On the day before drupa 24 opened to global visitors, both Canon and Heidelberg held press conferences to announce their cooperation which at this point seems limited to the marketing or remarketing of Canon’s sheetfed inkjet presse and the joint development of a Heidelberg version new Canon B2 inkjet sheetfed press. The two companies made it clear their announcement of a global global sales and service co-operation in inkjet printing, is aimed at commercial printing and especially those commercial print businesses looking to establish hybrid offset and digital production to meet a combnation of print buyer needs.
Heidelberg also said it introduce its own inkjet product family based on the newly announced Canon B2 sheetfed inkjet press and the well established B3 sheetfed inkjet press. Both presses will be integrated into the Prinect workflow, Saphira ink consumables delivered and supported by Heidelberg’s sales and services.
As readers are aware, Heidelberg already has a tie-up with Ricoh to sell it toner-based production presses rebranded as Versafire digital presses. In addition, Canon has its range of webfed inkjet presses that do not seem to be part of this agreement with Heidelberg. Heidelberg has shown its preference for Canon’s sheetfed inkjet presses and future development over Ricoh, which is showing its long-awaited B2 sheetfed inkjet at this drupa.
Akira Yoshida, president, CEO and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Canon Production Printing Holding BV, commented, “Canon has channeled significant energy and investment to develop its leading inkjet technology and give customers in the commercial printing industry a clear vision of their future. Heidelberg boasts a unique heritage, an extensive customer base and in-depth knowledge of the needs of commercial print businesses. We are confident that our collaboration with Heidelberg will accelerate the move to blended offset/digital production and enable transformative innovation for many more offset print businesses worldwide.”
David Schmedding, head of sales of Heidelberg noted, “We are confident that Canon is the ideal partner for Heidelberg to support our customers with best-in-class inkjet press technology, backed by deep expertise in digital applications and business development. Our aim is to offer print shops that operate sheetfed offset and digital presses simultaneously an attractive and integrated service and product portfolio. That’s why we’re excited to be able to offer our customers innovative industrial inkjet presses integrated in our Prinect workflow to gain flexible and cost-effective autonomous production.”
More than 650 Canon B3 sheetfed inkjet presses are already installed by printers globally to produce a broad spectrum of shorter-run work with agility. The new Canon B2 sheetfed press hopes to build on this track record of digital productivity, quality, and media versatility when it becomes available.
Visitors to drupa can see a technology animation of the new B2 sheetfed inkjet press on the Canon stand in Hall 8a, and the press is slated for availability by both Canon and in Q4 2025.
