Pacific Southwest Container Adds LithoFlash In-LineColor Control in Northern California Plant

Closed-loop LithoFlash system on 64-inch sheetfed press is helping Pacific Southwest Container to increase precious uptime.

WOODSTOCK, GA — January 27, 2025 — Lithec, a global leader of inline color control and inspection systems for the graphic communications industry, last August installed LithoFlash (LF) equipment at Pacific Southwest Container, LLC’s Modesto, CA plant. Added to the package printing firm’s large-format, six-color KBA Rapida 162-6+L sheetfed-offset press (with coater), the LithoFlash unit is shortening makeready times between jobs.

“It has been less than six months, but we’ve already seen an 8% improvement on makereadies,” confirms PSC Litho/Offset Team Leader Bryan Redding, “which averages out to 13 minutes each. Time is huge to us,” he adds, “because we can’t get it back.” Increased efficiency and uptime translates to shorter lead times, which enhances client retention, Redding points out. “The more work we can take in, the more money we can make.”

The closed-loop LithoFlash technology also has led to more consistent color “throughout [press] runs and from run to run,” according to Redding, who oversees PSC’s ink department as part of his responsibilities. Citing human psycho-emotional feelings about the importance of branding and corporate colors, he believes this type of reliable consistency in the manufacturing process gives customers “a reason to come back.” The company’s packaging clientele represents a range of vertical markets, including agriculture, craft beer and wine, retail, snack foods and the technology sector.

“Our overall print quality has improved with the LithoFlash system because more elements are now measured,” Redding continues. The high-tech, large-format Rapida was purchased in 2006. “When we purchased the press, it had a standard, manual system for inspecting color,” he explains. “By the time a sheet was pulled, put on the scanner and read, 1,000 sheets may have passed through.” With the LithoFlash’s automation, scientific colormetric analyses are conducted eight to 12 times within a 100-sheet span; so, naturally, “quality improve through added measurement,” deduces Redding.

The Largest SFL producer in North America

Situated some 90 miles east of San Francisco, PSC’s sprawling Leckron/Finch facility covers 730,000 square feet and occupies two buildings. More than 400 full-time employees work there, including three full shifts (24×7) in the pressroom. Approximately 80% of the work coming off the 64-inch Rapida is single-face lamination (SFL), Redding notes, which PSC turns into corrugated boxes. (Singleface-lamination corrugated is produced by laminating a top sheet that is usually printed and mounted on a fluted corrugated medium. SFL board exhibits the rigidity of corrugated board but has the appearance and feel of paperboard.)

Pacific Southwest Container has evolved to become the largest SFL producer in all of North America. Its G7 Master-certified press operators’ expertise combines with a fleet of Bobst Asitrade litho-laminating machines. More efficient than traditional litho-lamination, SFL combines the fluted strength of a corrugated box with the print fidelity of lithography, while reducing the required layers of paper. From micro-flute and the cost-saving benefits of T-flute, to the increased durability of double-wall, PSC is poised to handle any job size—from a few thousand units to several million.

LithoFlash inline color-control/inspection also retrofits on presses engineered and built by Heidelberg, Komori, manroland and Mitsubishi as well as other manufacturers and is available on new Koenig & Bauer, Komori and RMGT (RYOBI) models. “Depending on the press size, cost is between $150,000 and $200,000,” shares Clyde Tillman, president of LithecUSA. LF “bolts on” at about half the price of comparable OEM solutions.

PSC’s Redding admits to already being a big fan of the inline Lithec product. “I’m pleading my case to management for adding another unit,” he says, “hopefully later this year. LithoFlash can have the biggest impact on our existing equipment that doesn’t have camera systems.”