Following the announcement of a global co-operation agreement in sheetfed inkjet printing between Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) and Canon at drupa 2024, members of both companies’ senior management met for the official contract signing at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site of Heidelberg in Germany.
At the time of the announcement, both companies stated that the collaboration aims to “support commercial print businesses striving to establish hybrid offset/digital production to meet changing print buyer needs and increase their capability to handle shorter runs of more diverse jobs”.
Heidelberg will sell the new Jetfire 50 B3 inkjet printing system with Prinect connection worldwide and incorporate it into an ecosystem for a hybrid production environment that also includes offset printing solutions. A B2 version – the Jetfire 75 – will also be added to the portfolio in the future.
Heidelberg CEO Jürgen Otto and CSO Dr. David Schmedding additionally gave the representatives from Canon an overview of the new Jetfire 50 industrial B3 inkjet printing system’s positive market launch.
“The digital printing collaboration with Canon marks a milestone in the growth strategy for our core business,” said Otto.
According to Heidelberg, customer interest in the solutions making up the Jetfire 50 ecosystem remains high following drupa. Potential users particularly appreciate the option of integrating the system into a hybrid and AI-controlled production environment together with the Heidelberg portfolio for offset printing. In response to the resulting inquiries, the company has already provided numerous quotations and these are now gradually producing firm orders.
Since September, a Jetfire 50 has been available for customer demonstrations at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site and also at the Heidelberg showroom in Japan.
“The digital printing collaboration with Canon marks a milestone in the growth strategy for our core business,” said Otto.
“Besides selling the Jetfire 50 itself, we will also benefit from recurring sales from services and consumables throughout the press’s lifetime. In commercial printing, too, that means we can share in the growing digital printing volume and significantly strengthen our market position.”
Schmedding said the first Jetfire 50 presses will be installed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in spring 2025.
“Users will benefit from our application know-how, our in-depth understanding of the market’s needs, and the most comprehensive service network in the entire sector,” explains Schmedding.
The next phase will be to make the press available in all Heidelberg regions.
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