Mock-ups, packaging and “Limited Editions” created by Actualtype are realities thanks to the Valiani cutting plotter.
The choice of focusing on the reliability and versatility of the cutting plotter produced by Italian manufacturer Valiani, allowed the historic Milanese press centre to offer new quality standards to the major brands of food & beverage, luxury, fashion, timepieces and more.
Tradition, “know-how”, and constant innovation in providing visual communication services represent Actualtype’s expertise.
The Milanese company, founded in the late 1960s, has been able to stand out over time thanks to its technical and operational skills, gaining the trust of large publishers, advertising agencies, design studios, industrial designers, and packaging specialists.
In 2009 the company was taken over by the current shareholders, Enrico Mastrapasqua and Maurizio Villa, who have been working in the company for over 30 years and are custodians of the values that have re-launched the brand.
Over the years Actualtype has managed to maintain that artisanal tradition, handed down over time, merging it with new digital technologies capable of providing the highest quality final products.
The company has developed a complete production process that starts from the conception of the project, the choice of materials, up to the printing and packaging of the product.
The Actualtype team is responsible for having the ability and foresight to have always looked to digital printing, both in sheet and in large format, as innovative tools at the service of the final customer; essential for the creation of the most varied creative “on-demand” projects that would otherwise have remained «Dreams in the drawer».
We talk about the ability to offer mock-ups and first copies of exclusive packaging, «Limited Editions» and unique variants, where shapes, lettering and colours are perfectly combined. Products that, once printed, are cut and finished with accuracy by the Valiani cutting plotter, an indispensable tool to close the production circle and offer the customer the final product.
Actualtype partner Enrico Mastrapasqua, during the finishing of a detailed packaging mock-up, shows his robust and reliable Valiani Mat Pro cmc-iXV with satisfaction.
Enrico Mastrapasqua
Actualtype Partner
INTERVIEW WITH ACTUALTYPE PARTNER ENRICO MASTRAPASQUA
What values does Actualtype convey to the printing and packaging market today?
Actualtype was born as a company specializing in photo-titles, in the 1970s. It pioneered the use of strip film and lettering, becoming the point of reference for agencies and publishers. Since 1980 it has ridden the Linotype revolution by combining photocomposition with photo- titling, up to the universe of the transferable (Transfertech). All this has made it possible to become a point of reference for leading luxury and time brand pieces with the prototyping of dozens of packaging variants and hundreds of different dials. We started by creating select colours in the laboratory, applying transfer pads (also metallized original) on a perfume bottle or packaging, all strictly by hand. In the 1990s, with the advent of digital printing, thanks to toners and inkjet, we embarked on a path capable of enhancing and combining the diversity of methods to satisfy every need of our customers.
What technologies do you use for producing the first mock-up?
Internally we have an extremely versatile sheetfed press with a wide colour gamut. This machine is attached to a UV-LED plotter that allows us to create printing effects, even with metallic colours and thick paint, on plastic, paper or cardboard materials. The finishing (cutting, creasing, half cutting) is entrusted to our Valiani Mat Pro cmc i-XV, a solution that allows us to be immediately operational, in a small space and with great simplicity. The combination of software, crop mark reader and machine allows simple job management and incredible precision. When also considering the speed with which the machine is operating, it makes it one of our best investments.
What are the most interesting features of the Valiani finishing system? When did you realize that it would be the ideal solution for your prototyping and mock-ups business?
Our finishing specialist immediately appreciated the characteristics of the Valiani plotter at the Viscom Italia show in 2012, remaining positively impressed by both the operational capabilities of the plotter and the quality with which it is built. We were aware that a cutter would not solve our problems, that we would need a cutting plotter that would allow us to work the widest range of materials with different thicknesses and, no less important, with a sustainable economic investment. The Valiani plotter is produced by a small Italian company following the standards of large industry, taking care of both the quality of the product and its aesthetics.
What opportunities derive from the after-sales service offered directly by the manufacturer?
From the outset, we had a positive feeling about the Valiani company. It provided us with an excellent start-up service, making us operational in just a few days first days. After-sales assistance is exceptional and rapid. Furthermore, for any problem, Valiani staff are always available, and if there is a need, the machine can be monitored remotely. After two years of continuous use, Valiani Mat Pro cmc-iXV is fully functional, precisely as it was the first day it joined the company: we are extremely satisfied.
Valiani Mat Pro cmc-iXV during production of mock-up packaging