enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Projectmonday
I mentioned early in the fall that I bought a gocco printing machine from Paper Source when they sold their inventory of used machines. It was a find. There are not too many left to buy in the US. (Rumor has it some are still being made in Japan and shipped here, but I am not sure of the best way to purchase one.)

The gocco sat in it's box, in a bag for many months until last Friday when I decided to make good on my new year's resolution and try it out. The machine is a simple screen-printing machine that burns a photocopied image onto a special screen with one-time use light bulbs. Gocco ink is then squeezed right onto the screen and then the image is transferred onto paper (in my case, chipboard), one at a time. You can watch a video of the process (it's a bit long, but certainly explains it) here.

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Surprise, surprise! It worked. And well! I had pretty low expectations given that the machine is old and the one demo I had seen was unsuccessful. But I was thrilled to find that it's really easy to use. I printed maps on to chipboard for a new mini book kit. Today I am going to get started on the book covers. 

Do you have resource for where to find gocco machines? Please share in the comments.

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21 responses to “gocco printing.”

  1. Vicki Avatar

    Elise,
    I’ve found you again. I got into a frenzy a couple of months ago and deleted all my blog subscriptions thinking I’d run into the ones I really liked anyway.
    For some reason, I hadn’t remembered yours or “run into” you until today when I was reading Kal’s blog and she mentioned you – I am so happy to have found you again.
    Hope the wedding plans are not making you too crazy.
    Love your blog,
    xoxo

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  2. Katie Avatar

    I love love love the US printed on chipboard – such a cool idea! Will you be selling any books with these prints?

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  3. Suzzi Avatar
    Suzzi

    Love it also.
    How about selling some without books (I want to add in scrapbooks on vacations. That would be awesome!)
    Happy New Year to all.
    BTW (my room is got yellow in it and it does make you happy when ever you enter (another one is organe and same results.)

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  4. Katherine M Avatar

    WOW! This is awesome! I am just buzzing with ideas for that chipboard! Trip albums, You are HERE albums, etc. Will you sell the pieces too? (fingers are crossed here!)
    Amazing that the process yields such great results!

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  5. Tina Avatar

    Although I do not have a good source for purchasing a machine, I do have a good supplier for screens, inks, and ink blocking (although I haven’t put in an order lately… hope she’s still in business). Also, I recommend using ink blocker, or even just Scotch foam tape, to surround your design on the screen. Even if you aren’t using several colors, it helps to concentrate the ink into the burned image– which means less ink required, and more ink for other projects.

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  6. Erica b. Avatar

    Wow, this is so neat. I saw a few on Ebay and someone on flickr was selling one for 200.00. I wish I would have snapped it up.

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  7. Elise Blaha Avatar

    sweet! whats the link? and thanks for the masking tip… 🙂

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  8. Elaine Avatar

    FANTASTIC! I love the maps! Can’t wait to see what the new kit is like!!!
    You go, gocco girl!

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  9. kim Avatar
    kim

    I really want one of these but I can’t find one for a reasonable price!
    I’m secretly hoping the maps go in a kit that will be awesome for me to use in my travel journal I’m making for my next trip!

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  10. kelly Avatar

    love the maps, will be needing one of those 🙂

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  11. Jennifer Avatar

    I bought one with grand ideas for wedding invites, etc. It’s still in the box. If anyone wants it, I’m willing to sell it! Better to have someone get some use from it than just sit in its box here.
    I did do some practicing so I don’t think there are any bulbs left. Maybe one screen. I can check.
    Cool map. Will check out the etsy shop later on. 🙂

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  12. Melissa Mann Avatar

    awesome! can’t wait to see what you come up with for a mini book kit!!

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  13. royela Avatar

    very cool!
    wonder if that transfer would work on clothing a la screenprinting?
    on the flip side – not to be a hater but that PS tutorial video was mildly painful to watch. it was nice to see the gocco in action but what was with the absent-minded professor routine that lady was giving. doesn’t instill a lot of confidence! you should do your own tutorial and post!

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  14. Abbie Avatar

    I found that you can usually find someone selling them on Ebay or Etsy… and used ones on Weddingbee.
    You can get different products that will let you print on textiles, too… to answer Royela’s question.
    This was one of my 2010 goals, too. I’ve had mine in its box for more than a year… too scared to screw up and run through my supplies!!

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  15. Alex Louisa Avatar

    Hi Elise! You’ll love your gocco 🙂
    If you don’t want to be limited to printing only on the size of card that fits in your machine, try and get your hands on one of the hand stamping tools (I can’t remember exactly what it’s called sorry!)
    It’s basically just a thick bit of foam with an adhesive surface that your screen sticks to, with a plastic handle on the back, so you can stamp away wherever you like. I’ve even gocco’d my living room wall, though I mostly use it to stamp designs onto wooden boards for my artwork.
    Oh, and the ink works really well with embossing powders too, since it’s slow drying, in case you’re into that.
    You might know all of this already, but I thought I’d let you know just in case 😉

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  16. Fanie Avatar

    Hello Elise,
    Funny you asked about Gocco ressources as I was reading your blog, I thought “Does she knows about the Save Gocco website?”
    So here’s a link to it’s ressource page:
    http://www.savegocco.com/gocco-resources/
    Hope this is some help. 🙂
    P.S. I ordered my Gocco from the Northwood Studios awhile ago.

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  17. Alexa Avatar

    i’d really love a gocco, but they are so pricey! i am excited to see your new kit!

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  18. Danielle Vincent Avatar
    Danielle Vincent

    Jennifer,
    Please let me know how much you would like for this? Thanks!
    -Danielle Vincent
    daniellevincent5@gmail.com

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  19. christina Avatar

    This is waaaay cool!

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  20. Tina Avatar

    I just contacted her. She’s all sold out. Guess it might be ebay for me, now. 😦

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