Portuguese start-up Apolo Convert opts for Fujifilm’s Jet Press FP790
Apolo Convert, a new flexible packaging business based in the Portuguese interior, has become the latest in a string of European packaging businesses to invest in Fujifilm’s flagship digital flexo press – the Jet Press FP790. The new press is scheduled to be installed in September 2026.
Ricardo da Palma, founder of Apolo Convert, is a veteran and serial entrepreneur in the Portuguese flexible packaging industry. Driven to deliver more sustainable processes and better flexibility and value for customers, he has experimented with digital print for flexible packaging for a decade—even at one point devising a unique sublimation printing technique using digital print technology, printing to flexible films via transfer paper.
Although useful and innovative, the solution lacked the quality necessary for rolling out more widely, so Ricardo searched for a water-based inkjet solution that would offer high quality and uptime, and reliable production. He and his team researched a range of options, and Fujifilm’s Jet Press FP790 eventually became the obvious solution to sit at the heart of the new business he was creating.
“I wanted to develop a fully sustainable, all-digital business,” explains Ricardo. “We’ve built a new factory from scratch in the space of a year—and the Jet Press FP790 is going to sit at the heart of that factory, allowing us to produce work far more rapidly and far more sustainably than ever before. No more solvents, no more fossil fuels—and 85% of the energy powering the factory we will generate ourselves, using solar and battery power. All waste will be recycled or reused.
“What I liked most of all about Fujifilm is that—aside from the quality of the press—Fujifilm were the only company we spoke to who seemed to understand our ‘outside the box’ thinking and were prepared to fully support us in what we were trying to achieve.”
With the Jet Press FP790, Apolo Convert is anticipating a range of benefits for its customers:
- Cutting wait times in half for clients—from 4-6 weeks to 2-3 weeks.
- Offering personalization and customization solutions that would not have been possible previously.
- The quality Apolo Convert can now offer for specialist short-run work will be far beyond anything the company has been able to produce before.
- Everything will be produced in such a sustainable way that it will give Apolo Convert clients a truly credible sustainability message to give to their customers.
Manuel Schrutt, Head of Packaging, Fujifilm EMEA, added: “The Jet Press FP790 is a tool for flexible packaging businesses looking to the future. Sustainable production, fast and flexible job turnarounds, and quality to rival analogue, the Jet Press FP790 is the mainstream future of flexible packaging. We’re delighted to support Apolo Convert as they invest in this future and look forward to working with them to maximize the potential of their investment in the years to come.”
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