Gocco Fix from Paperday Studio

Guess what? Paperday Studio is ME. Besides blatantly promoting myself, I wanted to show what is in my opinion the best feature of Print Gocco: application variety. Besides paper, you can print on: napkins, wood, glassine, fabric, and.....Polaroids. Did I leave out anything? This run was upcycled from a stack of lemon film. I made lemonade, freshly squeezed with my Gocco.

Gocco/Yudu/Traditional screenprinting comparison article

What a gift! Naomi Duckworth of "Eleventy" has written a wonderfully thorough comparison article of Gocco, Yudu, and traditional silkscreening methods. In her words: "I'll start with some background about traditional screen printing, the Gocco, and the Yudu. Then I'll dive into a detailed explanation of how the methods differ, followed by a comparison chart summarizing the differences. I'll end with a final analysis of the pros and cons of each method, and recommendations for who might choose which one. " Holy crap, does she know that there's no grading on blog posts? If I were the teacher, I'd give this one an A+ for sure.

Side note: Eleventy also has a great Etsy shop. with some really neat-o stuff in it. Thanks for being a super-star, Naomi.

DYI: Masters from Cereal Boxes

Not only are these recycled and inexpensive, they're also cute too. Check out Amy from Craft Chi's tutorial about how she makes her own screens for her Gocco.  Looks like someone has a taste for the sugar cereals. Amy has her own thermal imager but you could buddy-up with a local tattoo artist and see if he (or she) wouldn't mind imaging your screen for a small fee.  Amy sells the screens in her etsy shop, alongside some darling printed tea towels and rubber stamps.  Amy also offers a screen-imaging service for just $2.00.  Looks like someone has a taste for the sugar cereals.  

Stencil Pro Tutorial

Has everyone seen Leslie Hammer's Stencil Pro tutorial linked on the savegocco.com website?  It's a great "gocco alternative" lesson on how to adapt Stencil Pro to P.G.  Leslie is an amazing graphic artist from Oak Park (just outside of Chicago) who specializes in custom wedding invites. She's busy with a etsy shop, a blog, a sister blog and a baby. Whoosh, got me tired just typing and linking all that.  Thanks to Leslie for her sharing the love. 

Gocco Daily Fix from elsie*cake

Gocco and Polaroid.  Together forever....on fabric.  Elsie*cake is the creator of this loveliness. These "swatches" are part of her new art journal kits.  If I already hadn't bought myself so many birthday presents, this kit would have definitely made the cut.  Guess what else?  She's also got a blog with lots of pretty things, inspiration and eye candy.  Charming.  

It's a Done Deal

I called to order the Photo EZ kit today.  I was concerned about what size to order.  The agent at circuit bridge was very helpful and explained that I could use either size kit with Gocco.  I decided to go with the larger one so I won't be limited by size later on.  I also had him throw in some stencil pro sheets for good measure.  Both are high resolution 200 mesh count--the same as Print Gocco.  I'll report back on how they both work when they arrive.  Wish me luck!

I'll be the Sucka Test Rat

I've decided to go ahead and order the starter kit for Photo EZ and see how it works with Gocco.  I'm not sure if I should order the mini or larger kit size.  I'm going to phone circuit bridge during business hours tomorrow and see if I can get some straight answers.  Has anyone tried this yet?  I'd love to get some early feedback.  

Do Yudu?

So do you?  There has been a lot of talk about the Yudu replacing Print Gocco.  I have not done a lot of research on the Yudu but it has come up in a few conversations I've had and been witness to.  Handmade Detroit did a great little tutorial vid. on it, if you're not familiar.

Someone left a comment about it in another post today so I thought now would be a good time to address it.  Honestly, I was not-so-secretly hoping Mr. Yudu would go ahead and send me a complimentary printer to test out beforehand but it has not happened yet so let's dive in.  The truth is, I think it looks like a fantastical contraption.  It will definitely have it's place in the indie arts/crafts world but I'm not sure its place is to take over where Gocco is leaving off.  There are certainly some advantages that Yudu has over print Gocco, the most obvious being that it is, well, currently being manufactured and distributed.  It also has a much bigger print area at 11X14".  The price seems fair at $279.99 when you consider the prices of large Goccos.  I would say the cost per print is similar to what we are seeing now with Gocco.  Roughly $10 per print once you have purchased the machine and inks.  You can re-use the screens but that is a little misleading because when you "reuse" them you have to use new emulsion sheets every time-so you lose your image.  With Gocco you can keep the imaged screens and print them again and again.  You could do that with Yudu, but each separate screen costs $27.99 plus the $9 emulsion.  The Yudu is not as quick as Gocco.  There is about an hour needed to wait for stuff to dry.  Those things being said, I think the Yudu is a great replacement for trickier drawing fluid/screen filler type silkscreening.  I want one, I really do.  But I also want my endless supply of screens and bulbs for Gocco.  What can I say I'm a Gen-X girl, I want it all.  

Gocco Alternative

This.....this might be good, folks.  Etsy seller CraftChi will take your emailed image (see specifics) and create this thermofax screen, all for as little as $15.   Get this, you even get a test print.  There's no risk!  No {too much toner, too little toner, bulbs didn't flash} frustrations.  Let's face it, it takes a little more planning and a little less spontaneity than dragging out the Gocco, but it is definitely something to consider.  If you are thinking about purchasing a thermofax machine, it would be an excellent test-purchase.  Visit Craft Chi's blog to see how she makes the screens.  

I won, I won. G.E. #5 bulbs (on Ebay)

Uh, no Katie.  The correct term is actually: "purchased."  

I'm taking one for the team here and trying out these old school G.E. #5 flash bulbs.   I won them on ebay today.  The box contains 12 and with shipping came to $15.00.  It's going to be a sad day if my screen gets ruined but I couldn't find anyone who had actually done this test yet.  I know it might not seem to make a lot of sense to try some old bulbs that are probably harder to come by than the Riso bulbs.  I was thinking that G.E. might find a way to resurrect these from the dead if there is enough interest.  New petition anyone? I'll let everyone know how it goes as soon as I try them.  

I apologize if I ever "give away" anyone's Gocco secrets.  I really think the more information we have to work with, the better the chance that a non-Riso supplier will come along.  

For an update on how these worked, see this post. 

 

Save Gocco Campaign Update

Ok, so....I'm sure if you care enough to read this blog you already know that Riso has said bye-bye to Gocco.  You may see elsewhere that Riso is continuing on with supplies for a few years but unfortunately, those few years have expired.  I had a chat with David Murphy, Riso's Vice President of Marketing last week via email.   He had this to say: "Riso empathizes with all of our loyal Gocco customers who have shown such passionate commitment to saving this fine product.  Unfortunately, we have discontinued production of the product and its supplies and there is no consideration or plan for selling its patent.  Thank you again for your interest and we wish you the best."  

Hold your horses.  There is still hope.  It has not been officially confirmed yet but I've heard through the grapevine that Guenther Paneka of patch workshop is working on making a reasonably priced bulb-free exposure unit for the Print Gocco.  He is also planning to produce frames which will fit Print Gocco and hold the thermofax screen mesh which can be bought by the roll.  Good news, but I'm still waiting for someone to say they can reproduce the bulbs and screens here in the good 'ole U.S. of A.  I'm no patent lawyer but if Gocco came out in the '70's the patent should have expired by now anyway.  Who's up for the challenge?     Thanks to Liz Plummer for the hot tip.