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International<br />

Media Magazine<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong><br />

Print & Online & TV & Radio<br />

Consulting<br />

I N T E R N A T I O N A L M E D I A M A G A Z I N E W O R L D<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong> Newsletter –<br />

about all media<br />

canals away:<br />

Print – Online<br />

www.premedianewsletter.com<br />

JANUARY/FEBRUARY <strong>2024</strong> NUMBER 01/02 VOLUME 30<br />

Julian Assange: A<br />

Question of Honour


Realize opportunities<br />

The future of newspaper media requires new structures.<br />

Digitalization is just beginning with artificial intelligence.<br />

The transition to economically viable structures with print<br />

and digital, including additive business models, remains<br />

necessary for survival.<br />

Multimedia advice<br />

Marketing advice<br />

Analysis of the actual process structures<br />

Development of the multimedia target process organization<br />

Investment advice<br />

Interim management<br />

Personnel acquisition<br />

Integrated employee development<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong> Newsletter Magazin International Consulting<br />

Karl.Malik@malik-consulting.de www.premedianewsletter.de<br />

00496223.74757


EDITORIAL 03<br />

Julian Assange: A Question of Honour<br />

SENDING HIM TO BE TRIED in the United States would be<br />

an unacceptable act against the WikiLeaks founder – and<br />

against journalism. t is not a secret that Julian Assange<br />

can divide opinion. But now is a time to put all such issues<br />

firmly to one side. Now is a time to stand by Mr Assange,<br />

and to do so on principle, for the sake of his freedom – and<br />

ours. There can be no divide over the attempt by the United<br />

States to have the WikiLeaks founder extradited from<br />

Britain to face charges under the US Espionage Act, which<br />

reaches a critical stage in London this week. The application<br />

embodies not just a threat to Mr Assange personally. It is<br />

also, as this magazine has consistently argued over many<br />

years, an iniquitous threat to journalism, with global implications.<br />

It poses the most fundamental of questions about<br />

free speech. On these grounds alone, Mr Assange’s extradition<br />

should be unhesitatingly opposed.<br />

In 2010, WikiLeaks published revelatory US government<br />

documents exposing diplomatic and military policy in the<br />

Afghan and Iraq wars. Four years ago, during the Trump presidency, the US justice<br />

department issued a WikiLeaks-related indictment of 18 counts against Mr<br />

Assange. It charged him with multiple breaches of the 1917 Espionage Act, a<br />

statute that originally clamped down on opposition to America’s entry into the<br />

first world war. In recent years, though, the act has mainly been invoked against<br />

leakers.<br />

The implications for journalism are every bit as serious. This newspaper’s journalism,<br />

and that of potentially every newspaper and magazine based in the US<br />

or an allied country, would be at risk too. If the prosecution succeeds, the New<br />

York Times lawyer in the Pentagon Papers case has said, “investigative reporting<br />

based on classified information will be given a near death blow”. That prospect<br />

is on the line in the courts this week. A society that claims to uphold freedom of<br />

the press cannot possibly remain indifferent.<br />

The free press still matters. Journalists sometimes depend on whistleblowers.<br />

The relationship between them is particularly delicate and important in cases<br />

where national security is invoked. When the unequalled global power of the US<br />

is involved, the stakes are especially large.<br />

The implications for journalism are every bit as serious. This newspaper’s journalism,<br />

and that of potentially every newspaper based in the US or an allied<br />

country, would be at risk too.<br />

There is more at stake in these turbulent times.<br />

Power needs control, every day, from all of us, no matter where in the world.<br />

Otherwise, Alexej Navalny and many courageous fighters worldwide for the freedom<br />

of society were not the last victims.<br />

Prof. Ing. Karl Malik<br />

Karl.Malik@premedianewsletter.de


04 INHALT<br />

EDITORIAL<br />

Julian Assange: A Question of Honour 03<br />

COVERSTORY<br />

Is AI really the biggest threat when our world is guided more by human stupidity? 07<br />

CURRENT TRENDS IN<br />

THE MEDIA INDUSTRY<br />

Global attacks on press freedom demand action and resilience 09<br />

Der Patriot focuses on innovation and efficiency with alfa<br />

ContentLine and Aptoma Print Automation 10<br />

LATEST NEWS FROM<br />

THE SUPPLY INDUSTRY<br />

Large Number of Visitors at the Muller Martini Open House in China 12<br />

Unveiling Strategic Drivers Behind Our Presence at drupa <strong>2024</strong>. 13<br />

