You Can Do It, Gocco Can Help!
July 9th, 2008 @ 4:50 pm by Mrs. Cookie
I am one of those people that watch movies and then immediately turns to the DVD extras in order to reveal the movie magic. And after my post on Monday about our invites, I got a lot of questions about Gocco printing. Although there isn’t an exact science to the Gocco, and I am no means an expert, I thought I would share a little advice and some of the tricks I have up my sleeve.
1. What Gocco model should I buy?
There are several different models available for purchase, but most commonly PG 5, PG 10, PG 11 and the PG6 Large Machine. I recommend going to Northwood Studios FAQ about the Gocco models to decide which one is right for you. I choose the PG 11 because of the clip-in registration plate and movable printing pad from Northwood Studio. These capabilities were a God send and made printing and aligning perfect. Plus, I bought the full kit with inks, bulbs, screens, user instructional manual, basic gocco instructional CD-ROM, blue filter, RISO pen, and batteries (AAs), RISO screen cleaner (15 ml), illustration booklet, and Advanced Gocco Technique DVD for a little over $300 with shipping.
To give you a visual idea of why I love my PG 11, here is a photo of my registration plate. In order to save screens, I burned the two bird images on the same screen, blocked off the one I wasn’t using with paper, and aligned the other image using the registration plate. These are my Thank You Card Envelopes, which I will reveal later.
2. Is the Gocco economical?
I think you have to evaluate your individual situation. This was a question that was hard for me to answer at first, but with a little research I found the perfect solution. I wanted to customize all of our wedding stationery; therefore, that meant either working with stationery designer, printer, or Gocco. Looking at our budget, my need for a personal touch, and price comparisons, the price of the Gocco (including the purchase of the machine) was a lot cheaper. That being said I am printing a ton of projects: 75 Save-the Dates, 100 Invites, 100 RSVP, 100 Directions Card, 100 Envelopes, 85 Thank You Cards, 85 Thank You Card Envelopes, 75-100 Escort Cards, 12 Table Numbers, 75-100 Programs and more that I haven’t thought of yet. To be honest, if you are only printing your invites I don’t know if the Gocco is right for you, but if you are going to print a lot of projects I say DO-IT!
3. What is the Blue Filter?
Repeat after me with your right hand raised, “I will always use the blue filter.” Why am I so adamant about using the blue filter? Because this Cookie didn’t use the blue filter and burned a big old ugly mess onto her first ever screen (i.e. the print was scorched onto the master.) The blue filter prevents excess toner from burning onto the master to give you a sharper image. I recommend buying the Risco brand because it conveniently fits behind the master in the Gocco.
4. But Miss Cookie, I’ve been really good about using my blue filter but my prints are patchy?
I have a few suggestions:
1. Use a good laser printer and print multiple copies. Laser printers get a good clean line and distributes the carbon content the best. (If you have successfully used a ink jet, please share). Because our home and my work (small nonprofit) doesn’t have a laser printer, I use Mr. Cookie’s work printer. I also have him make three copies, and I carefully pick which one has the best toner coverage.
2. Use a Vector based program like Illustrator. Although I used Photoshop to print out the mountain in our invite — which turned-out fine — you can kinda see the pixels in the print even though I had the dpi set to 300. Vector graphics print clean and smoother and burn very well!
3. I use and waste a lot of ink. Even though you only really need a smooth 1/8″ inch layer of ink, I ink my babies-up. Why do I do this? Because on some screens, especially when I print multiple colors very close together, the ink will inevitably hop over to the other color when I lift the cellophane to re-ink. Then I have to delicately wipe the red out of the brown. PAIN IN THE ASS! For my mountains I used my finger (really you should use a little squidgy) to get an even coverage on the plate. Inevitably in every project, you will have some prints that come out like this…
… patchy, bad and sprinkled with a few curse words after you lift up the Gocco. Plan that out of every 100 prints about 10 will be wasted.
5. Miss Cookie I recently bought my Gocco but don’t have the courage to use it?
Just do it! I had a scenic painting professor whose anecdote was, “The first line will always be wrong so just get it over with.” Translation: Stop worrying about messing-up because you will. Practice makes perfect. With each project your Gocco skills will get better and better, but they won’t until you do your first project.
