Custom printed skateboards: to conquer the halfpipe or hang on the wall

HURRAY is a Belgian based agency, distribution and retail company with a passion for skateboarding. They supply skate shops and streetwear stores around the Benelux. Their distribution expertise combined with their retail know-how, has resulted in a brand-new warehouse and showroom, six skate shops and numerous events. Since August 2021, the company has been producing personalised skateboards in their own warehouse with the help of an Arizona 1300 series flatbed printer.

Like many other companies, HURRAY faced many issues during the pandemic, such as-time-to market and stock challenges. However, they also saw an opportunity. As one of the few individual sports that were allowed at that time, skateboarding experienced a boom.

Fabian Verhaeghe, CEO, HURRAY distribution, explains how the company was able to tap into this opportunity: “Since we didn't hold any stock, we had to develop a way of producing customised skateboards and other products onsite. We decided to explore the possibilities of digital printing and printing on demand. We contacted Canon and discussed several options with the experts. There was only one device that could actually produce what we were looking for: the Arizona flatbed printer. It not only prints high volumes, it also enabled us to create personalised skateboards with razor-sharp photo quality. HURRAY offers high-quality products, so the prints had to match this quality. The skateboards also need to be hardwearing and keep their beauty over time, which means the printed images had to be scratch-resistant and not fade over time.”

Using a unique printing technique, the personalised design is first printed on a film, which is then heated and transferred to the skateboard. “Because sustainability is also very important to HURRAY,” Fabian adds, “we value the fact that the Arizona printer uses UL GREENGUARD Gold certified inks. And printing locally further helps us on our journey to being more sustainable. Plus, the results are great. Irrespective of whether a customer wants to use their skateboard to conquer the halfpipe, or display as a work of art in their home, we know our skateboards are sure to impress.”