Müller Martini Makes Production More Sustainable with OnDemand Production 14<br />

Start of 2022/23 training year at HEIDELBERG – stable training rate and good chance of<br />

permanent position prevent shortage of skilled workers 15<br />

IMPRESSUM<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong>-Newsletter GmbH<br />

Herausgeberin: Dipl.-Graph. Piri Malik<br />

Geschäftsführung: Prof. Ing. Karl Malik<br />

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Deutschland Deutschland Telefon: (+49) 62 23 7 47 57<br />

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Kooperation mit der internationalen Bildangentur Manfred Knopp<br />

Layout, Bildbearbeitung und Lizenzverwendung Adobe Stock: Angelika Dopler<br />

Alle Fotos und Grafiken dieser Ausgabe, sofern nicht anders angegeben,<br />

unterliegen dem Copyright des Verlages <strong>PreMedia</strong> Newsletter.


INHALT 05<br />

06<br />

Is AI really the biggest threat when our world is<br />

guided more by human stupidity?<br />

14<br />

Large Number of Visitors at the Muller<br />

Martini Open House in China<br />

09<br />

Global attacks on press freedom demand action and resilience


COVERSTORY 07<br />

Is AI really the biggest<br />

threat when our world<br />

is guided more by<br />

human stupidity?<br />

There is both hope and hype for what artificial<br />

intelligence can do for growth – if politicians<br />

can tame its destructive potential<br />

Since returning from this year’s <strong>World</strong> Economic<br />

Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, I have been asked<br />

repeatedly for my biggest takeaways. Among the<br />

most widely discussed issues this year was artificial<br />

intelligence – especially generative AI (“GenAI”).<br />

With the recent adoption of large language models<br />

(like the one powering ChatGPT), there is much<br />

hope – and hype – about what AI could do for<br />

productivity and economic growth in the future.<br />

To address this question, we must bear in<br />

mind that our world is dominated far more by<br />

human stupidity than by AI. The proliferation of<br />

megathreats – each an element in the broader<br />

“polycrisis” – confirms that our politics are too<br />

dysfunctional, and our policies too misguided, to<br />

address even the most serious and obvious risks<br />

to our future. These include climate change, which<br />

will have huge economic costs; failed states, which<br />

will make waves of climate refugees even larger;<br />

and recurrent, virulent pandemics that could be<br />

even more economically damaging than Covid-19.<br />

Making matters worse, dangerous geopolitical<br />

rivalries are evolving into new cold wars – such as<br />

between the US and China – and into potentially<br />

explosive hot wars, like those in Ukraine and the<br />

Middle East. Around the world, rising income<br />

and wealth inequality, partly driven by hyperglobalisation<br />

and labour-saving technologies, have<br />

triggered a backlash against liberal democracy,<br />

creating opportunities for populist, autocratic, and<br />

violent political movements.<br />

What green finance needs to speed the global<br />

transition to a net zero economy<br />

Unsustainable levels of private and public debt<br />

threaten to precipitate debt and financial crises,<br />

and we may yet see a return of inflation and<br />

stagflationary negative aggregate supply shocks.<br />

The broader trend globally is toward protectionism,


08 COVERSTORY<br />

