Introduction
Situated in Cheadle in the UK, the Tungate Group has been in business for over 40 years and has built an enviable client list that includes many leading brands such as Rolls Royce, EasyJet, JCB and Weetabix. The company supplies a wide variety of printed products, encompassing flexible packaging, shrink sleeves, labels, ticketing, tags, RFID labels, and a complete range of security labels, seals, and other specialist products.
In October 2023, following extensive evaluation and trials, Tungate’s Bobst M5 was purchased with a GEW Arc and LED UV curing system. Tungate chose LED to reduce energy costs, enhance operational performance and improve sustainability… and such was the success of this first LED curing system, a similar installation was carried out on the company’s Mark Andy P5 press, in October 2025.
The original decision to specify UV LED on the Bobst M5 was driven by necessity, as Tungate’s Managing Director, Kevin Paszek, explained at the time: “The increasing demand for sustainable flexible packaging presented us with operational challenges such as the proliferation of material specifications, reducing volumes per print design, and speed to market. These latest investments significantly enhance our ability to meet these challenges and market needs, with design changeover times akin to digital, whilst also offering superior print quality and cost effectiveness, particularly on medium run lengths. With this technology we are raising the bar environmentally, with dramatic reductions in consumables waste, and energy consumption.”
Interview with Duncan White, Operations Director
GEW’s Sales Manager, Jamie Neill, recently revisited the Tungate Group to discuss the installations with Duncan White, Operations Director. Duncan was a key figure in the move to install UV LED on the two presses, and was responsible for ensuring that the transition to LED curing was a success on both occasions.
Jamie Neill (JN): “Good morning, Duncan. To begin, could you tell me why you chose to work with GEW for these press upgrades?”
Duncan White (DW): “Yes, Jamie. Well, we already had a GEW e-Brick system so we knew the company well, and we have worked with GEW equipment for many years. We did consider other UV systems, but the combination of LED and conventional Arc curing that GEW offers was an important factor for us. The simplicity and versatility of being able to combine the two technologies on the same press was critical, for the type of work that we produce.”
JN: “Thanks, that’s clear. And why did you choose LED technology?”
DW: “LED has better curing attributes for the materials that we use. It also enables us to have one system for surface and reverse designs. However, the main consideration was energy consumption – due to ever-increasing energy costs, it was vital for us to adopt a more cost-effective UV curing solution. This was one of the main drivers – we wanted to push our own boundaries and be at the forefront of technology, to lead the field rather than just follow others. It was for all these reasons that we wanted to move away from conventional UV curing.”
JN: “What was your reasoning for choosing GEW’s LeoLED water-cooled LED systems?”
DW: “At the time of our first LED installation on the Bobst, we looked at all the options and LeoLED was the best available on the market. It offered GEW’s ‘ArcLED’ interchangeability and was the market leader when it came to the machine manufacturers.”
JN: “And when the time came to retrofit the second machine in early 2025, why did you choose LeoLED2 over GEW’s air-cooled system, AeroLED2?”
DW: “We do a lot of demanding work at Tungate, including low migration labelling and flexible packaging, and we consistently run our presses at high speeds. In choosing the LeoLED2 system, we knew that it is more than capable of handling everything that we might ask of it, both now and in the future.”
JN: “Do you still run any mercury Arc lamps on either the M5 or the P5?”
DW: “We do still run Arc lamps on some print stations, for a variety of reasons. The first is that we find that certain LED-compatible lacquers are not yet fully formulated to stop yellowing. Secondly, they do not cure so well at high speeds… and finally, the cost of LED lacquers is currently around 50% more expensive than conventional ones. When you consider that we use over 20 tonnes of lacquer each year, that would be a huge additional cost.”
JN: “I see. So do you foresee a time when you will be able to use LED on every print station, for every process?”
DW: “Yes, the day will come. Technology is moving on, but the price then needs to reflect current conventional prices, in order for LED lacquers to become a realistic option.”
JN: “Until then, how do you find working with GEW ArcLED interchangeable lamps?”
DW: “The system is very easy to use, and the monthly reporting we get from it gives us good information about how the system is operating and the costs, which enables us to evaluate the savings we are making.”
JN: “How did you find the process of changing from standard UV inks to LED-curable inks?”
DW: “I have to say that the process did take quite some time, as it involved a lot of trialling with ink suppliers, and then swapping all our inks over to their LED equivalents. You also need a methodical approach to make this work efficiently, and to avoid wasting inks. Also, we find that LED inks are more expensive, but as more and more people begin to use them, we expect the economies of scale to improve.”
JN: “What sort of press printing speed can you achieve now with LED curing?”
DW: “We can comfortably run at 170 metres per minute, if not faster, if the designs lend themselves to it. These faster speeds mean that we have significantly increased our production capacity, on both machines.”
JN: “When do you expect to see a return on your most recent LED investment?”
DW: “We are already seeing the improvement of less ink waste due to having one ink system, and the cost of running the system has been reduced by about £2,500 a month. This is as a result of running faster, and reducing electricity consumption. All in all, I would say the system on the P5 will pay for itself in about two years.”
JN: “Thanks, Duncan. To round off, could you sum up your thoughts on your move to UV LED?”
DW: “We did have a few small teething issues when we began with the new system, but it’s important note that these were resolved very quickly and efficiently. It is running well and is most certainly the best UV system I have come across, considering the instant on-off switching, the ease of maintaining it, and how simple it is to use.”
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For more information on GEW’s LeoLED2 water-cooled UV curing system, visit: https://www.gewuv.com/leoled2/
Or for more on GEW’s AeroLED2 air-cooled system, visit: https://www.gewuv.com/aeroled2/
With grateful thanks to the Tungate Group: https://www.tungate.co.uk/
