How KDV Label Leverages Digital Printing for Its Strategic Evolution

KDV Label, an award-winning label converter headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, has earned an enviable reputation for serving manufacturers in dynamic consumer packaged goods markets, including food, beverage, personal care, household chemical, and automotive. A reputation that didn’t come easily.

KDV CEO and President Keith Walz explains, “We serve customers that have a lot of SKUs — high SKU counts, a lot of private labeling.” These brands buy labels and packaging printed in shorter runs, which can drive up both hard and soft operational costs. “When you get into lower volumes on flexo, that’s where your costs are high — high setup times, high waste factors,” Walz says.

KDV turns to digital when the job calls for fast turnarounds, flexible runs, and outstanding print quality, and can count on consistently, high-quality results.

Amplifying the challenge for the converter, Walz explains, is the unrelenting demand for short-run label printing in many of the highly dynamic markets KDV serves. This is especially evident in the mid-volume food and beverage sectors, where marketers rely on KDV to help add more SKUs to product lines, implement faster refresh cycles for their brands, and create custom campaigns.

While the converter’s leadership was keeping an eye on this growing challenge, they were concurrently witnessing waves of innovation emerging from digital printing technologies. “We started to see how digital printing speeds are getting to be more like those in flexography,” Walz recalls, “and how digital printing technology could be adapted to our core target markets’ needs.”

It was an aha moment for Walz. “We were a flexographic-known business, and we’re really good at that,” Walz says. But what if KDV could be more? What if KDV could deliver the same high level of quality and service the converter was known for but as a digital print service provider?

Living Up to a Legacy

One clear requirement of any new digital print offering was it needed to support and build upon the stellar reputation KDV had already built as a premier supplier of printed labels. No stop-gap or subpar solutions allowed. Leadership’s goal was for KDV to “become a top-tier digital printer — not a top-tier flexographic printer that has a digital print offering,” Walz explains.

This goal required KDV’s leadership to employ what Walz describes as “systems-level thinking” within a multi-pronged approach to assessing the PSP’s digital printing options. The KDV management team had multiple conversations with printing equipment vendors, conducted in-person evaluations of running equipment, and thoroughly assessed specifications for various types of digital printing technology — as well as the impact of these technologies on the converter’s staff and overall operations.

UV inkjet emerged as the best fit. “We use a lot of water-based inks when printing flexo,” Walz says. “We understand ink, and how it’s put down. … We also didn’t want to have to order special roll stock outside of what we were already buying.”

Every label run on KDV’s DURST digital press is a result of craftsmanship and care. The press team ensures color consistency and premium quality from start to finish.

Speed, of course, also mattered, and the converter’s leadership was impressed with the swiftness of a UV inkjet option from Durst — the 17-in. TAU RSCi. With an initial throughput of 262 ft./min. at a full 1,200-dpi resolution and an upgrade path to 328 ft./min., the TAU RSCi, with its integrated jumbo winders, could meet KDV’s need to maintain volume when shifting more complex or versioned jobs to digital.

Furthermore, the TAU RSCi print quality is exquisite. The press’s Dimatrix Samba printheads, paired with Durst’s UV inks, deliver crisp images, smooth gradients, and accurate brand color matching, with a gamut that can cover up to 95% of the Pantone color spectrum when the optional orange, violet, and green inks are leveraged.

The TAU RSCi print engine features and consumables also help reduce operational costs. The inks’ high-pigmentation, low-consumption formulations translate into reduced ink usage and lower operational costs. Automated nozzle compensation minimizes downtime — ensuring consistent print quality and dependable performance.

On paper (and film), the TAU RSCi became the frontrunner among the UV inkjet presses considered by KDV. The deciding factor, though, was something decidedly more human.

Specifically, Walz sought a digital printing technology supplier that was established and reliable yet would still prioritize a mid-sized printing company. What Walz didn’t want was KDV to “be a very small customer” to a company that wouldn’t have the capacity or desire to prioritize KDV’s needs. “Service is very important to us,” he explains.

Durst assured Walz and the rest of the leadership team that KDV would be a priority customer. Durst also promised to send technicians to KDV within 24 hours of the converter reporting a problem. Service would be in-person and onsite.

Happily, Walz reports that Durst has lived up to its promise. Walz also says Durst treats KDV’s employees with the same level of care and partnership the converter extends to its own customers. “We really like the effort and training Durst has provided us,” Walz says. “There is a lot of things you do differently when you’re digitally printing versus flexographic. Durst is helping us continue to translate our ‘flexo mindset’ and core competencies into becoming a top-tier digital printer.”

Tangible Benefits Emerge Swiftly

Because the converter had smaller-volume work that could be moved to the TAU RSCi, KDV was able to realize real-world benefits from the digital printing investment immediately.

CEO, Keith Walz, and quality manager, Brad Nasgovitz, examine some recent labels printed on their DURST Tao.

Walz cites one powerful example: A beverage customer in the Denver market. This longtime, flexo printing buyer had a high-end product that required frequent label changes.

All these changes were frustrating because KDV had to absorb time costs and pass along hard costs, such as plate charges. “It was getting really expensive to do that flexographically,” Walz recalls. “They were somewhat medium to short runs with complex graphics.”

Unfortunately, these frequent changes were also essential; they served as a core marketing tool for this particular product line.

Both the customer and KDV have been ecstatic about the results of moving label printing for this high-end product to the TAU RSCi. “Our lead times have come down,” Walz says. “There are no plate or die [costs]. The quality of the labels is fantastic, and the colors are right every time. There’s also a nice gloss to Durst’s inkjet.”

Ingredients for a Bigger, Brighter Future

With the TAU RSCi in place, KDV is strengthening its relationships with the beverage brand and similar customers by assuming a more consultative role. “We’re encouraging our customers to version,” Walz says. “Before, we might have explained that versioning meant paying for plates and dies — those types of things. With digital, those barriers disappear.” Instead, KDV can confidently recommend printed label variations for seasonal promotions, targeted messaging, or even localized branding — without the cost hurdles that once made such changes impractical. KDV can also explore expanding into new markets, including an area of focus Walz calls the tiny yet high-end “micro markets” for specialty sauces and ingredients for foods and beverages.

To prepare for this growth, KDV is building — quite literally. On May 12, 2025, KDV officially broke ground on a new state-of-the-art facility in Waukesha. The 117,000-sq.-ft. building will have a high-end digital print room that’s three times the size of its current digital print space.

Furthermore, Walz says, the new building reflects KDV’s intent to lead — not follow — in the digital printing space. Walz says, “We’re excited about bringing on new equipment, growing with our customers, and continuing to serve them as we always have for the last 50 years.”

To learn more about KDV Label and its approach to digital excellence, visit www.KDVlabel.com.

To learn more about the Durst TAU RSCi or explore the complete Durst label printing portfolio, visit www.durstus.com/label.