Litho Press Continues to Grow After 50 Years

INDIANAPOLIS—Litho Press is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the introduction of a new MAN Roland 700 sheetfed press. The six-color, 41˝ press with coater, which was installed last autumn, gives the $5 million printer the ability to offer a broad range of products.

"It is all about customer service—giving customers what they want whenever they want it," explains Litho Press Vice President Bernie Lacy, who runs the company in conjunction with his father Jack, president, and his brother John, vice president. "Because of the fast makeready times and the wide range of stocks and plastics we can run on the Roland 700, the press increases our capabilities and gives our customers more products and options from which to choose.

"We can print on onion skin flysheet paper all the way up to microflute board," Lacy notes. "We also print on plastics, styrenes, static clings and Cling-Zs."

The printer, which operates a 36,000-square-foot facility with a staff of 25, also runs a four-color, 64˝ press with an aqueous coater. But the new MAN Roland has become the facility's hot ticket.

The UV/aqueous coater on the 700 brings in work in its own right, acording to Lacy. "UV coating is especially important for packaging printing, where the high gloss and superior durability are often required. It also comes in handy when we print plastics. When a UV coating is applied, the sheet comes off the press completely dry."

Litho Press' 700 is equipped with the PECOM automated operating system and has Power Plate Loading (PPL) to shorten the distance between jobs.