LFP - Large-Format-Printing

LifeArt, Australia chooses HP Scitex to produce personalized coffins

Friday 10. August 2012 - In 2010 LifeArt installed its first HP Scitex large-format system, an HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer, to replace an unreliable, outdated printer, which was slowing turnaround times and creating a bottleneck in the cutting room. Craig Morrison, the company's operations manager, talks about why he bought the HP Scitex systems and the unique service LifeArt offers.

LifeArt, based in Sydney, Australia, has been producing printed coffins since 2004. “Our service enables funeral homes to provide their customers with a customized option. The funeral director places the order with us and then uploads the artwork. Our graphic designer captures the images and puts the layout together and we get the family to sign off on the proof before the coffin goes into production. We offer this service to Funeral Homes in Australia and New Zealand.”
More than 90 percent of the coffins are printed on the HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer comprising custom designs and LifeArt’s templates. Since installing the HP Scitex FB500, the company’s printed coffin business has grown by 33 percent. Morrison estimates the company has also saved 50 to 60 percent on ink costs.
HP Scitex Technology improves speed to market and drives growth
Morrison says the quality of the final product has driven a surge in requests for customized images to be printed onto coffins. “We have standard images that are available, but a growing number of people are choosing to customize the imagery. Some choose to use photos of family members where others might select an iconic Australian landscape image, such as the Outback or a coastal view. The Australian flag is also popular,” he explains.
“With the new printer we can turn around a coffin in two hours from start to finish because the HP Scitex FB500 is so fast and reliable. Our older printer was very unreliable and a customized coffin could take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to complete. When we were looking for a printer, speed and reliability were priorities in order to keep the workflow moving and the cutting machine busy. The HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer has definitely met our objectives.”
Morrison says the new HP Scitex FB500 has enabled them to speed up the production process, which is important because most funerals are held within a week of the person’s death. “The printer has certainly contributed to an improvement in productivity in terms of speed to market and enabled us to take on a greater volume of work.”
Morrison looked at a range of printers before selecting the HP Scitex FB500, testing up to seven other models. When HP Channel Partner Celmac in Sydney showed him the HP Scitex printer’s capabilities, he was impressed. “Every print test we did with the HP FB500 Industrial Printer met our expectations. The print quality was unbeatable.”
LifeArt prints only on 10 mm Xanita board, a material used for coffins that is recycled and free from formaldehyde. However, the HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer can print on virtually any flexible or rigid substrate.
Guaranteed accuracy is essential
“The Xanita board is a beautiful surface to print on. When we were testing the different printers, we ran three designs on the board. We were looking for banding, issues with gloss and cracking because we have to bend the material to fit the shape of the coffin,” says Morrison. “That’s where we eliminated the other printers; bending the material caused the inks to crack. But with the HP inks there were no issues. The ink HP uses is brilliant.”
With images printed directly onto the board, accuracy in registration is essential. “It’s extremely important that the images line up perfectly across all the sections of the coffin,” Morrison adds. “That’s another benefit with the HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer, perfect registration.” The panels are printed directly from PDF files and then moved to the cutting machine, which follows the registration marks to cut to size.
“The LifeArt product is a product of the future. It is slowly being accepted by the industry and we are starting to make headway as more people discover the opportunity to customize coffins,” he concludes. “Having the right equipment, like the HP Scitex FB500 Industrial Printer, certainly gives us confidence to expand our market.”