In China, Tomorrow Is Too Late · Benny Huang · HEIDELBERG · All in Print China 2026
Speed, determination, and a strong winning mentality are among the characteristics defining the Chinese printing market. At All in Print China in Shanghai, INKISH Editor-in-Chief Morten B. Reitoft speaks with Benny Huang, Head of Greater China at HEIDELBERG, about the company's position in one of its most important markets and how Chinese customer expectations are influencing its business.
According to Huang, China operates at a different pace from most Western markets. Customers expect immediate responses, rapid decisions, and continuous innovation. For HEIDELBERG, having its own manufacturing facility in Shanghai has become an essential competitive advantage, allowing the company to respond quickly to local demand while maintaining global quality standards.
Packaging dominates much of the Chinese offset market, where HEIDELBERG has established a strong position. Demand for increasingly sophisticated configurations, including presses with up to 17 units, reflects the market's requirements for productivity, embellishment, and specialized applications.
But China is also changing. Digital printing is gaining ground, and HEIDELBERG is responding with solutions ranging from Versafire and Jetfire to Gallus hybrid technology. Huang emphasizes that technology alone is insufficient. Service, availability, and response times are becoming increasingly important, particularly for digital production environments.
The conversation also explores HEIDELBERG's return to All in Print China after many years, this time without exhibiting a printing press. Instead, the company has created a presentation environment focused on technology, innovation, and the future of print.
An interesting insight into the Chinese printing industry's pace of development, the growing importance of packaging and digital printing, and why being successful in China requires more than simply having excellent machines.
Making One-to-One Printing Profitable Through Automation · Patrick Donner & Peter Camp · Traffic
Producing a single personalized print product profitably requires much more than digital printing technology. It demands intelligent workflows, seamless data integration, and a production environment where automation eliminates unnecessary manual processes.
In this INKISH film, Patrick Donner and Peter Camp explain how nearly 30 years of experience in digital printing, variable data, and IT have shaped a business built around individualized print production.
With HP Indigo presses, Xerox equipment, Scodix embellishment, MotionCutter technology, and automated finishing, the company handles everything from personalized direct mail to large-scale fulfillment and individually customized products, including Merci chocolate packaging.
A central part of the operation is its automated workflow that combines Enfocus Switch, PitStop Server, and Ultimate Impostrip. By standardizing incoming customer data and automating imposition, the company has significantly reduced operator intervention, improved production quality, and increased efficiency. Machine operators can concentrate on running their equipment rather than preparing individual jobs.
Perhaps most interesting is the company's approach to IT. With more software developers than bookbinders, the business considers software development and automation essential to making one-to-one production commercially viable.
And the next step? Further investment in software, digitalization, and potentially humanoid robots to support fulfillment operations as labor shortages continue to challenge the printing industry.
An interesting insight into a printing business where innovation is not simply about buying faster machines but about integrating data, software, printing, and finishing into a single efficient production process.
Inside HEIDELBERG China – A Second Wiesloch? · Michael Nilges · Managing Director
Twenty years ago, HEIDELBERG established its manufacturing operation in Shanghai. Today, China has become an essential part of the company's global production strategy, manufacturing printing presses for both the domestic market and customers worldwide.
INKISH Editor-in-Chief Morten B. Reitoft visits HEIDELBERG's Shanghai facility and speaks with Michael Nilges, Managing Director of the Shanghai site, about the development of the Chinese operation, its strategic importance, and what comes next.
Walking through the factory, the similarities to HEIDELBERG's Wiesloch-Walldorf production facility in Germany are striking. The manufacturing processes, precision, and quality standards are deliberately aligned. But China is also a very different market, particularly when it comes to packaging, where highly customized presses with 16 or even 17 units are not unusual.
Nilges explains why the Speedmaster CX platform is manufactured in Shanghai while the XL series remains concentrated in Germany, how proximity to customers creates advantages in development and service, and why local manufacturing is becoming increasingly important to HEIDELBERG's global operations.
Perhaps most interesting is the next step: expanding the Shanghai operation beyond manufacturing and assembly into R&D and product management, with ambitions to take greater global responsibility for the CX platform.
The conversation offers a fascinating look at how HEIDELBERG balances German engineering traditions with the realities of the world's largest printing market, and why Shanghai is becoming much more than simply another production location.
Made by HEIDELBERG – Not Made in China or Germany · Dr. David Schmedding · All in Print China 2026
China has become one of HEIDELBERG's most important markets, and its growing significance goes far beyond sales. At All in Print China in Shanghai, INKISH Editor-in-Chief Morten B. Reitoft speaks with Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at HEIDELBERG, about manufacturing, global markets, and the company's strategic direction.
One of Schmedding's strongest messages is that HEIDELBERG equipment is not defined by its place of manufacture. Whether a press comes from Germany or China, it is made by HEIDELBERG, following the same engineering principles and quality expectations. Concentrating production of the Speedmaster CX platform in Shanghai has strengthened the company's competitiveness while bringing manufacturing closer to one of its largest customer bases.
Schmedding also explains how China's strong performance has helped compensate for weaker markets elsewhere, and why HEIDELBERG is increasingly focusing on emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia.
