The GOCCOclub
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GOCCOclub E-News

Issue 8, June 2000.  News & information for GOCCOclub members

Catalogue of GOCCO Products

The implementation of the GST sees the traditional PRINT GOCCO Price List now being combined with an information catalogue to give you details, descriptions, pack & kit contents, hints on how to best use the product, save money or combine with other products.

It’s through your suggestions, support & feedback that the Price List and Catalogue were combined - we’re sure you’ll find this informative and easy to use.

New Products

There are some great new additions to the Product range with two new PRINT GOCCO models - PG-5 and PG-11 Machine Only systems (not just printers but also Lamp Housing and full imaging systems), plus revamped screen printing packs, new squeegee sizes to better suit the frames and lot’s more.

The new GST Price List & Catalogue is available after 19th June ’00 from your supplier - give them a call to get your copy. (Also available for download on the Internet)

Your Comments

‘I have been very impressed with your prompt, efficient service that you have given and I just want to say thank you for that. Keep up the good service attitude!!!’ - Ms J. Ford SA

‘Your knowledege of the systems and how I can best use it has been a refreshing change to the normal service attitudes of most companies. It’s good to receive information that I ACTUALY need, not just general blurb. My thanks to the GOCCOclub for taking the time to assist me and I look forward to sending you samples of my GOCCO creations’ Mrs T. Bexley NSW

‘The PG Kumipon pack was so mucch fun to play with -If I keep sending feedback and ideas do I keep getting KUMIPON packs?’ Ms J. Handy NSW

ED - Of course, while our supplies last :-)

Competition Winners Announced - 23rd RISO International Printed Works Competition & GOCCOclub Christmas Card Competition

The International winners list from last year’s competition has been published by RISO. Australia has received a Gold prize and a Fine Work Prize, both awards going to long time entrant and Artist, Brigid Burke-Rigo

Here’s how the International Prizes were awarded by RISO.
Australia - Gold & Special Prize - Brigid Burke-Rigo (A fragile skeleton of a fish)
U.S.A - Silver Prize - Frank J. Lewis (Still life without fruit)
England - Fine Work - Cathleen Hulme (I am out of my depth without you)
Canada - Silver Prize - Gina Godfrey (Lavender poppies in the breeze)
South Africa - Gold Prize - Werner Van Ser Bank (Giza pyramids), Bronze Prize - Amanda Ferreira (Woman of Nambia), Fine Work - Kaila Ferreira (Drawn from own image in mirror), Fine Work - D.C. Van Reener (Unica school)
View the winning prints - Visit the web site for all the details and pictures of the International winners, plus view Japanese winning entries - www.nehoc.com.au/GOCCOclub

GOCCOclub Christmas Card Competition

Judging was not easy with many prints pushing the GOCCO’s printing limits in terms of artwork and design, print quality and registration, plus presentation of final card - but alas there can only be three winners.

The GOCCOclub Christmas Card Competition winner’s are
Group 1 - Most Colourful - Roma Haley (VIC)
Group 2 - Most technical design - Martin Spencer (SA)
Group 3 - Bet combination of GOCCO printing & other mediums - Lisa Watt (WA)

SPARCHMENT CRAFT IS SERIOUS FUN WITH THE PRINT GOCCO

by The Golden Quill

The Golden Quill, based in Far North Queensland, with a thriving Commercial Art and Graphic Design business, submitted the following article. They are also PRINT GOCCO distributors and have developed a unique method of promoting PRINT GOCCO in local schools.

‘Parchment craft’, also known as PERGOMANO, is a beautiful and ancient art in which lace-like effects are created on a translucent paper. Using special tools, designs and patterns are embossed by hand to give the parchment a three-dimensional, sculpted effect. The delicate cards and stationery produced by this craft have long been favoured for invitations to special events, such as weddings. There has been one drawback to practising parchment craft – tracing the designs onto the parchment before embossing them has always been very time-consuming. Until now……

Annette Long, a creative craft teacher from the tropical North, has discovered a way to enjoy parchment craft and has saved heaps of time. She prints her patterns onto the parchment with her PRINT GOCCO. No more tracing! Annette says, ‘tracing the designs onto the parchment was so tedious. I am always in a hurry to get into the exciting part of embossing and decorating my cards. Since I have purchased my PRINT GOCCO machine I am now able to produce a large number of cards in a short period of time. It is as simple as photocopying my design, making a master on my machine and printing. Also the tedious job of copying my designs has taken on a new and exciting dimension as I can print in any colour I like. My favourite cards are made using white ink for the design and I print the lettering in gold. I use a premium grade transcript paper, which is inexpensive to purchase from the local newsagent. Using this method, I can print a large number of cards for under $10.00.’