de-globalisation, de-coupling, and de-dollarisation.<br />

Moreover, the same brave new AI technologies that<br />

could contribute to growth and human welfare also<br />

have great destructive potential. They are already<br />

being used to push disinformation, deepfakes, and<br />

election manipulation into hyperdrive, as well as<br />

raising fears about permanent technological unemployment<br />

and even starker inequality. The<br />

rise of autonomous weapons and AI-augmented<br />

cyberwarfare is equally ominous.<br />

Blinded by the dazzle of AI, Davos attenders did<br />

not focus on most of these megathreats. This came<br />

as no surprise.<br />

The WEF zeitgeist is, in my experience, a counterindicator<br />

of where the world is really heading.<br />

Policymakers and business leaders are there to flog<br />

their books and spew platitudes. They represent<br />

the conventional wisdom, which is often based on<br />

a rear-window view of global and macroeconomic<br />

developments.<br />

Hence, when I warned, at the WEF’s 2006 meeting,<br />

that a global financial crisis was coming, I was<br />

dismissed as a doomster. And when I predicted, in<br />

2007, that many eurozone member states would<br />

soon face sovereign debt problems, I was verbally<br />

browbeaten by Italy’s finance minister. In 2016,<br />

when everyone asked me if the Chinese stock<br />

market crash augured a hard landing that would<br />

cause a repeat of the global financial crisis, I argued<br />

– correctly – that China would have a bumpy but<br />

managed landing. Between 2019 and 2021, the<br />

faddish topic at Davos was the crypto bubble that<br />

went bust starting in 2022. Then the focus shifted<br />

to clean and green hydrogen, another fad that is<br />

already fading.<br />

When it comes to AI, there is a very good chance<br />

that the technology will indeed change the world in<br />

the coming decades. But the WEF’s focus on GenAI<br />

already seems misplaced, considering that the AI<br />

technologies and industries of the future will go<br />

far beyond these models. Consider, for example,<br />

the ongoing revolution in robotics and automation,<br />

which will soon lead to the development<br />

of robots with human-like features that can learn<br />

and multitask the way we do. Or consider what<br />

AI will do for biotech, medicine, and ultimately<br />

human health and lifespans. No less intriguing are<br />

the developments in quantum computing, which<br />

will eventually merge with AI to produce advanced<br />

cryptography and cybersecurity applications.<br />

The same long-term perspective also should<br />

be applied to climate debates. It is becoming<br />

increasingly likely that the problem will not<br />

be resolved with renewable energy – which is<br />

growing too slowly to make significant difference<br />

– or expensive technologies such as carbon capture<br />

and sequestration, and green hydrogen. Instead,<br />

we may see a fusion energy revolution, provided<br />

that a commercial reactor can be built in the next<br />

15 years. This abundant source of cheap, clean<br />

energy, combined with inexpensive desalination<br />

and agrotech, would allow us to feed the 10 billion<br />

people who will be living on the planet by the end<br />

of this century.


CURRENT TRENDS IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY 09<br />

Global attacks on press freedom<br />

demand action and resilience<br />

2023 ends on dire note amid unprecedented killings of journalists in Israel-Gaza war<br />

