20 favourite industry quotes for the Diwali season - The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column

1. "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a printer. I recall sitting with the workers in the staff canteen and eating from their dabbas." - 24 year old entrepreneur of a fifth-generation print firm

2. "I had the craziest dream last night. I was dancing in the halls of Drupa." - With Drupa 2020 round the corner; this could be many people's dreams

3. "What came first, dot or dot gain?" - Quiz question at a recent student event in Navi Mumbai

4. "People are always asking me if I know, what next …" - CEO of a packaging firm in Daman

5. "I always believed it was the customers you don't choose that makes you who you are." - Pre-media head

6. "In the good old days, jobs knocked on the door, and most of the times, we didn't open the door. That's how busy we were. Now it's the other way round." - Book printer in Ahmedabad

7. "Companies trust us with their secrets. That is the one reason why we are rated so highly in our industry." - Green auditor

8. "The industry is full of complainers. But all of us know, our industry marches ahead due to know-how and not complaints." - Association president

9. "I am not an innovator. Oh yes, I have always wondered why no-one did it before." - Award-winning creator

10. "When you sell someone a machine, you've got to trust them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point?" - Industry veteran who has sold kit for five decades

11. "It’s not just the customer’s time that is a precious commodity, the printer’s time is equally precious." - Print manager in Faridabad

12. "I’ve been going to printers for 20 years and I’m still hearing proprietors saying ‘I’ve been up to my neck in getting estimates out all morning’. - ERP specialist from Indore

13.  "Now I want you to remember that no ever won an Award by not participating. And some companies win the awards because many don't have the confidence to participate" - PW UK editor

14.  "During an AGM of a packaging association, attendees were asked to raise their hands if, were they to find an alternative to plastic or found solutions to the issues some plastics cause, they would be prepared to share the know-how for the greater good. Only 30% of the audience voted in favour of sharing knowledge." - WhatPackaging? journalist

15. "Kaam ya toh shauk se, ya khauf se. Shauk (hobby) can help you arrange your bread and butter, but not more than that. I have khauf (fear) that I don’t want to go back to my earlier situation." - A print business owner in Najibabad

16. "The cover page is probably one of the best of human inventions." - Indian publisher

17. "I tell my team that acche din ayenge. Burn slow but keep your axes sharpened in this slow period. We will chop when time is right." - A packaging major in Hyderabad

18. "All plastic is not evil. Each packaging segment, be it, cardboard, glass, metal, is targetting the other segment. We must remember: Divided we fall" - Packaging Summit in Delhi

19. "I invest 25% of my time and 25% of my money in R&D. Even this is too little, I think." - Innovator in Kolkata

20. "Man and machine complement each other. But I strongly believe that our industry should invest in man - and woman - to grow." - Surat-based print and packaging CEO