Resist for Rio Etch Press

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi, I was asked off line about this, thought I’d share the answer
heRe:

Someone wrote to me saying they were dismayed that Rio no longer
carries the resist for the “Rio Etch Press System,” which is the
Print Gocco.

Item # 118-119, the one on the page with the Gocco and Etch Press
System is discontinued, but item # 118-158, “Blue Etching Resist” on
the previous page is still available. It’s a larger container, but
it’s the same stuff.

Elaine Luther
Chicago area, Illinois, USA
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
Studio 925; established 1992
@E_Luther

2

Elaine, I read Mary Ann Scherr’s article in Metals Tecnic (she
developed the etch press system) and was really interested in buying
one from Rio. However, since I know enough Photoshop to get just
about any design onto PnP paper, and can etch silver with ferric
nitrate and copper/red brass with ferric chloride, is there anything
the Gocco/Etch Press System could help me do that I can’t do already?

thanks, Mona

3

No, I don’t think the Gocco/Etch Press will give you anything you
aren’t getting with PnP. In fact, PnP can do finer lines than
Gocco. And the Gocco system is more expensive per design.

However, the Print Goco (which is available from Pearl Art and
Craft, Paper Source and a number of websites, all over the world) is
wonderful in other ways.

I use it to:

* print T-shirts, mostly for gifts
* print multi-color earring cards (printing all colors at once)
* print the backs of 4 color postcards for a specific show or show 
  season

It can also be used to make custom labels for quilts, if you have
any quilters in your life. And it’s used by lots of people for
making cards.

Classes are available at Paper Source and places that teach book and
paper arts such as the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia
College in Chicago.

Here are some links:

http://www.gocco.com
http://www.welshproducts.com

Welsh Products has the lowest prices I have found on consumables for
the Print Gocco, at buying just one each. Others may have lower
prices if you buy 10 at a time.

What is Print Gocco you ask? It’s a thermal silk screen method in
which a flash bulb burns an image from a photo copy onto a special
screen. Then you can use the screen with ink or resist. The
machine costs about $100 US Dollars and the consumables are about
$10.00 a package each for flashbulbs (10) and screens (5?).

Yes, it’s an expensive way to silkscreen but it’s neater, easier and
smaller than the traditional method.

There are now some books out on Gocco and there are many inexpensive
videos available, one video is only $6.95. It’s a simple system
though, you could learn it without a book or video.

Elaine Luther
Chicago area, Illinois, USA
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
Studio 925; established 1992
@E_Luther