New Delhi based Bahubali Digiglam bought a brand new MGI Jetvarnish 3DS & iFoil S in June last year. It was the first digital production investment by the company. Bahubali specializes in the production and supply of wedding cards and decorative wedding boxes. “MGI has over the last year helped us to bring this digital decoration and enhancement technology to the masses. With the MGI, we’re also trying to explore the commercial printing market by providing value-added printing options in visiting cards,” says Akshat Jain, director of Bahubali Digiglam.
“The visiting card segment is a good one to experiment since it doesn’t have large quantities. People are ready to explore new possibilities with visiting cards and are willing to pay a little more cost for the great value achieved with the help of MGI technology,” Jain adds. The MGI press helps Bahubali offer cold-foiling options along with textured UV effects change to hot foiling options with various textured UV effects. The company is working to ensure that the technology reaches the masses at rates that aren’t exorbitant. Jain says that the results are incredibly fascinating, and his customers are willing to pay for the difference.
Envelopes printed on the MGI machine“This press is ideal for creating a luxurious feel with print. It comes with various embellishment options and is the best fit for the value-added print market. Apart from short runs, we have also tapped into the commercial market with this press. As mainstream printing is becoming obsolete, customers are now looking for something new and eye-catching. Apart from visiting cards, we are also enhancing printed brochures and catalogs on our MGI press,” Jain explains.
Greater emphasis on R&D and sampling
Bahubali has tried to service the photobook market with the new MGI. Jain says, “We have also tried the photobook market where the acceptability is higher. MGI is a kind of technology that is not yet common in the photobook industry, and hence, there is a huge potential for us. But I believe that it will be a boon in the future.”
According to him, the last year has been full of ups and downs for the company. Nevertheless, he says that the journey has been an eye-opener and has helped him learn about the various possibilities of the MGI. “It was a great learning opportunity. Frankly, we didn’t know the uses and applications of this technology. We spent the initial few months on R&D and sampling. We did sampling for various industries including photobooks, visiting cards and catalogs, and brochures for wire companies,” Jain shares. He believes that the MGI technology is not known to many in various potential customer verticals that his company is still exploring.
Wedding boxes on display at Bahubali’s shelf at its digital printing plant in New Delhi. Photo IPPKM – A friend in need
Jain says that the support he received from the Konica Minolta team has instilled trust in his team’s mind. “Konica Minolta has been a friend to us in all our difficult times over the last year. The company has helped us learn the various possibilities with the MGI. The engineers were always with us. I must say that we never encountered any problem. They’ve been by our side and have always helped us with any assistance that we require,” Jain explains.
Right from the start, to September this year, Jain believes that his company has grown 30%-40%. Now that it is almost done with new user experience on MGI, it is aiming to increase productivity. The new unit will house digital as well as offset presses. Bahubali plans to first strengthen its production capability to at least 60% on the existing MGI.
Market slowdown and technology utilization
“The market is not up to the mark. There is a slowdown. It is the sampling time for wedding cards, but I’m pretty hopeful as the season is about to arrive. With that being said, dry patches are always there in every business. At some or the other point of time in every business, there is a slowdown. Just like anyone else, we’re bound to go through them, and we face those days where there’s no business. ROI on an investment is a very tricky topic. One can achieve the ROI only when one makes the best use of technology, but technology is not easy to learn. It comes to you with time and with numerous experiments. We’re almost through that phase, and now we’ll utilize the capabilities of the MGI to raise our profits,” Jain asserts.
Bahubali’s main agenda is to supply to the wedding card industry as much as possible and to make up for the dry patches that the company encountered due to seasonal demand and the R&D and sampling work. “Later this year, we’re planning to go online with our eCommerce platform for listing the various options and products which is ready. We will make sure that the back-end work is taken care of very soon. As of now, fresh content is not being updated. I also plan to introduce the concept of paintings and home furnishing on our eCommerce platform,” Jain concludes.
