Amherst Label adds third Domino press

US-based Amherst Label, an Inovar Packaging Group company, located in Milford, NH, has added its third Domino N610i digital UV inkjet, with the installation of the second MPS EF Symjet ‘powered by Domino’ hybrid press.

Inovar is one of North America’s premier label printing and packaging solution companies producing packaging for many of the nation’s leading brands across multiple industries.

In March 2023, the group has acquired Amherst Label in Milford adding to its existing manufacturing footprint. Today, with 11 locations, Inovar is a commercial enterprise by building a platform to drive scalable and sustainable growth.

Amherst Label’s first digital press was the Domino N610i digital UV inkjet label press, installed in July 2016, followed by its first MPS EF Symjet ‘powered by Domino’ hybrid press in March 2021.

‘We have 55 full-time employees and we’ve added 250 new customers in the last two years,’ said Nye Hornor, president of Amherst Label. ‘Our key objective is to take great care of our customers, provide great opportunities for our employees, and use technology to continue to grow. Today, we have four flexo presses, one Domino N610i digital roll-to-roll, and two MPS-Domino (flexo/digital) hybrids. So, it’s really exciting to see our growth.’

A driving factor for adding the latest MPS-Domino hybrid press was not only need to increase capacity, but the desire to expand capabilities to include printing and converting in a single pass, all in-line, while being able to add embellishments, varnishes, cold foil and more.

‘With being able to print and convert in-line, we are saving a tremendous amount of time by doing the process in one step versus two steps,’ commented Hornor. ‘So, we have more throughput, more productivity. All these benefits are a Domino effect.

‘The Domino has been a great addition to our fleet of equipment. There are several key advantages of the technology. First, is the opacity of the white. Second, is speed. I have talked to converters that have other digital equipment running half the speed that we are. The other day, we were running at 65 meters per minute (213 feet per minute). And it’s not just speed for printing, but speed to the customer.

‘Third, is color gamut. ‘With our CMYKOV+W, we can hit almost any color. And fourth, and most important, is the quality.  When we sent out the testing for samples to be done, the Domino samples that came back to us were the best of any digital printing provider. Domino just really stood out, and we knew we would be excited to send that quality to our customers.’

Katie Putnam, pre-press and digital print supervisor  added: ‘I agree. And another one I will add is color consistency. That is a huge factor. So, whether it’s running 20,000 feet of product this month for a customer, or only 5,000 of the same label next month, we know it’s going to match.’

‘We have been very satisfied with Domino. We trust the Domino technicians and they trust our people, and it’s a great back and forth in understanding each other’s needs,’ concluded Hornor.