Wedding Blog

I printed up one part of my newly designed invitation (YES this is my third time redoing them) so I thought I’d take a moment and clear up a few big Gocco questions that people always have.

1. “The paper for my invitations are larger than the print area on my Gocco. Will I be able to print in a larger area than 3.5″x5″?
Yes. I think some people tend to forget that although your paper size may be large, your printing size may not be as large. And even if you’re printing a larger area than 3.5″ by 5″, often times the image can be broken up into pieces and seamlessly stamped together, if you are very meticulous with lining up images. Take for example my invitation, that is 5″x6″ (the cardstock I printed on was actually 5″x7″ but I’ll trim an inch off of one side):

The print area I used was larger than the Gocco screen, but I printed the invite in several layers. As you can see, the invitation itself takes up approx a 5″x6″ space, but because I printed it in 4 passes using 2 separate screens, I had no problems printing a larger space than the print Gocco screen provided. I forgot to take pictures of the screens themselves, but you can see that the first screen contains both of the “design” elements, and the second screen contains all of the “words”. Using ink blocking, you can keep the different color inks from spreading to other parts of the screen.

And here are the 4 separate passes I made:

2. “If you are printing several layers on top of each other, how do you keep everything lined up perfectly from print to print?”
This should also take care of the question: My design is really too large for the print screen. What do I do?

You’ll have to learn how to line things up perfectly. Many others offer their own tips on how to do this, using graph paper and all kinds of neato methods. Here’s my method, and it works perfectly fine. As you can see, I wanted my “06 07 08″ to line up exactly under the words “on saturday the seventh of june/two thousand and eight”:

So, it was imperative that everything lined up (at the very least, you’ll probably want your prints to line up straight with the edges of your paper, even if you aren’t looking to do layered printing, so this is also helpful). Here are the steps:

A) Make a master printout of your final design and cut it out to the exact positioning and size of your card stock. I usually just tape my master printout right onto a piece of cardstock. From this point of reference, this card will be called “BLACK AND WHITE MASTER”:

B) Trace your black and white master onto a piece of paper larger than your print, then cut a hole out in the center (this is so when you’re printing, your cardstock will stick to the sticky pad, and thus stay in place). The paper with the hole will now be called your “Guide”. Now, lightly tape your black and white master back onto your Guide, so that it’s aligned with the outline you just drew.

C) Return to your Gocco machine to burn your screen with your design(s). When burning your master screen, don’t worry about the placement of your designs. Fit as many designs onto your screen as you can to save screens and bulbs. After you’ve flashed your screen, immediately peel off the paper with the black carbon that has stuck to your screen BUT DO NOT INK UP YOUR SCREEN YET.)

Now, the tricky part. Lightly lay down your Black and White Master that’s still taped to your Guide down onto the sticky pad. With the screen still loaded into your Gocco Machine, close the Gocco almost all the way. Now, line up your burned screen (it should be very faint to see, but visible nonetheless) with your black and white master. Once your screen is lined up with your black and white master, squeeze the Gocco so that your Guide sticks to the sticky pad in the exact spot. Open your Gocco, and CAREFULLY un-tape your black and white master from the Guide, leaving that Guide stuck to the sticky pad. You’ll see here why the hole is necessary, otherwise, your print material will slide all over the paper. Confusing to read, I know, but once you get this, you’ll print layers like a pro.

Here you can see me lining up my first print and my third print. For continuity, use the same Guide throughout your whole project. You’ll obviously move it around on your pad (and perhaps cut your hole bigger) but using the same guide ensures you’re using the same form of lineup every time.

First print lineup

Third print lineup. You see how my hole got cut bigger?

E) With your Guide securely in place (I like to tape it down to make sure it’s extra secure) you can now ink up your screen and print. Your print should line up perfectly!

3. “I want to mix my own ink. Any tips?”
First of all, I’m VERY AGAINST mixing my own inks. This is largely due to the fact that I’m a novice in the world of Gocco/Gocco Ink. If the ink color is available that I want, I just buy it…at about $3 a tube, I feel like it saves you the hassle. Here are 3 sources I’ve used with great success (between the 3 of them they have all the inks that are available).

1. Northwood Studios
2. Print Addict
3. Marlene’s Craft and Design

The reasons are simple. If you mix inks without measuring how much you used of each individual color, you can never replicate that exact color. The worst case scenario is if you don’t mix enough ink for your project and have to mix new ink. You’ll get a “funky marbled” look on your print that you probably didn’t want. Also, because you want to avoid mixing inks, you mix WAY TOO MUCH ink than you need. It’s a waste.

But sometimes, the exact color you want, or shade you want is not available. In my case, the light grey I used to print my background text of “&” and “06 07 08″:

In these cases, my favorite “less mess” method of mixing is to squeeze the inks you want to mix into a bottom corner of a ziploc sandwich bag. knead with your hands until the ink is mixed. BE SURE TO MIX MORE INK THAN YOU NEED SO YOU DON’T RUN OUT. Finally, just snip off a small tip of the corner of the bag and you have a sort of “piping” device (like frosting a cake!):

Feel free to leave questions or your own tips in the comments!