Meerut, 80 km northeast of Delhi, has become a hub of educational book publishing and printing. Apart from its proximity to the capital which is also a publishing hub, the main reason for the emergence of Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh as a publishing center with more than a hundred small and large book publishers, is its skilled resources – authors, content writers, designers, printers and binders for educational textbooks.
Meerut’s publishers earlier outsourced production to Delhi. Over the past two decades they have become self-sufficient, with many establishing their multicolor offset and automated binding capabilities and as have commercial printers in the city. Anywhere from five to 10 new multicolor sheetfed offset presses come to Meerut each year.
This naturally leads to an increase in binding and finishing machines to increase overall print production. Indian Printer & Publisher recently interacted with three printers in Meerut who recently updated binding and finishing equipment from Bindwel.
SK Offset
Established in 1975, Meerut’s SK Offset, an established book publisher and commercial printer for educational reference books, diversified into label printing as well as carton packaging over the span of the last five years following the Covid-19 crisis. In a previous interaction, director Priyanshu Agarwal said he keeps investing in the latest technology while regularly updating all installed machines and software.
Working with small and large book publishers in Meerut and mainly for longer runs, it plans to handle shorter runs soon. Its multiple plants in Meerut are spread over an area of 1,20,000 square feet generating approximately Rs 50 crore annually.
The printer comments on a recently installed a BW@2500V24 6-clamp perfect binder from Bindwel. “The BW@2500 from Bindwel is extremely user-friendly and consistent. We are completely satisfied with its performance and have been using this product for the last 15 years. Bindwel is a trusted brand with a brand value. Extremely delighted with the service support.”
Shree Balaji Bindings
Rahul Agarwal’s Shree Balaji Bindings prints and binds educational reference books and children’s books for Meerut book publishers and private institutions. He too plans to target shorter runs.
Quality and on-time services for publishers are his USPs, says Agarwal. With an approximate annual turnover of Rs 10 crore, his company employs 60 people in two shifts. Recalling two government and institutional orders for NCERT and the state of Rajasthan, Agarwal says, although it was a short timeframe, he was able to meet the strict deadline.
Shree Balaji Bindings recently installed a Bindwell BW@2500 six-clamp perfect binder. Agarwal comments, “The BW@2500 from Bindwel is extremely user-friendly, robust, and consistent. Apart from its good performance, we are impressed with the service support, especially the quick delivery of urgently-needed spares, when needed.”
Considering Meerut-based Chitra Prakashan as his most important customer, he feels proud to have bound its books on a BW@2500 from Bindwel. “We are very happy to make books on time and with the best quality in every batch of production. Every title that comes out for the first time is memorable for us.”
Basant Digital Solutions
Ayush Jain’s Basant Digital Solutions, known in Meerut’s publishing sector as Vardhman Books Meerut, was previously called Vardhman Print Line. The commercial printer of educational and children’s books, recently installed a BW@2500 6-clamp perfect binder, which is being utilized for printing jobs that require exceptional quality.
Specializing in high quality and timely long and short run book production, the printer targets the Mumbai textbook and children’s book market, Basant Digital’s book production occupies over 24,000 square feet with a hundred employees in two shifts and an annual turnover of Rs 50 crore annually.
“We are very happy to make children’s books on time, with the best quality, in every batch of production. Infinity and Neo Star book series are two projects we successfully delivered. Another big volume project was the Pikaso book series, where we printed around 2 lakh books, with 40,000 books produced in one day and night to meet the approaching deadline,” Jain says.
The Bindwel BW@2500 was installed during the Kumbh Mela in January-February 2025. Despite all routes being closed for the occasion, the Bindwel engineer arrived on time, serviced and installed the perfect binder before our timeline, Jain notes. “We are delighted with Bindwel’s service support. The recent installation helped in producing the Infinity Book Series on time.”
