PreMedia Issue January-February 2024 English World Edition.
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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 />
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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-