Our very first Gocco project! Mo and I spent the Saturday playing with each of our newfound loves, PG-5 and PG-11. It was a very educational and emotional experience. We learned a lot on this first double-date. Next time we will be more prepared when the Goccos decide to make a move on us!

I was a slacker and didn't have my design ready before our meeting, so I was still trying to draw up something. My gocco patiently waited for me to get ready. Mo was already starting with the screen burning.

My initial sketch. A simple character. This is to be printed in two processes. One print in gold for the fill, and one print in black for the outlines plus orange for the star.

Finally done with the original. I wanted to save screens, so I decided to put both layers (fill and outlines) onto the same screen. I used the provided carbon pen to finalize my drawings. (I don't know why it has to be carbon, I have not tried other pens.)

Mo looking excited and attempting her first screen. This part was pretty dramatic. The blue filter got into the way and fought a battle between her and her PG-5. Conclusion, don't use the blue filter unless you have a very dark and dense photocopy. The filter is to prevent the carbon getting all over the screen. But if your copy is weak, the screen will not burn fully and you will end up wasting lots of bulbs and screens! Mo and PG-5 turned out victorious in the end. Blue filter got pushed to the side.

A screen was burned, at last, and Mo inked the screen and is printing her first card.

First! It's pretty cool looking, it reminds me of old rusty photocopiers.

Me only just burning the screen. What a slowpoke. I was such a noob and didn't burn the images in the right orientation to allow space for the bigger papers to print. So I had to cut off the holder tab on the screen and rotate it, then tape the screen to the gocco so it'll hold in place.

Checking the results. It burned, but I think if my pen drawing was denser, the screen would've burnt more cleanly. There were a few streaks in the fill area that didn't get burned. It was acceptable in the end though.

Inking and making the first print.

Mo is way ahead of me

Pretty soon we had papers just lying all over to dry. You can see the different colors that were used on the screen.

Final products!

Oh yea, this one is my favorite.

Packing of one thing leads to the unpacking of another. I think I'm kind of a packrat.

My Gocco came!!! In super sonic speeds!!! Wow printaddictjapan is awesome. My order was shipped three days ago and I got it TODAY, from JAPAN. I sent her a million emails too, 'cause I kept adding to the order and changing my selection of ink colors.

I've been glowing all night long (it's probably the 96F weather) with twinkly eyes messing with every little bit of the Gocco set--carressing every box of ink and studying the manual. This item was a gift from my baby <3. I am spoiled.

I was the one who did the ordering though, and thanks to my Chinese genes, and thanks to lih82, I was able to hit an awesome deal.

So some details, perhaps it'll be useful for others...

• ebay comes out with some coupons every now and then for discounts like 10% off or $10 off shipping. And on rare occasions, you'll even find sponsored discounts like Microsoft Live Search's cashback program, where if you search on live.com for your product, you'll get an ad that redirects you to ebay guaranteeing 35% off Buy-It-Now items. 35 PERCENT OFF!!!1!1!11!!! That's exactly what I hit up. The cashback doesn't take place until 60 days after your purchase though--just in case you decide to refund the product, they'd have no way to backtrack. So I'm anxiously waitin' for the fiddy (50) bucks of reimbursement from Micro$soft. This purchase was seriously a deal. If not for it I would not have been able to pick PG-11. I would've had to go with PG-5. So patience does pay in this case.
• What's different about PG-11 vs PG-5?
  • PG-11 has this detachable clear blue registration plate between the screen and print surface that you can use to print on to help align your different layers of prints. You can also move the base surface around and shift your print coordinates by a minimal amount. (see pictures below)

Let's get to the juicy part...

::drool:: Actually, I cheated in these pictures. I had already opened the package once. In all my excitement I didn't take pictures the first time. And the seller did a clever job of stuffing all the supplies I ordered into the same box. So I had rearranged all the stuff back into the box to look like they should've been originally.

List of contents. VHS tape is replaced by a sharpie labeled cd. Thank god. I would have to youtube for the video otherwise.

A ghetto photocopied Gocco manual. Perfectly okay with me.

No bags because I had already tossed them away.

Cleaner solution, carbon pen, batteries for lamp housing. Does anyone know if the pen really has to be a 'carbon' pen? What is the difference?

The machine. You can see the blue registration plate I was talking about.

The locks and guides that let you move the base around. Reminds me of pinball machines.

Lamp housing.

Extra supplies I bought, because this set didn't come with anything. I only bought basic colors of inks. I think I'm pretty good with color, hopefully I can mix the colors I need... Bought two screens. For some reason they are PG-701 screens for cloth. Supposedly they work the same as B6??? I would think they're a different mesh count though... Guess I'll find out.

The bulbs have this metal meshy fluff inside. It's too bad they're one-time use. Supposedly there's an alternative you can buy, which are specifically flash bulbs. I wonder how those work out... Will share my finds if I ever do try them!

So there! Ah so sleepy now. I should probably take a third shower for today...it's SO HOT I can't even play right now.

Must dream of a fantastic design to print!