LabelValue.com
5704 W. Sligh Ave, Tampa, FL, USA
www.LabelValue.com

LabelValue.com is no longer “flying under the radar.” The Tampa, FL, USA label manufacturer has a background steeped in e-commerce, but today is emerging far beyond its web presence and software. The company has adopted both digital printing and shrink sleeve technology, and is now offering the booming craft beer industry and others something entirely new and different.

Paul Puleo is owner and president of LabelValue, but back in 2004 he was working in software development and had just gotten laid off. However, instead of looking to re-enter Corporate America, with an entrepreneurial spirit, Paul and a couple partners leveraged their software expertise and started their own company.

The business plan consisted of launching several different e-commerce websites, each selling different types of products. The internet wasn’t always the dynamic marketplace that it is today. Paul says, “During the period of time that we got started, there wasn’t a lot happening on the internet. Most businesses didn’t sell products online – they had more informational, brochure-type websites.”
Paul and his team used what’s known as an Open Source System. “It was software that was readily available on the internet and also easily customizable,” he explains.

LabelValue.com was among a number of websites the company started, but it took off far beyond any of the others. “Because there weren’t too many sites selling labels and packaging online, we thought certain types of labels were a perfect fit for e-commerce,” Paul says. “Plus, the software we had developed made it very easy for our customers to place the orders, and for us to process them and get them printed.”

In the beginning, LabelValue didn’t manufacture their labels themselves – the company served as a broker, partnering with nearby converters who did the printing. “At that time, it was easy to place ourselves in the market, as there wasn’t anyone doing what we were doing. And we were hyper-focused on our particular products, which were primarily shipping and address labels.

“Once we got people on our site, they usually became repeat customers,” Paul recalls. “Our prices and comparisons were right, plus, we offered free shipping. It may be the norm now, but no one was offering free shipping back then. Also, we were selling a consumable product, and one that people needed more of rather quickly.

“Our customers came back to us for more labels due to how easy we made the ordering process. In addition, while we paid for some ads, we were able to get great search engine results without spending a lot of money,” says Paul.

Throughout 2005, LabelValue operated out of home offices and a storage unit, where inventory would be stored. The company grew rapidly. Paul says, “Another thing that set us apart was using polybags to protect the labels. We did this from day one. A local printer would produce the labels then we’d pick them up, meet at the storage unit and bag them. All the while, we’d continue to develop and improve our software.”

Move to manufacturing
By the end of 2005, the back and forth between the home office and the storage unit had run its course. So, LabelValue leased a 1,000 square foot space in Tampa to work out of, as well as store products.

The company had expanded to offer more to customers – more types of labels of varying sizes. However, due to its rapid growth, it began facing a new challenge – its label converter vendors were no longer supplying products in a timely manner.

“We were getting frustrated,” Paul remembers. “Our timeline kept getting extended on the pickup – sometimes it would even take up to five weeks for our customers’ labels to be ready. Orders kept coming in, and we couldn’t afford to lose any business.”

It became clear that LabelValue could overcome these turnaround time challenges and greatly benefit from bringing manufacturing in-house.

For Paul, who did not have any sort of printing background, it was time to get educated. So, he made the most of his time while waiting for his orders during those trips to his label supplier. He says, “When I would pick up our labels, I’d always go to the back door. It was here that I’d chat with the flexo press operator that ran the press closest to the door. After all, I’m just standing there, so being a curious guy, I’d always ask him questions about printing and presses.

“Next, I started calling vendors – press companies, substrate and ink suppliers – all kinds of vendors. I wanted to determine all of the costs associated with the process. I was fortunate to meet someone at Mark Andy willing to teach me about flexography.”

In 2006, LabelValue installed a new Mark Andy 3-color 830 press and a Rotoflex rewinder. And that knowledgeable pressman closest to the door? Well, he became LabelValue’s first press operator.
To make room for the machinery, the company leased neighboring units. Now manufacturing its own labels and no longer reliant on printing partners, LabelValue was able to ramp up its turnaround time.

Steady growth ensued, and in 2008 construction on LabelValue’s current facility began, which today consists of more than 14,000 square feet of production, office and warehouse space. In 2009, a second flexo press was added, an 8-color Mark Andy Scout.

Since then the company has grown rapidly, to where today there are now 31 employees and production works in two shifts. LabelValue offers a variety of products, including stock thermal, pre-printed, thermal transfer and custom pressure sensitive labels, and most recently, shrink sleeves.

LabelValue entered a new stage of growth and expansion in 2015, when Paul took on sole ownership of the company. Shortly after, LabelValue moved into digital printing, which has opened up a whole new world of opportunities.

