More Gocco
December 13, 2007

I decided to try and make our personal holiday cards with the Gocco this year. They turned out okay...I learn more each time I use this machine and definitely would have done a few things differently. My designs always seem to go very close to the edge (I just like things like that), but these cards are slightly larger than my Gocco printing surface so the design doesn't get burned in well at the edges and that causes problems.

From now on I will know that I just can't do that on every side - one or two sides would be okay, or I could use smaller cards. Anyway, I'm still so happy with how quick and easy the Gocco is. I have an idea for gifts involving the Gocco and just ordered a bunch of recycled paper & envelopes from here.

Somehow I think I'll get that project done plus the rest of my Christmas shopping all while potentially having a ripped apart house all next week. We might have our floors put in before Christmas because it's either now, or in May. Aaahhh! We're crazy, I know.

Posted by raya 9:39 AM 2 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Gocco, She's Artsy, She's Crafty

Gocco Holiday
November 29, 2007

Well, I finally came up with a design and printed cards for our pink penny clients. I really wanted to create a card that kept with our branding and was holiday, but also representative of us.

Inspired by our home page, I used the design element in our logo to create a snowflake. I started with some really elaborate snowflake patterns, but it was getting to complicated so in the end I decided simple was better. I think people will get it - yes?

Here's my original Photoshop design:

Then, in order to print with the Gocco in two different colors I had to create "plates" from which to create my light pink and dark pink screens.

I did this by separating the layers into two different files, converting to gray scale and using Levels to get good contrast. I don't have a laser printer so I printed these out and made photocopies to use with the Gocco.

This was my second time using the Gocco and here are a few things I learned:

- Full bleeds (as the dots are designed) are pretty hard to do, at least with my PG-11. These cards were a bit bigger than my Gocco print surface so when I tried to make a screen of the dots it did not expose correctly near one edge.
Solution: Print the dots on the cards first with my ink jet printer, then Gocco over that. Not ideal, but it was the best thing I could think of without sacrificing my design.

- Trying to print anything close to the edge is not a good idea unless your card is very small. I had the same problem with the snowflakes - the small ones up top didn't burn perfectly on my Gocco screen so the print kind of fades up there.
Solution: Use cards that fit on the print surface well so there is even pressure when you expose your screen. Or create a design that fits well within the "safe" area to create a clean screen to print from.

So Gocco is just fun, I've decided. Since I have two businesses (pink penny and rayaphotography) my project this week is to design one for my photography business and print those. I am so excited about my client gifts: it is probably my favorite part about owning a business and this year I got on top of it early. To personalize it more with a hand made card pretty much makes me giddy. Paper, ink, packaging - these are the things that excite me ; )

Posted by raya 8:51 AM 6 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Gocco, She's Artsy

First Gocco Print Run
November 19, 2007

I think it was a success. After watching a super cool instructional video from what I'm guessing was the early 80's and reading my instructions over a few times, it actually was pretty easy. I was just doing something simple, but the whole process from making my master to printing was about 30 minutes.


With the amount of ink I put on my screen I probably could have made 100 prints, but I stopped at 25 because I really don't know what I'll do with these. They are on postcard sized cards - maybe just write notes on them or give them away. In the future I'll have to figure out how to use less ink, or save the leftover for future use. One person on flickr bought small glass jars to store unused ink in, which seems like a smart idea. I know you can also save the screens, but cleaning it seemed daunting..so I tossed it. I can always make a new one if I want.

So here it is - this is the chair I photographed in Yosemite. I made a path in Photoshop to extract it, then adjusted Levels and Curves to make it high contrast. Because I don't have a laser printer at home I made a few copies at Kinko's to make my master from.

I'm pretty excited to do my holiday cards now. I want to try doing more than one color using multiple screens. I'll let you know what I come up with : )

Posted by raya 9:35 AM 9 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Gocco, She's Artsy

Holiday Gocco
November 17, 2007

My first inspiration for getting a Gocco printing press was to make cards, specifically holiday cards for my clients (and maybe friends too if all goes well).

I've been racking my brain for an awesome idea, but haven't come up with something brilliant yet. Nevermind that I haven't even opened my Gocco to see if I can actually do it. That would probably be the first logical step to take : )

Anyway, I jumped on flickr today to see what others are doing and are a few of my favorites:


Things are better with a Parrot especially caught my eye (a few of these are hers). She has an Etsy shop and all her Gocco prints are lovely. Makes me think I should just order from her instead of trying to make my own. We'll see how it goes first...

Posted by raya 12:55 PM 3 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Gocco, She's Artsy

Gocco on Flickr
September 4, 2007

I have a new obsession: Gocco. I didn't really know what it was until I found this seller on Etsy and then did a search on flickr. Wow, there is so much out there. Here are some of my faves:


I have been really interested in print making lately and wanted to take a class at the junior college, but didn't feel like I could fit it in right now with everything else. But now I'm thinking this might be a good way to start experimenting at home because the machine itself is small. And because I'm me, I am already thinking about baby announcements in the Spring...how fun would it be to print my own?

I'm especially excited about the prospect of making prints out of my photos.Do any of you have one or have any experience? I'd love to hear.

Posted by raya 10:32 AM 9 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Gocco, She's Artsy