The surprise announcement, at drupa '24, that Canon and Heidelberg would join forces and develop the Jetfire series of SRA3 and B2 inkjet presses raised a few eyebrows. Now, ahead of schedule, the first installations are taking place in Germany and Switzerland, powered by Heidelberg's own Printect workflow - the key to hybrid offset/digital production.
Meinders & Elstermann becomes the first company in Germany to use a Jetfire 50 – L-R: Dr. David Schmedding, CTO at Heidelberg, Jens Rauschen, CEO of Meinders & Elstermann, Stefan Kuper, Head of Sales Region North at Heidelberg, and Frank Kropp, Heidelberg's Head of Research and Development
Gremper AG of Switzeland is the world’s first user of a Jetfire 50 from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. The new industrial inkjet system is set to start operating at Gremper from the end of March. It will be used particularly for high-quality print runs, often involving personalized products.
The company is also commissioning a latest-generation Speedmaster XL 106-8-P+L, leading to an overall capacity expansion in a hybrid production environment. “We were close to finalizing negotiations about a digital printing system with a competitor. At drupa 2024, however, Heidelberg unveiled the Jetfire 50, which is integrated into the Prinect workflow.
"That changed everything! It was exactly what we’d been waiting for,” says Karl Gremper, Chairman of the Board of Directors, explaining how the decision-making process evolved.
Other factors that led to the purchase decision were the use of sustainable water-based inks and the fact that Heidelberg also takes care of service operations for its Jetfire systems. Cilgia Gremper, CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors at Gemper says: “Tests show that the print quality of the Jetfire matches the level achieved in offset printing, a segment in which Heidelberg is our long-standing partner. It was the comprehensive portfolio for both technologies that ultimately won us over."
Hybrid print production is the future
Gremper AG is a player in the high-end segment and enjoys an excellent level of trust among customers in the Swiss arts and cultural scene. By investing in a hybrid production environment that combines offset and digital printing systems, including the new Jetfire and two Versafire (toner-based - ed) systems from Heidelberg, the company is expanding its market position. This investment will mean Gremper can efficiently produce top-quality results – both for substantial four-color runs with a number of different surface finishes and for the growing proportion of short runs with customized content.
Meinders & Elstermann becomes first German Jetfire customer
The first user of a Jetfire 50 in Germany will be Meinders & Elstermann GmbH & Co. KG in Osnabrück. The press will begin operation in April 2025. The company is intending to use its new Jetfire to produce high-quality short runs and personalized mailings – a product segment that is enjoying strong growth and is ideal for standardized, automated production.
Heidelberg Jetfire50 as seen at drupa '24
For CEO Jens Rauschen, the decisive factor that led to the purchase was also Prinect workflow integration – especially the forthcoming Prinect Touch Free software. Rauschen says: “Fully automatic control of production processes in offset and digital printing is the key to profitable print production. With Prinect, Heidelberg supports the kind of hybrid production workflow we need if we are to remain competitive in a challenging market environment."
Rauschen therefore has high expectations of getting the most out of offset and digital systems using the Prinect Touch Free cloud-based automation workflow. “A software solution such as Prinect Touch Free has the ability to plan a huge number of orders and get them through the production process efficiently, while also keeping costs down and adhering to deadlines,” he says.
A commercial and packaging printing company, Meinders & Elstermann operates at five sites in Germany and has been a Heidelberg customer for generations. It is regarded as an industry leader when it comes to digitalization and automation throughout the entire value chain.
And another Jetfire 50 for Switzerland!
Also this coming Spring, Schmid-Fehr AG will become the second Swiss company to take a Jetfire 50 into operation, alongside its two existing large toner systems. Many short runs that are currently produced using sheetfed offset printing will, in the future, be switched to the Heidelberg inkjet system.
Opting for the Jetfire 50 is a logical step in the process of completely integrating print production into Prinect technology. “The fact that the Jetfire 50 is fully integrated into Prinect is the key advantage of the comprehensive system offered by Heidelberg,” says the company’s owner and CEO Matthias Schmid.
“We are taking another big step toward the end-to-end digitalization and automation of our processes,” he adds.
All going according to plan at Heidelberg
Dr. David Schmedding, Heidelberg's Chief Technology & Sales Officer says: “Market demand for our new digital printing portfolio remains very high and, as announced at drupa 2024, we will be installing the first Jetfire 50 presses for customers this (northern - ed) Spring. Our hybrid approach of integrating offset and digital printing systems into a single workflow gives our customers a competitive advantage. It also emphasizes that Heidelberg is well on the way to achieving the targets that have been set regarding the growth strategy for the company’s core business."
The global digital printing market that is accessible to Heidelberg, including service and consumables, is forecast to increase from the current level of around €5 billion euros to €7.5 billion by 2029. Heidelberg says it has expanded its range in both the inkjet and toner segments. This will substantially boost the company’s sales of digital printing solutions, something that will, the company says, be confirmed by incoming orders from now on.
Commentary by Andy McCourt
When the Canon-Heidelberg announcement was made at drupa 2024, we reported that it was going to be a massive move by Heidelberg. The company has struggled with digital technologies for 3 decades, including the abandoned NexPress alliance with Kodak. Then there was the earlier attempt to make offset like digital with on-press plate imaging in the Quickmaster DI press, a very nice machine but incapable of variable data and zero make-ready multiple job production. Later, there was a now abandoned jv with Fujifilm's Samba piezo printheads - the PrimeFire 106, launched in 2016 and discontinued in 2020.
In 2012, with the dazzling announcement of Landa Nanography at drupa, Heidelberg, along with Komori and Manroland, were announced as OEM parners. Today, Komori is the only one remaining in the digital partnership with Landa.
However, I firmly believe that, this time, Heidelberg has got it right. The company has learned from past experiences and realised that you can't do digital 'like offset.' Digital is like another planet, say like Mars but offset still prints trillions of more sheets of material than digital - so let's call it Jupiter and respect the distance between the two. However, the two can and do exist symbiotically if you add the vital ingredient - hybrid workflow.
This is where Heidelberg Printect shines. Despite the stop-start hiccups of Heidelberg's digital press ventures over the years, Prinect, has always been there, upgrading, new versioning, take-overs of other software developers, (including the latest, deliciously named Crispy Mountain/Zaiko), since the original 1995 acquisition of Linotype-Hell. It is a very advanced and, dare I say, future-proof workflow that can be adapted to any hybrid offset/digital environment.
Partnering with proven pure digital printer manufacturers, Ricoh for toner, Canon for inkjet, Heidelberg can now 'glue it all together and make it work.' Inkjet delivers higher speeds and more substrate versatility plus, very important, a dependable ink volume stream with water-based inkjet inks.
Currently only the SRA3 Jetfire 50 is available but the B2 Jetfire 70 is on its way. The future is looking very bright for Heidelberg, its digital apprenticeship is complete.
Andy McCourt
