Heidelberg

HEIDELBERG, Germany—Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) recently won the “Most Progressive Environmental Process” award from Canadian trade magazine PrintAction. More than 400 representatives from the Canadian print media industry were present to see Heidelberg receive the award for its environmentally friendly presses. One aspect that was rated particularly highly was the company’s holistic approach to environmental protection, with environmental issues being taken into consideration at every stage—from the development and manufacture of presses to their operation in print shops. The Lowe Martin Group and Hemlock Printers Ltd. both received gold awards in the “Most Environmentally Progressive Printers (100+ employees)” category. Both print shops use Heidelberg

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization announced the release of the PrintTalk 1.3 Schema and Reference Implementation, and the release of a new set of Interoperability Conformance Specifications (ICS) based on version 1.3 of the JDF specification and the new PrintTalk 1.3. PrintTalk is a specification for the exchange of print eCommerce information that is useful for the exchange of data between customer systems, Web-to-print eCommerce systems, and print estimating, scheduling and MIS. The PrintTalk specification was developed in the 1990s and early 2000s by the PrintTalk organization, which was managed by NPES.

For many years, most of the general population of the United States has had a ­domestic focus and perspective. We are surprised, and to some extent hurt, when other nations do not go along with our view of the world. Whether our international policies are right or wrong is not the point of this column; it is the fact that we no more control global development than we control the Internet. Take money matters. Americans traditionally look at the U.S. dollar as the basis for all other currencies. The traditional media reinforces that perspective; when we watch the Today Show or even the

For more than 50 years, printers have been going to drupa to see the latest developments in presses. It will be no different this year when the world’s printers will head for Düsseldorf to see what technical developments Heidelberg, MAN Roland, KBA, Komori, or Mitsubishi, as the big five providers of sheetfed presses, have to show. While the demonstrations will certainly impress, there will be a change in emphasis. In previous years, manufacturers have come up with advances in technology to impress visitors. This time the technologies are going to be about offering solutions to the problems that today’s printers face. This will mean

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) will be demonstrating its technological and innovative skills and the resulting customer benefits at the international drupa 2008 trade show (Dusseldorf, May 29 - June 11). The world market leader will be showcasing solutions for packaging and commercial printing in sheetfed offset in two exhibition halls covering around 7,800 square meters. These include its outstanding Anicolor inking unit technology, the Prinect print shop workflow, and countless other “HEI Lights,” with the Speedmaster XL 162 receiving its world premiere. In Hall 1 (commercial printing) and Hall 2 (packaging printing), Heidelberg will be presenting its comprehensive portfolio of solutions for the entire

Last month, packagePRINTING attended the pre-drupa media conference, where industry leaders announced somewhat guarded plans for the two-week-long trade show, to be held May 29-June 6 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Although much of the focus was on the commercial print industry, several companies discussed what package printers can expect at drupa 2008. Heidelberg is stepping out with its new “HEI TECH” campaign, which includes its “HEI Performance” and “HEI Value” solutions. The company’s Packaging Print Solutions Hall will feature HEI TECH Centers for Special Applications and Very Large Format and Integrated Packaging Production, as well as Information and Business Centers and A HEI School, for

KENNESAW, Ga.—As part of its ongoing commitment to print industry education, Heidelberg’s Print Media Academy will host operator training classes on basic and advanced folding techniques this month at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minn. The training classes, which are open to the public, will be conducted on an automated Heidelberg Stahlfolder TH 66 folder, and will assist operators of small and mid-size businesses in building their knowledge and skills on some of the industry’s most advanced folding equipment. Classes are open to the public and are not limited to Heidelberg customers. The class schedule is as follows: • Basic Folding Techniques: Folding

HEIDELBERG, Germany—Heidelberg is extending its worldwide operations in consumables by grouping all its own consumables in the Saphira product category. The company will be presenting a new, globally standardized Saphira range at drupa 2008. The Saphira name represents a wide portfolio of high-quality consumables suitable for both standard print jobs and special applications, and for all production requirements in prepress, press and postpress. All consumables bearing the Saphira name have been specially optimized and tested for use in Heidelberg solutions, and help the user benefit from the full range of functions the equipment offers, thus ensuring first-class print results. Saphira products also meet all

A study by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) confirms that 40 percent of printshops place great value on environmental protection. “Our customers set great store by environmental protection,” confirms Dr. Jürgen Rautert, director for engineering and manufacturing at Heidelberg. “We can show that protecting the environment and earning money are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the investments required to secure a better future for our planet pay for themselves very quickly.” Heidelberg made environmental protection one of its corporate objectives back in 1992. The company was the first to receive the industry’s eco-certificate for its foundry in Amstetten in 1996. Since then, environmental management systems

In cooperation with the Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has set up an intranet-based environment portal that provides in-house developers with more support for ecological product development processes. Customers receive useful information on Heidelberg products and their environmental compatibility. The project was unveiled at the closing symposium organized by Transfer Unit 55 of the TU Darmstadt on November 21 and 22, 2007. Representatives from various associations, industry and political circles spoke on the topic of “EcoDesign: From theory to practice.” The five participating companies reported on the results of the three-year project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation).