All Things Metal Clay
An Expert Guide to Making & Selling Jewelry

by Elaine Luther

Do you know Print Gocco and what it can do for you? Print Gocco is a small thermal silkscreen machine from Japan. I know, I know, PMC, Cork Clay and Print Gocco, Japan, what gifts you send us!

I’ve had my Print Gocco for something over 10 years, I got it from Rio Grande, where they used to sell it as the “Multi-Color Printer.” You can still get a Print Gocco from Rio as a “Etch Master Printer,” and you can use it to silkscreen on a special resist for etching.

I bought mine for both printing resist and to print with ink. I’ve used it to print resist, to print multi color earring cards, to print specific show dates on the back of full color postcards, and to print custom book name plates and shirts as gifts.

I’ve posted for years on Orchid on the wonders of the Print Gocco but hesitated to mention it here because of the parent corporation’s decision to stop selling the supplies in the U.S. And indeed, the Print Gocco disappeared from my favorite supplier’s shelves.

Now Print Gocco is back in stock at Paper Source and multiple online sources!

In addition, should Gocco supplies ever, God Forbid, go out of stock, alternative supplies now exist for continuing to use the Gocco. The hardest “replacement” item to overcome is the flash bulbs, but even that can be overcome by using alternate methods to create the screen. Hopefully though, that won’t become an issue.

So where can you buy this wonderous machine? Where can you see online tutorials? Videos? Buy supplies? Buy new and used machines? Read about it in the New York Times?

Lots of Links below to help you with all of that.

But first, let’s talk about what you can use a Print Gocco machine for:

- print your own earring cards in multi color

- make your own screens for printing on polymer clay

- to print a resist for etching on metal

In addition to those jewelry related tasks, you can also print cards, art and shirts. To print on fabric you’ll need an accessory kit and a different kind of ink.

Where to buy:

Northwoods

Paper Source

Felt Club on Etsy

RISO GOCCO Corp. website

New York Times Article here.

Online tutorials and sites with more pictures and info.:

Holiday Card at DIY Life

Print Gocco Overview at DIY Life

History of Print Gocco at Save Gocco

Print Gocco Flickr Pool

There is also a Gocco group at Indie Public.

Update: Here’s a link to an article on Etsy, with a link to a how-to use Gocco video, here.

Update May 30, 2008: It looks like the reprieve is over. This link to an article about the Riso Kagaku company site says that indeed, Gocco machines will be discontinued, as will supplies at some point in the future. So back to hoarding consumable Gocco supplies! Stock up!

Yet another update: I feel terrible recommending the Gocco, when it’s going to be discontinued. What to do? If you haven’t bought one, consider a used Thermofax instead, or the modern equivalents being sold new.