Printing and packaging companies are always looking for unique ways to expand and grow their businesses. Commercial printers expand into sign and display, labels, or folding carton production. Label printers migrate into flexible packaging. But a folding carton printer opening a brewery in the back room?

Printed Specialties Inc. (PSI) of Carrolton, Ga., originally began as Keystone Specialties in Scranton, Pa., in 1911 by Phillip John Fischer, the great-grandfather of current owner Greg Smith. The business was doing some packaging production, but became a prime resource of labels, sleeves, and covers for record companies. When the record companies moved their vinyl record pressing facility to Carrolton, they told Fischer if he wanted to keep the business he would need to move with them.

So they picked up the business and moved to Carrolton in 1981, and it was worthwhile. As the record industry transitioned to cassettes, tapes, and even VHS tapes, PSI was able to ride the wave, refining their production techniques and become ISO-certified. This opened up additional opportunities since companies like Microsoft, Intel, and others were also in need of high-quality packaging for their software, and PSI was happy to supply them. Like many printers and converters, PSI used their ingenuity to modify and build some of their own equipment to meet the requirements of the new product production. Today, they have a complement of offset presses, die cutters, folder gluers, and other specialized equipment to support their folding carton business.