This technique is taught in one of a series of fourteen lessons using the PRINT GOCCO which Annette is providing to schools and craft persons all over Far North Queensland, starting in April. Called the "Serious Fun GOCCO Series", these lessons are designed to teach schools and individuals how to get the most out of their GOCCO for pleasure, profit and sheer creative power!

Some of the other crafts Annette offers on PRINT GOCCO are glass etching, shrink plastic decoration, screen printing, making patterns for embroidery, wood stamping, novelty cards and paper tole. Students print everything from umbrellas to sporting ribbons to wooden boxes! Annette also shows schools and clubs how to save and raise funds by printing and screen printing small jobs in-house. Everything that participants make in the craft lessons is automatically entered into the "Serious Fun Competition". There are monthly prizes to be won and three Grand Prizes plus a trophy will be awarded for the very best work at the end of the year.

If you live in Tropical North Queensland and want to learn to master your PRINT GOCCO, please call (07) 4065 5002 or (07) 4097 8282 and join the classes. You are guaranteed some Serious Fun."

HANDY HINTS

To give greeting cards some special oomph, sprinkle glitter on just after printing. Over half the glitter will stick and dry onto the ink. For example, with Christmas cards, green glitter looks terrific on red ink and vice versa.

If you really want to get some vibrancy into printing onto black card, use one of the many different coloured embossing powders available from craft stores – looks great.

Maria Long-NSW.

 When mixing inks to get a different colour, put them into a 20ml syringe. They are much easier to put on the screen and there is no chance of damaging screen from palette knife or similar. You can also store mixed colours in syringes for a few days as long as the hole at the bottom is plugged up to keep it airtight – a match will do.

Mary Coote -TAS

‘When I do a custom invitation job for clients that requires hand lettering of the guests name, I just thin the gocco ink with a bit of turpentine and then letter with a dip pen. This way they can have the same colour. Looks really effective if you use a custom mixed colour. Very original and unique.’

Deanne McCrea -NSW
graphics@andeela.com.au

MORE GOCCO BASICS

by June Fox

Our last Newsletter included an article by June Fox called ‘Understanding the Basics’ which proved to be very popular. June knows that by following simple steps you can create a good Print Master evert time and avoid the disappointment & frustration caused by poor prints. June believes by improving your technique (and confidence) you will ‘open your mind to the never ending uses of the PRINT GOCCO machine’.
June’s contact details are: Mail Order Treasures, ph/fax (07) 4128 0888 or e-mail – support@mailordertreasures.com.au

Flashing Masters

Inking Your Screen

Cleaning Your Screen

Remove excess ink from your screen with a small plastic squeegee (old credit card/licence). This ink can be placed into a jar, mixed up and used for future printing. Several colours mixed together give a distinctive grey colour and is good used for the wording on business/greeting cards. Start a second jar for left-over inks – place ink in without stirring. You will get a marbling effect by placing this ink onto the master, with a spatula, straight from the jar.

Clean off any residue ink with soft tissues, turn the master over and clean up on the shiny side by placing a small amount of RISO OK Cleaner on a tissue and gently dabbing the screen to finish off the cleaning process. Repeat a few times. We are only concerned about the design holes – these must be clean so we can produce a good print next time. Carry out this procedure on old newspaper to avoid a mess on your workspace!

If you have trouble pulling ink blocking strips off the master, put a small amount of OK Cleaner on a tissue and "roll" the ink blocking inwards onto the ink. It slides into the ink and comes off easily most of the time, but if you are still having trouble then why not leave it on. Just make sure that you clean the screen properly and leave the cellophane turned back to dry thoroughly. Place a card between the cellophane and master when storing. Don’t worry about the colour left on your screen outside the design. This will not affect the screen, as the only place the ink will come through is where the holes have been flashed onto the screen. Hold the screen up to the light – you should be able to see through the holes of your design after cleaning.

Leave screen to dry overnight, then store in a folder/envelope with a print of the design on the outside. Look after your screens and you will get hundreds of prints from them. If you don’t wish to clean off the screen at this time, then after your final printing, remove master from the machine, wrap a piece of "go-between" (the plastic you put between meats to freeze) around it and place in a press-seal plastic bag. It’s the air that causes problems by drying out the screen. You can leave in the fridge until you are ready to use again, at which time you just let it come to room temperature and go ahead and print. You can leave in the fridge for 6-8 weeks but I find that if left too long it tends to go gluggy. If this happens, clean off the old ink and re-ink with a fresh lot. I said earlier you can save scraped-off ink for future use, the exception being if it has been placed in the fridge as it may have gone gluggy - throw out and use fresh ink. It is worth spending a little time cleaning your master so you get a perfect print every time.

