting currency to Federal Reserve banks in San Francisco, Dallas, and Kansas City would be reduced.

Currency production began in December 1990 at the Fort Worth facility, and the official dedication took place on April 26, 1991.