That’s all I’ve got for now. For more Gocco tips, I would highly recommend Mrs. Penguin’s Q and A and browse Weddingbee Wiki on Gocco. If you have any Gocco question, please comment below and I will be happy to help the best this little cookie can!
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21 Responses to “You Can Do It, Gocco Can Help!”
I have just started looking into gocco and I am wondering if they actually sell these in stores anymore? I have heard rumors you can only get the printers on ebay or etsy, is this true? Can anyone clue me in on the best places to look for goccos? Thanks!
I use my inkjet all the time for Gocco… in fact, for my wedding invites, I tried using a laser master so they would look extra nice, and they actually looked better and crisper with the inkjet printed master. I know it makes a difference what brand inkjet you use — HP inks have carbon, whereas Epson does not. I use an HP PSC 2110 all-in-one, if that makes a difference, but my masters come out great, and I love that my inkjet is right at home so I can print right here, as opposed to having to remember to print anything out in the office. 
Great tips Cookie! I have had great luck with my HP inkjet printer, but I know HP is one of the few that works well. I make sure I’m printing in just black ink, and I actually get better screens that way without the blue filter. Just my two cents (I’ve never tried a laser printer though)!
i’ve been trying to get my hands on a gocco for a while now. hopefully i can find one that’s affordable!
I purchased my PG11 and a ton of supplies from Northwood also. I just tried out my gocco for the first time last week for my invites and they turned out great! I embossed them at the same time and I *love* the look.
Some other tips:
- Small fonts under 12 gave me huge grief. I had tons of prints where the small letters were patchy. I was constantly trying to re-ink the screen to get a cleaner print.
- I also ran into the same problem where when I lifted the screens to re-ink, the ink would drag into a different colored area and mix! I found that Q-tips work really well for that problem. And always lift straight back, not sideways.
- For those looking for the machine and supplies in SF, http://www.archsupplies.com in SF carries it all. Thank goodness too… I didn’t have time to wait for more bulbs to come in the mail. Make sure you have plenty of spares as I wasted 4 bulbs the first time I went to make a screen.
- Re-use your ink! I made four screens of prints without moving the ink from old screen to new screen. I had totally read this tip before, but didn’t remember it until I was down to my last squeeze of ink from the tube. I now store the leftover ink in zip lock bags.
they sell the gocco at Paper Source (only online, not in the stores). They don’t have many ink colors though, but there is another site, printaddict.net that has every color ever imagined! I bought my gocco from Paper Source knowing it would come with all of the pieces and in working order. My tips: when you buy it, order a bunch of extra bulbs and screens. I went through my first two screens (both successful!) in less than an hour, and then had to wait days to get more in the mail! Oh, and there is this website… the name escapes me… it is a company in australia, that gives a super detailed .pdf how-to! It saved my life, especially since the how-to video it comes with is in Japanese!
another tip: Don’t Gocco non metallic inks on black or navy blue paper… it doesn’t show up. Thanks for your Gocco blog! I love hearing about Gocco! I also have a PG-11!
Hm, I’ve never tried my inkjet prints straight-up, had no idea that my HP actually might work! But you can run the prints through a photocopier and use the copies (with a blue screen, but of course); photocopies definitely have the carbon that you need to burn the screen.
@soontobeewed: Here’s a post I wrote a few months back on places to purchase: http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/12/27/gocco-lost-gocco-found/
I just got my gocco. I ordered it online through Paper Source and I’m excited to try it. I plan on doing the escort cards, thank you cards, and ehearsal dinner invites.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed it works out great!
i am constantly amazed at how great these gocco prints are turning out! i am really scared to get one myself, but i am thinking it is a lot more economical since i’m estimating 200+ invites. i was wondering how people go about finding the clip arts/fonts to use so perfectly? are there specific sites or key words i don’t know about? or are people just super illustrator savvy?
@soontobeewed: Go to http://www.savegocco.com and there is a whole list of online retailers!
@Julieulie: @Miss Tiramisu: I will have to try my HP ink jet out!
