Located in Meerut’s Janta Nagar, Agarwal Offset Printers started as a commercial printing business with used offset presses in the year 2000. The printer prints brochures, pamphlets, letterheads, notepads, diaries, question banks, and educational books for pre-primary and senior secondary classes.
About 85 kilometers Northeast of Delhi, the ring city in the National Capital Region has become a publishing and book production center in the past three decades. In 2010, the printer diversified into packaging by establishing Agarwal Print Media in a separate space, a few meters from the original plant. However, Mankind Pharma has been printing its monocartons with the company since 2002.
Agarwal Print Media prints monocartons, corrugated boxes, and UV-laminated boxes along with commercial printing work. It recently installed a new RMGT 920 ST 4CD multicolor sheetfed offset press enhancing its already substantial capacity. This was the printer’s fourth RMGT 920ST-4+CD press, with the previous new multicolor presses coming in 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Rajesh Agarwal, the owner, says, “We receive full cooperation from RMGT’s Indian supplier Provin Technos. The company is reliable and the quality and service provided by Provin is exceptional. An 8-color RMGT 920PF-8 perfector is also currently in the pipeline.”
Previously, in 2011, the commercial printer installed a Heidelberg SM 74 4-color offset press. In the prepress department, there are two computer-to-plate output devices – a Heidelberg Suprasetter CtP and a Technova T9 CtP. On our recent visit to the commercial printer in Meerut, Agarwal praised the Heidelberg equipment.
The printer has an array of post-press equipment – an old Stahl folder from Heidelberg and a Muller Martini flow line. Brand new Polar cutting machines were installed in 2011 and 2016, along with a second-hand Polar in 2024.
The two combined entities with a working area of 11,000 square feet –Agarwal Offset Printers and Agarwal Print Media, print about 5 lakh (500,000) sheets daily with a monthly consumption of approximately 1,500 reams of paper.
The printer supplies 80-90% of its commercial printed and finished products to Meerut and its environs, while the remaining 10 to 20% are supplied to other parts of the Delhi-NCR and Ramnagar in Uttarakhand. Its book publishing clients include Chitra Prakashan, Mastermind Publication, and Ajanta Publication, apart from Meerut’s local publishers.
Chitra Prakashan has been a customer for 15 years, Agarwal says, adding there was a time when 100% of its printing was done in Delhi and now its entire print production takes place in Meerut.
Agarwal notes that every business has its own set of challenges. “In the printing industry, it is mostly the price fluctuation of raw materials, competition, and the lack of trained manpower. The market doesn’t stop because of the fluctuations in paper prices. As we go ahead, competition in the printing industry is set to increase. Moreover, we update our printing technology and maintain quality to stay ahead of the competition.”
Second generation keen on the business of printing
While many printers complain nowadays that their second generation isn’t interested in the legacy business, in Agarwal’s case it is the opposite. Agarwal’s eldest son Pranshul joined the company in 2023 after completing his MBA, while Suvansh the younger son who is still in college has expressed his interest in joining the family business.
Pranshul admits, “I am still in the learning phase and will need time to grasp the nuances of printing from my father. It was my own choice to join the family printing business as there is a sense of independence.” He adds that his father has established himself in Meerut’s commercial printing scenario and that he wants to expand both Agarwal Offset Printers and Agarwal Print Media.
