Heidelberg Anniversary Event Touches on the Past, Celebrates the Future

Even though Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is celebrating its nearly two-century-long history, it’s focused on the future.

“[We are] 175 years old and future ready,” Jürgen Otto, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, said on the first day of the company’s 175th anniversary celebration event. The two-and-a-half day event took place at the company’s new nearly 100,000-sq.-ft. Print Media Center, rebranded as the “Home of Print,” in Wiesloch-Walldorf, Germany.

The statement encapsulated the event's theme, incorporating innovation and technological advancements, including the just-announced Cartonmaster CX 145 very large-format press and an exploration of Prinect Touch Free.

Jürgen Otto, CEO of HEIDELBERG, and Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at Heidelberg, officially opened the Home of Print at a ceremony attended by numerous guests from all over the world. | Credit: Heidelberg

Dr. David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer and board member of Heidelberger Druckmashinen AG, joined Otto during the opening day press conference to explain how the company envisions the printing industry's future, especially the packaging segment.

“The key unique strengths of Heidelberg is our complete coverage of the entire packaging and printing value chain,” he said. “It's a holistic ecosystem, from prepress to post-press, service, consumables, and software. We provide everything from one source, and the importance here is that everything is connected to one software on top.”

Innovations Announced and Expanded Upon

One of the big announcements this week was the launch of the Cartonmaster CX 145 very large-format (VLF) sheetfed offset press, which is expected to begin installations in 2026. Both Dr. Schmedding and Felix Mueller, CEO of Heidelberg Web Carton Converting, explained that the launch of the new VLF press positions Heidelberg as a full-range supplier in the folding carton production market, fitting between the Speedmaster XL 106 and the Boardmaster.

“You cannot go from a [Speedmaster XL] 106 directly to a Boardmaster,” Mueller said. “ There is a gap in between. You have to cover the format six … and we have filled that gap now.”

(L to R) Emily Leonczyk, COO and Executive Vice President at The Markens Group, Dr. David Schmedding, chief technology & sales officer at Heidelberg, and Ashley Roberts, content director, Printing Impressions, during the Heidelberg 175th Anniversary Media event.

Pushing the boundaries even further, Heidelberg delved deeper into the rollout and possibilities of Prinect Touch Free, which was announced last year. Christopher Berti, senior vice president, Digital Print Ecosystem, explained that Touch Free, which is an AI-supported cloud software that autonomously calculates the most efficient and cost-effective production workflow, is designed to remove the human touch, living up to its name.

“The software is making the decision by itself,” he said. “What is the right equipment to produce that specific product based on the details of the job?”

Axel Zöller, head of product management for Prinect, explained that Touch Free, which is expected to be ready by the end of 2025 with a ramp-up in 2026 planned, is an autonomous hybrid print production system driven by the skilled labor shortage and challenges.

“There is nobody anymore to do imposition,” he said. “We need a clean PDF, we need the machines, and the software in the middle does the rest.”

There are four parts to Touch Free’s interactive core, Zöller explained:

• Orders: Overview jobs, Preflight, and check metadata
• Pathfinder: Calculation of all meaningful production paths
• Decision maker: Decision about the best production path, including batch building
• Auto scheduler: Permanent planning optimization

“When we store the production data, we know how long it takes on average to produce a job, so the planner has that data available for planning in the future,” he said.

Because of these advancements, production is faster and easier; production costs are decreased; and there is relief for employees because there is no manual creation of layouts and process templates, giving operators time to concentrate on more complex jobs, Zöller explained.

Heidelberg's Boardmaster, a modern flexographic press.

One of the topics most eagerly digested by the printing industry is how AI will play a bigger role in technology moving forward. Clarence Penge, the new president of Heidelberg USA, explained that Heidelberg is focused on reliably integrating AI.

“The way I look at the AI we're developing is that it's about capturing the data from the past and embedded it into the future,” he said. “We already fingerprint all of these presses. We have all of this data about these presses. And now with the Prinect system … All of that risk analysis is being looked at. Then it comes up with the proposed settings for the operator, and you have a higher probability of a good startup.”

On the Topic of Data and Service…

Another interesting aspect of the new Home of Print is the integrated Data Lab on site. Nic Trabold, head of Home of Print, gave attendees a sneak peek at the Data Lab, which uses an AI assistant to access customer data.

Nic Trabold gave attendees a sneak peek at the Data Lab, which uses an AI assistant to access customer data.

“Service is key to success for Heidelberg,” he said. Part of that service is offering customers a detailed look into their facility and offering insights into different data, including predictive maintenance and productivity analysis. He also noted that an AI chatbot will be available to Prinect customers in the coming months.

Just as service is a driving factor behind the development of the Data Lab, service was a key theme throughout the event. Dr. Schmedding noted on the first day that Heidelberg offers an end-to-end ecosystem for its customers with its large global sales and service network that includes pre-press, press, and post-press products; performance data; and consulting services. He noted to Printing Impressions on the final day that the fact that so many customers had attended the anniversary event solidifies that fact.

“I think [we] welcomed 1,500 people, and I think it will be more than 2,000 by the end of the week,” he said. “I think having more than 35 nations from around the world coming to us and celebrating with us underlines our leading role in the industry.”

To mark 175 years of Heidelberg, the company opened its redesigned customer demonstration center. The Home of Print is the industry’s largest such center. It showcases the company’s credentials as a collaborative total solution provider and end-to-end systems integrator for packaging, label, and commercial printing. | Credit: Heidelberg

At the Home of Print, 120 Heidelberg experts with application know-how were on hand to provide advice and support to interested visitors, from preparation to debriefing after the presentations. | Credit: Heidelberg