Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has made a successful start to the drupa trade show and is pleased with customers' investments. 

"drupa 2012 is giving the industry the investment impetus that had been anticipated. At the show half time, Heidelberg has already concluded numerous contracts from around the globe and in all commercial and packaging printing sectors across the entire product portfolio. We are equally confident about the rest of the trade show," stated Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. 

Heidelberg successful in large-format market in China - Growing importance of packaging printing 
The large-format presses introduced by Heidelberg at drupa 2008 have also become firmly established in China. Packaging printer Huizhou City Guopeng Printing Co., Ltd has invested in the Speedmaster XL 162 flagship printer with five inking units and one coating unit. Changchun Boshiheng Printing Company, the largest commercial printer in north-east China, has opted for the same configuration. It has also ordered a Speedmaster CD 102 from the Heidelberg production facilities in China and a Polar cutting system, and has therefore invested in a complete Heidelberg solution. 

The sale of another Speedmaster XL 162 to a Chinese packaging printing company is also close to being concluded. The total investment in euros for all three presses runs into eight figures and makes Heidelberg one of the leading suppliers of packaging printing presses in China. 

Heidelberg has also succeeded in selling several Speedmaster CD 102 presses from both its German and Chinese production facilities to packaging printing companies in China.

North American customers invest in cutting-edge technology including the Speedmaster XL 106 
The U.S. commercial printer DS Graphics based in Lowell, Massachusetts, has invested in two brand-new Speedmaster XL 106 perfecting presses, one eight-color and one ten-color, both with Prinect Inpress Control for measuring and controlling color and register on the fly, and AutoPlate XL for simultaneous plate changing. Both presses print at a speed of 18,000 sph and are the first worldwide to be sold in this configuration. 

"With these new presses, we'll be running 20 percent faster with shorter makereadies, giving us a significant productivity advantage against our competitors," said Jay Pallis, CFO of DS Graphics. 

New Speedmaster SX machine platform immediately records sale in Brazilian market 
The Speedmaster SX machine platform launched at drupa 2012, which makes technologies from the high-performance Speedmaster XL class available to the medium market segment and is thus accessible to a broader user base, has immediately recorded a sale in the Brazilian market. The Midiograf commercial print shop from Londrina/Paraná in the south of Brazil is the first printer in South America to invest in a Speedmaster SX 102 perfecting press with eight printing units.

European print shops boost productivity 
Belgian commercial printer ControlMedia from Antwerp took the step at drupa to change to Heidelberg from one of its competitors and opted for the new Speedmaster XL 106 with 10 inking units, perfecting technology, and a printing speed of 18,000 sph. ControlMedia also decided to change from its existing workflow system to the Prinect operating system from Heidelberg. 

UK commercial printer Stephens & George (S&G Print Group) will take delivery of the worldwide first Speedmaster XL 106 with perfecting technology running at a speed of 15,000 sph and in a second Speedmaster XL 106, a five-color machine with coating unit and a speed of 18,000 sph. The company is looking forward to far shorter makeready times and even higher productivity. 

Berlin-based online printer LASERLINE has invested around Euro 7 million in new equipment from Heidelberg. This large order includes a Speedmaster XL 106 with perfecting technology, a Speedmaster CX 102 with coating unit, and a Speedmaster SX 52 Anicolor. The order for a complete solution from Heidelberg also includes several prepress and postpress machines. This rapidly expanding company expects the Heidelberg solutions to deliver a significant boost to its productivity. 

Immediately before drupa, UK company Anton Group had already invested Euro 17 million in a total package including three Speedmaster XL 106 presses. It expects this investment to increase productivity by around 50 percent to 75 million sheets per year.

The some 60 innovations presented at drupa in prepress, offset and digital printing, postpress, software, services, and consumables have enjoyed an enthusiastic response from visitors. As a rule, most customers are investing in complete Heidelberg solutions in the fields of commercial and packaging printing. 

"The sales contracts outlined here are representative of our customers' investments at drupa 2012. Our innovations are being well received by customers. The investments made up to the show half time are in line with our expectations," said Schreier.