Customers opt for comprehensive digital printing portfolio from Heidelberg

Heidelberg leverages longstanding expertise in the digital sector

For many print shops, run lengths are shrinking, but the actual number of orders is continuing to grow. To handle this kind of job structure cost-effectively, print shops need flexible, highly automated, and integrated digital printing systems. That is why, when it comes to the commercial market, Heidelberg is working with partners such as Ricoh and Canon on print solutions and with C.P. Bourg and Technau on postpress solutions. Through these partnerships, Heidelberg aims to offer customers fully integrated and hybrid end-to-end solutions in combination with its offset printing presses. By adopting this strategy, Heidelberg is underscoring its position as a fully comprehensive systems integrator in the industry.

Flexible and industrial solutions for the cost-efficient production of short and personalized runs in the commercial sector

• When it comes to the flexible production of high-quality commercial jobs with varying run lengths, Heidelberg offers the toner-based Versafire LM, LP, and LV models for A3 format. The company has already installed approximately 3,500 Versafire systems worldwide since market launch in 2012.
• When it comes to industrial commercial printing, Heidelberg has the Jetfire 50 for B3 format, which was launched at drupa 2024, and the recently launched, highly productive Jetfire 75 for B2 format. Both solutions are based on inkjet technology and have been developed with integration, quality, speed, automation, and cost efficiency in mind.

Digital and hybrid solutions from Gallus for the growing label market support industrial performance and profitable production

The growing label market is all about speed, flexibility, and quality. Highly automated and, increasingly, hybrid solutions are a crucial prerequisite for profitable production.

• The digital and hybrid Gallus One and Gallus Labelfire 340 label printers, the Gallus Five hybrid press launched at Labelexpo in September 2025, and the fully digital Gallus Alpha all make use of inkjet technology developed in-house by Heidelberg. They give label printers in the dynamically growing digital label market access to the ideal solution for any customer requirement, from entry-level options to hybrid, high-end systems – all as part of the “System to Compose” concept.

“As a total solution provider for the entire sector, Heidelberg offers its customers complete solutions for digital end-to-end production, which print shops can use to boost their profitability and competitiveness,” points out Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at Heidelberg. “Together with our technology partners, we create integrated solutions and hybrid production environments that deliver optimum quality, efficiency, and flexibility. Heidelberg is the systems integrator that links together all the components to create a single, high-performance, and fully comprehensive system.”

Hybrid print production – Jetfire 50 and Speedmaster XL 75 at Schmid-Fehr AG, Goldach, Switzerland

Schmid Fehr AG, based in Goldach, Switzerland, is a third- and fourth-generation family-run company with approximately 40 members of staff. Its business model combines conventional printing (offset and digital printing starting from a run size of one) with contemporary, digitally supported communication and logistics solutions. In its in-house “print factory”, the company produces business cards, flyers, brochures, posters, and more besides. Its ingenious print design techniques boast stunning haptics and provoke an emotional response, while its Atelier team offers web design, digital media, web to print applications, and corporate podcasts. The company’s portfolio is rounded off by dispatch and logistics services, online shops, and carbon-neutral production.

• Hybrid print production: Jetfire 50 with Prinect Touch Free and C.P. Bourg finishing line combined with a Speedmaster XL 75.
• Applications: Business cards, flyers, brochures, and posters are just some examples. The company’s innovative print design techniques boast stunning haptics and provoke a unique emotional response.
• Special feature: AI-assisted process automation with Prinect Touch Free, which autonomously guides jobs through the entire production process while factoring in capacities, costs, and delivery deadlines.
• Benefits: Higher efficiency, lower costs, and the flexibility to develop new business models.

Digital label printing – Gallus One at Carini GmbH, Lustenau, Austria

Carini GmbH, based in Lustenau, Austria, is a fourth-generation family-run company with more than 150 staff members. It is also one of the most technologically advanced label printers in the German-speaking world. The company specializes in developing and producing high-quality label and packaging solutions for upmarket brands in the food, beverage, wine, spirits, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and chemicals sectors.

As an innovation-focused partner, Carini combines a varied mix of technologies comprising digital, offset, screen, and flexographic printing with high-end finishing technologies, versatile data solutions, and in-depth material know-how. “We support brands from the outset, on both a visual and a functional level. That ranges from design through material and finishing decisions to dependable execution and the assurance of stability throughout the entire product lifecycle,” says Simon Sohm, Managing Director of Carini GmbH.

Carini works with an extraordinarily wide portfolio of materials. It has vetted over 600 materials, which enables it to offer huge variety and develop the ideal solution for virtually any technical, regulatory, or design challenge. It has a particular focus on sustainability, which is integral to its corporate strategy. A steadily growing portfolio of environmentally friendly label solutions and targeted investment in low-carbon printing technologies underpin the company’s claim to combine ecological responsibility with industrial performance.

At the same time, Carini is also systematically driving forward digitalization. Automated production processes, data-based quality controls, and a smart customer portal facilitate efficient workflows and end-to-end process and quality tracking.

• Systems: Among other technologies, a Gallus One with inkjet technology from Heidelberg and several conventional Gallus printing systems.
• Applications: High-end label printing for customers in the food, beverage, wine, spirits, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals sectors.
• Specialty: Sustainable label production with an emphasis on the circular economy and bespoke customer requirements.
• Customer benefits: Flexibility for short and medium runs and innovative effects for brand images.