February 4, 2013 - Batesville, Ind. - Batesville, a leading provider of comprehensive solutions to the funeral industry, announced the introduction of Memorial Stationery by Batesville, an exclusive collection of funeral stationery developed, designed and produced by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The memorial stationery offering includes a variety of high quality paper products that complement the funeral and capture memories that help families celebrate the unique spirit and life of their loved ones.

This new offering further exemplifies Batesville's long-term strategy of providing fully-integrated solutions that streamline and simplify processes for death care professionals and create positive connections with the families and communities they serve.

Leading, trusted brands
For more than a century, Batesville and Hallmark have been trusted brands and leaders, offering innovative products and programs that are instrumental in helping families honor and celebrate life. With the Memorial Stationery line, Batesville is setting a new standard, giving funeral homes and families thoughtful, sincere choices they can trust.

"One of the many benefits of working with Hallmark is the depth of creative talent and their remarkable ability to express, through words and designs, what people feel in their hearts," says Jason Burlage, vice president of Strategic Business for Batesville. "We're proud to move into the memorial stationery market with products designed by Hallmark, a company and brand people trust and respect."

Elegant designs and customizable templates
A personalized stationery selection sets the tone for a meaningful funeral and brings together key elements for telling a life story. The Memorial Stationery by Batesville registry books, memorial folders, prayer cards, bookmarks and acknowledgement cards have been thoughtfully created in fully coordinated and customizable collections, with impeccable attention to detail and distinctive features. There is a great range in style and color, with everything from more feminine designs and colorations to tailored executions. Touches of hand lettering, embossing foil and color washes add an air of elegance to the stationery collections, without interfering with the personalization or printing process.

"By combining Hallmark's design and product development expertise with Batesville's strong brand and leading website technologies, Batesville has created an offering with outstanding customer appeal, and one that is easier and more efficient for funeral directors to administer," said Susan Hare, president of Sunrise Greetings, a Hallmark brand. "These exquisite collections provide precious mementos that will continue to offer comfort and support long after the funeral."

Materials can be customized with photos, obituary information, poems, scripture, or other personal messages using Batesville's proprietary Print Studio application. Personalizing stationery items is as easy as choosing a design or message from the online library and entering personal information. Batesville's WebLink® customers have the added advantage of a single point of entry for obituary data.  Obituary information is entered once, and then moves seamlessly from the website to the Print Studio for formatting and printing, further streamlining the process.

Family-friendly merchandising
The Memorial Stationery by Batesville collection is complemented by a flexible merchandising and marketing system that makes it simple for families, while helping funeral homes achieve their desired financial goals. Professionally-designed signage, family-friendly product displays and Batesville's Signature Selection Album work together to showcase the stationery products - in the arrangement office, the selection room and in digital presentations. Families can choose a comforting design and inspirational message that evokes their loved one's spirit, while honoring his or her memory. Stationery designs are available in pre-packaged collections, with the option to purchase additional items, such as acknowledgement cards or bookmarks.

New sympathy cards by Sunrise Greetings, a Hallmark brand
The largest provider of funeral home websites, Batesville is also a leader in online commerce with its Expressions of Sympathy™ floral, gift and sympathy card offerings that are included as a standard feature on WebLink websites.  Consumers appreciate the convenience of being able to order FTD® flowers or send a card directly from the funeral home's website. As part of its new agreement, Batesville is enhancing its current offering with a new collection of personalized printed sympathy cards designed by Sunrise Greetings, a Hallmark Cards brand. Consumers can view and select a sympathy card, add a personal message, enter the address and make the purchase within the funeral home's website, using a highly intuitive interface. Batesville handles all production and mailing of sympathy cards and submits reports and royalties to the funeral provider.

The new collection of Sunrise Greetings cards is available immediately to all WebLink customers. For more information, funeral directors can contact Batesville Interactive at 877-287-8661.

About Batesville
Batesville (www.Batesville.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) is the leader in the North American death care industry. For more than 125 years, Batesville has been dedicated to helping families honor the lives of those they love. Batesville's innovation has changed the face of funeral service, from advancements in manufacturing and quality to patented features and memorialization offerings, technology and web-based solutions, and profit-enhancing merchandising systems and room displays. Their history of manufacturing excellence, product innovation, superior customer service and reliable delivery has helped Batesville become - and remain - a market leader.

About Hallmark Cards Inc.
Hallmark makes the world a more caring place by helping people express what's in their hearts and spend time together - a privilege few other companies in the world enjoy. Hallmark greeting cards and other products are found in more than 38,000 retail outlets in the United States, including the network of flagship Hallmark Gold Crown® stores. The brand also reaches people online at Hallmark.com and on television through Hallmark Hall of Fame original movies and cable's top-rated Hallmark Channel. Worldwide, Hallmark offers products in more than 30 languages available in 100 countries. This privately held company is based in Kansas City, Mo., and is led by the third generation of the founding Hall family. Visit http://corporate.hallmark.com for more details. 

About Sunrise Greetings
Sunrise Greetings, a Hallmark Cards brand, offers distinctive greeting cards for special occasions and everyday sending. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Sunrise products can be found in thousands of stores throughout the United States, including Barnes and Noble, Office Max and Wegmans. For more information on Sunrise Greetings and Hallmark Cards, visit http://corporate.hallmark.com.