Grace Label a full-service narrow web label and packaging converter located in Des Moines, IA, has benefited from its partnership with Domino in overcoming a number of industry challenges – namely with Covid-19 and assorted supply chain issues. Digital printing has helped the converter manufacture a wide range of labels, the company explains in a new video.

“Since our business is into the food and beverage industry, customers found themselves in out-of-stock situations that they hadn’t in the past as a result of COVID, and the Domino helped us really get people out of a jam,” states Lou Thurston, account executive, Grace Label.

Steve Grace, president, adds, “Grace Label saw an increase in business, we saw an increase in demand. Our customers got busier. The Domino was able to turn around orders we had not had before. We were able to develop new customers. And right now, during the supply chain disruption, the Domino is fantastic because we are able to put something on there, move it over from our flexo presses and we are able to adapt and keep our customers rolling.”  

As a percentage, Grace Label’s largest market is food and beverage. The company is also seeing a growing market in craft beer, wine, and spirits. Its versatility can be seen in various markets. For example, Grace Label printed over 275 million labels for a children’s sticker company last year. The combination of adding equipment, adding capital, adding people has enabled a 40-year-old company to have a significant increase in sales.

“We feel we’re a really good company because we do what we say we’re going to do,” says Grace. “We invest in our people, we invest in our equipment, and we make sure that our customer come first. We’re a 40-year-old family printing business. A lot of the folks here have been here a long, long time. We were young. I had hair.  We have several employees that are multiple generation. That tells you what I think it’s about.”

Digital printing has played a large role in the Iowa-based company’s success. “I don’t think we can pinpoint the exact moment we decided that we needed to go digital,” says Grace. “Really, it came down to there were probably only three of four digital printers in the market that had the history. And as we assessed those, the Domino just stood out as…by far…the best choice for our company. And we had a great resource. I had a great relationship prior with Chuck Stone, senior account manager, Domino. That made the decision, and the entry into digital, much easier.”

Thurston adds, “In the eight years that I’ve been with Grace Label, I’ve seen a significant investment by the company in print technology. It started out with some of the higher-end flexo presses and then we moved into the Domino press that helped us take it to another level. The results are just outstanding. We’ve seen our business grow 15% year over year. We would have never of had the opportunity had we not had the Domino technology. I couldn’t be happier.” 

Grace summarizes the impact of Domino throughout Covid-19 and supply chain disruptions. “We’ve had digital now for two and a half years. The Domino difference has really impacted Grace Label. And the Domino has been one of our best tools to be able to respond to our customers. I can’t imagine going back to a time without the ability to run the Domino.”