Print Gocco–Saved!
The Geekfools in my house are a crafty bunch, and a couple Christmases ago, I found what I thought would be very cool screen printing kit from Japan called Print Gocco. Silk screening, for those who have not tried it, is not terribly complicated, but getting started can involve some set up costs in equipment that the casual crafter may not be willing to spend. The Gocco kits seemed to have a devoted following, and was reasonably priced, so I took the plunge and was ready to put it under the tree.
The day after it arrived in the mail, I read online that the US distributor of Print Gocco kits was discontinuing the product. Screens and inks would be available for 3 years, so the website said, but from what I could see in the online forums of rabid Gocco devotees, I knew there would be hoarding of supplies. I ended up returning the kit rather than get involved in a bidding war with Gocco devotees over a dwindling supply of screens and ink.
And Gocco devotees are devoted. Within a week or two of the announcement that Gocco was going away, the website SaveGocco.com went up and a search began for a new US distributor of the product. SaveGocco.com announced success, and that certain a certain US retail chain will be carrying the Gocco printers this summer. The details are still being worked out, but I am sure that Gocco devotees are celebrating today.
And I might celebrate as well. When the new Gocco Print kits hit the shelves, I am going to get one for the Geekfools.
What is so appealing about this thing?
Here’s how it works: First, of course, you start with your design… you can draw it, make a collage, print it out, what have you. The size of the screens is 4″ x 6″, so it’s just right for cards and small pieces of artwork. You lay your design flat in the printer, and you place a screen over it, and put the Gocco device over the top. Two powerful flashbulbs (remember them from when Dad used to take pictures?) go off and the screen is exposed like a piece of film. You use your screen to make your prints. The beauty of the Gocco system is both it’s simplicity and how creative you can get with it with some advanced techniques. A typical use of a Gocco unit would be to print up your own custom party invitations or Christmas cards (without using that god-awful instantly recognizable “Word Art” crap). Other people get more creative and use multiple color screen designs and inks. The system is designed to print on paper or cardstock, cloth, wood, and three dimensional objects. Try that with your inkjet. After a while it seems like the making Gocco designs becomes and end in itself. Check out galleries of Gocco prints here.
Gocco was invented in the 70s in Japan and thrived in those pre-personal computer and inkjet days. The pullback from the US market is without question a sign that Gocco is facing competition for the home market, but the concept and design are simple, elegant and powerful enough that I believe that Gocco should be able to carve out a market even with computer printers in most homes.
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