We end 2023 on a dire<br />

note for journalists and<br />

press freedom. At least 65<br />

journalists have been killed in<br />

Israeli airstrikes and ground<br />

raids since the start of the<br />

Israel-Gaza war just under three<br />

months ago. This is the largest<br />

number of journalists killed<br />

in such a short span of time in<br />

any modern war or conflict.<br />

Journalists inside Gaza, along<br />

with other civilians, are facing<br />

an unfolding humanitarian<br />

crisis, lacking access to food,<br />

water, medicine, and, at times,<br />

to communications.<br />

IPI has consistently called on<br />

Israel to respect the rules of<br />

war, which obliges states to<br />

protect journalists and civilians<br />

in times of armed conflict. We<br />

continue to call on the international<br />

community to take<br />

urgent and concrete action to<br />

protect the rights of journalists<br />

to cover this war freely and<br />

safely, amid Israel’s relentless<br />

and indiscriminate assault<br />

on Gaza that has resulted in<br />

staggering and unacceptable<br />

civilian casualties and wide-scale<br />

devastation.<br />

In other conflict zones from<br />

Ukraine to Sudan to Haiti,<br />

journalists navigate daily threats<br />

and dangerous conditions. As<br />

a result of rampant impunity<br />

for crimes against the press,<br />

journalists around the globe<br />

continue to be targeted for their<br />

watchdog work. Authoritarian<br />

regimes from Afghanistan to<br />

China deploy a range of tactics<br />

– including censorship, intimidation,<br />

harassment, and<br />

imprisonment – to create an<br />

atmosphere of fear. Private<br />

tech companies are amplifying<br />

threats, with unaccountable<br />

policies and practices that<br />

give governments vast and<br />

unchecked surveillance and<br />

censorship powers. Media outlets<br />

are increasingly vulnerable<br />

to capture by political and<br />

commercial interests, while<br />

laws to combat terrorism or<br />

cybercrime are being weaponized<br />

to restrict independent public<br />

interest journalism.<br />

These threats are not confined to<br />

autocratic regimes. Journalists<br />

in established democracies are<br />

facing increased harassment<br />

and interference in their work.<br />

Despite many states professing<br />

to champion media freedom, too<br />

few translate these declarations<br />

into actions.<br />

In 2023 we also saw some<br />

positive news, including by<br />

courts around the world that<br />

handed down key rulings in<br />

defense of press freedom and<br />

journalists’ rights. IPI Executive<br />

Board member and Nobel<br />

Laureate Maria Ressa was<br />

acquitted of trumped-up tax<br />

evasion charges and another<br />

baseless charge against her was<br />

dismissed. In South Africa, the<br />

country’s top court overturned<br />

a gag order against investigative<br />

outlet Amabhungane over its<br />

reporting on the Moti Group<br />

company based on leaked<br />

information. In Turkey, a court<br />

convicted the perpetrator and<br />

nine others linked to the 2022<br />

murder of journalist Güngör<br />

Arslan, even as other cases of<br />

journalist killings there remain<br />

mired in impunity.<br />

In the face of this global<br />

landscape, IPI remains as<br />

committed as ever to our<br />

mission of defending free press<br />

wherever it is threatened. For<br />

over seven decades we have been<br />

at the forefront of the fight for<br />

press freedom, independent<br />

journalism, and the safety of<br />

journalists across the globe –<br />

raising cases of physical and<br />

legal attacks against journalists,<br />

as well as cases of censorship,<br />

cyberattacks, surveillance, and<br />

media capture.<br />

This year, we released more<br />

than 400 statements, calls, and<br />

articles on global threats to<br />

journalism. We headed press<br />

freedom missions, published<br />

country reports, in-depth legal<br />

briefs, and addressed evolving<br />

challenges such as media<br />

capture, disinformation, and<br />

climate journalism.<br />

Our program to support crossborder<br />

investigative journalism,<br />

IJ4EU, provided over 1.23<br />

million euros to finance 50<br />

investigations by hundreds of<br />

media outlets delving into the<br />

impacts of the climate crisis, the<br />

harrowing realities of human<br />

trafficking, and the intricate<br />

workings of international crime<br />

syndicates.<br />

Amid the struggle for survival by<br />

independent media, IPI’s media<br />

innovation program supported<br />

37 media organizations from 25<br />

countries and four continents.<br />

We supported the development<br />

of novel revenue streams


10 CURRENT TRENDS IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY<br />

Relatives of<br />

Palestinian<br />

journalist Samer<br />

Abu Daqqa, a<br />

cameraman for Al<br />

Jazeera who was<br />

killed during Israeli<br />

air strikes in the<br />

southern Gaza Strip,<br />

with press crews<br />

next to his wrapped<br />

body, outside<br />

Nasser Hospital<br />

in Khan Yunis,<br />

southern Gaza Strip,<br />

December 16, 2023.<br />

EPA-EFE/Haitham<br />

Imad<br />

and audience-centric editorial<br />

products and the reshaping of<br />

