At Print China from April 9 to 13, 2011 in Dongguan in the Guangdong Province, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) will be presenting its products and solutions under the slogan HEI Performance - HEI Value. With a booth covering 2,500 square meters in Hall 3, Heidelberg will be demonstrating how print shops can achieve cost-effective and environmentally friendly print production using state-of-the-art technologies and services. At this year's most important industry trade show, Heidelberg will be focusing on key market trends, such as efficient packaging production, creative print applications to stand out from the competition, short-run color printing, and ecological printing. The company will be using practical examples to showcase the entire value-added chain in commercial and packaging printing, including workflow integration, consumables, and comprehensive consulting services. Heidelberg will be using this opportunity to debut the Speedmaster CX 102 on the Chinese market. Based on the proven technology of the Speedmaster CD 102 and the peak performance XL 105 technology transfer, the Speedmaster CX 102 sets a new horizon for both packaging and industrial offset printing applications. This press is capable of reaching production speeds of 16,500 sheets per hour and lies between the Speedmaster CD 102 and the Speedmaster XL 105. It puts the finishing touch to the 70 x 100 cm (27.56 x 39.37 in) format range and ensures that Heidelberg has the perfect solution for every press speed and level of productivity - benefits that are of particular interest for the Chinese market.

Heidelberg is also underlining its green credentials. Most of the presses on display use alcohol-reduced production and almost all print products are output on FSC paper (FSC = Forest Stewardship Council).

"Print shops in China are experiencing a continued rise in print volume and, above all, major growth in packaging as well as more and more demand for special applications to set themselves apart from the competition. Furthermore, print shops in this market are also strengthening their efforts with regard to the environment", says Heidelberg CEO Bernhard Schreier. "Visitors at Print China will have the opportunity to get answers to all these market trends and to find out how they can increase productivity, cut costs and improve their margins. China is recording the highest growth rates in the print media industry worldwide and is now the largest single market for Heidelberg. We are pleased to see that our solutions are the right offering for our Chinese customers to participate in the impressive growth being generated by this country", adds Schreier.

Efficient packaging printing and opportunities to stand out from the competition

A large part of the Heidelberg booth is dedicated to packaging and special applications. Alongside the new Speedmaster CX 102 the Speedmaster XL 75 will be located. Both machines are integrated with the Suprasetter in prepress and the Varimatrix 105 CS die-cutter via the Prinect Packaging Workflow. The booth also features a highly efficient workflow boasting top quality and exceptional cost-effectiveness for innovative folding cartons with a wide range of substrates. Experts will be on hand around the Speedmaster XL 145 / XL 162 area, using print samples to explain how they work. One particular highlight is the daily customer tour to the Color Bridge packaging print shop that operates a Speedmaster XL 162-6+L and a Suprasetter 162 CtP device.

New business models with web-to-print and short-run color printing

Several workstations and print applications will be used to demonstrate a web-to-print business model. The Speedmaster SM 52 and Speedmaster CD 102 presses, both coming from the Qingpu plant, will demonstrate live how very short runs can be produced cost-effectively thanks to extremely short makeready times and end-to-end color management. This is made possible by the Prinect Integration Manager and Prinect Pressroom Manager.

As more and more print shops are looking for ways to expand their traditional business models and offer marketing services, solutions for short runs, and fast delivery times, growth in the digital print market is continuing unabated. Against this backdrop, offset print shops are looking for suitable digital print solutions that can be integrated - both cost-effectively and from a technical perspective - into existing systems for high-quality offset printing.

Experts from Heidelberg will be on hand to provide advice on effective short-run color printing applications. Heidelberg has recently announced a partnership with Ricoh for the German and UK markets. Further markets, including China, are to follow until drupa 2012.

Lean and ecological print production will go hand in hand in the future

In the area of industrial commercial printing, the Speedmaster SM 102-8 color press with perfecting device demonstrates the advantages of one pass productivity. The front and reverse sides of a sheet are printed in a single pass, thus ensuring that it reaches postpress in next to no time. A high level of automation ensures rapid job changes, the convertible perfecting device gives the full range of flexibility to print straight or perfecting jobs. Prinect Inpress Control and Star peripherals, such as Combistar and Cleanstar, pave the way for environmentally friendly production. For example, the Prinect Inpress Control color measuring system controls color and register on the fly. This makes it possible to easily save several tons of paper a year, thus significantly cutting down on CO2 emissions. Paper has the biggest impact on a print shop's environmental performance.

An environmental technology center and a seminar on ecological printing provide the perfect platform for experts to highlight the additional solutions available from Heidelberg for environmentally friendly production.

Solutions for SMEs

The Printmaster GTO 52, Speedmaster SM 52, and Speedmaster SM 74 take center stage in this area. These machines offer fast setup, consistent print quality, high stability, and an excellent resale value. Prinect-S from Heidelberg is a compact workflow integration solution that is perfect for small and medium-sized print shops looking to move into lean print production.

Customers benefit from the industry's most comprehensive range of services

At the center of the booth, visitors to Print China can get comprehensive information on the services offered by Heidelberg. These are geared towards high machine availability and increased print shop productivity. Services aimed at ensuring continuous availability include equipment servicing at customer sites, remote service functions, service parts supply, and Systemservice contracts, while consulting services focusing on lean manufacturing and ecological printing are designed to boost productivity.

Information will also be provided on the Print Media Academy's training program. Heidelberg is the only manufacturer to offer a "Technology Certification Program". This program is designed to promote the technical skills of talented young people in the Chinese print media industry in order to improve competitiveness and get more young people interested in jobs in this industry sector.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see for themselves the high performance of Saphira consumables and pick up the latest information. They can also find out how they can use Saphira products and the service portfolio to get the most out of their equipment while also protecting the environment.

Innovative applications combining print and digital media

Visitors to the Heidelberg booth will also be shown how creative applications can be used to combine the world of printing with new and/or digital media. For example, Heidelberg will be presenting its "Prinect Mobile" concept study, which enables Prinect users employing a Prinect Pressroom Manager with Analyze Point in their print shop to use their Apple iPhone or iPad to view the status of their print jobs and access information on the print shop's current productivity.

Chua Lianseng, CEO of Heidelberg China, sums it all up: "Print China is the best opportunity in 2011 for users to get the lowdown on the latest industry technology. We are expecting a high readiness to invest and are confident that we have the right solution for every customer application."