Going digital
LabelValue is evolving beyond its roots in supplying relatively simple solutions for pressure sensitive products and packaging. The company offers comprehensive label design services, and takes pride in helping its customers grow and getting their labels to them quickly. Also, while LabelValue has enjoyed great success acquiring new business via the internet from all over the US, it is now setting itself apart as a partner to brand owners local to the Tampa, FL area. And digital printing has been a pivotal part of this.

Josh Dickson, who came aboard in 2014, serves as marketing and prepress manager. He has spearheaded several promotional campaigns designed to appeal specifically to local brands, particularly those in the craft segment. And to achieve this, he’s leveraging the power of digital print technology with the booming craft beer market and the appeal of shrink sleeve product decoration.

In May of 2016, LabelValue finished installation of an HP Indigo WS6800 digital press along with an AB Graphic Digicon Series 3 finishing unit. Dickson says, “We have since that time printed over 3,000 jobs for over 1,000 customers on the press. We have also been able to convert all of our previously run flexographic custom jobs to digital, freeing up our flexo presses for printing the stock direct thermal items that we sell through our e-commerce platform.”

The HP Indigo WS6800, being LabelValue’s first digital press, was a purchase that was years in the making. Josh explains, “Prior to acquiring the press, we outsourced digital job leads to different vendors. The overall search process took about 18 months of research and planning. We wanted to make sure we knew the pain points of potential digital customers and matched what mattered to them to the press we acquired. We considered a variety of digital options and were extremely interested in the profitability of some of the higher-end digital UV inkjet presses available, but ultimately we really liked the flexibility and quality of the HP Indigo press. Of particular interest to us was being able to switch substrates easily, as well as having the ability to use a variety of different labelstocks. We also liked the opportunities in addressing the anti-counterfeiting market that the Indigo presented. Ultimately, it seemed to bridge the gap that we were looking for in creating high-end shorter run custom solutions for our customers and to attract new leads for high quality labels.”

Of its current roster of digital clients, approximately 30% were existing customers. “The remainder are new clients that we have brought in mainly through leads from our website. We have just barely begun to hit the tip of the iceberg in using the Indigo to attract new business,” Dickson says, adding, “We expect to see increased growth in 2018, as we really tap into using the Indigo and digital printing as a selling point for new customers.”

Shrink sleeves on beer cans, and much more to come
In February 2017, LabelValue worked with a local Tampa Bay brewery on a unique project. The craft beer brand wanted to cover up previously printed cans with new artwork since the brew they had the cans made for was discontinued.

“This was our first job printing with shrink sleeve materials on the HP Indigo,” Josh explains. “Since then, we have acquired business from many local breweries that are consistently using our shrink sleeves for everything from flagship beers to smaller runs or promotional products – and to cover up obsolete inventory of old cans.”

Josh continues, “We realized that there is a big opportunity to provide shrink sleeves to the craft brew industry for both small and large breweries alike. Smaller breweries can’t afford to order truckloads of pre-printed cans for their beers and don’t want to be limited to only a few flagship offerings. Larger breweries have great ideas for one-offs, special runs and unique brews and they don’t want to have to buy truckloads of cans for these either. And sometimes they just prefer the flexibility of digitally printed shrink sleeves.”

After realizing this need in the craft beer label industry, LabelValue invested in a Karlville K1 seaming machine, a Karlville C1 cutting machine, an Axon EZ-150SL shrink sleeve applicator and an Axon Thermoflow steam tunnel. “The Karlville units allow us to seam shrink sleeves in-house and offer cut and stack sleeve options for those who desire to manually apply the sleeves. The Axon units allow us to apply shrink sleeves to containers for our customers,” Josh says.

There is a bigger picture at play at LabelValue when it comes to supplying the beer market. “The big picture is that we are soon going to offer pre-shrunk, empty 12-ounce and 16-ounce cans to breweries and homebrewers as a one-stop-shop for any brewer’s canning and packaging needs,” Josh says. “Our customers will soon be able to order online from us the cans with shrink sleeves, upload their artwork and approve their proofs online.

“We handle the packaging, allowing them to focus on brewing their beer,” he adds. “We can now seam and apply shrink sleeves for our beer and beverage customers. We’re really excited to get the word out about these capabilities and get to work serving the craft beer and homebrew markets.”

While innovative strategies spurred on by digital printing and shrink sleeves is driving the business forward into the future, LabelValue remains true to its core philosophy and business plan. Its online label ordering software continues to improve to make the label-buying process easy, and they’ve got down pat the e-commerce model for providing blanks and thermal labels. The next step, Paul says, is improving the online portal for its custom PS prime customers. Meanwhile, Paul concludes, “We’ll continue to provide people the ability to buy labels at a reasonable cost. We get a lot of leads, and there are a lot of people on the internet that are ready to go.”