07/17/2025
Printing industry managers still regard the digitalization and automation of business and production processes as one of their biggest challenges. The entire printing sector is in the midst of the digital transformation and many print shops are searching for solutions that will enable them to put the new technological possibilities to successful use in their business models. Surveys conducted by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) among printing companies in all key markets worldwide confirm these findings.
“Automation is becoming all the more important for the competitiveness of print shops as print runs shrink, the volume of small jobs grows, staff shortages increase, and personnel costs rise ever higher. In this situation, attention is focusing on hybrid print production with an automated and increasingly AI-driven workflow,” says Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at HEIDELBERG.
SHIFT 2025 – the new international summit initiated by HEIDELBERG – is now set to address these hot topics. The aim is to help print shops with their digital transformation. The two-day summit is taking place on September 16 at the halle02 events venue in downtown Heidelberg and September 17 in the HEIDELBERG Print Media Center – the Home of Print – at the company’s Wiesloch-Walldorf site. The target groups are managers and employees of commercial, packaging, and label printing companies of all sizes.
“At SHIFT 2025, HEIDELBERG will be bringing together the printing industry’s digitalization experts. A whole host of practical presentations and workshops will enable them to obtain information about various approaches to process automation. We will be offering participants a unique platform to compare notes on the challenges and how to go about the digital transformation of business and production processes,” explains Christopher Berti, Head of Digital Ecosystem at HEIDELBERG.
Workflow automation in a hybrid production environment
On the first day of the summit, decision-makers – in other words, printing and packaging industry directors and experts – will discuss digitalization projects that they have successfully implemented at their companies. Presentations will focus on goals, challenges, approaches, and results.
On day two, the event will continue at the HEIDELBERG Wiesloch-Walldorf site. In the new Home of Print, which opened here in June, the end-to-end solutions of HEIDELBERG take center stage. In the biggest exhibition space in the entire industry – more than 9,000 square meters of it – the company showcases its credentials as a full-range provider with a portfolio for offset, digital, and flexographic printing that is incorporated into a comprehensive ecosystem containing numerous software solutions for process automation. Participants will be able to learn about digital process control in a hybrid workflow environment that includes both offset and digital printing technologies. The presentations will be complemented by topic-specific workshops that enable participants to select their own focus areas. A further focal point will be the growing importance of AI, which is already being used successfully in many aspects of production. At the most recent drupa, HEIDELBERG also unveiled Prinect Touch Free. This new AI-driven production software decides independently and dynamically what is the most cost-effective and efficient output channel for producing the relevant print jobs. It bases this decision on all the orders in hand as well as comprehensive machine, production, and job data.
The SHIFT 2025 summit is taking place on September 16 and 17 in Heidelberg and Wiesloch-Walldorf. Anyone who is interested in participating can register for the event now.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is a leading technology company that has been standing for innovation, quality, and reliability in mechanical engineering worldwide for 175 years. With a clear focus on growth and as a total solution provider, HEIDELBERG is driving further development in the core areas of packaging and digital printing, software solutions, and lifecycle business with service and consumables so that customers can achieve maximum productivity and efficiency.
The company is also focusing on expanding into new business areas such as high-precision plant engineering with integrated control systems, automation technology, robotics, and the growing green technologies sector. With its strong international presence in approximately 170 countries, the creative power and expertise of its roughly 9,500 employees, its own production facilities in Europe, China, and the USA, and one of the largest global sales and service networks, the company is ideally positioned for future growth.
SHIFT 2025 is a new platform created by HEIDELBERG that aims to help print shops with their digital transformation.
Image material, and further information about the company are available in the Investor Relations and Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates by the management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the management is of the opinion that these assumptions and estimates are accurate, the actual future development and results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the overall economic situation, in exchange and interest rates, and within the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft provides no guarantee and assumes no liability for future developments and results deviating from the assumptions and estimates made in this press release.
