Creative Labels of Vermont has chosen the HP Indigo 6900 digital press to expand production capacity. The new presses will provide flexibility and added value to its customers in the food and beverage industries in the New England hotbed of artisan brands. 

Two new HP Indigo 6900 presses installed this summer are up and running in CLOV’s digital business, launched over five years ago and today delivering 60% of all label production at the family-owned converter.

“CLOV has always been a short run, ma and pa, jam and jelly printer catering to entrepreneurial brands and small artisan food manufacturers. By partnering and pushing ‘all-in’ with the HP Indigo solution during these unprecedented times to be in a position to better serve our customers,” says Dwane Wall, president of the printing company based in Winooski, VT.

Vermont is home to a multitude of craft and microbrands. Many CLOV customers that started out in the state as small brands have grown into big businesses with dozens and hundreds of SKUs. These include Cabot Cheese, Magic Hat Beer, Four Quarters Brewery, Beth’s Farm Kitchen, Harney & Sons Teas, and Jasper Hill farms.

“HP Indigo digital printing offers high-quality on-demand, in cost-effective quantities, making the solution more profitable for both us and our customers,” explains Wall.

Over the years, CLOV has invested heavily in its front end for capturing growth in SKUs and color management. It is now moving to the HP Indigo 6900 digital front end, Production Pro, to benefit from the fast RIP power delivered by the new generation server. The Indigo presses typically run two shifts per day and can each process up to 40 job tickets, as jobs are streamlined across digital and flexo depending on urgency and run lengths, according to Wall.

CLOV also plans to add new drupa value features, such as Spot Master, to reach brand colors within minutes.

According to Wall, his customers take advantage of the design and substrate possibilities offered by the HP Indigo solution such as silver ink and white inks, and wood veneer materials.

“Indigo design technology and color possibilities are embraced by our brand designers, who are infusing new creativity and appeal into artisan labels,” he says.

The new presses will also help support CLOV’s booming business supporting pet foods and pet nutraceuticals, a growing industry that has an immense quantity of SKUs. CLOV is also using the HP PrintOS Print Beat cloud-based management solution to keep press uptime to a maximum and encourage operators to aim for excellence. When Wall is off-site, he says he “keeps a close eye on the business” through reports on press operations easily by smartphone and consult with the team on duty to sort out any issues.

As the digital transformation continues at CLOV with the new HP Indigo 6900s, it has decommissioned an additional flexo press, now running three from a historical high of six.