"The Print China trade show was very well attended, and our customers showed great interest in our new products and services," says Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), who was pleased with how this year's most important trade show went. This success is underlined by the total of more than 4,500 customer inquiries resulting from the event. Close to 150,000 visitors - mainly from China, but also from Singapore, South Korea, India, and Taiwan - came to Print China, which was held from April 9 to 13, 2011 in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The Heidelberg presentation at its 2,500 square meter booth under the motto HEI Performance - HEI Value demonstrated how print shops with state-of-the-art technologies and services can benefit from cost-effective and eco-friendly print production. "Alongside drupa in Düsseldorf, Print China has become the most important trade show for us worldwide. It offers us the opportunity to further extend our market leadership in China," explains Schreier. China is currently enjoying the highest growth rates in the global print media industry and is now the largest single market for Heidelberg.

Orders for more than 40 Speedmaster CX 102 presses

The Speedmaster CX 102, which was making its debut on the Chinese market, proved a visitor magnet at the company's stand. By the end of the event, orders had been placed for more than 40 presses with a total of over 200 printing units. Designed for industrial offset printing, the press is capable of reaching production speeds of 16,500 sheets per hour and lies between the Speedmaster CD 102 and Speedmaster XL 105. Heidelberg unveiled the Speedmaster CX 102 at Ipex 2010, and series production started in September 2010. Since then, more than 100 presses have already been sold worldwide, excluding China.

Further orders were concluded across all format classes, including one for a Speedmaster XL 162 large-format press. Customers in China appreciate the Heidelberg solution approach and also placed orders for several CtP platesetters and numerous postpress devices. "It was a very successful show. The results exceeded our expectations, which demonstrates the customers' faith in the print media industry. Once again Heidelberg has clearly demonstrated its leadership in the industry. Also, our brand image has further strengthened", says Chua Lian Seng, CEO of Heidelberg China. The products and services for small and medium-sized print shops with the standard presses manufactured locally in Qingpu also proved very popular with customers.

Visitors to the Heidelberg trade show booth saw the company's solutions for market trends such as efficient packaging production, differentiation through creative print applications, short-run color printing, Web-to-Print, and green printing. More than 1,000 visitors experienced the demonstration of the new business model Web-to-Print. Comprehensive workflow integration, the Saphira range of consumables from Heidelberg, and a wide variety of training and consultancy services rounded off the portfolio.

There was great interest in green printing solutions, as print shops on the Chinese market are becoming increasingly committed to protecting the environment. In addition to providing a practical demonstration of eco-friendly production, experts from Heidelberg also explained all aspects of green printing at an environmental technology center and in a seminar on this subject.

The only manufacturer with a commitment to education and training
Heidelberg is the only manufacturer in China to boost the competitiveness and productivity of Chinese print shops by systematically promoting the technical capabilities of talented young people working in the print media industry.

The opening day of Print China saw the first group of young printers, who had taken part in the certification program of the Print Media Academy in Shenzen, being presented with their certificates. A total of 35 printers passed the test on a Speedmaster CD 102.

The training and certification program was initiated in April 2010 and is intended to give talented young individuals from the print media industry the opportunity to receive top-class training. The program is supported by both the Chinese government and China's print media industry, which in future will be even more dependent on qualified staff. The Print Media Academy in China is planning to introduce further training programs catering to the Chinese printing market.