Yudu® vs. Yudu CardShop™

Q. What are the differences between the Yudu machine and the Yudu CardShop machine?

A. The Yudu Cardshop machine is smaller than the Yudu machine. The Yudu Cardshop machine comes with ready to use screens, while the Yudu machine has the ability to create your own designs. (Click here to view a comparison chart.)

Q. What types of materials can I use with the Yudu

A. This machine can be used with cardstock, chipboard, store-bought cards, ribbon, and other thin materials.

Q. Can you burn screens with the Yudu CardShop machine?

A. No, it is not designed to burn or create your own screens.

Q. Where can I find instructional videos on how to use the Yudu CardShop machine?

A. YuduCardShop.com

Purchasing

Q. Where can I find Yudu CardShop products?

A. You can purchase Yudu CardShop products at your local craft store or online.

Q. What is the price?

A. The Yudu Cardshop machine has a retail value of $59.99.

Getting Started

Q.  Which side of the pre-burned screen is the front of the screen?

A.  The front of the screen is the side with the recess or indent. The screen will not fit onto the registration posts correctly if you do not have it facing the correct way. You will want to place your ink on the front side of the screen.

Q. What are registration posts?

A.  The registration posts are the four posts on the corners of the machine. When the lid is completely flat, you can see four leaf shapes that fit over the registration posts. The pre-burned screens also have these same leaf registration marks. This design helps the screens fit snugly over the posts so the screens will not move during the printing process.

Taping Screens

Q. How do I tape off images to print only part of a screen?

A.  Place the tape on the back of the screen. (Watch the instructional videos at YuduCardShop.com to see how this is done.) Run screen under warm water to remove the tape.

Q. Which side of the screen do I want to tape off?

A. You will want to apply tape to the back of your screen. You do not want anything in the way of your squeegee as you pull your ink across your image.

Q. What kind of tape do I use?

A. You can use any type of silkscreen tape, packaging tape, or painter's tape.

Pre-Burned Screens

Q. How do I use the pre-burned screens?

A. There are four leaf shaped posts. They are designed to help lock the pre-burned screen in place during printing. Remember to put the screen under the lip at the bottom of the lid. Pull the tab button (it has the Yudu logo in it) down at the top. The screens will lock into place. You will hear a click when they are in position.

Q. Can the pre-burned screens fit on the registration posts in any direction?

A. The screens are designed to only fit one way. The screen can be turned 180 degrees in case you want to put the design in a different spot on your project. Either way you place the screen, be sure it locks into place before you print your design.

Q. What do I do if I get little pin holes in my pre-burned screens?

A. We recommend you use Yudu Blockout (sold separately) to fill in any small holes in your screen. If you do not fill them in, ink will get on your projects. Place the blockout on the back of the screen. Let dry before using the screen. If needed, you can use tape on these areas.

Q. How do I use the lid of the machine to make cards?

A. Place pre-burned screens on the lid when you are using a purchased card from your local craft store. These cards are folded ready to go for any craft project. If you are making your own cards, make sure they are folded in half. Place them on your adhesive mat and lower the lid with your screen in place to start the print process.

Pressure Requirements

Q. How do I pull ink onto my project?

A. Use firm, even pressure with your squeegee (spread fingers apart). Hold squeegee at a 45-degree angle. Make sure that your squeegee is tight against your screen.

Q. How much pressure is needed to print the design?

A. Since you are working with paper or cardstock, you only need to use light to medium pressure when printing your design. Check your project before removing it from the mat to see if you need to re-pull the design with a little more pressure.

Q. Is it easy to figure out how much pressure to use when printing my design?

A. Yes, but it takes some practice. Here are a few tips that should help you figure out how much pressure you will need.

Tip 1: Use both hands to apply pressure when printing design.
Tip 2: Make sure that you are applying pressure with all of your fingers. You may notice that there is some ink that is left in the screen. Simply go back over the design and make sure you put some pressure in those areas.

Flooding

Q. What does it mean to flood the screen?

A. When using the lid, you'll want to flood the screen before printing. This preps the ink into your design. When flooding the screen, use soft, even pressure on your squeegee. Hold the squeegee at a 45 degree angle. You only need to flood your screen once.

Q. How do I tell when to flood and when to not flood my screen?

A. You do not need to flood your screen when printing images with the screen placed directly on the registration posts located on the bottom of your machine. If you are placing your pre-burned screens on the lid of the machine, then you will need to flood your image to get a perfect print on your project.

Adhesive Mat

Q. Why do I need to use the adhesive mat?

A. The adhesive mat is meant to hold the project material in place during the printing process. The mat can be pulled up and replaced once the adhesive is worn out.

