A common thread running through nearly everything Heidelberg makes is Prinect, a comprehensive line of software solutions for production control, color quality and stability, and business management. Many of these products will be found at drupa 2012 under the banners HEI Integration, HEI Productivity, HEI Flexibility, and HEI End. 
 
Among them are Prinect Business Manager, a fully integrated management information system (MIS); Prinect W2P Manager, providing a range of models for successful Web-to-print production in both the B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) environments; the new Prinect Digital Print Manager, integrating offset and digital printing in a single workflow; and Prinect Packaging Workflow, now offering solutions specifically geared towards the industrialized production of folding cartons and labels.
 
On the press side, Prinect Inpress Control will be seen running on the Speedmaster 105-P and SX 102-P, and Prinect Inspection Control will be featured on another Speedmaster XL 105 together with the new generationPrinect Image Control.
 
Quality Assurance Tools Maximize Productivity, Lower Waste 
Heidelberg’s Prinect Inpress Control and Prinect Inspection Control provide precise, automated quality assurance for commercial and packaging printers eager to implement the cost-effective, time- and labor-saving applications of these breakthrough technologies for the benefit of their customers. 

Ideal for print shops dealing with frequent job changes, short-to-medium runs, and standardized jobs, Prinect Inpress Control is the industry’s first and only fully integrated, in-line, spectrophotometric system for measuring process colors, spot colors and register in the print control strip on each sheet, on-the-fly, at speeds up to 18,000 sph during makeready or production. Measurement results are sent directly to the Prinect Press Center press console for instant evaluation, and then adjustments are forwarded to all printing units, as required. 
 
Prinect Inpress Control ensures stable and consistent color with the absolute minimal deviation throughout the production run. Available on all half- and full-size Speedmaster XL, SX, and CX presses up to 8 colors, Prinect Inpress Control earned a 2008 PIA InterTech Technology Award.
 
Zero-Defect Delivery 
For packaging printers working with sensitive branded products, or for label printers or security document specialists, top-quality, defect-free delivery of printed materials is a key competitive advantage. Enter Prinect Inspection Control, a 2010 InterTech Technology Award recipient and the industry’s first and only internally integrated, in-line printing and material defect detection system. Designed primarily for pharmaceutical, specialty and packaging printers under pressure from customers and from government regulations to cut costs and deliver defect-free printed materials, Inspection Control dramatically lowers the cost of production by using two very high-resolution black-and-white or RGB cameras to detect and eliminate hickeys, marking, scumming, scratching, striping, smearing, and other anomalies before the product advances to the postpress stage or worse, is delivered to the customer. 
 
A new feature to be shown at drupa 2012 is the integration of an in-line inkjetting system incorporated in the press that is used to destroy the folder-gluer barcode for individual ups that have been defined as defective. Prinect Inspection Control is available for Speedmaster XL 105, Speedmaster CX 102, and Speedmaster XL 75 presses.
 
New Tools for G7 Certification 
Aspiring G7 Master Printers will take note of Heidelberg’s recent introduction of new color bars designed specifically for G7 use, as well as the ability of its new-generation Prinect Image Control quality control center for prepress and pressroom to measure and control by means of Gray Balance. These efforts follow the development of Heidelberg’s G7-certified Prinect Color Toolbox module called Gray Balance Optimizer, which incorporates gray balance directly in the plate calibration.
 
While there are no requirements under G7 for the use of particular color bars or control elements on a color bar, G7 methodology suggests, however, that specific areas of the gray tone scale be monitored during production to confirm that the objectives of G7 have been met. The latest generation of Prinect Image Control, which will be shown at drupa, includes features for measuring and regulating control of the press using gray tones in accordance with ISO standards and G7 methods. To compliment this process, Heidelberg is introducing two new micro color bars specifically for printers who are printing according to or measuring and regulating color on the press based on levels of gray. If you operate Heidelberg presses, and if G7 Master Printer Qualification is your goal, Heidelberg can help with all your optimization, calibration and standardization projects.
 
See How You Measure Up
Prinect Performance Benchmarking, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, invites special attention. Using an anonymous, continuously updated database, it enables print shops to measure their performance against that of similar printing businesses around the world. With the Prinect Mobile app running on their smart phones, print shop managers can check performance from wherever they are, whenever they choose.