Heidelberg and Canon have finalised a global cooperation agreement for sheetfed inkjet printing, which was first announced at drupa 2024.
As a result of the partnership, 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. A B2 version – the Jetfire 75 – will also be added to the portfolio in the future.
Heidelberg CEO Jürgen Otto and CSO David Schmedding gave the representatives from Canon an overview of the new Jetfire 50’s market launch; even after drupa, customer interest in the Jetfire 50 remains high, they said.
According to the company, potential users particularly 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 quotations, and these are now gradually producing firm orders, Heidelberg said. 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, the company added.
‘The digital printing collaboration with Canon marks a milestone in the growth strategy for our core business,’ stated Mr Otto. ‘Besides selling the Jetfire 50 itself, we will also benefit from recurring sales from services and consumables throughout the press’ lifetime. In commercial printing, too, that means we can share in the growing digital printing volume and significantly strengthen our market position,’ he added.
Mr Schmedding said the company will begin delivering the first Jetfire 50’s in spring 2025 to customers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He believes users will benefit from Heidelberg’s application know-how, in-depth understanding of the market’s needs, and, what he describes as the most comprehensive service network in the entire sector. The company’s next step will be to make the press available in all its regions.
Consequence to the agreement with Canon, and the associated industrial digital printing solutions, the Heidelberg says it is plugging a gap in its portfolio. The partnership also allows Heidlberg to ‘provide all solutions’ – from toner to inkjet and from offset to flexographic printing – integrating into a hybrid workflow via Prinect, in line with customer requirements. ‘That’s unique in the industry,’ concluded Mr Schmedding.
