How To Use A Gocco Printer To Create Your Own Totally Unique Wedding Invitations - A 12-Step Guide

Originally sold as children's toys in Japan, Gocco printers are fantastic little machines for doing screen printing at home. Unfortunately, the manufacturer recently decided to stop making them, citing decline in sales due to home use of computers and printers.

But you can still get your hands on one of these (and there are many companies that still sell the supplies) at Ebay or at a few online stores. If you enjoy creative projects, I urge you to get one while you can. I have a B6 kit and can assure you that they are quite addictive and once you use it, you'll be hooked.

Don't be fooled by the "children's toy" statement above: you can create really sophisticated prints/invitations/greeting cards or print on anything you can think of (ceramics, T-shirts, curtains, etc.). For this tutorial though, we are creating wedding invitations.

The printer kits come with mesh screens, light bulbs, ink, ink blocking material, an artwork pen and a few clipart designs, so unless you want a different shade or kind of ink (metallic perhaps), you have everything you need.

1. Start by creating your design (on a computer, or use rubber stamps, or draw it by hand), exactly the way you want it to look (including the size - make sure it will fit on the registration plate and on the mesh screen). I've found that photos do not work all that well, but illustrations do. For design ideas, check out any paper/wedding invitation company's website. You can also find plenty of free fonts, clip art and other illustrations online.

2. Print out your design in black & white on a laser printer (very important, inkjet prints do not work, you need carbon toner), or if you don't have one, print it on your inkjet and then copy it on a regular black&white copy machine. If you created your design by hand, just make a copy of it on a copy machine.

3. Cut your paper down to size so that it fits on the registration plate.

4. Place the paper with your design on the registration plate, facing up.

4. Put the mesh screen in the top ("lid") of the Gocco printer.

5. Put 2 light bulbs into the holder and attach it to the top of the machine.

6. Press down the top of the machine. You'll hear a pop as the light bulbs go off, burning tiny holes in the mesh screen were your design is, so the ink can pass through once you start printing.

7. When you lift the lid, the paper with your design will be stuck to the mesh screen. Remove the screen with the design still stuck to it from the printer (this will make it much easier to apply ink in the right places).

8. Put the screen down on a solid surface with the transparent film part facing you. You'll see your paper design through the screen. Lift the transparent film and apply ink. You want to get quite a bit on there, so it looks gloppy, but if you are using several different colors, be careful so that they don't blend together. You can also use the ink blocking material that comes with the printer, just place it in between items right on the mesh screen.

9. Once you're done with your ink application, carefully roll the transparent film back down again.

10. Place the mesh screen in the lid of the printer once again, with the transparent film side facing away from you. Carefully peel off the paper with your original design.

11. Place a piece of cardstock (or whatever you are printing on) on the registration place, lower the lid and press down firmly. Lift the lid, and voila! There is your design, printed and ready.

If you don't like your ink choices, just wipe off the ink from the screen, apply a different shade, and try it again (tip: you can blend inks together to create totally unique shades). Once you're happy with it, keep printing. You can get quite a few prints out of a single ink application, so it's a really economical, and fast, way to print a lot of invitations in a relatively short time.

12. Lay out all your prints and let them dry. I like to leave them out for 24 hours to be on the safe side. If you don't want them lying all over your tables and counters, look for a card rack. They hold 20 prints, and I've seen them on sale on line for less than $5 each.

Another way of doing the invites is to print the text portion onto the invitations on your printer and then add a design to each with the Gocco. Definitely get extra material so you have room for mishaps and to play around. And have fun! I guarantee that once you've made your first invitation, you'll want to use your Gocco printer for everything!

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Comments

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 at 9:23 PM, by Delilah
Goccos are really cool, but beware, there are warnings about lead content and other cancer causing agents leaking from them Do your research if you have small children around or would be concerned about these sorts of things.

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