Heidelberg Offers Hybrid Production and Prinect Touch Free

Analysis of the relevant press data has shown that around 65 percent of all commercial print jobs produced worldwide on a Speedmaster press from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) involve print runs of fewer than 2,000 sheets.

However, some 90 percent of the print volume is produced on offset presses. Short or very short runs are produced digitally, while medium-sized and long runs are printed on offset presses. The two technologies therefore exist side by side and complement each other.

To handle this kind of order structure efficiently and cost-effectively, print shops combine offset and digital printing. They therefore need hybrid solutions that offer them maximum flexibility and create the conditions that enable them to produce the entire range – from very small to very large print runs – cost-effectively, with as little paper waste as possible, and on time, even when deadlines are very tight. Moreover, these users want a standardized workflow management solution that will enable them to process all orders with the greatest possible degree of automation

This is where Heidelberg comes in, offering its customers a hybrid production environment across all technologies and fully integrated into one workflow with Prinect.

“Nowadays, Heidelberg is a total solution provider and partner that can supply and integrate all the latest technologies on a technology-neutral basis and in line with customer requirements. We offer the entire spectrum – from toner to inkjet and from offset to flexo printing – all controlled from a common Prinect workflow,” says Dr. David Schmedding, management board member for technology and sales at Heidelberg.

The latest milestone to achieving this is the collaboration between Heidelberg and Canon for industrial inkjet printing that was announced at drupa 2024 and has attracted a great deal of interest on the market.

With the Jetfire 50 digital printing system that is available now and, in the future, the Jetfire 75, which is currently still in the development phase, Heidelberg is offering its commercial customers a digital solution that meets industrial requirements in terms of productivity, flexibility, and quality.

Both systems can be integrated into one workflow with Prinect Production Manager, as can the company’s sheetfed offset printing presses. Where necessary, Heidelberg also integrates digital printing systems from third-party manufacturers into the Prinect technology.

Prinect Touch Free automatically selects the most cost-effective production path. Supported by AI, the Prinect Touch Free native cloud software calculates all possible layouts autonomously and decides iteratively, on the basis of the complete order backlog, which method (offset or digital printing) represents the more efficient, more cost-effective production path that will also meet the delivery deadline. The software analyzes the order backlog and production key performance indicators on an ongoing basis, learns from this, and consequently optimizes the decisions made for future jobs.

As part of its alignment as a total solution provider, Heidelberg is revamping its Print Media Center (PMC) at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site and turning it into the “Home of Print”. Offering the biggest exhibition space in the industry – more than 9,000 square meters of it – this Home of Print will give existing and prospective customers the chance to find out about all the latest technologies and solutions from Heidelberg for offset, digital, and flexographic printing on a technology-neutral basis. The revamp will be complete by the coming spring.