Heidelberg is readying a new two-day event focused on industry digitalisation and hybrid print production, with Micropress Printers joint managing director Rob Cross set to be among the speakers.

The new international summit, ‘Shift 2025’, will take place on 16 and 17 September in Heidelberg. 

Day one will be a conference format, held at the cool Halle02 venue in the centre of Heidelberg city.

Day two switches to Heidelberg’s recently revamped Print Media Center, the Home of Print, for hands-on workshops and specialist sessions, including the new AI-powered Prinect Touch Free.

On day one Professor Felix Wortmann from the University of St Gallen, will give a keynote speech titled: “Towards a new era of automation and intelligence”.

Wortmann is a senior lecturer on information and operations management, and an expert on the Internet of Things, machine learning, and information and technology management.

Micropress’ Cross is set to speak on the weighty topic of “The Future of Print”, with a talk about embracing automation, robotics and digital innovation.

Suffolk-based Micropress has just installed the UK’s first Drupa-spec Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106-8P with an array of automation features including Plate to Unit.

The firm has also been using robotics in its post-press setup for several years.

Heidelberg said that printing industry leaders and decision makers viewed digitalisation and automation as one of their biggest challenges, with Shift 2025 set to address these hot topics.

Chief technology and sales officer Dr David Schmedding commented: “Automation is becoming all the more important for the competitiveness of print shops as print runs shrink, the volume of small jobs grows, staff shortages increase, and personnel costs rise ever higher.

“In this situation, attention is focusing on hybrid print production with an automated and increasingly AI-driven workflow,” he stated.

Christopher Berti, head of digital ecosystem at Heidelberg, said the event would encompass a raft of practical presentations and workshops.

“We will be offering participants a unique platform to compare notes on the challenges and how to go about the digital transformation of business and production processes,” he said.

Third-party participants include German smart factory specialist Ctrl-s with its Symphony system, Belgian software connectivity business Conics, and German firm Pagina’s Booxite collaborative publishing platform.

Heidelberg, the world’s largest press manufacturer, is celebrating 175 years in business this year.