Singapore, August 26:

Roses have long conveyed love, but they can now carry a personal message on their petals with the use of computer software unveiled here today. FarEastFlora.com and Hewlett-Packard Co launched what they say is the first full-colour printing on fresh flowers.

The message is printed on a “floral-safe membrane” by a colour laser jet printer and “applied onto the roses”, said Ryan Chioh,FarEastFlora.com’s executive director. Customers can e-mail their messages or pictures and they will be printed on the petals, or they can visit Far East Flora stores to personally draw or write their messages on a personal computer.

The technology developed in Singapore has a patent pending. The project has been two years in the making. The printing can be done on any flower petal or leaf, but Chioh said roses from China are usually chosen because their petals are larger than most other flowers.

The petal can accommodate about three lines of text or a picture slightly bigger than a postage stamp. A dozen printed roses costs about $45. So, it’s your day lovers! what are you waiting for?