May 5, 2004 -- At drupa 2004 Heidelberg will be presenting its 240,000 customers and all prospective buyers with over 50 product innovations covering the entire value-added chain from prepress and press to postpress. In demonstrating customer applications, Heidelberg's networking concept achieved through integrated workflow systems will be at the very heart of all of its presentations. At the drupa press conference on May 5, 2004 in Dusseldorf, Heidelberg CEO Bernhard Schreier stated: "drupa 2004 will be an opportunity for our company and the entire industry to take stock. With more innovations than ever before in the history of the company, Heidelberg is showcasing the progress it has made in the technology portfolio. We expect that the extra business created by drupa will see incoming orders in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004/05 increase to well over Euro 1 billion". Although it had already presented most of its drupa highlights in the runup to the show, Heidelberg chose the drupa press conference to present a further three world premieres: Heidelberg will be showcasing the Speedmaster XL 105 at drupa 2004, which will be the world premiere of a new series of printing presses for highly industrialized offset printing capable of attaining speeds of 18,000 sheets per hour. As the first press in an entirely new peak performance class, the XL 105 sets new standards in terms of productivity, quality and cost-effectiveness. This makes it the ideal production unit for label and packaging printers that handle long runs, a fact made possible by its high degree of automation, large print format of 74 x 105 cm and simple operation. Its unique system for contact-free sheet transport and innovations in the field of coating application deliver increased productivity of 30% and more. The Speedmaster CD 74-P is equipped with a sheet reversing system. This enables high-quality perfecting printing with short changeover times between paper and board and between straight and perfecting modes. Depending on the job mix, users can achieve an increase in productivity of between 15 and 25 percent over traditional midsize perfecting presses. The Suprasetter series is a new generation of thermal external drum imagesetters. All parts of this product have been developed by Heidelberg and it supports all standard Heidelberg plate formats for sheetfed and web offset. The Suprasetter comes in 4- and 8-page formats and uses a laser system newly developed by Heidelberg. "Heidelberg's drupa appearance will focus on the quantifiable customer benefits that can be achieved with networked solutions from Heidelberg. The three new developments unveiled today – the Speedmaster XL 105, Speedmaster CD 74-P with sheet reversing device and the Suprasetter series – can be integrated effortlessly into the printshop workflow and reinforce Heidelberg's sheetfed offset portfolio", stated Dr. Klaus Spiegel, member of the Heidelberg Management Board with responsibility for products and marketing, at the drupa press conference.