04.24.23
As sustainability becomes paramount for label and package printing converters, every aspect of their operations is worth exploring. While materials and inks are often highlighted, energy usage plays a critical role in a converter's carbon footprint. Converters need to quickly meet lofty sustainability targets they’ve promised, and reducing their energy expenditures is one such way to accomplish that goal.
To learn more about growing energy concerns and the ways in which label converters can promote sustainability, L&NW recently sat down with Amir Dekel, vice president of sales at GEW. Dekel is directing his primary efforts on GEW's core label and narrow web business, working with key OEM partners and with a renewed focus on end-user engagement.
Dekel is a degreed engineer with M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, who brings international sales, marketing and management experience alongside expertise in global business development and technology solution sales across various print technologies, including conventional and digital. His background is in operations and management leadership, generating revenue growth by building sales and marketing functions from the ground up.
L&NW: Amir, what are some of the biggest challenges facing converters that you’re talking to?
AD: This is a very broad question, so I will narrow it by focusing on one challenge today’s converters are facing, not only in Europe and Latin America but also in North America. While conventional UV printing technology has been established for decades, and today’s converters have broad access to UV curable inks, coatings, and adhesives, they are now confronting a new and growing challenge of how to mitigate rising energy costs and decrease a plant’s overall energy usage. Both have a direct impact on a converter’s cost of operations and sustainability goals.
Let’s consider four components of industrial electricity supply. One, installed power, which is how much electricity the electric company has portioned to the converter’s building via the transformer that connects the plant to the grid. Two, peak demand – an electricity billing charge driven by the 15 minutes each month of highest electricity demand within a plant. While specific billing practices vary by electricity supplier and contract, peak demand charges are generally applied to all electricity consumption within the plant. Three, operational power consumption, which is the metered ongoing power consumption of the plant that occurs whenever equipment is running and pulling electricity from the grid. And finally four, carbon footprint, which is the total amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane generated by plant activities.
Carbon footprint is increasingly a factor when brand owners select print vendors. A converter will score higher with a brand owner, and thus will get more business, if their carbon footprint is low.
L&NW: Why has LED seen a marked growth in popularity, and how can label printers benefit today?
AD: UV LED curing technology is proving to be superior to all other curing and drying technologies. I would say there are about a dozen reasons to change from conventional UV to LED, and there are even more reasons when converting from hot air. But for the purposes of this conversation, converters who install UV LED curing equipment are able to lower installed power, reduce peak demand, and decrease electricity consumption during operation – all of which improves their plant’s overall carbon footprint.
Let’s look at them one by one. Installed Power – LED technology consumes up to 65% less power than conventional UV. As such, LED reduces the required power that must be supplied to the plant by the distribution lines. In fact, converting 2 x 8-station, 17" flexo presses from arc to LED, will free enough plant power to add a complete new 8-station, 17" LED press with negligible increase in electricity demand. Generating the same print production with less power or generating more print production with the same power reduces electricity costs and lowers carbon footprint per unit of production.
The second aspect is peak demand. This is an important parameter because the electric company must be able to supply your peak demand power 24/7, as they do not know when will you need it. LED reduces a plant’s peak demand by the same percentages as quiescent power and as such a lot less standby power at the generating station is needed to satisfy a plant’s peak loads. This reduces a converter’s electricity bill as peak demand rates are applied to all energy consumption. In fact, peak demand can be responsible for up to 40 to 60% of a manufacturer’s electricity bill, so using equipment that lowers peak demand always saves converter’s money.
Next is operational power. Consumption is billed in $/kW-hr. LED based UV curing systems draw a lot less power when operating compared to conventional peers. This directly affects the electrical meter and reduces both consumption and billing charges immensely. The reduction is dramatic and can be up to 65%.
In terms of carbon footprint, needless to say, the less power the system consumes the less carbon emission that are generated. If a printer is required to be NetZero, it is a lot easier to achieve when starting at much lower power need. And as said before, converters are being evaluated by their carbon footprint and will gain more business as they inch toward NetZero.
