Salt Lake City — In a move designed to grow its litho laminate business and increase its overall capacity, the Utah Paperbox Company has renovated its pressroom to make way for a new seven-color MAN Roland 900. The 56" press is equipped with an in-line coater, integrated dryers and an ASTI material handling system. "This is the only seven-color 56" packaging press west of Chicago that we know of," says Utah Paperbox CEO Paul Keyser, whose grandfather founded the company 80 years ago. "This press makes us hard to beat in the markets we serve." One of those markets is centered on the growing demand for litho laminate packaging. The technique involves printing package graphics on SBS board, then laminating the printed liner onto single-face corrugated. The result marries the print quality of sheetfed offset with the durability of corrugated packaging. Keyser explains that the demand for litho lam is heating up as an increasing amount of consumers do their shopping in wholesale-style price clubs. The warehouse outlets require vivid, quality graphics to attract shoppers to their mountains of merchandise. But the packaging has to withstand the rigors of the high-stacked pallets the club stores use to transport and display their wares. Two years ago, Utah Paperbox invested in a 65" litho laminator to become one of a handful of packaging printers that can both do the printing and apply the results to the corrugated substrate. "Now litho lam accounts for about 8% of our business and it’s growing fast," says Keyser. "By doing it all in-house, we’re able to reduce the production cycle and control the results. Customers appreciate that." The 56" X 40" width of the new Roland 900 will help the company make better use of its litho laminating system. The press will also be printing directly on microflute and paperboard, working in conjunction with a high-speed 56" die cutter and a 56" gluer. "These MAN Rolands are the only presses that are designed from the ground up for packaging," Keyser declares. "Corrugated tends to take a set when it’s bent. The double diameter impression cylinders and straight-through sheet path on the MAN Rolands keeps the product flat, which is crucial, especially when the next step involves laminating."