All product innovations from drupa installed in Heidelberg in the form of a full-service and fully integrated print shop

• New - fully equipped postpress section
• Discover HEI - integrated presentation ranging from Prinect, prepress, and press to postpress with portfolio of services
• HEI Eco - green print production demonstrated in practice

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has opened the Print Media Center (PMC) for commercial printing at its Heidelberg site. The PMC has been renovated, updated to the state-of-the-art, and developed into a full-service, fully integrated print shop for commercial printing to give customers the best possible overview of the offerings and innovations from Heidelberg. All innovations from drupa 2012 for commercial printing are installed and are available for customers to view. The complete postpress commercial range, which is fully integrated into the Prinect workflow, can now also be seen. The layout of the PMC - including the wall decoration with printing plates - is reminiscent of the drupa presentation by Heidelberg where, under the motto "Discover HEI", the company showcased solutions that print shops and postpress businesses can use to meet the latest market needs in full.

Customers visiting the PMC in Heidelberg, which extends over an area totaling more than 5,000 m2 (53,000 square feet), can see for themselves how prepress, press, and postpress can all be integrated with the Prinect workflow across all production areas. In Hall 11 of the Print Media Center in Wiesloch-Walldorf, which was opened in 2008 and covers an area of around 5,400 m2 (58,000 square feet), packaging printers can experience presentations encompassing the entire production chain for folding cartons. It also offers demonstrations of all aspects of the large format up to a sheet width of 162 cm (63.78 inches) and of surface finishing using a wide variety of special applications, and shows the HEI Emotion market trend in action. Some 135 employees and 15 trainees work together at the two PMC sites, conducting almost 1,300 customer-specific demonstrations in 2011. Almost 1,400 visitors attended open house and other events.

With its two PMC sites, Heidelberg is able to offer its international commercial and packaging printing customers ideal platforms for the practical testing of technology and applications and show how they are compatible with their own business models. This is vital to ensure success on changing markets.

The new PMC in Heidelberg will be used even more intensively in the future to target customers in Europe. Heidelberg is responding to the changing market conditions in the print media industry throughout the world, adapting its sales and marketing structures by focusing on opportunities for growth in the emerging markets and boosting the efficiency of print production in industrialized nations. This increasingly involves supporting trade shows in emerging markets such as China and Brazil and prioritizing open house and other special customer events at Print Media Centers in the industrialized markets. "By using the Print Media Centers, we'll be reverting to our own infrastructure to an even greater extent in the future to give our existing and prospective customers a comprehensive and targeted presentation of our solution portfolio, depending on the region," explains Marcel Kiessling, member of the Management Board at Heidelberg, responsible for Sales and Services. "Our global PMC network covers all the key topics and markets. As well as the PMCs in Heidelberg and Wiesloch-Walldorf, the network also comprises Atlanta (U.S.), Sao Paulo (Brazil), and Shenzhen (China)."

Discover HEI - integrated presentation from prepress and press to postpress

The drupa innovations at the PMC in Heidelberg include the new SX models such as the Speedmaster SX 52 and SX 74, and the Speedmaster SX 102 and CX 102. A further highlight is the ten-color Speedmaster XL 106 press with a maximum production speed of 18,000 sheets per hour in perfecting mode, which is a response to the trend toward lean production - HEI Productivity. Postpress now also includes the new Stitchmaster ST 500 saddlestitcher and Eurobind Pro adhesive binder, both of which are also designed for maximum throughput. For the key market of short-run printing - HEI Flexibility - Heidelberg is showing its Linoprint C 751 and C 901 digital printing systems which, in conjunction with the five-color Speedmaster SX 52 press and the Prinect Digital Print Manager, offer maximum flexibility.

The services of the newly opened Print Media Center in Heidelberg include customer demonstrations and events, but also application training courses for customers, in-house trainers, and sales staff. "The demonstrations are the most important tool for showing equipment in practical use and for correctly configuring this for customers," explains Roland Krapp, head of the PMC. The PMC also provides support for research and development in approving new products, the field service, and other demo centers in the global network with demonstration jobs, concepts, and personnel for shows and open house events. Practical tests with various consumables from the Saphira range such as inks, coatings, and printing plates augment the extensive range of services. A further key point is the production of in-house publications and brochures. All the PMC's own print products are carbon-neutral since they are printed on FSC paper (FSC = Forest Stewardship Council). All presses at the PMC are also carbon-offset and show ecological printing - HEI Eco - in action. For instance, the Speedmaster SX 52 Anicolor generates 90 percent less waste and thus cuts CO 2 emissions by almost 25 metric tons a year. The Saphira Eco line from Heidelberg features exceptionally eco-friendly consumables that meet the very highest standards in the print media industry. "We take drupa to a practical level and show how state-of-the-art technology can help our customers remain competitive. Eco-friendliness and economy are not mutually exclusive," says Krapp.

Technical equipment at the Print Media Center in Heidelberg:

Prepress
2 Suprasetter 106
Suprasetter A 75

Press
Printmaster GTO 52-2-P
Speedmaster SX 52-5
Speedmaster SX 52-5+L Anicolor
Speedmaster SX 52-5-P+LX
Speedmaster SM 74-4
Speedmaster SX 74-5-P+L
Speedmaster XL 75-8-P+LX
Speedmaster CX 102-6+LX
Speedmaster SX 102-8-P
Speedmaster XL 106-6+LX
Speedmaster XL 106-10-P
Linoprint C 751
Linoprint C 901

Postpress
Stahlfolder TH 56 folding machine
Stahlfolder TH 82 folding machine
Stahlfolder KH 82 folding machine
Stitchmaster ST 100 saddlestitcher
Stitchmaster ST 450 saddlestitcher
Stitchmaster ST 500 saddlestitcher
Eurobind 600 adhesive binder
Eurobind 1300 adhesive binder
Eurobind Pro adhesive binder
Polar 56 cutter
Polar 115 cutter
Polar 137 cutter