L&NW: What are the newest products from GEW to help accomplish this?
AD: GEW has a range of LED based UV curing systems to address different segments of the market as well as different applications within these segments. In general, LED products are categorized by the cooling methodology that utilizes either forced air or circulated water. The choice of cooling drives how much UV power can be emitted per device. I believe that most of our readers are narrow web label printers who run flexo presses. For these printers, an air cooled LED system is an ideal fit. Wider webs, specialty applications, and faster web speeds generally require higher UV output and thus water-cooled systems are needed.
We refer to our line of products cooled by air, as AeroLED. We refer to our line of products cooled by Water, as LeoLED. In terms of output power, the AeroLED can produce 185 mJ/cm2 at 100 m/m, whereas the LeoLED system can produce 270mJ/cm2 at 100 m/m.
The question that the converter must answer is “what is needed for my ink, adhesive, or coating application to cure properly at the desired web speed?” Addressing this question is not complex and is best answered by having a three-way call between the converter, the formulator and GEW. Normally one call determines the optimal needed solution and can help the converter decide between am air-cooled or water-cooled solution.
L&NW: From an energy standpoint, what do you expect in the future, and how will GEW continue to play a pivotal role in answering market demand?
AD: GEW has been leading the UV curing market for over three decades. Our products serve the needs of the converters and their ever increasing desire for features and functionality. The main drive behind GEW development and future products is the power issue discussed earlier. We are always working to increase device operating efficiency and reduce the overall power demand of our products. In addition, we continue to expand our offerings for other print segments such as offset, inkjet, and screen as well as for specialty coating lines that cure UV hotmelt, silicone release, and other functional chemistry.
GEW is also looking into ways to reduce the needed operator’s attention and increase automation. One of our main advantages of GEW’s UV curing systems is our capability to run either conventional or LED UV lights within a system, and even within the same print or coating station. This feature, called ArcLED, enables the operator to select which technology he or she wants, and just flip the cassettes in that particular station. Quick, automatically adapted to the right technology and seamless.
In addition we are increasing our production capacity by building a new production center just across the street from our UK headquarters. This will allow us to serve our customers quicker and address any product volumes the market will demand.
To learn more about growing energy concerns and the ways in which label converters can promote sustainability, L&NW recently sat down with Amir Dekel, vice president of sales at GEW. Dekel is directing his primary efforts on GEW's core label and narrow web business, working with key OEM partners and with a renewed focus on end-user engagement.
Dekel is a degreed engineer with M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, who brings international sales, marketing and management experience alongside expertise in global business development and technology solution sales across various print technologies, including conventional and digital. His background is in operations and management leadership, generating revenue growth by building sales and marketing functions from the ground up.
L&NW: Amir, what are some of the biggest challenges facing converters that you’re talking to?
AD: This is a very broad question, so I will narrow it by focusing on one challenge today’s converters are facing, not only in Europe and Latin America but also in North America. While conventional UV printing technology has been established for decades, and today’s converters have broad access to UV curable inks, coatings, and adhesives, they are now confronting a new and growing challenge of how to mitigate rising energy costs and decrease a plant’s overall energy usage. Both have a direct impact on a converter’s cost of operations and sustainability goals.
Let’s consider four components of industrial electricity supply. One, installed power, which is how much electricity the electric company has portioned to the converter’s building via the transformer that connects the plant to the grid. Two, peak demand – an electricity billing charge driven by the 15 minutes each month of highest electricity demand within a plant. While specific billing practices vary by electricity supplier and contract, peak demand charges are generally applied to all electricity consumption within the plant. Three, operational power consumption, which is the metered ongoing power consumption of the plant that occurs whenever equipment is running and pulling electricity from the grid. And finally four, carbon footprint, which is the total amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane generated by plant activities.
Carbon footprint is increasingly a factor when brand owners select print vendors. A converter will score higher with a brand owner, and thus will get more business, if their carbon footprint is low.
L&NW: Why has LED seen a marked growth in popularity, and how can label printers benefit today?
