Etipress are printers of self-adhesive label and shrink sleeves, situated in Bogota, Colombia. Etipress use a variety of printing technologies, including flexography, screen and digital print, as well as offering multiple finishing options, such as lamination, heat stamping, cold foiling, backing printing and variable printing.
They also use several different self-adhesive substrates, from polyethylene (white and transparent), polypropylene (white, transparent, metallized), and enamelled papers.
GEW spoke to the Production and Planning Director at Etipress SA, Diego Santos, to discuss their retrofit of GEW’s LeoLED UV curing systems on two of their presses, which took place in 2022…
GEW: Diego, thank you for your time. To begin, how long has your GEW system been installed?
Diego Santos (DS): “We have two GEW UV curing systems currently running at our factory. The first of these was installed in April 2022, and the second in August 2022.
“In terms of what the machines are, we have two Omet flexo machines with 8-station curing. One is a 38cm machine and the other is a 55cm machine. Both of these have GEW’s water-cooled LeoLED installed on them. These flexo machines are used for our core business of self-adhesive labels and shrink sleeve printing.”
GEW: So what advantages have you seen from installing the LeoLED systems on to your Omet presses?
DS: “We have seen many advantages since installing the LED systems. The first is in set up. The machines are instant on/off, so compared to the traditional mercury arc lamps we had, our set up times have been greatly reduced, meaning we are more productive on our machines.
“A second benefit is the higher speeds we’ve been able to print at with LeoLED. This has allowed us to turn around our product for customers much more quickly.
“We’ve also noticed a clear saving in our energy costs compared to the traditional mercury arc system we had before. This is beneficial for us, as it keeps costs lower at the factory.
“Finally, the cost of spare parts and lamps is practically zero compared to the traditional UV lamps we had before, which leads to a very noticeable saving, over time.”
GEW: It sounds like you’ve really benefited from the LeoLED system. What would you say the standout benefit has been?
DS: “From a personal perspective, being able to print quicker and with an improved curing quality is the best benefit. As the person responsible for planning and production, the LeoLED has given me much more flexibility in how I plan our work, due to its efficiency and speed.”
GEW: Given your feedback, what would you say to anyone considering investing in such a system?
DS: “We’ve had nothing but positive experiences with GEW. In terms of the equipment, it’s reliable and robust. In terms of the company, they have offered excellent technical support throughout, to ensure the system continues to function as we need it to.”
GEW: Thank you, Diego. It sounds like you’ve had a positive experience overall?
DS: “From the beginning, there was support from GEW in financial matters and technical issues. Because of the timing of when we bought the system (coming out of COVID), much of the support was supplied virtually from GEW’s headquarters, but it was still quick and concise. The installation itself was also very fast, and the team showed their experience in dealing with such installations. On the operational side, we have had constant online monitoring of the equipment, which has been very reassuring for us.”
GEW: To round up, is there anything more you would like to add?
DS: “After evaluating five suppliers, we chose GEW for its experience in conventional UV systems. We wanted to work with a company that supplied robust systems, even taking into account that accidents happen in printing. So far we can say that it’s the best decision we could have made – with GEW, our plans quickly became a reality.”
GEW: Thank you for your time today, Diego.
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Find out more about LeoLED2, GEW’s latest water-cooled UV LED system on the GEW website, here.
Learn more about Etipress on their website: https://www.etipress.com.co/
The Etipress systems were ordered through GEW’s distributor for Colombia, Print Sys. To contact David Hernandez, the owner of the company, go here.
