Dizzy Duck Designs buys Mimaki UCJV 300-160 Plus from CMYUK
Dizzy Duck Designs has installed a Mimaki UCJV300–160 UV printer and Easymount laminator from CMYUK. The new equipment was purchased to handle current demand and factor in future company growth.
Dizzy Duck Designs was co-founded by husband-and-wife team Sean and Marie Reddaway. The concept for the company started back in 2014 with Marie designing and laser cutting decorating stencils in the basement of their house to sell on eBay.
Fast forward 6 years, the aforementioned part-time activity has grown and evolved into a flourishing 24/7 online company specialising in the design and printing of window decals. Initially this was very much a seasonal offering selling white Christmas decals, and then expanding into white spring and Easter products.
Mimaki success
Dizzy Duck Designs now has three Mimaki printers in-house: UCJV150 -107 and 2 x UCJV300-160 UV print and cut machines. This technology has been a vital component of the company’s success.
“The reason we went for Mimaki technology is because it gives us the most cost and time efficient means of printing white,” says Sean.
As the company’s white decal products have grown in popularity, it has added colour products to its seasonal ranges and launched a new coloured autumn collection where the Mimaki’s white ink capability has demonstrated its value.
“To get the best quality decals for windows, we print three layers – 2 coloured that are separated by a middle white. This way the colour is really high-definition on both sides of the window. Many of our competitors just print a single layer, and while they say it’s visible from both sides, one side will be quite translucent. These don’t have anywhere near the level of quality that we produce. The Mimaki gives us the ability to print up to five ink layers and then cut as an all-in-one execution, which is a significant time saving for our print to order system,” says Sean.
The CMYUK factor
The company first approached CMYUK in 2017 because it had bought a pre-owned Mimaki UCJV300 – 160 from a third party.
“CMYUK has always been so helpful to us,” says Sean. “We came to them wet behind the ears with a Mimaki printer that we’d purchased from elsewhere that really wasn’t working at all. We bought a second Mimaki printer from CMYUK but as part of the deal they fixed the first printer for us. They really pulled out all the stops. We’ve always been really impressed with the quality of CMYUK’s customer service before, during, and after buying our equipment, that’s why we’ve come back again for a third machine.”
The latest Mimaki UCJV300 – 160 was purchased with an Easymount laminator and reflects the company’s growth and future ambition. It has moved into a larger production facility to cope with anticipated orders.
“We've got quite a smooth production facility now. We print to order which means we don’t hold stock. We don’t need racks or shelves and we don't have to run flash sales to get rid of slow-moving products. These are issues that we just don’t have,” says Sean.
The company has expanded its product portfolio to offer window privacy films and self-adhesive tile stickers – both products evolving from the company’s decorative stencil lines.
Says Sean: “We purposefully called the business Dizzy Duck Designs because we knew we weren't going to limit the growth of the company. We knew that there was going to be more products that we wanted to introduce. Right from the very beginning, keeping the lid off potential growth was important to us. Expansion and diversification were always going to be part of the business plan.”