Years ago, I recall seeing gifts purchased at shopping malls "gift
wrapped" in a transparent latex balloon.  The people at the mall had
some type of vacuum chamber device the expanded the latex balloon to
the extent that it could hold a large gift, flowers, etc. Once the gift
item was placed into the balloon, the balloon would be tied off. My
question is: where can I obtain a commercially available machine to do
this type of packaging. If there is no current manufacturer of the
equipment, I would accept detailed information about how this
packaging was done.

Dear Latexbuster,
My kids have always been intrigued by this type of gift, so I was
interested to take your question.


OVERVIEW - MAXIM INTERNATIONAL
A company called Maxim International claims to be the original source
of the "gift in a balloon" concept. In fact, the phrase is shown as
trademarked "Gift In A Balloon®" on their website.
Company Info
http://maximinternational.com/aboutus.html

They also have a comprehensive overview of the balloon stuffing
industry, and their offerings in it on the same website.  In my
searches, it appears that their efforts at "cleaning out infringers"
on their 11 U.S. patents and trademarked names have been somewhat
successful - they certainly seem to be the industry leader.  However,
I found a few other types of competitor products in my searching. 
I've detailed the competitor products I found in a COMPETITOR PRODUCTS
section at the end of the answer.

Maxim's overview of the balloon stuffing industry:
"Stuffing for Success"
http://maximinternational.com/stuffing.html

The company produces two basic systems they call the Classy Wrap®
System (for larger gifts) and the Jiffy Wrap® System (for smaller
gifts.)  The Classy Wrap® System is the type of machine that you
mention in your question - it's a box-shaped vacuum chamber that
stands 32" high, and approximately 1.5 - 2 ft wide and deep.  The
Maxim website gives details and photos of the Classy Wrap System
machine.
Classy Wrap Machine
http://maximinternational.com/products/classywrap.html

The Jiffy Wrap system is a more manual tube-based system.  It's
intended for smaller gifts, as it has a smaller maximum balloon
opening.  You can get it with an optional balloon inflator.
Jiffy Wrap with "MaxyFlate" inflator
http://maximinternational.com/pricelist/Jiffy_Max.html

You can obtain a variety of products directly from Maxim, including a
turn-key Classy Wrap System (approx $1000).  They sell everything from
the Classy Wrap machine to the balloons used to wrap the gifts.  A
complete price list and ordering information is also available on
their website.
Maxim Product Price List
http://maximinternational.com/pricelist/pricelist.html


ALTERNATIVE SOURCES FOR MAXIM PRODUCTS
While the Classy Wrap machine is available directly from Maxim
International, there are also a number of other sites that sell the
Classy Wrap machine.  However, I didn't notice any of them offering
products much cheaper than ordering from Maxim directly.  These
include:

Prosper Balloons - 
This a site by Charles Prosper "world recognized balloon artist,
author and entrepreneur" according to his website.  It goes on to say
that "Charles Prosper has appeared in countless TV interviews,
magazine articles and news releases; he has even hosted his own
syndicated cable TV show called Balloons by Prosper. Charles Prosper
is owner of Balloons by Prosper and its subsidiary, Global Publishing
Company which produces books, tapes, videos and Special Reports
dedicated to helping all balloon artists beginning and advanced
worldwide to become successful in the lucrative and exciting
profession of balloon decorating."

His site even has a bulletin board for people interested in
balloon-based-business issues (although beware the many pop-up
advertisements that come along with the chat.)

While Mr. Prosper addresses all different sorts of balloon-based
business activities, the gift-in-a-balloon part seems to endorse the
Maxim International's Classy Wrap system.  He sells it, as well.

Prosper Balloons
http://www.prosperballoons.com/index.html

Flowers, inc Balloons  
(note - the following URL is a bit long; be sure to check you've got
it all if you're copying it into a browser.)
http://www.flowersincballoons.com/store/trans/productListingRpt.asp?CatID=31&Page=2&kw=

Southern Balloon Distributors in Miami, FL
http://www.southernballoon.com/pages/pricelist/accessories.htm

"Party Express, LC"  (The site looks very similar to the Maxim site,
and may be related)
http://www.partyexpress.safeorders.net/Classy%20Wrap%20Specifications.htm

There is even one company, in Santa Ana, California, that will rent
the machine for $10 per hour.
All American Balloons
http://www.allamericanballoon.com/rental_equip.htm


COMPETITOR PRODUCTS
The competitor products are listed below - there are basically two
types - the Classy Wrap type, and the Keepsake Stuffer type.


The Keepsake Stuffer, from Keepsake International.  
This machine is not a large box, but looks more like a plastic ball. 
It has a manual balloon mouth stretcher, and a foot-controlled
machine.
Keepsake Stuffer
http://www.balloonstuffer.com/stuffer.html

They have a product brochure in a PDF file, showing step-by-step
pictures of the process:
http://www.balloonstuffer.com/stufferbro.PDF

Keepsakes also apparantly sells the stuffer on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2547168449&category=11764


The Balloon Stuffing Machine, by Balloons and Stuff.  This machine
looks like a cheaper version (imitation, perhaps?) of the Classy Wrap
system.  It's about 1/2 the price of the Classy Wrap system.
Balloons and Stuff
http://www.balloonsandstuff.com/


The Thrifty Balloon Stuffer, by Thrifty Impressions.  This looks
exactly like the Keepsakes Stuffer.
Thrift Impressions
http://www.thriftyimpressions.com/balloon.htm


The Balloomer.  The only Canadian firm selling a balloon stuffer was
Surprize Enterprize, who sell a machine they invented, called the
Balloomer.  They offer a number of different variations on the same
theme - which is a machine similar to the globe type of the Keepsake
Stuffer.
http://www.surprize-enterprize.com/


The cheapest competitor product I found was at Pump-a-present.  They
have a globe device you can hook up to your household vacuum, and a
variety of hand pumps.
http://www.pumpapresent.com/


One interesting alternative stuffer can be found at Conwin - it's
called "The Insider", and it's designed for inflating smaller balloons
inside the larger balloon to be stuffed.
Conwin Online
http://www.conwinonline.com/shop/insider.asp

The insider is also available at other sites, including
BWI-Balloons
http://www.bwi-balloons.com/Graphics/equip_graphics/32569.html
http://www.bwi-balloons.com/Equipment/p_inflators.html


GENERAL BALLOON STUFFING ADVICE
Balloon HQ is an overall balloon business advice site, and they seem
to think that almost any machine will work just fine.  They also have
some interesting commentary about the entire balloon-related business.
Balloon HQ
http://www.balloonhq.com/faq/deco_delivery.html


I hope this information proves helpful for you - if not, please feel
free to ask for a clarification, and I'll be happy to try to help. 
Thanks!

Search Strategy - Google
gift in a balloon
gift inside a balloon
"gift in a balloon"
"Classy Wrap Machine"
"Balloon Stuffing"

---

Clarification of Answer by asking-ga on 24 Jul 2003 14:56 PDT

Latexbuster -
Just a quick note to say how glad I am that you were pleased with your
answer, and to say 'Thank You!' for your generous tip!  I really
enjoyed working on your question!

Asking-ga

Excellent answer! I was not expecting that so much detail could be
located.  Thank you.