SHERIDAN, WYOMING – July 21, 2025 – Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) has announced the launch of SHIFT 2025, a new international summit designed to support the digital transformation of print shops worldwide. The two-day event, scheduled for September 16 and 17 in Heidelberg and Wiesloch-Walldorf, will bring together industry leaders, decision-makers, and digitalization experts to explore practical approaches to automation and hybrid workflow management in the printing industry.
Addressing the Critical Need for Automation
The printing industry continues to face mounting challenges related to shrinking print runs, a surge in small job volumes, and increasing staff shortages and labor costs. As a result, many print businesses are urgently seeking automation solutions to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
“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,” says Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at HEIDELBERG.
A New Platform for Practical Solutions
SHIFT 2025 is set to become a key forum for the exchange of ideas and strategies among commercial, packaging, and label printing companies of all sizes.
“At SHIFT 2025, HEIDELBERG will be bringing together the printing industry’s digitalization experts. A whole host of practical presentations and workshops will enable them to obtain information about various approaches to process automation. 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,” explains Christopher Berti, Head of Digital Ecosystem at HEIDELBERG.
Agenda Highlights: Insights, Innovation, and AI
The summit’s first day will focus on real-world digitalization projects presented by directors and industry experts. These sessions will provide insights into the goals, challenges, approaches, and outcomes of successful initiatives, offering attendees valuable knowledge they can apply to their own operations.
On the second day, the event will move to the newly opened Home of Print at the HEIDELBERG Wiesloch-Walldorf site — the industry’s largest exhibition space, spanning over 9,000 square meters. Attendees will experience HEIDELBERG’s end-to-end solutions, showcasing offset, digital, and flexographic printing technologies integrated within a comprehensive software-driven ecosystem for process automation.
Key agenda points include:
- Digital process control in hybrid workflows combining offset and digital printing
- Topic-specific workshops allowing participants to select areas of focus
- Exploration of AI’s role in production automation, including HEIDELBERG’s AI-driven Prinect Touch Free software, which autonomously determines the most efficient production channels based on real-time data
A Strategic Platform for Industry Transformation
SHIFT 2025 underscores HEIDELBERG’s commitment to supporting the printing industry’s evolution. With a strong international presence in around 170 countries and a workforce of approximately 9,500 employees, HEIDELBERG continues to drive innovation in packaging, digital printing, automation technology, robotics, and green technologies.
The summit is open to all interested participants, with registration now available.
Learn more at www.heidelberg.com