Aug 26, 2005
Say it with (and on) roses
By Serene Luo
AT FIRST glance, they don't seem real. Surely fresh flowers can't
pass through a printer - or can they?
JUST FOR YOU: Floral designer Amy Lim, 43, looks at a message being
written using computer software, which can then be printed on rose
petals. -- DESMOND WEE
FarEastFlora.com, the flowers and gifts arm of plant nursery Far
East Flora, and Hewlett-Packard last night jointly launched what
they say is the world's first full-colour printing on fresh
flowers.
Customers can e-mail their messages or pictures and they will be
printed on the petals of roses, or they can visit the Far East
Flora stores to personally draw or write their own messages on a
PC.
The message is printed on a 'floral-safe membrane' by a colour
laser jet printer and 'applied onto the roses', explained
FarEastFlora.com's executive director, Mr Ryan Chioh.
He declined to explain how exactly it is done as the technology,
developed in Singapore, has a patent pending.
Although the printing can be done on any flower petal or leaf,
roses from China are usually chosen because of their 'front-facing
petals, which are also larger than most other flowers' ', Mr Chioh
said.
Each petal can accommodate about three lines of text, each with a
maximum of seven characters, or a picture of about 9 sq cm,
slightly larger than a postage stamp. The 30-minute printing
process is done in-house by one of five florists and a dozen
printed roses would cost about $80.
The project, two years in the making, cost FarEastFlora.com about
$50,000 to implement.
