Canon and Heidelberg top management have signed off on the contract for a global cooperation agreement in sheetfed inkjet. The companies announced the agreement at drupa 2024.
The signing took pace at Heidelberg’s Wiesloch-Walldorf site.
Heidelberg will sell the new Jetfire 50 B3 inkjet printing system with Prinect connection worldwide and incorporate it into an ecosystem for a hybrid production environment that also includes offset printing solutions. The company will add a B2 version, the Jetfire 75 and says the market launch of Jetfire 50 B3 inkjet printing system is going completely to plan.
At the contract signing, Heidelberg chief executive officer Jürgen Otto and chief sales officer Dr David Schmedding gave the Canon representatives an overview of the new Jetfire 50 industrial B3 inkjet printing system’s market launch.
They say that, even after drupa, customer interest in the solutions making up the Jetfire 50 ecosystem remains high. Potential users appreciate the option of integrating the system into a hybrid and AI-controlled production environment together with the Heidelberg portfolio for offset printing. In response to the resulting inquiries, the company has already provided numerous quotations and these are now gradually producing firm orders. Since September, a Jetfire 50 has been available for customer demonstrations in the Home of Print at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site and also at the Heidelberg showroom in Japan.
Otto says, “The digital printing collaboration with Canon marks a milestone in the growth strategy for our core business. Besides selling the Jetfire 50 itself, we will also benefit from recurring sales from services and consumables throughout the press’s lifetime. In commercial printing, too, that means we can share in the growing digital printing volume and significantly strengthen our market position”
Installations will begin in 2025. Schmedding says, “We’re starting by delivering the first Jetfire 50 presses in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in spring 2025, as planned. Users will benefit from our application know-how, our in-depth understanding of the market’s needs, and the most comprehensive service network in the entire sector.”
Heidelberg adds that its agreement with Canon and the associated industrial digital printing solutions, is plugging a gap in its portfolio. The company is showcasing its credentials as a collaborative total solution provider that can supply all state-of-the-art printing technologies, from toner to inkjet and from offset to flexographic printing. It will integrate these into a hybrid workflow via Prinect, all on a technology neutral basis and in line with customer requirements.