Q. What are the grid lines for on the adhesive mat?

A. The grid lines help you reproduce accurate results when making multiple cards. The mat has both inch and centimeter marks. The dark blue cross line helps you find the center of the mat easily. These markings are designed to help with easy repeat placement for multiple card projects.

Yudu Ink

Q. What inks can I use with this machine?

A. You can use any Yudu ink (additional colors sold separately) and the Yudu pigment inkpad.

Q. Are the Yudu inks toxic?

A. No. The Yudu inks are biodegradable and safe to be flushed down your average household sink or tub. Yudu inks are industry grade, professional inks that will give you the best results in printing your image. If you use other inks, please do so with caution.

Warning: Using certain inks can cause permanent damage to your screen.

Q. How much ink should I use on my screen? What does a bead of ink mean?

A. There is really no rule of thumb on how much ink should be used on any design. Place a bead of ink in a straight line right above the design. If you think there is not enough ink, then add another bead of ink. It is better to have some extra ink that can be reused or put back in the bottle than to not have enough ink. A bead is a thick line of ink.

Q. Where should I place my ink on the screen?

A. You only need to place the ink right above the design you want to print. This will help preserve the life of your screen and make your ink go further.

Q. What do I do if I notice ink in my screen after printing my image?

A. If you notice that parts of your design are missing and that ink is still in the design areas of the screen, place the screen back over your project and pull the image again. Make sure you put extra pressure in the areas that were missed.

Q. What do I do if the ink dries in my screen?

A. If ink dries in your screen, put it under warm water and gently rub the front side of the screen to get the ink out of the design. Only rub on the front of the screen. If you rub on the back of the screen, you might rub off the design. If ink will not wash clean, then the screen needs to be replaced.

Q. Why do I have a smear of ink on the back of the screen?

A. The smear is caused by using too much pressure when printing your design. Rinse the screen and use a paper towel to wipe off any excess water. Now place ink at the top of your design and pull the image again.

Q. What is the difference between the Yudu ink bottle and
the pigment inkpad?

A. The ink bottle is a water-based, professional silkscreen ink. The pigment ink is most commonly used with stamping. The pigment ink can be used with the dabber pencil to create a unique texture on any project. The pigment ink is easy to wash out of the screen with warm soapy water.

Q. What are some tips in using the dabber pencil with the
pigment ink?

A. Press the dabber pencil into the inkpad three or four times to soak up the ink. Make sure you see ink on the sponge. Place the screen on the base registration pegs before you start dabbing on your design. We have found that the best results come from making a straight line with the dabber or by moving the dabber back and forth over the design.

Printing (Screening) Problems

Q. My finished project is blurred. What did I do wrong?

A. If you use too much pressure when printing your image, the paper can not absorb the excess ink like fabric material, which causes the ink to smear. Try using lighter pressure and practice until you are happy with the results.

Q. My image is darker in some areas than others. Why did this happen?

A. Make sure that you use a firm, even pressure when you pull your ink. Be sure to completely pull your ink across the entire image without stopping. If you need to do another pass, pull the squeegee completely across the screen going in the same direction. If you go over a certain area over and over again, you can make that area darker than the rest of the design.

Q. How do I protect my pre-burned screens?

A. Keep your packaging and reuse it to store the screen. This will lengthen the life of the screen and make it easy to store.

Cleaning

Q. How do I clean my screen?

A. Rinse the screen under warm water in your sink. Let dry completely before using or storing.

Q. How do I clean my screen when using the pigment ink?

A. Rinse the screen under warm water with mild dish soap. Let dry completely before using or storing.

Other Project Ideas

Q. How do I use this machine with ribbon or a fabric materials?

A. Place your ribbon or fabric on the adhesive mat. Place the pre-burned screen over the registration posts on the base of the machine. (Make sure the screen clicks into place. You should hear a clicking sound when it is secured.) Put a bead of ink at the top of the image and then print your image onto the ribbon or fabric. Lift the screen to check results. If needed, place the screen back over the material without moving it on the adhesive mat and pull image again.

Q. How do I create multiple cards?

A. After making your first card, lift the lid all the way up until it stops. The screen will not fall off of the lid if inserted properly. Remove the first card and set it aside so the ink can dry. Place your next card on the adhesive mat, matching up lines from the previous card. If the screen is on the lid of the machine, make sure to flood your screen. If the screen is on the bottom of the machine, you will not need to flood your design. Repeat for every card you are making.

Q. Can I screen print on cuts outs made with my Cricut® machine?

A. When using Cricut cutouts, place them on the adhesive mat. Place the pre-burned screen over the registration posts on the base of the machine. Put ink on screen and print design. You do not need to flood the design in this situation. Now remove the cutouts.

Q. How long should I allow my card to dry?

A. If you are using Yudu ink, it will take 5–10 minutes. If you are using an inkpad, you will need 20–30 minutes. You can use a blow dryer to speed things up.