§1What this business is
Kraft or office paper is die-cut into blanks and fed into an automatic envelope machine that folds and glues them — the report's machine makes 8,000 envelopes an hour and handles 70–120 gsm paper. Envelopes are packed and sold to stationery shops and institutions.
Capacity: 20,400 envelopes a day; first year at 80%, sales ₹119.54 lakh.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A stationery or printing-trade person with institutional buyers.
Who it is not for
Someone counting only on retail letter envelopes.
Advantages
- Offices, banks, courts and schools use envelopes daily
- One automatic machine does most of the work
- Small team of 7
- Printed and custom envelopes earn more
Drawbacks
- High break-even (57%)
- Raw material (mainly paper) is over 70% of sales
- Digital communication is cutting letter mail
- Many small makers compete on price
Skills you need
- Machine setting and die making
- Paper buying
- Institutional and tender sales
- Printing tie-ups
Why difficulty 2/5: Simple machine work; the risk is the high break-even and paper cost.
§3Market
Who buys
- Offices, banks and courts
- Schools and institutions
- Businesses sending bills and direct mail
How it sells
- Stationery shops and wholesalers
- Direct institutional orders and tenders
- Printers who add logos
Good to know
- The report says envelopes are widely used for direct mail and transactional mail such as monthly statements and bills.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Die punch machine | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
| Fully automatic envelope making machine (70–120 gsm, 8,000 envelopes an hour) | 1 | ₹11,50,000 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Envelope Manufacturing Unit (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Kraft and office paper rolls/sheetsfed in blocks of 150–200 sheets
- Glue
- Printing ink
- Packaging
From: PMEGP sample project report — Envelope Manufacturing Unit (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Trade licence from the local body
- Factory licence (listed in the report)
- BIS certification (listed in the report)
- NOC from the pollution department (listed in the report)
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
PMEGP fits (the report was made for it); MUDRA gives loans up to ₹20 lakh; CGTMSE lets the bank lend without collateral.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Plant & machinery ₹14.00 lakh, other assets ₹2.00 lakh, working capital ₹6.47 lakh = ₹22.47 lakh. Premises rented.
Working capital: Working capital ₹6.47 lakh, of which the bank loan is ₹5.82 lakh — mostly paper stock.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
The project report gives no HS code — find the right 8-digit ITC(HS) code on the DGFT website before you export.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Paper price rises
- Falling demand for letters
- Machine breakdown
- Late payment from institutions
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working envelope manufacturing unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Envelope Manufacturing Unit?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.