"The best technology without the availability of that technology is worthless. Our focus is on making products that are available 24/7 for stable and sustainable production," stated Marcel Kiessling, Heidelberg board member for services.

The firm gave a glimpse of some of the new product launches and developments being planned for the show at its end-of-year press briefing.

The Cerm MIS system, acquired by Heidelberg in March, is being incorporated into Prinect to create a fully-integrated workflow for commercial and packaging printers.  Heidelberg will also include source code from Pageflex into Prinect for web-to-print applications.

It has also augmented its Saphira range of consumables with a new Saphira Eco line designed to meet the toughest environmental requirements possible. "We took the toughest environmental standards worldwide, and made sure our Saphira Eco range met them," Kiessling explained. "This is the difference, we looked on a global basis at all known certificates."

To accompany the move Heidelberg has created a new quality seal that can be used by customers who have switched over completely to Saphira Eco, to signify their environmental credentials. Head of consumables Peter Tix said: "If you fulfil Saphira Eco, you automatically fulfil all the other labels."

Düsseldorf-based printer Druckstudio is the first company to totally adopt the product line, and it will produce a prestigious report and accounts for cash-and-carry giant Metro next year that will be the first job to carry the new seal.

Stephan Plenz, board member responsible for equipment, said: "It will definitely be a green Drupa from our point-of-view. Eco issues such as waste, CO2 and emissions reduction will be at the centre of what we do."

Heidelberg has now calculated the carbon footprint involved in manufacturing all its presses, and is offering customers the option of buying a new press in a 'carbon neutral' state for an additional fee. The charge will depend on the press configuration, but Plenz gave a ballpark figure of €5,000 (£4,275).

"Customers can buy a carbon neutral press, so those customers who are interested in this can start from a clean point," he said. "All our presses and assets at Drupa will be carbon neutral."

Plenz also hailed the market success of the 16,500sph Speedmaster CX102, first shown at Ipex 2010. Heidelberg will deliver its 1,000th unit by the end of this year. "Lots of printshops want the technology of the XL but don’t have the full need for that peak performance."

He hinted that rumours that a B2-version CX75 would be among Heidelberg's Drupa launches could prove accurate. "This concept is so successful that some even try to copy it. So why should we stop doing it?"

In similar vein, he said that lots of customers were interested in the Anicolor technology in formats other than B3.

Heidelberg now has 300 VLF press units installed in the field but does not plan to exhibit entire presses from its XL145 and XL162 VLF range at the show. Plenz hailed the new eight-colour perfecting XL162 as "an opportunity that wasn't there before".

"It's already changing the industry," he added. "But these presses take up a lot of space. If people want to see it they can come to Wiesloch."

Other new developments planned for Drupa include a dual cassette loader for the Suprasetter CTP device, and an integrated turntable that allows users to use a much smaller processor. A high-res 5,080dpi Suprasetter for security printing and other special applications will also be on show.

In finishing, there will be new variants of its Stahlfolder – the Ti 52 and Ti 36 – featuring a new compact control technology (CCT) input system for faster makeready times.

Heidelberg is also on track to complete the worldwide market launch of its digital printing partnership with Ricoh by the show.