In November 2025, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) and the Swiss Printing and Media Association jointly hosted the first “Print Technology World Championship” for young printing professionals at the Print Media Center, the “Home of Print,” at the HEIDELBERG site in Wiesloch-Walldorf.

The new competition was aimed at young talent in the printing industry with the goal of drawing attention to the attractiveness of the profession and promoting the overall image of the industry.

Over two days, participants from Germany, France, Japan, and Switzerland demonstrated their skills. The task was to produce various print jobs in offset and digital printing, including finishing in the best possible quality, as efficiently and in as little time as possible.

HEIDELBERG provided a Speedmaster CX 75 and a Speedmaster CX 104 for offset printing and a Versafire for digital printing as the central “tools” for the competition. After the competition, Lukas Briggen from Switzerland ultimately solved the task best and came out on top, closely followed by Noah Blaumoser from Germany and Ayato Ueoka from Japan.

“With this competition, HEIDELBERG is emphasizing how important it is for us to promote young talent in our industry, especially in view of the current challenges most companies are facing in recruiting skilled workers,” said Nick Trabold, head of Print Media Center and service at HEIDELBERG. We also want to convey the message that printing is both relevant and exciting, so become part of the industry.”

HEIDELBERG plans to reinforce its support for young talent with further events. In fall 2026, a German championship for media technologists will also take place at the Print Media Center. The next world championship is then scheduled to take place at the same venue in 2027.