Archive for October, 2009
what is gocco?
October 1st, 2009
Gocco is an unfamiliar word–and process–to many people. Read on to learn what it’s all about!
Hi, I’m Ellie and I write a design blog called Mint. I’ve also just started up a stationery shop, called Hello Tenfold. PJ asked me here today to talk about screenprinting & the gocco—one of my favorite topics! I bought my gocco less than a year ago, when I was planning my wedding. I wanted to be able to print my own invitations to save a bit of money, and I loved the look of screenprinting. I had some screenprinting experience, but I didn’t have access to the right facilities or much space, so the gocco was the perfect option.
So what the heck is a gocco? It’s a small, Japanese screen printing machine that was first made in the 70s. Today, it is no longer in production but has experienced a surge in popularity and hopefully, maybe, fingers crossed, someone will start production again! There are enough “leftover” supplies in circulation that it’s not hard to buy inks, screens, bulbs, and goccos, but it is pricey. The most wonderful part about the gocco is that unlike other screenprinting methods, it does not require a darkroom to make your screens.
A quick run-down of the process goes something like this: You make a black and white photocopy of the image you want to print. Then, you place the image in your gocco, and insert a fresh screen and two little lightbulbs. When you press down on the machine, the lightbulbs flash and the image from your photocopy is burned onto the screen. When you print, ink is pushed through the screen in the areas that were black on your photocopy. It’s wonderful for making small (a few hundred or less) copies of stationery or art prints, and you can even print on fabric. You can print multiple colors on one screen (depending on your design) and there are different sizes. The most common size prints about 3.5 x 5″.
That covers the basics, but if you’d like more info on the gocco, you can check out my Gocco FAQs or visit http://savegocco.com.
(images via Ellie’s Flickr stream)
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