Olympus Print Group in Leeds invested in several high spec Nilpeter FA-4 combination presses with GEW-made E2C UV curing systems, offering UV flexo, UV digital and UV screen printing and hot/cold foiling. With the set-up Olympus have realised substantial power savings and have been able to achieve exceptionally high lamp durabilities.
 
Traditional mercury arc lamps are the workhorses of the UV label printing industry. Whilst GEW has many UV system installations still running after more than 20 years, by the very nature of the technology and the materials used, the working life of a UV lamp is finite. However, by choosing the correct product and only genuine manufacturer’s spare parts life expectancy can be significantly higher than commonly assumed.
 
Says Olympus managing director Adrian Brown: “We achieved the extra-long life cycles of these UV lamps by using authentic GEW parts and by running the system at the correct power level rather trying to work at full power.” Olympus’ Prism Management Information System allows management to keep track of shift activities, when the press is running or idle, when in standby and when down for other reasons. “We have virtually 100 percent UV efficiency and ever since installation no downtime because of lamp failure and that’s running three shifts five days a week,” confirms Brown.
 
Due to the high energy efficiency of the E2C lamps’ tuned reflectors, the RHINO electronic power supply and the fact that Olympus runs its complex multi-process jobs at around half full press speed, the lamps are able to be operated at roughly 40 percent of full power and are proven to last in excess of 5,000 hours, often up to 7,000 hours. This compares to 80 to 90 percent power settings for the previous UV lamps, which in turn generated more frequent lamp burnouts and resulted in much shorter life cycles.
 
Olympus use only genuine spares as they fulfil the highest quality standards and ensure the longevity of the system. Look-alike parts do not reach the same quality level as genuine GEW parts and they can often have a negative impact on the life cycles users can expect and in extreme cases they can even damage the UV system adding additional cost in replacing parts.
 
Using the original manufacturer’s parts avoids the unnecessary risk of costly production downtime, which can jeopardise product quality, productivity and profit margins. They are designed, built and tested specifically for GEW UV systems, so peak performance is achieved at all times.
 
Because GEW parts are manufactured according to the same quality standards as the original installation, users are guaranteed that their production, even after servicing or repairs, will maintain the same high product quality throughout the life of the press to which the lamps are fitted.
 
Brown concludes: “The last thing you want with spares is surprises. GEW lamps and spares bring us reliability, longevity and peace of mind.”