Gallus, a subsidiary of Heidelberg, and a global leader in label printing technology, has launched two new presses – one all-digital and one hybrid, at Labelexpo Europe 2025. These additions to its System to Compose portfolio have been strategically developed together by Heidelberg and Gallus to address the pressing and evolving needs of label producers to deliver greater speed, flexibility, and high-quality output. Sectors such as retail, logistics, household, health, beauty, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and OTC are driving growth, with global label production projected to increase at a 4.0% CAGR through to 2030,1 and digital label production continuing to gain traction. This opens up significant growth opportunities for printers and converters – with enhanced production capabilities providing the key to capitalizing on these opportunities.
In light of this, Gallus is focused on developing smart, connected print solutions that improve speed, color accuracy, and workflow automation, enabling customers to maximize productivity without compromising on quality, and respond effectively to current market demands. From scalable hybrid presses to accessible entry-level systems, Gallus now offers a complete and expansive portfolio that addresses all market segments and applications – empowering even more customers to unlock the power of digital adoption, and ultimately delivering the right solution for every customer need.
The new Gallus Five, a high-performance hybrid press built on the robust Gallus Labelmaster platform, combines five key benefits to offer a combination of performance and versatility. Industrial throughput, high-resolution image quality, with plug-and-play modular configurability and finishing at full press speed. At the same time, total cost of ownership is significantly reduced. Specifically, the new hybrid press offers 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution and production speeds up to 100 m/min, increasing productivity for label converters. Built on Gallus’ modular System to Compose concept, the Gallus Five is available in 340mm and 430mm widths and is fully compatible with the existing Gallus Labelmaster portfolio. Meanwhile, the newly introduced ‘SDC Pro’ semi-rotary die cutter offers high-speed cutting at up to 100 m/min, rapid job changeovers, and optional cutting-depth adjustment.
Developed together with Heidelberg, the Gallus Five also introduces a host of advanced features designed to optimize productivity and reduce costs. This makes it particularly valuable for volume-driven markets where consistent, industrial-level quality, speed, and efficiency are critical such as the health, beauty and cosmetics, pharmaceutical and OTC as well as food and household segments. The press incorporates the newly developed Heidelberg Saphira UV05 ink set – a major advancement in ink technology – with a high-pigmentation formulation that significantly cuts ink consumption, lowering total cost of ownership. It also delivers premium color performance, covering up to 95% of the Pantone® color gamut, including the vast majority of the most frequently used spot colors in packaging, while ensuring compliance with the latest ink safety regulations.
Serving the other end of the market, the new Gallus Alpha, an accessible, value-focused, digital-only printing solution, addresses the needs of converters looking for an efficient, cost-effective entry point into digital printing. Targeted at fast-growing markets such as retail, pharmaceutical, and logistics, the Gallus Alpha brings ease-of-use, flexibility, and performance to converters adapting to shorter runs and faster turnaround times. Available in 340mm width, the Gallus Alpha comes in two configurations – four-color + white or six-color + white – and offers high-resolution printing of 1200 × 1200 dpi at 65m/min. Notably, the press offers a pure roll-to-roll digital configuration for operational simplicity and seamless integration into existing production workflows. With the Gallus Alpha, converters gain a digital-first platform that enables faster onboarding, versioning, and agile job switching, all critical to thriving in a dynamic, fast-paced marketplace.
“Today’s converters need future-ready solutions that deliver industrial speed, accuracy, and workflow automation to run a profitable business,” explains Dario Urbinati, CEO, Gallus Group. “With the Gallus Five and Gallus Alpha, we’re enabling smarter, more connected printing at every level from entry-level systems to fully scalable hybrid platforms.
“Importantly, with the Gallus Five, we are taking the market beyond conventional definitions of hybrid,” he continues. “The press represents a new evolution: a high-performance, fully integrated solution that brings together the best of digital and conventional technologies, intentionally designed and crafted from the ground up and anchored by our System to Compose approach. This isn’t just another evolution in technical capability – it’s a holistic, practical approach focused on removing barriers in even the most demanding areas of the market, accelerating digital adoption, and creating tangible, game-changing opportunities for converters worldwide.”
In line with this vision, Gallus also today launches the new Gallus Print Academy: a dedicated training initiative designed to support customers either in transitioning from conventional printing to hybrid and inkjet technologies, or in gaining in-depth training for their existing equipment – delivered directly on-site to reduce travel and minimize production downtime. Reflecting the company’s wider commitment to driving long-term industry success, the Academy aims to deepen industry expertise and help equip converters with the essential skills and process knowledge needed to confidently adopt hybrid printing and harness its full potential. Positioned as a value-added support tool, the Gallus Print Academy will be available for all Gallus customers and printing technologies, helping them unlock the full potential of next generation print.
“The combined Heidelberg and Gallus portfolio strengthens the position of the Group as a full-range supplier for packaging and label printers,” says David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at Heidelberg. “Together, we’re investing in technologies that deliver end-to-end solutions for efficient, highly productive and cost-effective label production. This development reaffirms our growth strategy – the continuous and targeted expansion of our portfolio as a systems integrator for this key market segment.”
