Nerdy Banana Adds Mimaki UJV100-160 to Further Extend Range of Applications for Unusual, Printed Gifts

Charlie Rodman (bottom Left) founder with Nerdy Banana Team

UV LED capabilities from CMYUK are added to the company’s dye sublimation production portfolio

CMYUK Shrewsbury: Nerdy Banana has purchased a Mimaki FX100-160 at CMYUK.

The company used Epson dye-sublimation printers for its production, but the introduction of Mimaki’s UV LED capability has allowed it to create a brand new inflatables brand called Air Bod just in time to celebrate the Christmas season.

“Sublimation is excellent but there are some things you can’t sublimate, which is why we approached CMYUK as it offers products across all ink technologies,” says Charlie Rodman, founder, Nerdy Banana.

Entrepreneurial flair
Nerdy Banana, the umbrella company of eight direct-to-consumer brands is called Nerdy Banana. Charlie started it in 2011, when he began making holiday T-shirts for his friends. The company employs 24 people and fulfills over 200,000 orders annually to more than 40 countries. Super Socks and Dogsy are among the brands.

This company does not just manage D-to-C brand names, its agency also helps startups and small businesses to make an online impression by providing web design and video content as well as paid SEO, PPC and brand development.

For its personalized gifts, it holds licenses from Warner Bros England as well as numerous clubs. In 2020 it began a relationship with Selfridges London, Birmingham, and Manchester plus sister brand, Arnott’s in Dublin, to install a physical Super Socks shop in-store where customers can design their own socks, which are printed and sublimated on heat presses while they wait.
“In Selfridges there were queues and people were waiting half an hour just to create this option. It was unbelievable. You see so many personalised gifts now that are so boring, but this is really different, presented in a creative and fun way,” says Charlie.

Mimaki’s prowess
Nerdy Banana approached CMYUK to find a solution printed for Air Bod, its brand of inflatables that includes dolls and pillows.

Charlie visited CMYUK’s demonstration and training facility in Shrewsbury where it print-tested the materials it had sourced for this brand.

“We came up to CMYUK where we printed our materials on the Mimaki. They were then taken away to be washed and brought back. We really put the printer through the mill, and it was all good,” says Charlie.

Mimaki UJV100-161 is a UV LED printer measuring 1.6m in width that can print at up to 1200dpi resolution. You can use it with a variety of materials, including PET film and tarpaulin. Two-layer printing allows for white ink to be used on transparent PET film. Clear ink can also be printed to create a topcoat varnish effect. Nerdy Banana opted for a 4-colour model only, as it prints to a white base material and so it didn’t require the white ink option or the clear ink either.

Future expansion
There are plans to launch new brands and expand the retail experience while you wait. In order to serve growing markets in Australia and the US, Charlie is currently setting up a Los Angeles warehousing/manufacturing plant. Says Charlie, “We send lots of products out to these places, and with the high cost of shipping, we’re just not going to be competitive enough unless we’re out there on the ground. We’re constantly adapting and want to keep innovating. It’s fun to give gifts. It’s nice to be able to give someone a laugh and a giggle.”