Grace Label was the first label converter in North America to add the NEW Domino N730i digital UV inkjet label press to their business. Installed in 2023, the N730i provides 1200 dpi printing at 230 ft/min. 7-Color CMYKOV+W covering 92% of the Pantone range, and white prints 76% opacity at speed. Already a Domino customer with the 600 dpi N610i installed in 2019, Grace Label’s business grew tremendously the next few years and they needed to add additional capacity. A visit to Labelexpo Americas 2022 was all it took. It was their first glimpse of the N730i, and they decided at the trade show they wanted that press. Now, having both the N610i and N730i in their arsenal, they call it their ‘Field of Dreams’ with these two presses, and their business continues to grow.

We caught up with the team at Grace Label to learn more about their company and their growth utilizing digital printing. We were joined by Steve Grace (president), sons Kyle Grace (operations manager) and Ethan Grace (digital press operator), as well as Lou Thurston (account executive), Mark Brooks (account executive), Amy Bogle (customer service representative), and John Watsabaugh (digital press operator).

Our visit was captured in this VIDEO: Grace Label & Domino

From humble beginnings, continuing to grow
Steve begins, “We’re located in Des Moines, Iowa. We’re a a medium-sized flexo and digital label printer started by my father in 1974. It started with 11 employees. Now, three generations later, we continue to grow. Being located in the Midwest, we work a lot in the food and beverage industries and we're proud to remain independent after all these years. Although we're not that big of a company, we have the capabilities of anybody out in the market. And our best thing we do here is that we take care of customers and we want to be able to stand toe to toe with any of the big guys and give them that higher sense of attention, that higher sense of importance to say hey, ‘we can fill your needs across the board’ and that's the reason we got into digital in the first place.”

The addition of the NEW Domino N730i
So, what does the Grace Label team think of the new Domino N730i? It was interesting to hear their responses, as it was evident that each person’s view is largely based on their role within the company.

Ethan begins, “For me personally, what’s exciting about having one of the first N730i presses in the world, is we get to watch the development and evolution of digital printing technology in real time.

Lou says, “It has really upped our game here at Grace Label. Being in the digital game on our Domino N610i, we really had a solid workhorse delivering super results. It just made it a lot easier when Steve went looking for that second press to go right back to Domino. And with the N730i, we've got something that nobody else is delivering today and we couldn't be more excited to take that to the marketplace.”

Mark adds, “From a sales perspective, Grace Label has the ability to make sure we've got our customers covered in any way, shape, or form. With Domino's partnership, we've already had a great press. With the addition of the N730i, we're able to enter the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical market. On top of that, we've got even quicker turnarounds and higher press speeds.”

Kyle says, “When it comes to scheduling, I've got flexo, and I've got the N730i, and I've got the N610i. And it's really nice between the N730i and the N610i to have that flexibility between the two and I know I'm going to get great quality. And our nutraceuticals that really require that fine text works just a little bit better over on our N730i. It has been a game changer for us in that regard, and I'm getting orders out the door in a timely fashion.”

Steve provided an example of how it is a differentiator for their business. “We have a customer that required a really nice crisp white on a clear label. They had to go through their press three times to achieve the opacity that they wanted. Domino was able to do this label in one pass. So, we can sit down with a customer and just say ‘hey, we can fill your needs across the board’.”

John concludes, “The N730i runs color across the web very nicely, especially with very small graphics, very small type. You can see type that doesn't even look like type, and when you put a magnifier on it, you can read it. It does a beautiful job.”

Is there a ‘Domino difference’?
Steve begins, “Yes, there is a Domino difference. They do what they say they're going to do. They help us out when we need help and anytime we've had a problem, it's been solved and that's why we decided to reinvest in Domino again.”

Mark says, “The Domino difference really is capability. It's offering us to be very confident with our customers in our abilities to graphically meet their needs.”

Amy comments, “For me, the Domino difference truly is the quality that comes off of the press, as well as how quickly we can get the labels turned around.”

Lou adds, “The Domino difference for Grace Label is robust, high quality, high speed, quick to market with huge support from Domino. They're not just a vendor, they're a true business partner.”

Steve sums it up. “Domino is a great partner, and it's nice to have somebody that's got the technology and the service and the people that you can rely on to help you get through the next phase. With the additional capabilities of the N730i, there was really no other choice to be made.”