Another important topic is the integration of manroland sheetfed. For the first time, the brand is represented at HEIDELBERG's booth, with former manroland employees already supporting customers and ensuring continuity in service and spare parts. The integration also opens opportunities in market segments and press formats previously outside HEIDELBERG's portfolio.
Interestingly, HEIDELBERG has chosen not to exhibit printing equipment at All in Print China. Instead, a cinema-style presentation attracted approximately 4,500 visitors during the first two days, demonstrating that there are different ways to engage customers at exhibitions.
An insightful conversation about global manufacturing, market opportunities, the integration of manroland sheetfed, and the importance of learning from the speed and determination of the Chinese market.
Madam Li · Inside Masterwork’s Vision for the Future of Print, AI and Automation
Chinese description below:
During our visit to Masterwork (MK) in Tianjin, China, we had the unexpected pleasure of meeting Chairwoman Madam Li, who kindly agreed to an interview about the company's remarkable journey, its relationship with Heidelberg, and her vision for the future of the printing industry.
Founded in 1995, Masterwork has evolved from manufacturing relatively simple printing equipment into a global technology company offering integrated printing and postpress solutions. With more than 300 invention patents, the company has built its success on understanding customer needs, continuous innovation, and developing technologies that deliver measurable value.
Madam Li shares fascinating examples of how Masterwork has transformed foil stamping and packaging production through multi-station technology. But perhaps even more interesting is her vision of tomorrow's printing factory, where AI, voice control, intelligent automation, and simplified machine operation will fundamentally change how people interact with production equipment.
We also discuss Masterwork's strategic relationship with Heidelberg, the speed of technological development in China, and her ambition to make MK an even stronger international company.
An inspiring conversation with one of the industry's most influential business leaders, offering a valuable perspective on Chinese manufacturing, innovation, and the future of print.
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在中国天津参观长荣股份（Masterwork / MK）期间，我们非常荣幸地意外遇到了长荣董事长李女士，并有机会与她深入交流，探讨长荣的发展历程、与海德堡的战略合作关系，以及她对全球印刷行业未来的思考。
长荣成立于1995年，从早期的印刷设备制造起步，逐步发展成为提供印刷及印后整体解决方案的国际化技术企业。如今，长荣已拥有300多项发明专利。李董事长在采访中强调，企业持续发展的关键并不是单纯追求市场竞争中的胜利，而是真正理解客户需求，通过持续创新为客户创造价值。
采访中，李董事长分享了长荣如何通过双工位和三工位烫金技术，改变传统包装生产流程，提高生产效率。同时，她也谈到了对未来智能印刷工厂的构想：人工智能、语音控制、智能自动化以及更加便捷的人机交互，将使复杂的工业设备变得越来越容易操作。
我们还探讨了中国市场快速发展的步伐、长荣与海德堡之间的战略合作，以及长荣进一步走向国际市场的愿景。
这是一次难得而富有启发性的对话，让我们有机会从中国印刷装备制造业领军企业的视角，了解技术创新、客户价值，以及全球印刷产业未来的发展方向。
NOVUS Print · From PDF to Shelf with Canon, Hunkeler and Müller Martini
With more than 120 years of history, NOVUS Print is one of South Africa's most diversified printing companies, producing everything from newspapers, magazines, and commercial print to labels, packaging, and books. At its flagship facility in Cape Town, six printing technologies operate under one roof. But as traditional print markets change, NOVUS is making significant investments in what it believes is a growing opportunity: book production.
In this INKISH interview, we meet three key people behind the company's latest investment: Thinus Dixon, Managing Executive; Johnny Singh, Head of Book Production; and Johnathan Rose, Operations Manager. Together, they explain why NOVUS invested in a Canon ColorStream 8200 inkjet press, combined with Hunkeler folding technology, Müller Martini binding equipment, and the Connex workflow system.
The investment represents much more than the purchase of another printing press. NOVUS has developed an integrated production environment where customer orders can enter directly from procurement systems, automatically retrieve approved artwork and agreed pricing, and move through planning, batching, printing, and finishing with minimal manual intervention.
The objective is to change the economics of book manufacturing. While offset printing remains important for larger volumes, NOVUS can now produce shorter runs of 500 to 2,500 copies efficiently, helping publishers reduce inventory, respond faster to demand, and avoid tying up capital in warehouses. According to the team, digital printing can even offer lower production costs than conventional offset in these applications.
One of the most interesting aspects of the conversation is how NOVUS approached the investment. Rather than selecting equipment independently, the company assembled an internal team of specialists, tested its own paper and artwork, evaluated operating costs, and worked closely with its technology partners to ensure that the entire production ecosystem would perform as expected.
And this is only the beginning. NOVUS is already planning its next phase, adding monochrome inkjet printing and additional finishing capacity to serve trade publishing alongside its existing educational book business.
With newspaper volumes declining and commercial printing facing increasing competition from digital media, NOVUS sees books and packaging as attractive markets for future growth. The company's strategy demonstrates how established printing businesses can reinvent themselves by combining new technologies with intelligent automation and a clear understanding of customer needs.
An insightful conversation about the future of book production, the economics of digital inkjet, and why successful investments depend just as much on workflow, integration, and people as on the printing equipment itself.
