It's only sheetfed, but when press maker Heidelberg wants to be seen as the "driving force" behind print industry digitisation, we take notice. Whether its DRUPA offering includes anything for news media publishers remains to be seen.
As it expands into packaging, digital and services, the biggest 'premiere' is likely to be that of a sheetfed digital press developed with Fujifilm.
But while the B1-sized Primefire 106 inkjet press will be shown at DRUPA, its sales launch will not be until 2017. Key are a new print engine with Fujifilm Dimatix's Samba MEMS printhead technology and Fujifilm's water-based pigment ink. The partnership with Japanese specialist Fujifilm to develop a new portfolio for industrial digital printing is just over two years old, Heidelberg's Stephan Plenz explains.
For printers, the focus is on shorter, more personalised runs: "The digitised value chain will be indispensable for most printing companies simply to remain fit for the future," says Plenz, board member for Heidelberg Equipment.
Chief executive Gerold Linzbach says Heidelberg will take the industry into a new digital era by stepping up its investment in the digital and services growth segments.