@Jennie: All of my fonts can from my work as a graphic designer.
There are a lot of Free Font sites out there, but be careful they are loaded with viruses. I have a slight obsession with computer typography and one of my favorite font designer is Chank. Go to their website http://www.chank.com. Right now they are having a font sale, but he also has a ton of great free fonts to download for PC or MAC! Also, I would recommend http://www.myfonts.com or http://www.fonts.com.
OK, so I just discovered the Gocco yesterday and now I am obsessed with it and convincing myself to just take the plunge and buy one.
Here’s my question. I have read lots over the last couple of days. And learned that you can make up to 60 impressions off of one screen print…
Do you have to do them all at that time? Can I do 30 placecards one night and 30 the next or do you need to go straight through?
Any other factoids I should know?
Thanks so much for feeding my new obsession!
I just want to say BRAVO! on such beautiful invites Miss Cookie! I’m jealous and only hope that mine will be just as impressive. Some questions: I noticed on your RSVP and inner envelope you have the birdies facing one way and on your other cards they are going the other way–How did you do that? Also, what are the dimentions for your informational card and RSVP?
@Jeannine: I think that you are referring to 60 impressions before you have to re-ink, correct?
You don’t necessarily have to do them all at one time, but you can’t let the ink dry into the screen. I put all of my masters into Ziploc bags after use with the ink still on it. I have waited a day and then reused the screen, but it takes a few presses on scrap paper before it presses correctly. However, I don’t recommend this method.
I have just learned from the bee boards that you can store the masters in the fridge overnight. Wait for the ink to soften, and then reuse them. I haven’t tried this method, but will on my next project.
I have never tried wiping all the ink off the screen, storing it, and then reinking with another color. First, wiping all the ink off is a major pain! For a test, I tried to on a dried screen, and made a big old fat mess. Has anyone successful reinked screens with another color?
@Liesal: I realized this after I posted, and was wondering if someone would see the difference. Actually, that envelope is left-over from my STD, when I printed the birds on the opposite side. A reader reminded me that the right side is technically for post office use, so I switched the birds to the left side for the invites. I used the leftover envelopes for people who I was hand delivering to. To flip the birds 180 degrees I used Illustrator.
The informational card is: 7.25” w x 5.125” h and the reply is slightly smaller 6.25”w x 4.125” h.
Perhaps I will buy one after all:)
I absolutely love your invitations - especially the aqua colored paper/ink. Would you mind telling me which gocco ink you’re using? At first I thought it might be “metallic aqua,” but I can’t quite tell for sure and it’s driving me crazy. Whatever it is - I love it!!!
Also, would you mind sharing where you bought the aqua paper? It looks a bit like paper-source’s “pool” but computer screens can be deceiving. I’ve been hunting high and low for some aqua paper that isn’t too teal-ish and yours looks like exactly what I’m looking for.
Thanks a bunch! Your invitations have single-handedly decided my color scheme and inspired me to buy a gocco. Now if I could only find some vectors…
@Norah: I am using the Karacha (Dark Brown) ink that I bought from Judy at Northwood Studios http://northwoodstudios.tripod.com/japanese_ink.html.
The paper is “Marine” by Art Co. and I bought it from Xpedx Paper http://www.xpedxstores.com/Default.aspx store in Denver.
Thanks so much Miss Cookie! I’ll definitely be looking into the paper because it’s gorgeous… as far as your ink goes - I really should have put this message on your earlier STD post. I was actually wondering what the blue-ish ink was that you used on the white/brown paper in your STDs. Was it s5730 Aqua Marine or s5781 Turquoise? Or maybe something else?
Thanks so much! My gocco arrived yesterday and I can’t wait to start using it once I get some ink choices down.
@Norah: For the STD’s, I actually used both. The Aqua Marine for the birds/branches and the Turquoise for the save the date wording.
Word of advice: Light ink on dark paper kinda works, kinda doesn’t on the gocco.
Happy goccoing!
Mrs. Cookie, Denver
Age and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial Analyst
Engagement Date: September 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: May 8, 2008
Venue: Ten Mile Station
About Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.
I enjoyed reading about this… I have yet to try it. Thanks.