Gocc-what?
I am thinking about investing in a print gocco kit. I want to do small runs of prints and am tired of spending crazy amounts every time I want something printed. I love the idea of doing it all from home and getting less than perfect yet hand-done results. Of course, the big hunka-chunka Arts for Paper looks pretty tempting, as it does bigger than post-card sized prints but will set my little business back a cool 1k — so perhaps the PG5 is a better option as it’s the model for the “unsure” which I guess is me. Any purchasing tips from you seasoned Print Gocco-ers out there?
Thanks Carly! I really did suspect that the postcard size might start to get annoying, but there is such a huge jump in price… I was thinking I might get the smaller one and then upgrade one day if I use it enough to justify it. Are you in Australia or elsewhere? If you are in Australia – where abouts do you get your supplies?
I recently bought a Gocco and haven’t had as much time to experiment as I would like but they are great. I got mine on ebay – which of course can be a risk but I got the b5 and fabric attachment for all less than $100 (u.s.). Also, this months Ready Made has an article on the Gocco.
I recently bought a Gocco on ebay and love it! Obviously buying on ebay has its risks but I did the the small machine and fabric attachement for lessa than $100 (u.s.). I can’t wait to see what you create and please let us know if you find other great Gocco links.
Hi claire, I really like my print gocco, but there are a few things you will want to keep in mind (stuff I did not think about till after I had bought mine) #1 the screens are difficult to re-use. The outer edge of the screen is cardboard..so its hard to “wash it” and re-use it, but I have read about coating the cardboard with glue and allowing it to dry and therefor become waterproof (though I have not tried it, cause that sounds like a lot of work) If you buy the gocco screen cleaner it seems to work alright, but I still found the screens not printing as nicely as they had the first time. But, maybe that is just me? 🙂 Another thing is the price of the supplies. Just remember you need two bulbs for each screen, you cannot re-use the bulbs, and you have to buy gocco bulbs. (I have found them to be around $10 for a pack. I am not trying to discourage you in any way, i do love the ease and quick clean up of the gocco, not to mention the fact that the screen is burnt instantly..it just can get a little pricey and I have had trouble re-using screens. So instead I tend to try and make tons + tons of prints from the screen and then just throw it away :'(
Hi Claire
Get the GOCCO!
they are so much fun and the results will suprise you (good for first timers and experimenters). The postcard size is annoying however and I myself are considering the bigger but pricier version.
Love your site and I am constantly amazed at how much we have in common; little daughters, freelancing, screenprinting, the multitude of crafts, Martha kids (I thought i was the only crazy one out there!). The list is endless, you have inspired me, to get to it and believe in what fancies me and take my business further.
cheers
Carly
nest studio
go for it! I have wanted one of these for ages, but can’t find anywhere they sell these kits in the UK… does anyone know of anywhere?thanks
em xx
hi em — the people I am thinking about ordering through are Australian but deliver to the UK. I don’t know anything about them and therefore can’t actually recommend them, but one of their testimonials is from some happy customer in the UK. ANyways – they have a very detailed if slightly confusing web site athttp://www.nehoc.com.au/
Erica broke down and bought one. Check out her blog entry: http://www.ericamulherin.com/Currently/Archive/7_2004.html
Yes! Can’t wait to see what Erica comes up with. I think it was erica’s post that got me thinking, and also seeing Heidi’s lovely stuff on My Paper Crane and Brandy’s stuff at loosetooth. But I have to admit the absolute clincher was my new favourite site – the beautiful prints and illustrations of Mizna Wada. Swoon!
Why buy when you can make your own screen print. Its really simple. Ive used these things in high school and its load of fun.
All you need is to buy one flat wood frames to staple flat screens you can find in art stores. Staple the screen. Also use a flat board to act like a folder but instead it holds your cards or shirts in place. Its bound to last you a whole lot longer. We used a sticky back plastic, you can buy a roll of them at any art stores as well. trace a shape out of it with x-acto and stick it on the screen. Then start your screening process with acrylics or any type. Easy to clean by running water.
I dont think buying screenings are worth the money.
Anna of Absolutely Vile has one, too. Perhaps the entries on her post are hlepful for you: http://www.absolutely-vile.com/archives/000189.shtml
I was thinking about this gadget myself, because I’m a screenprinting idiot!
gocco printing is a joy. i love it. simple and space effective and far too much fun!I just started up a poetry clothing line: “puddles in my pocket” at http://www.puddlepress.com. 100% gocco-inspired madness. books too and oh so many infinite possibilities*
happy gocco dreaming!
i love the gocco!!
i’ve been doing silkscreening since high school and was desperate for a way to keep doing it w/o having to pay for more classes. i use both the gocco and a homemade screen to print athome now. i use the larger homemade screen to make monoprints to use as backgrounds and the smaller gooco machine to add an image over top. here is an example of a print i made using gocco:
http://www.21march.com/silkscreens.html
i love my gocco. i think the advantage of this over the sticky plastic & screen that shawn suggested is that you can do line art. i like to do cartoon-ish drawings and then print those. i’ve done t-shirts, postcards, cd’s, fabric…small size is a little annoying once in a while, but i really only want something larger about 1 in 20 times.
Carly here from nest studio in good old Adelaide.I got my GOCCO from our wonderful friends at Eckersleys, if they don’t have one in stock they told me they could order it in. However the prices online at NEHOC are much more competitive.
Make sure you show us how you go if you decide to get one.
cheers
carly
Since you’ve experienced larger-scale silkscreening, what appeal does the Gocco have? Is it just more tidy and compact? I’ve been itching to get into this stuff in order to print on fabric, but don’t know which route to take.
Hi kmel – love your site! I decided to get a gocco (just ordered one!) because of the ease of screen printing at home. The screen printing I do at school requires a dark room for coating screens as well as a light / ligthbox set up for exposing the image to the screen… I would still love to set up a small screen print studio and dark room in the future but for the short term this seems like a really great alternative. Hopefully I won’t be too disappointed.
yay you bought a gocco!! can we now expect to buy awesomely cute loobylu postcard sets?! 🙂
Hi Claire,I got my screenprinting kit from a sydney based company: http://www.nehoc.com.au/shop/index.html
my aunty used to work for learners world (educational toys for kids) and they sold gocco’s. we’re in adelaide but i know learner’s world is national, perhaps you could check them out for extra supplies