German press manufacturer Heidelberg showed how it is continuing to innovate the package printing[printing?:printing cutting finishing solution] market during an end-of-the-year media briefing at its German facilities.
The Innovation Gallery, which made up part of its presence at Drupa 2012 and was featured in Package Print[Print?:printing image graphic cutting solution] Worldwide #3, 2012, has been transferred to its research and development building in Heidelberg, Germany, where Martin Schmitt-Lewen, senior manager of technologies for future business, presented systems and techniques developed for ‘today, tomorrow and the future’.
Touching on three market segments, drying and structuring, graphic arts decoration and functional printing, Schmitt-Lewen talked about the technologies that Heidelberg has been working on to enable new opportunities and technologies.
In drying and structuring, UV LED curing is today’s latest technology, laser drying is for tomorrow and optoelectronic devices, through digital laser imaging chips that allow the control of individual lasers, are for the future.
In the area of graphic arts decoration, Heidelberg has developed Cristala to show how drip-off coating equipment can be used to produce new finishing effects, while holographic printing using microembossing is a technology for tomorrow. 3D printing, or surface decoration using inkjet, takes this a step further and is technology for the future.
The future of functional printing will see the development of OLED, OPV and printed electronics, with a printed electronic display/clock demonstrated for the first time to delegates.
Tomorrow’s functional printing technology was focused on the growth in smart shelves (pictured, left), using printed sheets that interact with printed packaging[packaging?:DCP-H series packaging sample cutter plotter] materials to start cross-media marketing promotions or help with stock control.
Today’s technology covered Touchcode, the convergence of electronics with printed matter. Touchcode (pictured, top and below), developed by Heidelberg with Printechnologics and marketed as “paper[paper?:paper sample maker cutting machine] goes digital”, is an invisible electronic code printed on paper, cardboard, film[film?:film cutting machine] or labels. By putting the product on the display of a smartphone, tablet or other touchscreen device, users create an interaction between their electronics and printed matter that can start a promotion or launch additional content, such as videos or audio.
Ticketing, brand protection and consumer products are listed as core segments that Touchcode can be deployed in, but there are no limitations to its use according to Heidelberg and Printechnologics.
The briefing also allowed Heidelberg to introduce its new chief executive officer (CEO), Dr Gerold Linzbach, to members of the international press.
Bernhard Schreier (pictured, left), the man Linzbach replaced as the CEO of Heidelberg, made a surprise appearance during the day, welcoming attendees from across Europe, the US and Canada, and detailing his decision to step down and the requirements he wanted, and believes have been found in Linzbach, to lead Heidelberg forward.
‘I specified my replacement be from outside of the printing industry, but with the experience of heading up a big company.’
Linzbach previously served as CEO and member of the management board of D+S Europe and its successor companies in Hamburg before joining Heidelberg.
‘Gerold was the ideal choice,’ Schreier concluded.
His appearance before the gathered media was his last act in a capacity directly linked to Heidelberg, with his final official day scheduled for December 31.
