Grace Label has emerged as the first label converter in North America to add the new Domino N730i digital UV inkjet label press to its business. Installed in 2023, the N730i provides 1200 dpi printing at 230 fpm, 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 the converter needed to add additional capacity. A visit to Labelexpo Americas 2022 was all it took.  It was their first glimpse of the N730i, and Grace Label decided at the tradeshow to invest in the press. Now, having both the N610i and N730i in its arsenal, Grace Label refers to the setup as its “Field of Dreams” with these two presses – and the business continues to grow. 

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, have touted the benefits of going digital with Domino.

For an in-depth video of the partnership, click here.

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 new Domino N730i has already played a pivotal role in Grace Label’s success. Ethan states, “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.”

Thurston adds 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.”

According to Brooks, Grace Label has the ability to make sure customers are 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,” says Brooks. “On top of that, we’ve got even quicker turnarounds and higher press speeds.”

Kyle notes, “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.”

Grace Label has enjoyed several examples of the benefits of the press. Recently, a customer 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 accomplish this label in one pass. The new capabilities allow Grace Label to meet its customers’ needs across the board.

Watsabaugh says, “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.”

Steve adds, “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. 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.”

Brooks states, “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.”

Bogle concludes, “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.”