Alie printed vintage hankies for inclusion with her STDs. How utterly beautiful are they? She also gave a good review of the Yudu. Please check out her full post here.

Alie's Save-The-Dates Printed With Yudu Machine

Related posts:

1. Do You Yudu?
2. {Guest Post} Jocelyn Shares Her Save The Dates
3. Real Weddings: Tim & Jane’s Save-The-Date

For the record: printmaking is one of my crafting obsessions. I love doing it. I love teaching it. I adore other printmakers and buy a considerable amount of printy goodness every year. In 2000 I bought my first Print Gocco (and then sold it – doh!). A few years ago I picked up a Speedball screen printing kit. You could say that I have a decent background in the basics of print. I’m no expert, just a crafter who digs getting her fingers inky.

The Basic Info

The MSRP of the Yudu is $300, though you can get it online for around $200. {Oh My Crafts has it for 184.99 at the moment}. JoAnn and Michaels are also carrying the machines in store but do not yet allow their coupons to be used to buy the machine. You can, however, use their coupons to buy supplies – which you’ll need.

In the Yudu box you’ll find:

• Yudu machine
• Adult t-shirt platen
• Blank ink-jet transparency
• 110 mesh screen
• Squeegee
• 2 fl oz black ink
• Platen adhesive sheet
• Instructional DVD
• User manual
• Emulsion sheet

A quick run-down of the process (there are other steps and details in here but are not covered in this review):

1. Place emulsion sheet onto screen.
2. Place screen in dryer. Wait for it to dry.
3. Put your artwork onto glass.
4. Top that with emulsion screen.
5. Burn artwork into screen.
6. Rinse screen.
7. Get your print on.

What I tested:

• Cardstocks – some scraps in my never-ending pile.
• Tshirt
• Silk pillow cover
• Metal flashing
• Wood veneer

What I love about the Yudu:

• Print area. The screens are  11″ x 14″ which is a great size for stationery and many other wedding crafts. By comparison, the ever-popular Gocco PG5, has a max print area of 3-9/16″ x 5-9/16.
• The all-in-one design of the machine. There’s no need to buy a lot of supplies just to get started and the all-in-one makes storing it easier than with my other screenprinting kit. The product design team at Provo Craft did a great job.
• Ease of use. Overall, this was pretty darned easy to use. There is a bit of a learning curve but I think even the timidest of newbies could get the hang of the Yudu with just a few tries. Read those instructions, kiddies!
• Handles large prints and designs beautifully.
• Prints great on wood, metal, and fabric.
• Yudu inks offer nice coverage and opacity.
• Screens are re-usable and were easy to wash out.
• The quality of the machine is very good and I think it’ll last forever.
• No special lightbulbs for the machine.

What I didn’t like:

• The machine itself is pretty big, about the size of a large scanner or all-in-one inkjet printer. For those of us who have very limited craft space, the Yudu footprint is cumbersome. However, it has the 11 x  14 print area so it really couldn’t be much more streamlined than it already is. If you’re used to the Gocco’s size, the Yudu will be an adjustment.
• The process is long. It took about 50-ish minutes to do a single print – not including the drying time of the print. Getting the emulsion set up and everything ready to go takes some time. Once you get going, doing multiple prints is pretty easy and quick.
• The supplies are not cheap. Screens run about $28.00, emulsion sheets (2 pack) are $19.00, 5 pack of transparencies are $6.00, inks are around $22.00 for a 3-pack. You’ll also need more platens (if you’re doing multiples of t-shirts), emulsion remover, blockout, adhesive sheets, registration panels, and then all of your clean-up tools, things to print on, etc. etc.
• Screens are available only in 110 mesh. I found that the 110 didn’t do well with small text and very fine detail. On my test of an invitation with 10 and 11 pt fonts (script and serifs), it wasn’t as clear as I would have liked. I’ve heard Provo Craft is working on different mesh sizes.
  
• It didn’t print all that great on some of the cardstocks I had. The ink was too runny on some of the cardstocks and this could totally be the cardstock itself rather than an ink/Yudu problem. I haven’t had a chance to go back and do more tests yet.
• The inks were drying REALLY fast for me on the day I tested so I had to hustle to get prints made before they clogged the screens.
• There aren’t that many ink colors available.
  
• The demo video is not very good.

My overall impressions:

I really, really like the Yudu and am happy to have it. I am eagerly awaiting other mesh sizes to see if they handle finer text and small detail better – an important thing for invitations/stationery design. Bottom line: If you’re serious about taking on screenprinting as a hobby or career, I think it’s worth the investment especially if you’re new to printmaking. If you’re considering only making your invites and a few other projects this is probably way too cost-prohibitive to make it worthwhile.

In comparison with the Gocco, I have to say that I like the Yudu better. Supplies are readily available for the Yudu, the print area is larger which allows opens up a whole new world of print possibilities, and the process seems more intuitive than what I remember from my Gocco days. (If you have Gocco-specific questions, please ask!)

Related posts:

1. Do You Yudu?
2. Product Review Update: Epson Artisan 800
3. Real Yudu Project: Alie’s Save-The-Dates

From the Provo Craft site:

SAY WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SAY!
The Yudu™ screen-printing system is the easiest, cleanest way to let everyone know who you are—and how you see the world. Don’t settle for what everyone else is wearing or spend hours futilely trying to find a t-shirt that expresses the real you. With access to a computer and an ink-jet printer, you’ll be able to create and print your own designs not only for t-shirts or other apparel, but also for home décor, art prints, posters, cards, schoolwork, and much more! With this revolutionary personal screen printer, you can let your voice be heard today, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.

I just ordered mine and can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Priced at around $250 – $300 retail for just the machine, it is a big craft investment. We’ll see how long the inks and supplies last and if it’s worth the cash. JoAnn’s and Michael’s recently started stocking the Yudu but, at this time, they’re not allowing coupons for purchasing the machine. (Supplies seem  to be ok for discount coupons, though!)

Do you have hands-on experience with the Yudu? We want to hear from you!

Related posts:

1. Product Review: Yudu Screen Printing Machine
2. Real Yudu Project: Alie’s Save-The-Dates
3. Update on the L Letterpress Machine