organizational structures to<br />

increase efficiency. We facilitated<br />

global information sharing<br />

and support through various<br />

platforms, including newsroom<br />

visits, case studies, dedicated<br />

social media platforms, and<br />

flagship events like the annual<br />

IPI <strong>World</strong> Congress and the<br />

inaugural Media Innovation<br />

Festival in Vienna.<br />

The 2023 IPI <strong>World</strong> Congress<br />

and Media Innovation<br />

Festival brought more than<br />

300 journalists from around<br />

the world to Vienna. During<br />

two dynamic days of expert<br />

discussions and networking, we<br />

delved into the rapidly changing<br />

global and technological<br />

landscape for media, focusing on<br />

the threats and opportunities of<br />

AI for independent journalism.<br />

We came together to combat<br />

global threats to media freedom<br />

and honoured the unwavering<br />

resolve of Mexican journalist<br />

Carmen Aristegui, who was<br />

named as the 2023 IPI-IMS<br />

<strong>World</strong> Press Freedom Hero. We<br />

also celebrated Myanmar Now<br />

as the 2023 IPI-IMS Free Media<br />

Pioneer, recognizing the outlet’s<br />

courageous commitment to<br />

reporting amid the military<br />

junta’s crackdown.<br />

The IPI network continues<br />

to flourish, and this year we<br />

proudly welcomed over 100 new<br />

members. These individuals and<br />

organizations have joined our<br />

network of more than 1,000<br />

leading editors, publishers,<br />

journalists, and media freedom<br />

supporters from more than 100<br />

countries. Solidarity, resilience,<br />

and support among our<br />

members, allies, and the wider<br />

community is one of our key<br />

strengths. In <strong>2024</strong>, with over<br />

75 elections across the globe,<br />

we face an enormous challenge<br />

and a vital opportunity to fortify<br />

the integrity and resilience of a<br />

free and independent press as a<br />

cornerstone of democracy. Only<br />

together can we defend these<br />

freedoms.<br />

Der Patriot focuses on innovation and<br />

efficiency with alfa ContentLine and Aptoma<br />

Print Automation<br />

The traditional regional newspaper “Der Patriot” from Lippstadt is entering a new era of digital transformation.<br />

As a long-standing customer of alfamedia, the publishing house decided to set the course for future-oriented<br />

editorial work by switching to the alfa EditorialOrganiser. With the finalised purchase at the end of 2023, “Der<br />

Patriot” will replace the existing alfa NewsSuite and alfa MediaSuite system with the innovative solution in<br />

combination with Aptoma’s print automation.<br />

This changeover not only<br />

represents a further development<br />

in the digital orientation of<br />

“Der Patriot”, but also a first in<br />

the industry: “Der Patriot” will<br />

thus become the first German<br />

Aptoma customer whose<br />

print production is handled<br />

entirely by this service, with a<br />

fully automated print layout<br />

process. The interaction of the<br />

solutions from alfamedia and<br />

Aptoma promises considerable<br />

added value for production<br />

and everyday editorial work.<br />

A kick-off meeting was held<br />

in December, followed by onsite<br />

workshops in <strong>February</strong><br />

and ongoing team workshops.<br />

The go-live of the new editorial<br />

systems is planned for autumn


CURRENT TRENDS IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY 11<br />

<strong>2024</strong> and will revolutionise the<br />

way 25 editorial workstations<br />

work.<br />

“alfamedia knows our strength:<br />

focussing on the local. With the<br />

EditorialOrganiser and Aptoma,<br />

we want to make even better<br />

use of this strength digitally –<br />

without neglecting print,” says<br />

Dominik Friedrich, Editor-in-<br />

Chief of “Der Patriot”.<br />

“We are delighted to be opening<br />

a new chapter in the automation<br />

of print layouts together with<br />

‘Der Patriot’ as our first Aptoma<br />

customer. The interaction of<br />

our innovative ContentLine<br />

solution with the Aptoma<br />

services enables the editorial<br />

team of ‘Der Patriot’ to not only<br />

increase their efficiency, but<br />

also to further sharpen their<br />

journalistic quality. We see this<br />

transition as confirmation that<br />

our technologies can positively<br />

change the media industry and<br />

revolutionise the way content is<br />

produced and presented,” says<br />

Stefan Bethge, Project Manager<br />

at alfa Media.<br />

The migration to the alfa<br />

ContentLine and the<br />

introduction of Aptoma’s print<br />

automation is a clear commitment<br />

to innovative media<br />

management and represents a<br />

significant investment in the<br />

quality and future-proofing of<br />

journalistic content.<br />

Read the Papers brings you fast access to the<br />

UK Daily Newspapers


12 LATEST NEWS FROM THE SUPPLY INDUSTRY<br />

Large Number of Visitors<br />

at the Muller Martini Open<br />

House in China<br />

More than 120 people were impressed by the Publica PRO 15 perfect binder at an open house organized by<br />

Muller Martini in mid-<strong>January</strong> in collaboration with its customer Shandong Xinhua Printing.<br />

