Following the announcement of a global cooperation agreement in sheetfed inkjet printing between Heidelberg and Canon at drupa 2024, members of both companies’ top management met for the official contract signing in the new Home of Print at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site of Heidelberg. The event is a confirmation of the collaboration between the two companies and their joint ambition. 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. Even after drupa, customer interest in the solutions making up the Jetfire 50 ecosystem remains high. 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 in the Home of Print 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,” says 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,” he adds.

First systems to be installed for customers as early as spring 2025

“We’re starting by delivering the first Jetfire 50 presses in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in spring 2025, as planned. 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 step will be to make the press available in all Heidelberg regions.

Thanks to its agreement with Canon and the associated industrial digital printing solutions, Heidelberg is plugging a gap in its portfolio. The company is showcasing its credentials as a collaborative total solution provider that can supply all state-of-the-art printing technologies – from toner to inkjet and from offset to flexographic printing – and integrate these into a hybrid workflow via Prinect, all on a technology-neutral basis and in line with customer requirements. “That’s unique in the industry,” says Schmedding.