Sep
Yudu Get The Job Done!
We had heard conflicting reviews about the Yudu system when it first came out. Some good and some bad. After Blas saw it in Action at Maker Faire we took the plunge and signed up for an account with Provocraft. We’re excited to report that the Yudu has been successful for us. We placed our opening order around June and they came in. The Yudus arrived quickly, much to Blas’ delight…
The boxes are big but the machine itself is not very bulky. Weighing in at around 30lbs this machine is not super portable like the Gocco (which I can throw into a tote bag on a whim) but we could take it with us when doing demos and it has only a few parts that are not self contained. It does make screen printing incredibly easy and uses less consumables then our Gocco. Our first real project was to make 100 of these recycled cotton tote bags with the Urban Fauna Studio logo for our anniversary party.
The supplied instructions are straightforward enough. Although we were initially confused about several points (which side of the screen to use, dry time, etc) by the video tutorial they provide. While we can understand it was meant to be comedic and fun to watch, the wise cracking hosts were hard to follow. We found this Yudu Demo Video and the FAQ on the Yudu site to be waaaaay more helpful.
We took a couple shots of our process as we were making a T-shirt screen to give you an idea of the process. This is definitely not meant to substitute for the original instructions but we are sharing some tips and tricks we used.
On the emulsion and the screen…
If you have a smaller image definitely cut the emulsion to size so you can use it for another round. Or prepare multiple images for one screen. Probably one of the common mistakes (we know because we did it too) was to place the emulsion sheet on the wrong side of the screen. The screen was wet down with a damp sponge on both sides (not dripping wet but saturated). You want to make sure the emulsion is adhering to the back side of the screen (flush/smooth side – pic on left). We squeegeed only 1-2 times and used the sponge to wet the emulsion from the front side (has a raised ridge on the corners – Pic on right) , clearing any bubbles and lines.
Drying the screen
Then place into the slot in the machine to dry. For us it took about two rounds of the drying cycle (20 mins each) or 1 round and hitting it with your hair dryer. We just used a regular hair dryer, nothing fancy, NO embossing tools or heat guns etc… We kept the dryer about 12 inches away from the screen when using heat, about 6 inches away on cool setting. For some reason the LED screen does not count down from 20 mins., it will beep when done. When it’s dry it will be a darker green and you can peel the plastic cover off easily. I would always recommend drying longer if any part of the plastic cover resists you when pull off. Otherwise you will rip a hole in it.
Transparency
We used the provided transparency and some standard ones I had in my stash and there was no difference. We only used the recommended ink jet printer and have not experimented with laser yet. Place your transparency on the light bed.
Exposing the screen
Place your screen back side down on the transparency.
Place the platen down (dark side) on top of it all. Note, keep your sticky side covered with the protective sheet or things will get stuck to it…lots of things. You can replace the sticky side but it’s a pain to clean the old glue off.
Place heavy stuff on it (approx 5 lbs)….press the exposure button (8 mins).
You then take the screen to the sink and use a wet sponge to wipe the emulsion side of the emulsion side of the screen. The exposed design will wash away and the rest will be in tact. Voila! You have your screen. Put back in the fan to dry or you can blow dry.
Making your prints
Then you are ready to make your prints! Be sure to mask off with some painters tape or packaging tape. That way you won’t spread your ink all over the edges of the screen. Blas is using clear packaging tape here.
Then you will flood your screen with ink (large bead of ink across the top) and pull down with the squeegee to fill the screen.
Ensuring good prints and reclaiming your ink
Your first runs may not be ideal depending on the pressure you apply and the evenness of your motion. Each person screens differently. We found that we put too little ink on when we first started screening. Have plenty of scrap fabrics or paper (we used scrap computer paper) to test out your image. After several prints we noticed that ink would seep through the screen and make the image a bit blurry. When you notice this starting to happen you can take out your scrap paper/fabric and screen a couple images (do not add extra ink) until the image becomes sharp again.
Be sure to add more ink frequently while you are printing. You don’t want any dry spots in your image. If there is a missed spot on one of your runs. Very carefully flood the screen again and pull the image a second time over the missed spot. Remember ALL the excess ink can be reclaimed by scraping it off the squeegee and placing it back into the bottle. We used 1.5 bottles of ink to screen 100 of the tote bags shown above.
Now you can make awesome personalized prints. In our case, a design that’s pimpin’ the fiber love…
Don’t forget to heat set your finished apparel and then you’re done! We’ll be making the I ♡ fiber themed T-shirts for sale in the store along with tote bags soon! Many thanks to Provocraft for donating a machine to raffle off.
The bottom line
We think silk screening is a lot like spinning or any other handcraft. It can be functional or it can be an art form which takes skill and vision. You just have to see our living room walls (we collect screen printed and letter pressed work) to know that silk screening can be sophisticated and eloquent. It’s painting a picture with layers of color, lines, and texture.
If you want to make 1000’s of prints for sale, order them from a professional printing house or invest in a traditional set up. This machine is not cost effective if you’re going for volume. Personally I still have a box of homemade screens, chemicals and inks I never used because I could never invest the time to set it all up for use in my tiny apartment. Which is essentially money lost if you don’t use it! Enter the Yudu…now I can actually screen print my projects.
The Yudu won’t magically give you the ability to silkscreen like your favorite artist. It will not replace the knowledge and the fulfillment of making your own screens. But for the consumer, the small business and the hobbyist we think it’s a good tool, which cuts out some of the technical steps in print making and makes the production of small projects fun, affordable and accessible.
Wanna know more about the Yudu?
You can browse Yudu products online. Or you can make an appt to come by the store and we’ll demo the Yudu for you!
Great designs!!
Love my Yudu! I’ve printed on so many surfaces other than Tee’s so that makes the larger size SO worth it to me.
Happy printing!
WOW! Is this the answer to the loss of Gocco? Although this looks much more sophisticated (and of course, larger!) Thanks for sharing. Must research!
Love your tutorial, and this machine. I just made a print yesterday for the first time, and it came out wonderful. Cheers!
Thanks for the great post!
Hello, I am having a lot of trouble with my emuslion, I have wasted 3 sheets any step by step suggestions
Desperate Lori
Hi Lori,
What exactly is going on? Step by step instruction for applying the emulsion and making a screen can be found above along with a video link: http://www.whatdoyudu.com/videos/default.aspx?id=3. Areas of trouble for me at first were to make sure that the correct side of the emulsion was placed on the correct side of the screen. The emulsion will sometimes have 2 sides of plastic coating so remove the one that is easily removable and prep the screen. If the plastic is harder to remove that is usually the side that the plastic stays on until the emulsion has been set. I hope that these tips help and feel free to reply again if you’re still having issues with the Yudu.
~Blas