Heidelberg’s central product announcement at drupa is its return to industrial inkjet printing with a pair of machines introduced in partnership with Canon. 

They are the Jetfire 50 in B3 format and the Jetfire 75, a B2 press. Heidelberg is promoting them as solutions for hybrid production in combined offset and digital environments where both processes can be linked together in the latest iteration of the company’s Prinect workflow.

The Jetfire 50, based on an existing Canon product, is said to be capable of printing more than 9,000 SRA3 sheets per hour for an annual output of 60 million sheets per year. It is designed for runs of one to medium volumes at 1,200 x 1,200 with a minimum of operator touchpoints. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2025.

Based on a newly announced B2 platform from Canon, Jetfire 75 is targeted at commercial products such as brochures, books, posters, and banners. Its claimed output is 8,700 sheets per hour for 54 million sheets annually. The 1,200 x 1,200 press, according to Heidelberg, is twice as productive as other equipment in the B2 digital category. Delivery is anticipated to start in early 2026.

Jetfire is not Heidelberg’s first venture into production inkjet—in 2016, it introduced a full-size inkjet press for packaging that it withdrew from sale several years later. Now the emphasis is fully on commercial printing with the latest technology from partner Canon, a market leader in inkjet. 

Heidelberg will provide single-source service and support for the Jetfire presses. Both are designed for integration with Prinect, Heidelberg’s hybrid production workflow. New at drupa is Prinect Touch Free, an AI-enhanced solution designed to guide large numbers of jobs through production with maximum efficiency.

Prinect Touch Free has three elements—Pathfinder, Decision Maker, and Auto Scheduler—that calculate output options, choose and initiate the best ones, and adjust production as necessary during the run. The cloud-based solution is designed specifically for hybrid printing environments, says Heidelberg. 

On the offset side. Heidelberg is showcasing the latest generation of the Speedmaster XL 106, which is being demonstrated at the stand in live runs up to 21,000 sph. Heidelberg says that its Push to Stop technology for autonomous operation eliminates 98% of the manual touch points associated with high-volume offset production.

Heidelberg also is promoting Boardmaster, a flexographic press for high-volume folding carton work. Boardmaster can change sleeves while running at up to 600m / minute (2,000 fpm) for uninterrupted output.