Visitors to the<br />

Open House, which<br />

Muller Martini<br />

organized together<br />

with its customer<br />

Shandong Xinhua<br />

Printing at the<br />

Jinan site, showed<br />

great interest in<br />

the Publica PRO 15<br />

perfect binder.<br />

„We had actually planned a small-scale open<br />

house,“ explains Sven Olsen, Regional Director<br />

Muller Martini Asia Pacific. „But to our<br />

great delight, the announcement triggered a<br />

veritable rush of visitors.“ In the end, Muller<br />

Martini and the Shandong Xinhua Printing<br />

welcomed more than 120 visitors to the joint<br />

open house at the Jinan site. One of their two<br />

new Muller Martini Publica PRO 15 perfect<br />

binders was presented live by Shandong Xinhua<br />

Printing.<br />

The highly automated Publica PRO 15 line includes<br />

stream feeders, several end-of-line packaging<br />

alternatives, a Pluton palletizer from Solema and<br />

is equipped with the Connex workflow system.<br />

During the demonstration, the line was running at<br />

a speed of 14,000 copies/hour and was manned by<br />

just five people. „The demonstration was a real eyeopener<br />

for the customers present, who consisted<br />

of over 40 of China‘s largest government printing<br />

companies, including their top management,“ says<br />

Sven Olsen, emphasizing the enthusiasm of the<br />

visitors.<br />

During the subsequent presentation, the<br />

extremely detailed equipment selection process<br />

and high requirements of Shandong Xinhua were<br />

emphasized. The reasons for investing in the<br />

Publica PRO 15 were not only the high production<br />

speed, the first-class quality of the end products<br />

and the high level of efficiency, but also the<br />

reduced need for manpower. This is because the<br />

Publica PRO 15 is operated at Shandong Xinhua<br />

Printing with 50 percent fewer personnel than<br />

previous models. As a result, Shandong Xinhua<br />

Printing - which operates three factories in<br />

Shandong Province (Jinan, Dezhou and Tai‘an)<br />

and, in addition to the two Publica PRO 15s, also<br />

have two Diamant/Collibri hardcover lines, a<br />

Ventura Connect system, a Bolero perfect binder<br />

and a number of older Muller Martini systems<br />

- has positioned themself at the forefront of<br />

printing factories in China.


LATEST NEWS FROM THE SUPPLY INDUSTRY 13<br />

CEO Insights.<br />

Unveiling Strategic Drivers Behind Our<br />

Presence at drupa <strong>2024</strong>.<br />

Planning your visit to drupa <strong>2024</strong>?<br />

In this interview, Dr. Ludwin Monz provides insights into the innovative solutions that HEIDELBERG offers for<br />

key industry challenges. He discusses the strategic decision to participate in drupa, highlighting the fair‘s<br />

significance, the relevance of key themes, and the imperative to tackle critical industry challenges.<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong>:<br />

