The duo unveiled the new alliance on the eve of Drupa’s opening day.
At the last Drupa in 2016 Heidelberg launched its own B1 Primefire sheetfed inkjet press using Fujifilm heads, but the project was canned in 2020 when Heidelberg reduced its product portfolio to improve profitability.
Announcing the move into B3 and B2 inkjet with the Jetfire 50 and Jetfire 75, chief sales and service officer Dr David Schmedding described the deal as “the next milestone in digital printing for Heidelberg”.
“Heidelberg is the technology leader in offset and Canon is the technology leader in inkjet,” he stated.
“It’s a great fit and also a great moment for the printing industry that Canon and Heidelberg have agreed a co-operation in the segment of digital inkjet.”
Heidelberg has an existing partnership with Ricoh for toner devices, and although Ricoh also has a new B2 inkjet press at Drupa Heidelberg has opted for Canon’s know-how in the industrial sheetfed inkjet space.
A Jetfire 50 was unveiled on Heidelberg’s booth, having been sneaked into the showground in early May and kept under wraps during the build.
The 4,170sph B3 4/4 device is based on Canon’s popular iX3200 but is “fully integrated” into the Heidelberg service and consumables setup, and its Prinect workflow.
It is available for sale immediately, with shipments from Q1 2025.
The 8,700sph B2 Jetfire 75 will be on sale from mid-2025 with first shipments expected in early 2026.
The target market is firmly commercial printers. Heidelberg pointed to a “hybrid” future and stated: “A blended offset and digital workflow is the future of production printing.”
Heidelberg also had two CEOs on hand at the event, outgoing boss Dr Ludwin Monz and incoming CEO Jürgen Otto, who joins for the new financial year.
Monz said he would be at Drupa for the whole show, while turnaround expert Otto is spending a few days at the Messe to scope out the industry, check out competitors, and meet with key players.
Otto stated: “I was previously in automotive industry. What I have learned is that Heidelberg has a great tradition and will celebrate its 175th anniversary next year.”
He said Heidelberg had an “almost unique” worldwide network in sales and service, and there was tremendous opportunity in leveraging that capability.
Also new at Heidelberg’s showcase in Hall 1 is Prinect Touch Free, which “calculates all possible production rules” and then automatically selects the fastest and best route.
Other showcases at the Heidelberg exhibit include the new high-speed 21,000sph Speedmaster XL 106 amid a host of other innovations in printing and post-press.
