The GOCCOclub
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GOCCOclub E-News

Issue 10, December 2000.  News & information for GOCCOclub members
Postal: PO Box 175, NARRABEEN  NSW  2101, Australia
E-mail: GOCCOclub@nehoc.com.au
Seasons Greetings
The GOCCOclub wishes all its Members, in Australia and around the world, a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas break and a prosperous New Year.
 
Welcome New Members
Welcome aboard to the 146 New Members registered between 1st Oct. & 24th Nov.
Australia - 51 (Internet/ E-mail 22)
International - 95 (Internet/ E-mail 94)
Christmas Printing Packs
Thank you to all the Members requesting Printing Packs and Christmas Artwork. The Printing Packs are still available - use the form in last issue (if you need a new form contact us).
 
This Issue
RISO Competition - Page 1
24th Annual ‘Card’ Competition is now open for entries. Entry is FREE and open for all RISO systems.
 
PG Ink for Scrap Booking - Page 1
If you are a scrap booker, we have for you the official RISO advice on the acid content of PG paper ink - results are neutral but . . .
 
Labelling your Prints - Page 2
A thread on the GOCCO eGroup site brought some interesting responses - what will you put on the Christmas Cards you print?
 
Your Questions - Page 2
The common question of Bubble/ink jet printers - it’s not the quality of the print but the carbon content of the ink!
Plus, printing onto gloss card stock - why some cards just won’t work.
 
Feature Article -
Colour Separating a Design
By Hand - Page 3
We’ll show you how to separate that design into multiple colours.
 
By Computer - Page 4
Using design programs you can create multiple layers and separate different layers with ease - we’ll tell you how.
 
Competition Entry Form
A copy of the Official 24th RISO International Handmade Printed Work Competition is linked for you - read how to submit your entries for FREE!

 

Turn your PRINT GOCCO Masters & Lamps back into $$

The 24th Annual RISO International Handmade Printed Works Competition (also know as the RISO `Card' Competition) is now open for entries.

24th RISO 'Card' Competition open for entries!
1 - Entry is FREE and open to all RISO customers
- PRINT GOCCO and Screen Printing

2 - Prizes are paid in PRINT GOCCO Coupons, so you get to choose your prize!!

3 - We pay the return postage for your entries

View last years winners - click here . .

Competition closes last mail 15th January 2001

Scrap booking with PRINT GOCCO Paper Inks

Thank you to all the GOCCOclub Members sending in their requests for information and details on PRINT GOCCO products. A question from Mrs J. Casey - ‘Can PRINT GOCCO inks be used for Scrap Booking?’

RISO Kagaku Corp. (Head Office) have advised details as follows:
"There was not shown strong acid or strong alkaline reaction but rather neutrality in chemical investigation by our R&D centre. We don’t think that there is a problem to use PG ink . . . .however there will be a slight change in image quality of paper and photographs got worse in a long period even if there is no chemical influence. Therefore, we are unable to guarantee 100% there is no deterioration in pictures by PG inks due to the components of water and oil for a long time. (e.g. a year or more)"

What do you think - does this answer the question? We want to hear from you - and have created a competition to reward Members who can tell us their results on this application.

GOCCO Supplies Packs to be won

Do you use PRINT GOCCO for Scrap Booking?? If you do, then help other GOCCOclub Members undersand this application - what does the GOCCO print and what results have you achieved?
Tell us about it and you will receive a GOCCOclub reward - All letters receive a reward - the first 5 GOCCOclub members to write/ e-mail and tell us their experience using GOCCO for scrap booking will win a Supplies Pack (paper or screen printing) values over $75.00
To win simply put down a few points and send them off today!

