Around 2,000 visitors came to the Open House held by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Vertrieb Deutschland GmbH (HDD) under the slogan "HEI Lights 2010". The event took place at the Dusseldorf site between June 10 and 12, 2010. The Open House showcased the company's key trade show innovations from IPEX 2010 in the U.K., including the German debut of the new Speedmaster CX 102. Designed for industrial offset printing with a production speed of 16,500 sheets per hour, this press celebrated its world premiere at IPEX 2010. Lying between the Speedmaster SM 102/CD 102 and the Speedmaster XL 105, the Speedmaster CX 102 is aimed at both commercial and packaging printers. The sales launch coincided with the trade show and was a resounding success, with Heidelberg quickly selling 15 presses featuring some 100 printing units to customers from around the world. The Open House event brought further orders for the Speedmaster CX 102.

The Dusseldorf site also showcased other innovations from IPEX, such as the Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor with space-saving short delivery for the new coating unit, and a version of the indexed cold foil system FoilStar that makes surface finishing even more cost-effective. The Prinect print shop workflow also had a strong presence at the event, and included the very latest functions unveiled at IPEX. Another highlight was the new Prinect Image Control that delivers far higher resolution for spectral image measure-ment, offers enhanced ease of operation, and has been technologically completely redesigned. "We want these new technical solutions to capture the imagination of our customers, and for our extended service portfolio to help them overcome these rather difficult times," explained Karl Saueressig, Head of the West sales region. There are positive developments on the market - also in the German economy - and the volume of incoming orders at Heidelberg is increasing. At IPEX 2010, Heidelberg received numerous orders for equipment and services from all over the world and in all market segments, including more than 900 printing units in all formats and over 90 postpress machines. The sales concluded at the Open House event in Dusseldorf confirmed this positive trend.

In addition to machine demonstrations, visitors to the Open House in Dusseldorf also attended presentations on inline finishing, investment financing, and successful corporate governance. The event program was rounded off by a range of offerings, such as a Speedmaster SM 52 or Speedmaster SM 74 complete with Prinect Axis Control at an attractive special price. Combined with the standard system for color measurement and control, the Speedmaster SM 52 and SM 74 make a good team for effective quality assurance. With Prinect Axis Control, the press inks up faster, and less waste is produced during makeready. That in turn brings benefits for the environment.

Heidelberg has combined all its services in a dedicated division in order to boost the competitiveness of print shops. This illustrates its commitment to becoming a service company for the entire print media industry. "Among other things, the portfolio aims to deliver higher productivity and round-the-clock press availability in print shops, in addition to ensuring eco-friendly production," explained Temur Karbassioun, Senior Vice President Systemservice at HDD. The portfolio serves the entire value-added chain of Heidelberg customers and covers the full lifecycle of the equipment. The service offering is divided into two categories. Technology services keep machinery operating smoothly. This category includes service agreements such as Heidelberg Systemservice36Plus and the Partner Program, on-site repairs and troubleshooting, Original Heidelberg Service Parts, and Remote Services. Productivity services help customers unlock additional potential using consultancy services, Print Color Management, and production monitoring and certification.

Heidelberg boasts the most efficient service and logistics network in the industry worldwide, with around 4,000 service staff at 250 branch offices in 170 countries. In Germany, a total of 600 service specialists are on hand to deal with customers' needs.

Panel discussion on "Challenges and Success Criteria for the Print Media Industry in Germany"
On the evening of the first day of the Open House, a panel discussion was held on the subject of "Challenges and Success Criteria for the Print Media Industry in Germany". The discussion was chaired by Prof. Heinz-Reiner Treichel from the University of Wuppertal. The participants were Oliver Curdt, Manager Director of the Print and Media Association in North Rhine-Westphalia; Peter Dieckmann, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of VR-Leasing AG; Frank Eigler, Managing Director of Eigler & Hermann Design and agency Scheufele, Hesse, Eigler; Rüdiger Maass, Managing Director of the Fachverband Medienproduktioner (association of media production specialists); and Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberg. The experts agreed that the print media industry must position itself strategically on the market and invest more heavily in marketing and employee training. The important thing is to ensure that the quality and added value of print is marketed properly using cross-media applications and eye-catching finishes, for example. "Everything that can go online will go online. And if it makes sense to print something, then it will continue to be printed in future," said Bernhard Schreier. The key factors are quality, deadline, price and orientation to the specific target group. It is specialized print shops that will prove successful in the future. "There is a future for print and we want to make sure that our customers can make money doing what they do," concluded Schreier.