What upcoming developments<br />

or innovations do you anticipate<br />

in the printing industry at<br />

drupa <strong>2024</strong>, Dr. Monz?<br />

Dr. Ludwin Monz:<br />

Our customers face three main<br />

challenges: ever-increasing<br />

cost pressure, a shortage of<br />

skilled workers and rising<br />

sustainability requirements.<br />

HEIDELBERG will be presenting<br />

solutions to these challenges at<br />

this year‘s drupa. Let me give<br />

you a brief overview.<br />

Enormous competitive pressure<br />

is forcing our customers to<br />

reduce their costs. We will be<br />

presenting several innovations<br />

that increase productivity and<br />

reduce the cost per printed<br />

sheet in high-volume printing.<br />

We are addressing the shortage<br />

of labour and skilled workers<br />

by further automating and<br />

digitalizing the print shop value<br />

chain. We will be presenting<br />

the further developed „pushto-stop“<br />

technology and our<br />

Prinect workflow software<br />

solution.<br />

And finally, we help our<br />

customers to improve<br />

the sustainability of their<br />

businesses and their products.<br />

We present technologies<br />

that help to save energy and<br />

reduce the consumption of raw<br />

materials.<br />

In summary, HEIDELBERG is<br />

committed to maintaining its<br />

technology leadership in the<br />

printing sector by addressing<br />

the major challenges of modern<br />

printing.<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong>:<br />

How do you perceive the future<br />

development of industries<br />

regarding sustainability and<br />

digitalization?<br />

Dr. Ludwin Monz:<br />

Sustainability in print<br />

production is one of the biggest<br />

trends worldwide and at the<br />

same time a major challenge<br />

for our industry. In modern<br />

print shops, the aim is to<br />

reduce the energy and resource<br />

consumption in order to<br />

become even more sustainable.<br />

But printed products are also<br />

changing, moving away from<br />

plastic and towards more paper.<br />

But HEIDELBERG also has its<br />

own corporate goals when it<br />

comes to sustainability. Our<br />

goal is to achieve the smallest<br />

ecological footprint across<br />

the entire value chain in the<br />

printing industry.<br />

HEIDELBERG has been<br />

an industry pioneer in the<br />

digitalization of printing for<br />

20 years. Our main goal is<br />

to optimize our customers‘<br />

entire value chain. To this<br />

end, we have fully digitalized<br />

and integrated the processes<br />

and thus offer our customers<br />

maximum efficiency in<br />

industrial print production,<br />

which ultimately leads to<br />

higher productivity and a<br />

reduction in costs. In the area<br />

of digitalization, HEIDELBERG<br />

offers stand-alone end-to-end<br />

solutions for both commercial<br />

and packaging customers.<br />

So put HEIDELBERG on your<br />

list if you are looking for highly<br />

digitalized intelligent workflows<br />

at drupa.<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong>:<br />

Can you share how you‘ve<br />

incorporated sustainability<br />

or digitalization into your<br />

company and the reasons behind<br />

those implementations?


14 LATEST NEWS FROM THE SUPPLY INDUSTRY<br />

Dr. Ludwin Monz:<br />

HEIDELBERG offers sustainable<br />

printing solutions. We support<br />

our customers in saving energy<br />

and raw materials. If you<br />

compare a Speedmaster from<br />

1990 with today‘s version,<br />

energy consumption per 1000<br />

sheet has been reduced by up<br />

to 40 percent. At this year‘s<br />

drupa, we will be presenting<br />

the latestgeneration of presses<br />

with a maximum speed of up<br />

to 21,000 sheets per hour.<br />

This increase in production<br />

speed will help our customers<br />

to further reduce the energy<br />

consumption per sheet.<br />

But speed alone is not enough.<br />

We have to take a holistic<br />

view of the machines. A<br />

good example of this is our<br />

Boardmaster flexographic<br />

printing machine. Thanks<br />

to the flying job change, the<br />

system works with very little<br />

waste. The water-based inks<br />

also improve the environmental<br />

balance. So from a product<br />

perspective, sustainability goes<br />

hand in hand: Energy efficiency,<br />

intelligent automation and<br />

environmentally conscious<br />

consumables.<br />

With regard to digitalization, we<br />

are investing heavily in software<br />

solutions for integrated print<br />

production. Lean processes<br />

in the print shop and a highly<br />

automated control system<br />

help to make production more<br />

efficient. One example is our<br />

new HEIDELBERG customer<br />

portal. The digital all-in-one<br />

portal offers easy access<br />

to production and workflow<br />

apps, analytics, service<br />

and maintenance, material<br />

purchasing and administration<br />

tools. In the future, users will<br />

also benefit from other apps<br />

that automate the production<br />

workflow - for both digital and<br />

offset printing.<br />

<strong>PreMedia</strong>:<br />

What significance does drupa<br />

<strong>2024</strong> have for you as a presence<br />

trade fair?<br />

Dr. Ludwin Monz:<br />

In three words: Innovation, inspiration,<br />

networking.<br />

Müller Martini Makes Production More<br />

Sustainable with OnDemand Production<br />

Combined with intelligent on-demand production, Müller Martini‘s Smart Factory is the answer to sustainability<br />

in the printing industry – not only significantly reducing the carbon footprint, but also driving the digital transformation.<br />

Müller Martini will be demonstrating the economic and ecological benefits at drupa booth 1B50 and<br />

