Wow. You guys amaze me with all the comments you've left already! All these great ideas, I guess I asked and now I shall receive, ha! Keep them coming!
OK, so I know that the "intro to gocco" in my last post kept you hanging a bit, as you still have no idea how this darn gray box work its purported magic.
So, below is a very quicky and dirty pictoral guide from a project I did a while back. I tried to take photos at most steps, but invariably small crises came up at most importune times (burning finger with light bulb + spilling ink everywhere while phone ringing off the hook), and I get distracted. It's not meant to replace the guide that comes with your kit, obviously. It should give you a general idea though.
[For a fairly detailed video tutorial (quite entertaining too at times), check this out.]
Step 1 (below): Here's the PG11 machine in the open position. A new blue screen is slid into the top lid, and images you want to print- in this case, photocopies of 2 sketches I did, are placed on the bottom over a piece of scrap paper.
Step 2: (Above left) Insert 2 new light bulbs into lamp housing (the silvery surface is the inside of the lamp housing). Close up the PG11, insert lamp housing onto top of the machine.
Step 3: Now, here's the fun part, and unfortunately also one of those crucial steps I don't have a photo of- this is where you press down the top lid with the loaded lamp housing in it x 3-5 seconds, the light bulbs will "flash", much like the flash in a camera, crackle and burn off in a few seconds (and emit this fume that makes you think you've accidentally set something on fire). Check that there's no fire, remove the lamp housing, let the bulbs cool (can't emphasize more), then remove bulbs and discard properly (and don't let your dog lick them- they're toxic!)
Step 4: Lift the top lid, and when you slide the screen out, it will look like this below (the original image will be "stuck" to it, you know the screen has been "exposed" and the image transfered to it). Ta dah! Now with the screen made, you're ready to print.
Step 5: Apply ink. In this case, I've actually combined images for 2 separate projects on the same screen to be frugal (do you know how much Bryson eats?), so I have to use the grey ink blockade foam to "rope off" the area I want to print this time, so I won't inadvertently print off the other image. And yeah, you really do need that much ink for good coverage. But with this amount you can probably print up to 50-75 before having to reapply.
Step 6: Put screen back in top lid, this time already exposed and loaded with ink, put paper/card on the bottom lid, align, and close the top lid to print. Voila! You've printed yourself a stack of adorable red specs greeting cards. (the ink stay wet for a little bit, so be sure to let them dry first before stacking em'.)
The details it's able to produce are pretty amazing for this little machine, isn't it?
Bryson making a cameo in the "gear shot" I was trying to take yesterday ("stay away from those light bulbs!")
