Punto Service unleashes its creative flair and grows in the cardboard sector with Integra 160
After amortizing the costs of the Valiani Optima, bought in 2015, the printer reaffirms their trust in the Italian manufacturer and invests in a new flatbed cutting machine, Valiani Integra, with the additional option of the router to delve into new markets and applications.
Punto Service was established in Potenza in 1998. As stated on its website, it is built on “Cristian Telesca’s love for communication and digital technology, the search for solutions to problems, the exaltation of beauty, unprejudiced creativity, and the philosophy of exceeding expectations.” These claims might seem a bit excessive or bold, but they are not. Those who know the entrepreneur are aware that they are not just dealing with any printer, but with a free thinker in the printing industry. For 25 years, he has successfully taken on the challenge of creating complex printed projects in one of Italy’s most beautiful yet least populated and economically developed regions.
Conceived as a street-level workshop open to both the public and professional clients and businesses, Punto Service has grown at a steady, albeit slow, pace. Over time, it has expanded its space to the current 180 square meters. The company has witnessed the inevitable disappearance of local print shops and has taken up their mantle by offering a wide range of services centered around digital technology. In 2008, the company introduced a Canon Arizona GT250 flatbed printer, which was later replaced with an Arizona 1260 featuring white ink. In 2015, a Valiani Optima cutting system was added, followed in subsequent years by an HP Latex printer, digital sheet-fed printing machines, direct-to-garment systems, and various finishing technologies.
To speed up cutting operations and enhance its range of shaped, die-cut, and milled products, Punto Service introduced a Valiani Integra 160 in February 2023. This addition represents a significant upgrade in their service offerings, allowing them to provide even more sophisticated solutions to their clients, loyal to the high-end results which distinguish Valiani brand. As it always happens for many customers, Valiani applied the trade-in technique, by withdrawing the old Optima and delivering the new Integra milling and cutting machine to Punto Service.
Diversified and self-sufficient to offer a thousand products and B2B and B2C services
Punto Service’s clientele is diverse, including creative agencies, tourism operators, agricultural businesses, store chains, individual retailers, associations, public entities, and many private citizens. Their product portfolio ranges from invitations for occasions and events to promotional gadgets, packaging, and decorative items like wallpapers, lamps, cardboard seating, and shelving. “We have experimented and touched upon a thousand sectors, introducing unprecedented products, services, and technologies. Despite this, we still feel in an exploratory phase,” explains Telesca. “Operating in a challenging area with no industry or tertiary sector and sluggish tourism, diversification is inevitable. That’s why we will remain a multi-service company.”
Although their website is set up for online sales, the company focuses on local service, ensuring timeliness and customization that web-to-print cannot offer. The five collaborators at Punto Service also use their know-how to test new materials, experiment, and create unique solutions.
Despite having solid skills and loyal customers, Punto Service still faces daily challenges in managing small batches and timely deliveries, and combating the scarcity of human resources willing to learn complex techniques. This shortage is something the Lucanian company has always compensated for with advanced production technologies, despite limited budgets and spaces.
The digital cutting revolution at Punto Service
Punto Service has always been strong in material experimentation. In 2008, the printer was a pioneer in using Re-board, which they cut manually to create displays and furniture. Subsequently, with the introduction of UV flatbed printing, the range of materials expanded significantly, bringing Punto Service closer to Valiani’s cutting and creasing technology. “In 2015, Optima was the perfect solution for our limited space, production volumes, and capital,” says Telesca. “It allowed us to shape almost any material and to perform professional-level cutting and creasing of taut cardboard.” Carton and packaging materials soon became the core of Punto Service’s offerings, introducing an increasing number of premium, mostly natural and ecological papers and cardboards. Simultaneously, direct printing on Dibond, Plexiglas, aluminum, and plastic materials for durable applications led to an increase in cutting volumes, necessitating the outsourcing of milling operations to a local sign maker. “Although still as precise and efficient as on its first day, our Optima had become a bottleneck,” Telesca explains. “We concluded that only by increasing volumes and halving production times and costs could we succeed.”
In the fall of 2022, seven years after their first cutting plotter, Punto Service began evaluating various European and Asian production alternatives, eventually deciding to trust Valiani again for a new flatbed cutting and milling system.
Cristian Telesca
CEO of Punto Service
“I wish I had another 50 years ahead to be swept up in the whirlwind of digital, but I am sure that with Valiani, we have room for growth and diversification”
Integra represents a leap in quality
Telesca and his team chose the Valiani Integra 160, measuring 1,230×1,620 mm, equipped with a multi-tool head capable of housing cutting and creasing tools, a 1 kW milling cutter, and a camera for mark recognition. Trust in Valiani was not only due to the mix of construction quality, compactness, performance, and price but also because of the excellent pre- and post-sales services guaranteed by the Italian manufacturer.
“We cannot afford mistakes, so we very carefully consider all our technology investments,” Telesca emphasizes. “Packaging and displays in corrugated, taut, and honeycomb cardboard are the future, but with Integra, we are finally confident that we can face any application and material challenge our customers present us.” With Valiani Integra 160, Punto Service can now create all kinds of three-dimensional lettering and logos based on multi-layer files, as well as engravings, bas-reliefs, and other previously impossible tasks. New to milling operations, the company takes advantage of Valiani’s remote consulting service and exploits the potential of Valiani’s V-Studio and M3 Art software applications.
Digital milling as an inspiration for a richer and more sustainable future
Although customers explicitly requesting eco-sustainable products are still a minority, Punto Service continues to offer them and encourages the ecological transition from PVC to paper-based materials. In addition to dozens of FSC and PEFC certified papers, the company customizes clothing made from organic cotton and offers wallpapers with water-based adhesives, as well as easily recyclable and disposable outdoor paper supports, including KATZ.
While Integra 160 represents the best compromise for Punto Service in terms of productivity, quality, size, and purchase price, the company already aims to acquire the Integra 250 model, with a 1,230×2,520 mm suction table. “I wish I had another 50 years ahead to be swept up in the whirlwind of digital,” concludes Telesca. “But I am sure that with Valiani, we have room for growth and diversification.”
Top and bottom right, cardboard pouches printed and die-cut with Valiani Integra.