Matthias Hartung
Press Officer – Corporate, Print Systems, and Technology
Tel.: +49 (0)6222 82 67174
Email: matthias.hartung@heidelberg.com
07/17/2025
Printing industry managers still regard the digitalization and automation of business and production processes as one of their biggest challenges. The entire printing sector is in the midst of the digital transformation and many print shops are searching for solutions that will enable them to put the new technological possibilities to successful use in their business models. Surveys conducted by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) among printing companies in all key markets worldwide confirm these findings.
“Automation is becoming all the more important for the competitiveness of print shops as print runs shrink, the volume of small jobs grows, staff shortages increase, and personnel costs rise ever higher. In this situation, attention is focusing on hybrid print production with an automated and increasingly AI-driven workflow,” says Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at HEIDELBERG.
SHIFT 2025 – the new international summit initiated by HEIDELBERG – is now set to address these hot topics. The aim is to help print shops with their digital transformation. The two-day summit is taking place on September 16 at the halle02 events venue in downtown Heidelberg and September 17 in the HEIDELBERG Print Media Center – the Home of Print – at the company’s Wiesloch-Walldorf site. The target groups are managers and employees of commercial, packaging, and label printing companies of all sizes.
“At SHIFT 2025, HEIDELBERG will be bringing together the printing industry’s digitalization experts. A whole host of practical presentations and workshops will enable them to obtain information about various approaches to process automation. We will be offering participants a unique platform to compare notes on the challenges and how to go about the digital transformation of business and production processes,” explains Christopher Berti, Head of Digital Ecosystem at HEIDELBERG.
Workflow automation in a hybrid production environment
On the first day of the summit, decision-makers – in other words, printing and packaging industry directors and experts – will discuss digitalization projects that they have successfully implemented at their companies. Presentations will focus on goals, challenges, approaches, and results.
On day two, the event will continue at the HEIDELBERG Wiesloch-Walldorf site. In the new Home of Print, which opened here in June, the end-to-end solutions of HEIDELBERG take center stage. In the biggest exhibition space in the entire industry – more than 9,000 square meters of it – the company showcases its credentials as a full-range provider with a portfolio for offset, digital, and flexographic printing that is incorporated into a comprehensive ecosystem containing numerous software solutions for process automation. Participants will be able to learn about digital process control in a hybrid workflow environment that includes both offset and digital printing technologies. The presentations will be complemented by topic-specific workshops that enable participants to select their own focus areas. A further focal point will be the growing importance of AI, which is already being used successfully in many aspects of production. At the most recent drupa, HEIDELBERG also unveiled Prinect Touch Free. This new AI-driven production software decides independently and dynamically what is the most cost-effective and efficient output channel for producing the relevant print jobs. It bases this decision on all the orders in hand as well as comprehensive machine, production, and job data.
The SHIFT 2025 summit is taking place on September 16 and 17 in Heidelberg and Wiesloch-Walldorf. Anyone who is interested in participating can register for the event now.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is a leading technology company that has been standing for innovation, quality, and reliability in mechanical engineering worldwide for 175 years. With a clear focus on growth and as a total solution provider, HEIDELBERG is driving further development in the core areas of packaging and digital printing, software solutions, and lifecycle business with service and consumables so that customers can achieve maximum productivity and efficiency.
The company is also focusing on expanding into new business areas such as high-precision plant engineering with integrated control systems, automation technology, robotics, and the growing green technologies sector. With its strong international presence in approximately 170 countries, the creative power and expertise of its roughly 9,500 employees, its own production facilities in Europe, China, and the USA, and one of the largest global sales and service networks, the company is ideally positioned for future growth.
SHIFT 2025 is a new platform created by HEIDELBERG that aims to help print shops with their digital transformation.
Image material, and further information about the company are available in the Investor Relations and Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates by the management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the management is of the opinion that these assumptions and estimates are accurate, the actual future development and results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the overall economic situation, in exchange and interest rates, and within the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft provides no guarantee and assumes no liability for future developments and results deviating from the assumptions and estimates made in this press release.
Press Officer – Corporate, Print Systems, and Technology
Tel.: +49 (0)6222 82 67174
