LITHOGRAPHIC AND DIGITAL PRINT | ROB FLETCHER 43 www.printmonthly.co.uk Issue 360 - May | June 2026 demand capability reduce inventory and waste. Digital volumes are rising steadily due to its speed, flexibility, and the ability to support print on demand models in books, transactional print, and advertising.” However, Spanou goes on to say that while litho and digital overlap more than ever, clear dividing lines still guide job allocation. She explains run length is usually the key and that industry research confirms run lengths globally are declining, which intensifies the need for a mixed approach. On this, she says hybrid workflows are central to HEIDELBERG’s Smart Print Shop and digital ecosystem vision, an integrated, automated and adaptable production environment. Spanou sets out how many printers now operate hybrid environments, pairing offset and digital presses within a shared workflow, with this model offering significant operational and commercial benefits. Operational benefits include optimal job routing, with automated workflows directing each job to the most efficient press; either litho, toner, or inkjet, based on run length, substrate, and complexity. Spanou also flags reduced bottlenecks, with digital absorbing the shorter, on demand jobs, keeping litho presses fully productive on longer runs, as well as end to-end automation, noting how HEIDELBERG Prinect Production workflow enables autonomous job handling. As for commercial benefits, these include broader service capabilities across both short run and variable and long run or static segments. Spanou highlighted faster turnaround and enhanced customer responsiveness with greater capacity to serve digital native models such as web to print and on demand fulfilment, in addition to improved cost control and higher profitability. “At HEIDELBERG, our innovations from the Speedmaster platforms to Prinect’s autonomous production capabilities alongside our Digital Eco System are designed to harmonise offset and digital into one coherent workflow,” Spanou says, adding: Jean Lloyd will discuss digital and litho print at the tenth edition of The Print Show on September 30th at the Knowledge Zone 10th ▼ Barberán partnered with Fujifilm to develop the HS6000, a single-pass digital inkjet printer ▲HEIDELBERG’s recent ‘Beyond The Machine’ event showcased its Jetfire 50 B3 inkjet digital press in live production at Stockley Park
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