Picture Gallery: Looking back on 50 years of printed cards at Khadilkar Road
The big fat Indian wedding industry with a size of more than Rs 1,00,000-cr, spends 1% on invitation cards. With over 170 retail and wholesale shops producing an array of wedding cards, Khadilkar Road in Mumbai boasts of invitations ranging from Rs 5 per card to the super-premium type which is worth Rs 10,000.
PrintWeek India team spends a day at Khadilkar Road to find out how the print masters produce and sell cards and dreams ...
Images: Disha Gandhi Words: Tan15 Aug 2013 | By PrintWeek India
Picture Gallery: Looking back on 50 years of printed cards at Khadilkar Road
Khadilkar Road, a 10-minute walk from Charni Road station, is the wedding card hub for both Indian and overseas buyers
90:10, the ratio of retail to wholesale players of the more than 170 shops on the street
As old as 40 years, some veterans like Hemant Mehta of Mehta Cards, have witnessed both the eventual exit of once a sizeable market - the greeting card and the boom in the wedding card market
The simpleton: the cards offered at Mehta's range from Rs 5 to Rs 35
With competition next door, firms at Khadilkar Road have bulk discounts and value added services on offer
Designers - paper suppliers - printers - the chain that forms the business model of most retailers
Paper distributors on the street stock up their whiteboard, and metallic and textured papers supply for the wedding season which is nearing
Accessorising the invites with boxes, bags, coins, confectioneries, is their way to say 'it's more than just a card'
The monthly average of each firm on the street is 15-20 jobs off the season, 250 during the wedding season, with the premium cards ratio being 1:3
Malaga, the brand of Mars Arts, produces custom-made cards that cross the ten thousand-rupee mark
The best of the works is not on display, 'to restrict design piracy' say the owners
Patrika Palace is one of the early firms, which has witnessed a change in spending habits among consumers
"The wedding cards form 1% of the Rs 1,00,000 crore wedding market, which is substantial," says Ramnik Faria of 30-year old Patrika Palace
The 'dying' art of screen printing is executed by skilled labour. "The advent of digital technology has affected screen-printed jobs' demand," says Faria
But 90% of Patrika's jobs have an element of screen printing, which is executed at its 100sq/ft unit, located in the vicinity
Mastering the self-taught art of screen printing
Producing screen-printed art at the speed of 1,000 sheets per hour
Multiple dies stacked for the various jobs on hand
The workforce is skilled and have years of experience
Adding value with foil stamping
Creative and innovative designs for every new season
Spotted: Ajay Mehta of SMI Coated Products. Mehta is overwhelmed with the variety of designs. He says, "Khadilkar Road is a destination for wedding cards"
The 83-year old Patel Paper Mart is an onlooker to the changing face of Khadilkar Road
Ajit Patel of Patel Paper Mart, says, "The labour crunch in Mumbai has resulted in the outsourcing of most work to Delhi"
The 101-year old Hindi Granth Karyalay stands tall at Khadilkar Road
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