THE ALL-IN-ONE PACKAGING POWERHOUSE BALAJEE PRINTING PRESS
Ahmedabad based Balajee PrintingPress is an established name in Indiafor its impressive and attractivepackaging of incense sticks. Not onlyGujarat and Maharashtra, but majorincense stick manufacturing companiesfrom many states and cities includingKolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangaloreget their products packaged here. Headof Balajee Printing Press, Mr. HarshPatel in an exclusive conversation withSugandh India told that although hedoes designing, printing and packagingfor sweets, soap, spices and otherproducts, 75% of his clients are fromthe incense sticks industry. Harsh Patelis the third generation head of BalajeePrinting Press, established in 1964. Hesaid that the packaging and designingof incense stick products is alwaysdone with a view to what kind of area,market and customers it will reach. Thepackaging of a product is prepared onthe basis of whether it is premium oreconomy.
In response to a question from Sugandh India, he said that thepackaging and design of any product is done on the basis of itsquality and fragrance. Products with high quantity, weight and biggerpacks have to be specially and strongly packed. If it is a premiumproduct, then it has a higher cost. No manufacturer will spendtwo rupees on the packing of a ₹10 packet of incense sticks, becauseit will increase his cost. Therefore, he has to provide packagingcosting 50 paise only. Whether the packing is to be made inbulk or just for branding is also decided at the time of designing.In response to a question, he said that zipper packs are alsodone at his place, but it is a separate unit. Apart from this, all thework of box packaging is also done in Balajee Printing Press. Wealso have an in house studio. Designing, printing, pasting andpunching, everything is done at one place. A manufacturer gets allthe services from designing to printing under one roof. On the timetaken in printing new packaging, Mr Harsh said that we design,print and pack even the biggest orders in a week. He said that if anew manufacturer enters the incense industry, he has to visit BalajeePrinting Press once.On the question regarding big changes happening in the worldof packaging, hesaid that earlier the packaging of products wasn’tgiven much attention. Rose, sandalwood, kewda and bella also usedto be sold loose. But now is the era of beautiful packaging.
Bigcompanies feel that what looks good, sells. That is why most majormanufacturers get the best and attractive packaging done. He toldthat for this we also have a research unit. We have a huge team ofdesigners who prepare the best designs as per the demand and needof the manufacturers. Advanced machines have been installed formaking boxes. The best among these is Heidelberg. It also has a fullsize 28*40 machine, which makes 10 lakh boxes in 5 to 6 hours.However, after finishing, 6 to 7 lakh packs are ready.Mr Patel told Sugandh India that people from Gujarat, Maharashtra,Delhi, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka and Rajasthan alsocome to us for packaging. Apart from this, we also export. On inflationand increasing prices of paper, he said that for this he keepsready stock of good quality paper and other raw materials in bulk.This helps in keeping the price low even if the cost of paper and rawmaterials increases after we get an order. He said that he acceptsorders for at least 10000 small boxes and 3000 big boxes in economypack.