Page 2

Your Questions
Q - Bubble/ ink jet printers
My bubble jet printer is 720dpi, it cheaper to use than a photocopier - why can’t I use this for artwork?
Mr V. Behaid, NSW
A - It’s not the quality of the print that is the problem, but the actual ink used by the printer that stops bubble/ ink jet printers working with GOCCO - The ink is not carbon.
Here’s the official Epson advice - ‘the inks for an Epson Stylus Colour 640 are a mixture of alcohol & water. No carbon.’
Epson Australia Pty Ltd
There is only one known model of ink jet printer that does contain carbon in the ink. If you have a HP model you can check the suitability on the web - HP Material Safety Data Sheets – www.hp.com/go/msds
 
Q - Printing Gloss Card Stock
The GOCCO paper ink prints onto card very well but why can’t it print onto glossy paper? I like to print onto this type of surface for the shiny background - please help!
Mrs P. Thompson, WA
A - Gloss card is normally a combination of paper and a plastic coating. So you are actually printing onto a plastic surface (not what the paper inks are designed for). The ink can’t bond to the plastic, so when it dries, it just scratches off. Not all gloss papers have this effect - whenever in doubt test first.

We have finally found a way to cover two topics members have requested in the one segment. We are commonly asked what GOCCO discussions take place on the Internet (by members without a computer & Internet access), and also what is commonly printed on a card to label it as having been printed with PRINT GOCCO.

Labelling Your GOCCO Prints

A discussion on the Internet GOCCO group (http://www.eGroups.com/groups/GOCCO) has brought some great responses and ideas from around the globe on how to label GOCCO prints. Here’s how it all started:

‘Hello everyone! I use the PRINT GOCCO to make Christmas cards and on the back of my cards, I like to put in a line indicating that the cards are "handmade." I don’t want my friends/family to think that the cards are store-bought since, as you well know (!), the GOCCO produces wonderfully professional looking printing. In the past, I have used "handmade" (which was confusing because people thought I made the paper too), "handprinted" (gives the impression that it was done on a hand-press), and "handcrafted" (same problem as using "handmade"). I was just wondering what all you GOCCO artists out there are doing when it comes to "crediting" your own work. I guess I could print, "Printed by ——— using the PRINT GOCCO." ??? Any suggestions?
Many thanks in advance, Renee 

After many different e-mails and suggestions from GOCCO printers around the globe, here’s some of the final result Renee received -

My thanks to all of you who answered my query. Many interesting issues were brought to light, including copyright and permission. In any case, here’s a summary of all the suggestions I received:

  1. "Designed and printed by"

  2. "Original design by ———- Printed on Riso Print Gocco ©2000"

  3. "Printed with PG-11" (or applicable GOCCO model).

  4. "Printed by ———"

  5. "Created by ——"

  6. Signing one’s work (i.e. limited ed. prints)

I think, depending on the card, I will use something similar to suggestion #1 or #2. I like #1 because it’s brief and pretty much says it all. I’ll probably add something extra where the design is concerned because in addition to the designs, I sometimes write the calligraphy that gets printed inside the cards as well. I’ve used "Original design by —" and/or "Calligraphy by —". It’s the "Printed" part that I have trouble with and I liked everyone’s suggestions! I esp. like Roberta’s suggestion about signing each print, esp. if it’s for an original design/limited run. Thank you so much again for all your suggestions!

Regards, Renee

Handy Hint

A little tip for everyone about batteries: ‘I was doing a TV segment and I didn’t get a flash from my GOCCO, forcing me to tape again after replacing batteries, so I now do this - I place a small piece of masking tape on my battery area and write the date that I installed new ones. That way I am always noticing the date when I put in a Print Master. I replace the batteries once a year so this way I know when the year is up.’

Happy New Year everyone Mrs M. Watson, California USA (MR3653@aol.com)

Page 3

Colour Separating Designs: By Hand

Colour separating a design is taking an original piece of artwork and breaking it down into a number of separate designs, from which screens/masters are made. The separations are printed over each other, in layers, to create the original design.

When do you need to separate colours? Screen printing in colour requires a different screen for each colour, unless you can put two colours on the one squeegee, however PRINT GOCCO can print multiple colours on the one screen, using less screens.

There are a number of ways to achieve colour separations:

How many layers/ colour separations do you need?
PRINT GOCCO - different colours can be combined on single layers (using ink blocking) reducing the overall number.
Screen Printing - a separate screen for each colour is required as colours can not be combined on the same separation/ layer.

By Hand - Tracing the Design

This process is best performed using a light box or against a window, where light will shine through the design, highlighting the areas to be copied.

