Page 25 - PWM2026_FEBRUARY EBOOK

GLOBAL NEWS

Heidelberg reveals Heidelberg has welcomed
IN BRIEF

Jetfire 75 roll-out plans a delegation of German
Ministry of Defense and
federal parliament repre-
sentatives as the group
plans expansion in
Heidelberg already has a web-to-print business and defence system manufac-
pipeline of 70 potential cus- installed its first Jetfire in the turing. The visit on 19
January, came amid esca-
tomers for its B2 Jetfire 75 summer of 2025. It subse- lating geopolitical tensions and the latest provocative
sheetfed inkjet press, which statements from President Trump. Dr Nils Schmid,
quently placed an order for Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of
is now officially launched on Defense, stated: “If we are to be able to defend ourselves as
the market. At Drupa 2024 B2 Jetfire 75 sheetfed inkjet ten more. a state and society, we need to equip the Bundeswehr
Heidelberg unveiled a fresh been sold, and feedback from The roll-out of the B2-plus [German armed forces] better – and fast. We can’t lose any
more time. “That is why we will also utilize tried-and-
inkjet alliance with Canon, customers about uptime, per- Jetfire 75 is now underway, tested industrial know-how and the capabilities of German
with the B3-plus Jetfire 50 formance and quality had with the first presses set to be companies from other sectors of industry.” Last year
coming to market first. The Heidelberg established a partnership with security-critical
been “great”. “Interest is by installed this autumn. energy firm Vincorion Advanced Systems.
Jetfire range is integrated far higher than that, and we The water-based inkjet can
into Heidelberg’s “ecosys- have 200 opportunities in FDM Document Solutions
tem” including its Prinect our CM system,” he stated. print up to 7,200 six-up has secured a contract with
Cherwell District Council
workflow, inks, post-press “In China our biggest sheets per hour simplex, the with an estimated value of
options, and service. The first Jetfire customer, Shengda equivalent of around 43,000 £800,000 over four years.
Having been awarded a
Jetfire 50 in the UK has just Printing Technology, is run- A4sph. place on the RM6280 Lot 6
been installed at Micropress ning their Jetfire 22 hours a Maximum sheet size is framework, the Canning
in Reydon. day, six days a week – they 614mm x 750mm. It can han- Town, London-based print
and mailing company has
Christopher Berti, head of are producing eight million now secured the revenues and benefits print and mail con-
digital ecosystem at A4 sheets per month on their dle small runs, personalised tract with the council. It will see the business manage all
daily, weekly, monthly and annual billing for council tax,
Heidelberg, told Printweek first machine.” products, and also longer housing benefit, NNDR, enforcement and recovery and
that 30 Jetfire 50s have now Shengda is China’s biggest runs. annual billing to include large volume runs in February and
March. The business already manages similar contracts for
Cloudprinter to set up print plants councils throughout the country. FDM has recently invested
£1.5m to upgrade its production capabilities.

Cloudprinter has omy, where it allows users to rency”. Specialist carton printer
announced a radical shift in sell globally while printing Details were thin on the Reelvision Print has
strategy with plans to open locally. ground at the time of writing appointed a new manag-
ing director.The business,
its own Print Fulfilment Cloudprinter announced in terms of the quantum of which was acquired by
Centres in the USA and that it planned to establish investment involved, and Woodberry Packaging
Europe, including the UK. dedicated physical infra- s pec if ic lo ca tio n s. Group in 2024, has
Cloudprinter currently structure of its own alongside appointed Stuart Beeson in
works with more than 380 the established global net- Cloudprinter currently offers the role, effective as of this
print providers across 104 work of printers. The firm more than 50,000 different month. The company’s previous managing director was
countries. Its Print API is tar- stated that speed of delivery print-on-demand product Gareth Bakewell, who left the business following the
geted at enterprises and the was the ultimate competitive options, spanning classic Woodberry Packaging deal. With 30 years of experience in
the printing and packaging industry, including recently for
fast-growing creator econ- advantage and “the only cur- printed items. Pamarco Europe, Reelvision said the addition of Beeson to
Printed Safety Guide in Poland its leadership team signals its “commitment to driving
innovation and operational excellence” at the company’s
Haslingden, Lancashire-based facility.

Poland is the latest nation As of last week it had been Agfa Inkjet Solutions has appointed Andy Clifton as its head
to opt for the power of print delivered to more than 4m of innovations, to lead on its global research and develop-
when it comes to national households. The Safety ment (R&D) for its digital printing business unit. Clifton took
preparedness for emergen- Guide is being printed by on the role at the beginning of January 2026, joining from
print technology firm Dominio Printing Sciences where he
cies, with a printed booklet high-volume book and jour- worked for over 20 years, most recently as chief technology
being sent to all 17m house- Detailed emergency advice nal specialist Abedik officer. Based in Agfa’s Cambridge facility in this newly
holds in the country. Last Russia. Poland’s govern- Drukarnia, due to what local formed role, Clifton will also serve as the Cambridge site
leader and will report to Vincent Wille, president of digital
year France did something ment has created the 54pp, sources described as “a printing solutions. Afga’s global R&D organisation incorpo-
similar in the wake of geopo- including covers, “Poradnik unique binding require- rates three teams focused on printer ink, equipment and
litical instability and jitters Bezpieczeństwa”, or Safety ment”. A PDF is also availa- software. The company described Clifton as “an interna-
about potential threats from Guide. ble in English. tionally experienced leader”.

www.printweekmena.com February 2026 PrintWeek MENA 23