Wedding Blog

We all scream for… GOCCO!

{image from www.savegocco.com}

Since there have been so many discussion board posts on Gocco, I thought I’d share my journey to acquiring one. Before deciding to buy one, I researched for weeks and found great Gocco resources.

I am a complete Gocco virgin. Since I saw my first Andy Warhol in grade school, I’ve always loved screen prints. Back then, I also recall a mini class on block printing. But I haven’t really done much printing since then!

I first discovered Gocco projects on Weddingbee (where else?!). Mrs. Lemon had these fantastic homemade DIY paper and tshirt projects. (Miss Penguin also does wonders on Gocco.) I kept wondering how she printed everything and mostly, what the heck is a Gocco?

One of the first places I looked was Paper Source, but I had heard that they were sold out and also very pricey. But I did find this great video featuring my favorite DIY lady. She is hysterical! She kind of just talks to herself and she’s not perfect, so she fiddles with the machine and mutters random things just like I would if I were working on one of my obsessive projects. This is a very basic tutorial that helped me visualize all the items that come with a Gocco Kit and get an idea of size & scale for the various machines. I didn’t realize that you can’t reuse the bulbs after they’ve embedded an image or that you have to purchase multiple screens to create multiple images. Duh! Most of the Gocco inventory and supplies are not available right now at Paper Source, but they’re much cheaper online.

Other fun gocco sites:

• Save Gocco has lots of information on the history of gocco and a list of resources for where to buy supplies and take classes. It was mainly started when Riso, Gocco’s parent company decided to discontinue production of Gocco machines.

• The Official Product Site has dealer locations and product info, but most of the places on their list do not carry actual Gocco machines (but most have supplies)

Gocco inspiration:
Here is some great wedding invite inspiration. Although, I have a Gocco machine, I have no intention of printing my wedding invitations! Horrid, I know. I just can’t handle the pressure. Mr. C and I would probably end up throwing the machine and inks at each other! But, I have a great appreciation for these couples and designers who’ve created the most beautiful paper suites through Gocco.

• A local brooklyn bride created these beauties. So creative! I love the color combinations
• Another indiebride posted these. Definitely a labor of love. They are so textured and really set the tone of the wedding
• One of my favorite etsy vendors, Heather Jeany, who I’ve posted about before
• Go to Flickr and search “Gocco” and you’ll find such amazing things that people have created. It’s mind boggling. I especially like this multicolored print. You’d think it was hand colored!

If you want to buy one, the only place you can probably get your hands on a brand new one at a reasonable price is from eBay. I ordered mine from seller, PrintAddictJapan, and it arrived in three days! I ordered my Gocco as well as a few supplies and the seller packaged everything in one shipment and gave me an exact cost for shipping based on weight.

This is what my package looked like when it arrived…

My brand spankin’ new PG-5

All the extra inks, screens, and bulbs I ordered fit into the main box.

It’s really bad, but I haven’t found the time to use it. I was also one of those kids who would save stationery and pens/pencils because they were “too good” to use… so I’m having that same problem with Gocco… do I really want to use two bulbs and a screen for that? Naaah…

I’m not sure if this exists, but maybe we should start Gocco meetups in New York (or any other local group of bees) and have screenprinting parties (I was quite envious of Mrs. Lemon and Miss Penguin’s!) So the pros can teach the newbies the wonders of Gocco. Plus, it’d be a reason for me to actually put my machine to good use!