How it’s done:
Details of this process has been added to the TRAINING section, under Colour Separating a Design by Hand
To view details - click here . .

By Hand - Blocking the Design

By taking multiple copies of your original design, each separation is created by blocking out parts on each layer. This process is more accurate than tracing the design as each design is identical, however blocking requires more thought and delicate separations as complex designs (5 colours or more) can get confusing - what needs to be removed from what layer, etc.

How it’s done:
Details of this process has been added to the TRAINING section, under Colour Separating a Design by Hand
To view details - click here . .
Registering your layers & prints
It is important to line up succeeding screens precisely, each and every time.
Most people develop their own simple form of registration depending upon the equipment they have available, however here’s a few simple guides to help you get started:
Place a copy of your original design over your item, in the correct printing position. This becomes your ‘home’ position and you will line up each of the screens over this design.

PRINT GOCCO - We do not recommend attempting this style of printing unless you have a PG-11, CD-Printer B6 or PG Arts for Paper system with advanced print registration features. Gone are the days of the old registering attempts by matching the registration marks exactly - not impossible but very time consuming.

Screen Printing - You can register designs by hand or using a screen printing jig.

 
By hand - Since RISO Screen Master is transparent, you can visually line up a second screen with the finished print of the first screen.
By Jig - Each screen is placed into an arm of the jig and then registered over your original design. The arms are locked in and registration is complete.
Depending on the design, sometimes it’s easier to print the darker area first and use this to register subsequent colours/ screens.

Page 4

By Computer

Computers are the best method of colour separating as they enable you to move, re-size and manipulate your design quickly and accurately.

Here’s a simple example and guide to using a computer for colour separation (also known as layers). On the right is the original design we want to work with (it’s actual size is 140mm x 90mm), however we wish to separate the colours, change the message and make other changes to personalise the image.

Step 1 - Scanning
You need to get a copy of your design into the computer to work from. Place your original design into the scanner and scan at 1200dpi (actual size) in true colour. If your computer can’t handle 1200dpi lower the setting or use 256 colours.
Step 2 - Size your design
After scanning you may have an excess border, or unwanted background, around the design area - trim this by re-sizing your canvas or using the Marquee Tool to copy and paste your design to a new file - save the new file & work with this one - delete the old file).
A note for later: When you have finished all your separations you may wish to re-size the dpi from 600dpi to 300dpi to save on disk space.

 

Step 3 - Creating your Layers
There are two methods you can use to create your layers from the one design:
Method 1 -Make multiple copies of the entire design and remove the unwanted areas - Just like the blocking method when separating by hand.
How it’s done:
Details of this process has been added to the TRAINING section, under Colour Separating Designs: With a Computer
To view details - click here . .
Method 2 - Highlight areas on your original and then paste them back into the same file - making a new layer. This is similar to the tracing method when separating by hand, however the computer can ‘trace’ many areas at once.
How it’s done:
Details of this process has been added to the TRAINING section, under Colour Separating Designs: With a Computer
To view details - click here . .

Both methods require some patience and a steady hand - the number of final colours/ layers often determine which method is best.

Step 4 - Registering your layers/ separations
This is the step where it all comes together, as if you don’t register the design correctly here, your prints will not match up!
How it’s done:
Details of this process has been added to the TRAINING section, under Colour Separating Designs: With a Computer
 
Step 5 - Compiling Your Design
When separating colours for screen printing it’s difficult to combine layers and print two colours at once (two colours on the one squeegee), however when printing with PRINT GOCCO, you should combine as many layers and colours as possible - provided they can be separated by Ink Blocking on the Print Master and will print in order!
How it’s done:
Details of this process has been added to the TRAINING section, under Colour Separating Designs: With a Computer
 

For registration use the Crop Marks/ Registration Marks option in your printer settings . If this is not available or you didn’t put registration marks on the original, you must register each print by hand - at least you know each screen will be accurate due to your hard work!

Summary: Our original design was separated into 9 different colours/ layers, plus the original background layer. After mixing & matching the layers were combined to form a series of 3 final layers/ separations from our original design - the 3 designs as shown below.

Note: 1 layer was left out of the final prints

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