Thursday, September 10, 2009

My Contribution to Gocco Tips

So, you've decided to use a Gocco.  You may not be as nervous as I was, but before I started using this magical Gocco machine, I read everything I could about Gocco in order to prepare myself.  After all, since Gocco products are no longer in production, you are dealing with a finite amount of supplies and you don't want to MESS UP (I'm kidding, it's totally okay to mess up--it's practically a rite of initiation in using the Gocco.  Also, there are DIY Gocco screen options so you don't have to worry about limited supplies--see below).

When using Gocco for the first time, you are probably going to encounter little issues that make you do this:

 


Anyway, so let's say you've read all the posts you can on using a Gocco.  Want more tips? Of course you do.  Here you go.  

1. Get more screens and bulbs than you think you need. They are expensive, but trust me there will be mess-ups, and there's nothing like being on a deadline and running out of essentials and not having time to order more. You will feel much more comfortable if you have extra screens and bulbs. I bought extra screens, bulbs and inks from Northwood Studios.


 


2. For solid objects in your images (as opposed to objects that are just outlined), like the heart between the two purple ducks in our save the dates, iron the photocopy between sheets of tracing paper in order to take off the excess carbon, or evenly distribute it, or something like that. We didn't do that the first time and the paper fibers from the solid object fused to the screen and the ink wouldn't come through onto the paper. So iron the photocopy image just to be safe.

3. For that day when you cannot find any more Gocco bulbs to be had because other DIY brides have selfishly hoarded them, please use this tutorial on the Unless Someone Likes You blog and keep it in a safe place. It's about how to keep using your Gocco even without the bulbs and screens. I haven't tried it yet but thank goodness this blogger had the creativity and dedication to come up with this.

Any useful Gocco tips out there?  Anybody having problems they need help on (for which other people can give advice because I've pretty much exhausted my Gocco knowledge)?

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