中文ePac Flexible Packaging has agreed a strategic partnership with Fujifilm that will take the all-digital converter into longer run lengths by adding the Jet Press FP790 to its printing firepower — technology that, until now, has been entirely HP-based.
The alliance was announced on 18 October at the Pack Expo show in Chicago. ePac is marking its tenth year in business in 2026, and its global network of pouch and sachet production sites has relied exclusively on HP Indigo technology throughout that decade.
Fujifilm said the FP790 “will enable ePac to continue to push the upper boundaries of its business model and deliver unmatched value across every stage of a brand’s growth.” The press is built for both high-volume and short-run work, handling substrates up to 790mm wide at a top speed of 50 metres per minute, printing at 1,200 x 1,200 dpi in CMYK with water-based primer and inks plus two white channels. Fujifilm claims a colour gamut covering more than 90% of Pantone colours.
The first installation is at ePac’s new facility in Phoenix, Arizona, with fleet expansion planned across ePac’s global network in later phases. Parag Patel, ePac’s president of technical services, said integrating leading-edge assets significantly increases capacity and the ability to handle larger run lengths efficiently. “Incorporating this technology gives brand owners of all sizes the continued agility of digital while providing a true end-to-end scaling solution for flexible packaging,” he argued.
Osamu Nakashima, corporate vice president of Fujifilm Business Innovation, hailed the partnership as one that “brings together two powerhouses dedicated to the digital transformation of global packaging.” He said Fujifilm has placed huge emphasis on digital packaging in its recent portfolio developments, and that its flagship J Press FP790 is engineered specifically to transform flexible-packaging manufacturing.
Earlier this year Fujifilm added features positioning the FP790 as a mainstream alternative to flexo and gravure, capable of taking on increasingly long runs. Roll-out plans for the UK and continental Europe had not been disclosed at the time of writing. ePac operates two UK sites, in Silverstone and Sheffield, with further European sites in France, Poland and Austria.
The strategic context matters. ePac Holdings Europe posted sales up nearly 41% to just over £39m in 2025, trimming its operating loss from £2.2m to £1.9m. The business was acquired by private equity firm Butterfly Equity in January, and subsequently signed a $50m three-year deal with HP for more than ten Indigo 200k digital presses plus related consumables and services.
For ePac, the move is as much about optionality as capacity. Until now the company’s entire global fleet has been HP Indigo-based, a deliberate single-vendor strategy that delivered speed and consistency during its first decade. Introducing Fujifilm’s water-based inkjet alongside that installed base lets ePac chase longer runs that flexo and gravure have traditionally owned, without abandoning the agility that built the brand. The Phoenix installation is the proof point; fleet expansion across ePac’s network is the stated next step.
The strategic backdrop is also worth noting. ePac was acquired by private equity firm Butterfly Equity in January, and shortly afterwards signed a three-year, $50m deal with HP for more than ten Indigo 200k presses plus consumables. Layering Fujifilm on top signals that ePac’s new owners are willing to diversify the technology stack to maximise asset utilisation and run-length flexibility across continents.
For Fujifilm, the partnership validates years of development on the FP790, a press explicitly engineered to take inkjet into mainstream flexible-packaging volumes. As brands demand both short-run responsiveness and longer-run economics, the line between digital and conventional continues to blur — and ePac’s hybrid fleet may become a blueprint for the next wave of flexible-packaging converters.
The strategic backdrop is also worth noting. ePac was acquired by private equity firm Butterfly Equity in January, and shortly afterwards signed a three-year, $50m deal with HP for more than ten Indigo 200k presses plus consumables. Layering Fujifilm on top signals that ePac’s new owners are willing to diversify the technology stack to maximise asset utilisation and run-length flexibility across continents.
For Fujifilm, the partnership validates years of development on the FP790, a press explicitly engineered to take inkjet into mainstream flexible-packaging volumes. As brands demand both short-run responsiveness and longer-run economics, the line between digital and conventional continues to blur – and ePac’s hybrid fleet may become a blueprint for the next wave of flexible-packaging converters.
What makes the FP790 attractive is not just speed but chemistry. Its water-based inks and primer address brand-owner concerns about sustainability and food safety, while the dual white channels support the opaque, vivid graphics that stand out on shelf. For a company whose entire identity is built on helping brands scale through digital, adding a complementary inkjet platform reduces dependence on a single supplier and opens doors to applications where HP Indigo’s liquid-toner approach is less natural.
The Phoenix-first roll-out is telling. ePac’s US operations are its largest and most mature, making them the logical proving ground before the technology spreads to Europe, including the UK sites at Silverstone and Sheffield. If the FP790 delivers on its promise there, the partnership could accelerate the day when digital inkjet, rather than flexo or gravure, is the default for flexible packaging at virtually any run length.
Source: https://www.printweek.com/content/news/epac-adds-fujifilm-inkjet-printing-tech-to-offering-in-major-deal