Remember to keep this information on file, as GOCCOclub member Mrs L. Tindal says ‘I store every newsletter into my GOCCO folder that I keep with my kit. It’s amazing how often my questions have already been answered in past newsletters. It saves me time, and a phone call, when I have a questions the information is right there.’
Did you Know - Project Sheets are available from your Supplier!
Not only does the GOCCOclub provide you projects and ideas for your GOCCO, you local PRINT GOCCO supplier also has Project Sheets you can use. Contact your supplier now for details on Creating your own wedding Stationery, Design & Print your own unique wrapping paper, plus Making a dimensional Card. Contact them now and get your copy. (Australian customers only - International customers see the GOCOclub Projects Gallery)

The following project uses PRINT GOCCO Hand Stamper and one B6 Print Master. The Hand Stamper is a PRINT GOCCO accessory that is fun and simple to use. It is a relatively low cost item, which enables you to use imaged masters exactly like a big rubber stamp! With the Hand Stamper, and our paper and cloth inks, you can stamp-print onto objects that are unable to fit into the PRINT GOCCO machine. Examples are wrapping paper, dress/furnishing fabric, sheets/doonas /pillowcases, tote bags, children’s t-shirts/pyjamas, napkins/tablecloths, Craftwood items – almost anything that is flat!

DECORATE A SET OF PLACE MATS AND CLOTH NAPKINS

This table setting would be particularly suitable for outdoor lunches and barbecues. Craftwood place mats are readily available from your local art/craft supplier, come in a range of shapes and are inexpensive (a little over $2.00 each). You can also purchase low priced, plain napkins from many outlets or you may prefer to make your own. We are using floral artwork, but many designs would look attractive – e.g. shells, art deco corners. Children’s drawings can also look lovely and would make a great gift for granny or a favourite aunt.

Materials
PRINT GOCCO PG-5 or B6, PRINT GOCCO Hand Stamper, 1 x B6 Print Master, 2 x Print Lamps, Stamp Inks for Cloth, Craftwood Place Mats, Cloth Napkins, Adhesive Board, Spray Gloss or Matt water based Sealer.

Note: When printing craftwood both HM paper inks AND Stamp inks can be used, but only Stamp Inks will print fabrics.

Preparation
Read instructions before commencing. Wash, dry and iron napkins before decorating to rid them of any sizing. Lightly sand the place mats, wipe down with damp cloth and leave to dry. Choose your ink colours. Have everything ready as stamp inks for cloth dry fairly quickly. Decide where you want to place your print. The best way to ensure the print ends up where you want is to take an unused B6 Master, place the Master on the item to be printed exactly where you want the pattern to go, and draw registration marks around the Master with tailor’s chalk or water erasable pen. I want my print in the top left hand and bottom right hand corner of my place mats and napkins, so that is where I will place my registration marks. Decide on your design, perform artwork clean up if necessary and use your PRINT GOCCO to "flash" your design onto a B6 Master – leaving the original artwork on the B6 Master. Choose your ink colours (cloth inks can be used on Craftwood).
Method
Peel back transparent film on B6 Master and apply inks of your choice. Don’t forget to use Ink Blocking if you are using different colours and don’t want them to spread. Replace transparent film on B6 Master and fix the end securely with cellophane tape. Place flashed and inked-up B6 Master on table/workbench, inked side down on scrap paper and place the Stamper onto the Master – the sticky back will hold it in place. Peel your artwork away from B6 Master, make a test print on scrap paper to check detail and begin printing. Match up the side of the B6 Master closest to you onto the first lot of registration marks. The top of the Master will be tilted so the ink doesn’t touch the place mat. When you are happy with the positioning, lower the Master and press down onto the place mat. Lift the Stamper off the place mat, using your fingers to help gently loosen the Master. Remember, if the surface you are printing onto is rough or porous, DON’T press harder, just keep the Stamper Unit on the item for a second or two longer. Repeat this process for the second print on the place mat, and then continue for the remaining mats. Leave to dry. Place an adhesive board under a napkin and repeat printing process above. When first napkin completed, remove from adhesive board, attach next napkin to adhesive board and repeat process until all completed. Let the printed napkins dry thoroughly for a few hours, then heat set by placing a sheet of paper over the design and ironing for 2+ minutes on high temperature (no steam). When the place mats are dry, spray with matt or gloss sealer – this protects the wood and enables mats to be wiped clean.
Suitable for
Whilst a whole table setting of place mats/napkins may not be suitable for sale at school fetes (as you may want to keep sale items below a certain price structure), perhaps they could be offered as place mat sets and napkin sets. Alternatively, place 1 placemat and napkin on a piece of cellophane, add an inexpensive mug and a selection of teabags, tie with curling ribbon and sell as a breakfast set.
Other uses for your 'flashed' B6 Master
The imaged B6 master made for this project can be cleaned, kept and used for a variety of other items, including:
Next Issue - MEGGA Christmas Special - Available End October
With the Olympics in September (we’ll all be glued to the TV), the next edition will be a Christmas Special with pages of artwork, Christmas ideas and information to make the most of your GOCCO over the festive period - saving you $$.

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