at the drupa „touchpoint sustainability“ in Hall 14.<br />

According to a calculation by<br />

the German Bundesverband<br />

Druck und Medien (Federal<br />

Association of Printing and<br />

Media BVDM), the CO² emissions<br />

of all printed products produced<br />

by a citizen in Germany account<br />

for less than one percent of the<br />

annual CO² footprint. However,<br />

it is important for Müller Martini<br />

to take responsibility for the<br />

sustainability of print products<br />

and to make a significant<br />

contribution to reducing the CO²<br />

footprint.<br />

Müller Martini is focusing on<br />

three key operational areas<br />

where a direct impact can be<br />

achieved: business operations<br />

at production sites, the use of<br />

machines in operations, and<br />

the realization of ecologically<br />

sustainable business models<br />

for our customers. Considering<br />

the long service life of Müller<br />

Martini‘s robust machines, the<br />

greatest lever for ecological<br />

optimization lies in reducing<br />

paper consumption, as this is<br />

where a large portion of the CO2<br />

footprint is generated. Müller<br />

Martini‘s Smart Factory, which<br />

can produce individualized print<br />

products down to a quantity<br />

of 1 without setup times and<br />

start-up waste, is keeping with<br />

the spirit of sustainability.<br />

The advantages of on-demand<br />

production are obvious in<br />

this context, especially in<br />

conjunction with digital printing<br />

systems (web and sheetfed). The<br />

print run is precisely matched<br />

to demand – only what is sold is<br />

printed – everything else is not<br />

produced at all.<br />

The environmental and<br />

economic benefits of on-demand<br />

production:<br />

u Efficient<br />

resource<br />

management<br />

u Reduction of energy and<br />

resource consumption


CURRENT TRENDS IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY 15<br />

u Reduction of storage and<br />

labor costs<br />

u Increasing productivity<br />

u Reduction of capital commitment<br />

u Increasing liquidity<br />

u Reduction of the CO²<br />

footprint<br />

u Reduction of initial<br />

publication costs<br />

u Simplified reprinting in case<br />

of errors<br />

At the heart of the Smart Factory<br />

The current transformation<br />

of the graphic arts industry<br />

requires flexible finishing<br />

solutions with short, automated<br />

changeover processes and<br />

minimal waste. This is where<br />

Muller Martini‘s Finishing 4.0<br />

development strategy comes in.<br />

No or only minimal adjustments<br />

are required for job changes.<br />

This setup support saves time<br />

and minimizes start-up waste.<br />

The added value of Finishing<br />

4.0 is also visible in energy and<br />

resource efficiency. On-demand<br />

production saves significant<br />

amounts of paper, ink, solvents,<br />

water and energy, which account<br />

for more than 95 percent of a<br />

print product‘s carbon footprint.<br />

box solutions. “It takes a workflow<br />

that is perfectly tailored to<br />

the individual company to implement<br />

the digital transformation<br />

in practice”, says Adrian Mayr,<br />

Head of Product Management at<br />

Müller Martini.<br />

The Connex workflow ensures<br />

networking between the<br />

organization level (MES/MIS)<br />

and the production level. This<br />

makes it possible to track<br />

production feedback right down<br />

to the individual product in<br />

real time. Smart optimization<br />

of production allows further<br />

reductions in changeover work<br />

and paper waste, which in turn<br />

contributes to efficiency and<br />

sustainability. Müller Martini‘s<br />

approach in this context is based<br />

on the principle of “first copy<br />

sellable.”<br />

Driving the Digital Transformation<br />

“Most of our systems are<br />

prepared for future expansion<br />

with components for the<br />

processing of digitally printed<br />

products. This applies to saddle<br />

stitchers as well as perfect<br />

binders and hardcover systems”,<br />

Adrian Mayer emphasizes in<br />

this regard. In practice, this<br />

means that installed systems<br />

can be upgraded in the field to<br />

meet current market demands.<br />

For example, an existing saddle<br />

stitcher can be upgraded with a<br />

digital option and thus be used<br />

for digital sheet-fed as well as<br />

web-fed printing or for combined<br />

applications.<br />

Installing the latest generation<br />

of Muller Martini machines and<br />

implementing a Connex workflow<br />

helps to further reduce<br />

the ecological footprint while<br />

increasing profitability. Muller<br />

Martini will be demonstrating<br />

how this works from May 28 at<br />

the drupa booth 1B50 and at the<br />

„touchpoint sustainability“ in<br />

Hall 14.<br />

Every single product<br />

is perfect and ready<br />

for immediate<br />

sale: In print<br />

finishing, Muller<br />

Martini supports<br />

sustainable<br />

production with<br />

intelligent ondemand<br />

production.<br />

Production under control<br />

In order to link the individual<br />

systems with each other in a network,<br />

a comprehensive workflow<br />

system is needed that connects<br />

all the work steps – from order<br />

acceptance to shipping. Today the<br />

Connex workflow from Müller<br />

Martini can map a wide range<br />

of production scenarios, such<br />

as print-on-demand or bookof-one.<br />

The Connex workflow is<br />

the heart of the Smart Factory,<br />

where there are no out-of-the-

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