The decision to increase the warranties was made in response to feedback given as part of Heidelberg’s market intelligence survey, which it carried out in April. The manufacturer spoke to 198 of its customers and found that there was no extra benefit to them in having Heidelberg fit the parts rather than a third-party engineer.  

Heidelberg contracts manager Guy Elliott said: "We have definitely seen a boost in customers requesting parts to be fitted by Heidelberg engineers since introducing the extended warranty.

"This initiative is also supported by the simplification of our service contracts portfolio. There are now lower impression count threshold contracts, some reduced price options and an extension of our remote services, including eCall, a direct press to service link with no intermediate telephone call."

Other intitiatives that have been introduced in response to the survey findings include the "Print Colour Management Lite", a one-day service which will be offered as an alternative to its more comprehensive two-day pre-press and press service. The new service will cost £1,750 compared to the £3,000 two-day offering and will be aimed at customers who already have their presses set up but who want colour-management advice.

A reduced cost preventative maintenance contract has been introduced for customers that have older, lower output machines and do not need them to be serviced twice a year. The new, one visit per year contract is around 40% cheaper than having parts serviced bi-annually. 

The manufacturer has had 15 customers certified as part of its ISO service certification scheme, which was launched at Ipex and costs £6,495.