AD: UV LED curing technology is proving to be superior to all other curing and drying technologies. I would say there are about a dozen reasons to change from conventional UV to LED, and there are even more reasons when converting from hot air. But for the purposes of this conversation, converters who install UV LED curing equipment are able to lower installed power, reduce peak demand, and decrease electricity consumption during operation – all of which improves their plant’s overall carbon footprint.
Let’s look at them one by one. Installed Power – LED technology consumes up to 65% less power than conventional UV. As such, LED reduces the required power that must be supplied to the plant by the distribution lines. In fact, converting 2 x 8-station, 17" flexo presses from arc to LED, will free enough plant power to add a complete new 8-station, 17" LED press with negligible increase in electricity demand. Generating the same print production with less power or generating more print production with the same power reduces electricity costs and lowers carbon footprint per unit of production.
The second aspect is peak demand. This is an important parameter because the electric company must be able to supply your peak demand power 24/7, as they do not know when will you need it. LED reduces a plant’s peak demand by the same percentages as quiescent power and as such a lot less standby power at the generating station is needed to satisfy a plant’s peak loads. This reduces a converter’s electricity bill as peak demand rates are applied to all energy consumption. In fact, peak demand can be responsible for up to 40 to 60% of a manufacturer’s electricity bill, so using equipment that lowers peak demand always saves converter’s money.
Next is operational power. Consumption is billed in $/kW-hr. LED based UV curing systems draw a lot less power when operating compared to conventional peers. This directly affects the electrical meter and reduces both consumption and billing charges immensely. The reduction is dramatic and can be up to 65%.
In terms of carbon footprint, needless to say, the less power the system consumes the less carbon emission that are generated. If a printer is required to be NetZero, it is a lot easier to achieve when starting at much lower power need. And as said before, converters are being evaluated by their carbon footprint and will gain more business as they inch toward NetZero.
L&NW: What are the newest products from GEW to help accomplish this?
AD: GEW has a range of LED based UV curing systems to address different segments of the market as well as different applications within these segments. In general, LED products are categorized by the cooling methodology that utilizes either forced air or circulated water. The choice of cooling drives how much UV power can be emitted per device. I believe that most of our readers are narrow web label printers who run flexo presses. For these printers, an air cooled LED system is an ideal fit. Wider webs, specialty applications, and faster web speeds generally require higher UV output and thus water-cooled systems are needed.
We refer to our line of products cooled by air, as AeroLED. We refer to our line of products cooled by Water, as LeoLED. In terms of output power, the AeroLED can produce 185 mJ/cm2 at 100 m/m, whereas the LeoLED system can produce 270mJ/cm2 at 100 m/m.
The question that the converter must answer is “what is needed for my ink, adhesive, or coating application to cure properly at the desired web speed?” Addressing this question is not complex and is best answered by having a three-way call between the converter, the formulator and GEW. Normally one call determines the optimal needed solution and can help the converter decide between am air-cooled or water-cooled solution.
L&NW: From an energy standpoint, what do you expect in the future, and how will GEW continue to play a pivotal role in answering market demand?
AD: GEW has been leading the UV curing market for over three decades. Our products serve the needs of the converters and their ever increasing desire for features and functionality. The main drive behind GEW development and future products is the power issue discussed earlier. We are always working to increase device operating efficiency and reduce the overall power demand of our products. In addition, we continue to expand our offerings for other print segments such as offset, inkjet, and screen as well as for specialty coating lines that cure UV hotmelt, silicone release, and other functional chemistry.
GEW is also looking into ways to reduce the needed operator’s attention and increase automation. One of our main advantages of GEW’s UV curing systems is our capability to run either conventional or LED UV lights within a system, and even within the same print or coating station. This feature, called ArcLED, enables the operator to select which technology he or she wants, and just flip the cassettes in that particular station. Quick, automatically adapted to the right technology and seamless.
In addition we are increasing our production capacity by building a new production center just across the street from our UK headquarters. This will allow us to serve our customers quicker and address any product volumes the market will demand.