• The most intelligent and most automated Speedmasters of all times significantly increase the economy and competitiveness of offset printing
• Push to Stop operating concept reaches next level
• Premiere: “Plate to Unit” – fully automatic printing plate logistics for lower personnel costs and greater process reliability with short runs
• Most models available as early as April 2020
• Heidelberg solutions at drupa to unfold new business potential

The new Speedmaster drupa 2020 generation – here the Speedmaster XL 106 eight-color press with fully automatic printing plate logistics.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) will be presenting its full expertise as a market and technology leader in the printing and media industry at drupa 2020, taking place from 16 to 26 June 2020 in Düsseldorf, under the slogan “Unfold your Potential”. The main focus will be on the customer and their requirements, as well as optimally developing and exploiting their business potential through the latest technologies, innovative solutions, and new business models. With a view to the key factors such as process optimization and intelligent, operator-independent productivity, Heidelberg will be presenting the next stage in a smart printing business – the Smart Print Shop.

“At drupa 2020, Heidelberg will address the increasing job complexity in the press room with the simultaneous increase in requirements for operator qualification and improved productivity. In addition to increasing the output of the printing press itself, software-supported applications, intelligent user guidance, and autonomous processes as part of an integrated solution system – or as we say, “Smart Print Shop” – will continue to grow in importance in terms of the competitiveness of the print shop”, explains Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hermann, Member of the Management Board responsible for Lifecycle Solutions and Chief Digital Officer at Heidelberg. “Heidelberg not only supplies tailored technology, from equipment to software and consumables, but also performance services aimed at increasing the performance of our customers' overall system. With new services like Heidelberg Subscription we not only ensure the optimal technology, but also look after our customers’ available productivity. This delivers planning certainty and gives print shops the freedom they need to devote more effort to cultivating their market and innovating their offering.”

Smart Print Shop: Easy to use and highly productive
Industrialization in printing companies is on the rise, and with it the requirement for ever better integrated and digitally controlled processes – from creation and production to delivery to the end customer. A growing number of orders need to be turned around within the shortest possible time. On top of this, the industry is looking for qualified specialists who can handle these increasing challenges. Digitalization of operation and processes offers far-reaching productivity potential here. Heidelberg presented the Smart Print Shop and the innovative operating philosophy Push to Stop back at drupa 2016. It has been consistently enhanced and will reach new levels at drupa 2020 thanks to further automation and many intelligent assistants. The new Speedmaster drupa 2020 generation and the Prinect print shop workflow will open up a new dimension in economy and competitiveness for offset printing.

The most intelligent and most automated Speedmasters of all time
The new Speedmaster drupa 2020 generation will go into production with almost all model series as early as April 2020. All Speedmaster drupa 2020 models, in both small, medium, and large format, will be equipped as standard with the new Push to Stop functionalities and a cloud connection. This will enable all customer groups to enjoy the ever-increasing range of cloud-based software solutions and also benefit from future developments.

“These integrated measures will enable our customers to take the next step at drupa 2020 towards much higher productivity and process reliability. Our forecast at drupa 2016 that the industry would double its productivity by 2026 is on its way to becoming a reality, and Push to Stop is the key to this”, explains Rainer Wolf, Head of Sheetfed Product Management at Heidelberg. “We will present all kinds of technical innovations at drupa 2020 to solve our customers’ concrete problems and close gaps in the automation chain. Interesting innovations in the area of intelligent assistance systems and artificial intelligence will be an impressive display of what is already possible today and where development will lead in the coming years. We are consistently thinking beyond the printing press here also, for example in the area of printing plate logistics.”

Premiere: “Plate to Unit” – fully automatic printing plate logistics reduces the operator’s workload and ensures higher process reliability
Heidelberg will be presenting another milestone in sheetfed offset printing at drupa 2020: fully automatic printing plate logistics. Here the printing plates are provided fully automatically in the correct plate changing shaft and the used plates are removed – this is the only way to achieve consistently high productivity with short runs. As well as reducing the operator’s workload, process reliability is increased since damage caused by handling of the plates is systematically minimized. This increases the reliability of plate changes and reduces the risk of scratches on the plate causing paper waste. “There’s no point in just increasing the speed of the printing press”, explains Rainer Wolf. “That would be like being stuck in a traffic jam and expecting a faster car to solve the problem. Optimized, coordinated overall processes are a much more effective way of increasing productivity in the long term – they solve the traffic jam and deliver continuous schedulable productivity at the highest level. This is exactly where our focus lies.”

drupa 2020 at two sites
At drupa 2020, Heidelberg will be presenting its full portfolio of innovations intended to inspire packaging, commercial, and label printers to develop their potential, whether in major companies or smaller print shops. In Düsseldorf, the digital transformation of the print and media industry will be on display with integrated solutions all the way up to the Heidelberg ecosystem. In parallel, customers in Wiesloch-Walldorf will be able to enjoy a presentation of the next-generation working Smart Print Shop and the comprehensive portfolio of products and applications on selected days.