Heidelberg launches digital transformation platform

The company launches the Shift 2025 summit to address the automation challenges facing the printing sector.

Heidelberger has established Shift 2025, a new international summit designed to help print shops navigate the challenges of digital transformation and automation in an industry facing shrinking print runs and staff shortages.

The two-day event will take place on September 16 at the halle02 events venue in downtown Heidelberg and on September 17 at the company's Print Media Center in Wiesloch-Walldorf. The summit targets managers and employees of commercial, packaging and label printing companies of all sizes.

'Automation is becoming all the more important for the competitiveness of print shops as print runs shrink, the volume of small jobs grows, staff shortages increase, and personnel costs rise ever higher,' said Dr David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer at Heidelberg. 'In this situation, attention is focusing on hybrid print production with an automated and increasingly AI-driven workflow.'

Surveys conducted by Heidelberg among printing companies in key markets worldwide confirm that digitalization and automation of business and production processes remain among the biggest challenges facing industry managers.

The first day will feature presentations by printing and packaging industry directors discussing successful digitalization projects at their companies, focusing on goals, challenges, approaches and results. Day two will continue at Heidelberg's Wiesloch-Walldorf site in the new Home of Print facility, which opened in June and features more than 9,000 sqm of exhibition space.

Participants will learn about digital process control in hybrid workflow environments, incorporating both offset and digital printing technologies. The presentations will include topic-specific workshops and focus on the growing importance of artificial intelligence in production processes.

'At Shift 2025, Heidelberg will be bringing together the printing industry's digitalization experts,' said Christopher Berti, head of digital ecosystem at Heidelberg. 'We will be offering participants a unique platform to compare notes on the challenges and how to go about the digital transformation of business and production processes.'

At the recent drupa exhibition, Heidelberg unveiled Prinect Touch Free, a new AI-driven production software that independently determines the most cost-effective and efficient output channel for print jobs based on the orders in hand and comprehensive machine, production and job data.