HEIDELBERG SHOWCASES PRINECT TOUCH FREE

Heidelberg has just hosted hundreds of customers at its Heidelberg Days, and showcased its Prinect Touch Free digital workflow, which it says is the future of print.

Prinect Touch Free is the first step in an AI-enabled cloud-based workflow, that is technology, and even supplier, agnostic. The native cloud-based software automatically calculates the optimum path for each job through the printshop in real time, taking account of all other jobs, maximum efficiencies, and delivery deadlines.

The software analyses the order backlog, and production key performance indicators, on an ongoing basis, learns from this, and consequently optimises the decisions made for future jobs.

Heidelberg’s analysis shows 65 per cent of jobs on its offset presses are for runs of 2000 sheets or less, but most print volume is still offset litho. Prinect Touch Free is designed to run with both offset and digital presses, and in printshops using both of them.

Heidelberg says Printect Touch Free is not intended to replace an MIS, but to add to the margins achievable, through maximising optimisation. It uses machine cost to calculate the lowest possible production cost on the most efficient pathway.

Prinect Touch Free has just gone into its first beta site customer. Heidelberg has in excess of 4000 Prinect users around the world, and these will be the first target market.

Printect Touch Free was launched in the Heidelberg Print Media Centre, which is now being revamped under a new Home of Print banner. The vast Hall 11 at Weisloch is being renovated to replicate the feel of a printshop rather than a showroom, so the floors will be concrete rather than polished wood, the walls grey rather than coloured. Heidelberg expects the project to be complete in six months’ time. It will have both commercial and packaging presses, and digital presses, as well as finishing equipment, in the same location.

At the Heidelberg Days the company also showed its new Boardmaster flexo web press for folding carton, and told customers it is developing a paper-based flexo press. The Boardmaster can produce the equivalent of 50,000 B1 sheets an hour.

Printers at the event also saw the same job printed on a Heidelberg offset presses, on its Versafire toner press, and on its new Jetfire 50 B3 inkjet press.

Heidelberg says its drupa orders exceeded all expectations. The company is preparing to celebrate its 175th anniversary next June, under its new managing director, former automotive industry exec Jurgen Otto, who was appointed as drupa kicked off.