Heidelberg stays switched on for success

Printers from around the trans-Tasman gather at Heidelberg Print Media Academy for Heidelberg’s first showcase for 2011, Switched on for Success.

The showcase bought together digital and analogue workflows with Kodak’s Storefront Web2Print portal sending print jobs to both the Speedmaster SM52 5 colour Anicolor and the Konica Minolta bizhub digital press. 250 copies were output on the SM52 and 20 on the bizhub. Jobs were finished off with the new highly automated Polar 80 guillotine, making its Australian debut on the night.

Pitched at the A3 market the demonstration showed the benefits of combining digital and analogue technologies. In total it took only 45 minutes from placing the order to the finished job.

Guests on the night came from as far away as New Zealand, Perth and Sydney. Melbourne printers were also thick on the ground and there was representation from country Victoria with Ian Almond of Will Print in Shepparton particularly enthusiastic about the opportunities for web to print.

“We’ve been scratching around the surface of the web to print market and tonight’s presentation has been very good, very informative. When you get into the nuts and bolts of it, the opportunities with web to print are even bigger than we imagined. It really is a worldwide shop front,” he said.

John Della from Pageset was keen to see the integration of Kodak’s workflow with Heidelberg’s analogue and digital offerings. “It’s great to see the strengths of both companies amalgamate,” he said. “I think it’s fantastic from a customer’s perspective because the package is now absolutely complete.  We understand workflow, that’s our livelihood, but it is important for us to make sure we add value by understanding our customers’ workflow processes also.”

Frank Hilliard of Eastern Press, who was one of the first to install an Anicolor press in Australia, also uses Kodak’s Storefront. His interest in the evening wasn’t the temptation of German beer and sausages, but rather the opportunity to hear about what is going on in the region.  “What they showed tonight we already have…this is the future and it does work. It definitely does work”.

Douglas Mooney, Heidelberg’s regional business manager, sheetfed solutions in Singapore didn’t disappoint the crowd with his presentation – a global view of web to print – sharing some eye opening statistics such as the German print company that after only eight years of operation employs 1200 and has its own TNT depot on site.