WOODSTOCK, GA — Lithec, a global leader of inline color control and inspection systems for the graphic communications industry, is installing a trio of LithoFlash units at Malnove Inc.’s Jacksonville, FL plant. Over the past three years, the United States’ largest independent folding-carton printer has seen makeready times and paper usage shrink on four other LithoFlash-retrofitted presses at its facilities in Omaha, NE, and Clearfield, UT (near Salt Lake City).

The Florida plant features three, seven-color, Koenig & Bauer Rapida large-format sheetfed machines: 142 and 145 models. “We expect the new LithoFlashes to be operational in Jacksonville by this December,” reports Tom Williams, Malnove’s Vice President of Manufacturing. “Our color-control journey started three years ago in Utah and, after seeing a 38% or so reduction in waste, we decided to bring four more of the Lithec units to Omaha in 2023.”

Williams attributes Malnove’s better yields to getting up to color faster. Using far fewer sheets, the LithecUSA fully automated, closed-loop measurement control system has sped makereadies by up to 20% from job to job. “LithoFlash is a game-changer, and our team is excited about using it,” observes Williams. At first, he was nervous about obtaining buy-in from some of the more seasoned press operators in Omaha last year. “Most of the older guys view their eyes as their ‘skill value,’ but they have come to trust and embrace this LithoFlash technology. We are on pace in Nebraska to save 682,000 sheets this year!” exclaims Williams. For reference, that number equates to some 290 fewer skids required on average. (Depending on thickness, between 2,200 and 2,500 sheets are stacked per pallet.
Spoilage doesn’t lie

Time and paper cost money, so now there’s room in the Malnove budget for Florida’s turn. The Jacksonville plant presently spans 190,000 square feet and employs approximately 200 people, who run three shifts daily (24/7). “We are growing in northeast Florida and plan to nearly double our space there, to 360,000 square feet, by the end of 2025,” Williams excitedly announces. The expansion is an opportunity to lower costs by bringing warehousing on site, he explains. More importantly, “it’s a chance to automate better and lay out our paperboard-packaging production more efficiently,” notes Williams.

Clients have come to expect superior quality, and Malnove’s overall print quality has improved because “color simply is more consistent from sheet to sheet,” he observes. By reading color bars and making ink-key adjustments as sheets run live and leave the last printing unit, LithoFlash eliminates the need to manually measure color bars at the press console.

There is another benefit to not having to “chase color:” With the help of automation, less-skilled employees can more quickly acclimate. “It’s difficult to find experienced pressmen, so having tools like LithoFlash makes it easier to train new team members,” he adds, noting that the much-publicized labor shortage is no laughing matter.

Greg Graham, LithecUSA Director of Strategic Accounts, points out how running fewer sheets also extends the life spans of presses. “We now have placed more than 80 LithoFlash units in North America,” reports Graham. (Worldwide, more than 400 LithoFlash systems have been installed by the Germany-based parent OEM.) “Three-shift operations like Malnove’s can expect to see a return on their investment within three to five months,” he adds.

Williams concludes: “LithecUSA’s online ROI Calculator is legit. We definitely are on pace to hit those numbers. Their product really is as good as advertised. It’s next-level technology.” The proof, after all, is in Malnove’s numbers.

LithoFlash inline color-control/inspection also retrofits on presses engineered and built by Heidelberg, Komori, manroland, 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. LithoFlash “bolts on” at about half the price of comparable OEM solutions.