Gallus unveils G5 and Gallus Alpha, next-gen digital presses

Gallus and Heidelberg used Labelexpo Europe 2025 to signal a decisive phase in their shared digital roadmap. The company unveiled two new presses, the Gallus Five, a high-performance hybrid system, and the Gallus Alpha, a compact roll-to-roll digital press, both designed to make digital production faster, more profitable and accessible to converters worldwide.

Chief executive officer Dario Urbinati describes these launches as part of a larger mission. “Four years ago, we made it our goal to remove barriers to digital adoption. Many early adopters were disappointed, not with print quality but with profitability and total cost of ownership. We decided to change that by making digital scalable, accessible, and profitable,” he says. 

For Gallus, that shift was not about another press release or incremental update. It represented a complete re-engineering of how digital print fits into converters’ business models. From frustration to transformation, Urbinati recalled that many converters entered digital printing expecting a revolution, only to find the economics more complex. “There was frustration,” he says. “The total cost of ownership, technical limitations and fear of rapid change slowed adoption. So we built our vision of smart, connected printing, one that focuses on intelligence, automation and connectivity across presses, inks, workflows, training and service.”

That vision took shape through what Gallus called its System to Compose, a modular platform allowing customers to assemble the production environment they needed, like building blocks. Modules could be added, upgraded or removed as the business evolves. “A customer once asked me how he could buy a press to depreciate over ten years if he doesn’t know what he will print in three,” Urbinati recalls. 

“We solved that problem with investment security. You add a building block or remove one, and your machine evolves with you.” The approach gave Gallus a flexible framework supporting hybrid and pure digital lines, all underpinned by Heidelberg’s service infrastructure.

Gallus Five delivers performance
The headline debut in Barcelona was the Gallus Five, an integrated, high-speed hybrid press capable of combining flexo and digital in a single pass. Built on the proven Labelmaster platform, it produced at speeds up to 100-metres a minute with a resolution of 1200×1200-dpi while reducing the total cost of ownership through lower ink and energy use.

Urbinati explains, “The Gallus Five takes the market beyond conventional definitions of hybrid. It is a high-performance, fully integrated solution that unites digital flexibility with industrial productivity.” The press included the new Heidelberg Saphira UV05 ink set, a high-pigmentation formulation covering 95% of the Pantone gamut, including 32 of the most used spot colours. “It cuts ink consumption and energy use while ensuring safety compliance for health, beauty and food sectors,” he notes.

A semi-rotary die-cutting unit, the SDC Pro, completed the chain, matching the press’s 100-metre-a-minute pace. “There are no bottlenecks in the production chain,” Urbinati says. “Converters now have speed and consistency across printing and finishing.” He emphasises that the Gallus Five represented more than a machine. It embodied Gallus’s commitment to making industrial-scale digital a mainstream option. “The industry no longer needs incremental change. It needs a new printing landscape,” he says. 

Gallus Alpha broadens access
To complement its flagship, Gallus introduced the Gallus Alpha, a digital-only roll-to-roll press designed for converters entering digital production. “Not every printer plays in the industrial volume segment,” Urbinati says. “The Alpha ensures that on the way to digital, no business is left behind.” The Alpha ran at 65-metres a minute with 1200×1200-dpi resolution and came in four-colour-plus-white or six-colour-plus-white configurations.

Compact and intuitive, it integrated easily into existing workflows and targeted high-growth sectors such as retail, logistics and pharmaceuticals. “It is agile and intuitive,” Urbinati says. “The Gallus Alpha provides a safe, accessible gateway into digital printing without compromising on Gallus quality.” Together, the Gallus Five and Gallus Alpha expanded the company’s portfolio across all segments, from entry-level to high-performance, reinforcing Gallus’s role as both technology innovator and integrator.

Training for transformation

Technology alone did not guarantee success, Urbinati insisted. “We realised the industry needs expertise as much as equipment,” he says. That insight led to the creation of the Gallus Print Academy, a dedicated initiative providing on-site training to customers transitioning from flexo to hybrid and inkjet technologies. By bringing training directly to converters’ facilities, the Academy reduced travel costs and downtime while building practical, press-side skills. 

“It is about giving operators confidence and process knowledge to run the technology profitably,” Urbinati explains. The Academy formed part of Gallus’s holistic approach, which viewed equipment, workflow and human capability as interlinked. “Digital transformation is not only about presses. It is about people and processes,” he adds.

Partnerships and ecosystem
Collaboration remained central to Gallus’s progress. The company’s Gallus Experience Centre in Switzerland now hosts more than 20 partner companies developing modules and materials together under one roof. “This industry transformation is a big job,” Urbinati says. “We can do a lot, but not everything alone. The Experience Centre brings partners who share our vision of modular, smart and sustainable printing.”

Current collaborations include Steinemann for finishing, Kurz for embellishment and several ink and substrate specialists for compliance and performance. These partnerships enabled Gallus to create cross-functional systems ready for hybrid, digital or conventional production. Urbinati highlighted that even the company’s LabelFire platform remained active, incorporating low-migration inks and serving specific regulated markets. “We keep our portfolio relevant for all converters,” he notes.

A complete digital ecosystem
Urbinati summarises Gallus’s message at Labelexpo Europe 2025 as one of readiness. “The future of our industry is now,” he says. “We deliver a broad, robust portfolio for every converter in every market segment, with the System to Compose as the foundation.” With Heidelberg’s global network underpinning service and support, the Gallus Group positioned itself as a full-range provider offering solutions that bridged traditional and digital workflows.

David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer at Heidelberg, reinforces this vision. “Together, we are investing in technologies that deliver end-to-end efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” he says. “Our combined portfolio positions Heidelberg and Gallus as complete systems partners for the label and packaging market.” Urbinati believes this marked a new stage in label printing. “We are not chasing revolution for its own sake,” he says.

“We are creating a practical pathway for every converter to be part of the digital transformation, from small local printers to global industrial operations.” As the crowds left Barcelona, the message from Gallus resonated. Smart, connected printing was no longer a promise for tomorrow. It was already running at 100-metres a minute.