- Personal silk-screening system for apparel, home décor, and more; ideal for use on cotton and poly-cotton blends
- Includes printing machine, mesh screen, emulsion sheet, squeegee, adult t-shirt platen, platen adhesive sheet, blank ink-jet transparency, and 2-ounce bottle of black ink
- Easy-to-use control panel operates printer's light, exposure, and fan operations; requires access to computer and ink-jet printer
- With instructional DVD and user manual included; unplug printer before wiping clean with damp rag, or when not in use
- Measures 32 inches wide by 21 inches deep by 11 inches high; limited manufacturer warranty
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Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description
Develop beautiful silkscreen designs and print them on placemats and napkins with Yudu Personal Screen Printer for totally unique table décor. Using images created on and printed from a home computer, the screen printer enables the user to produce custom t-shirts, pillowcases, posters, cards, and more. The printer is ideal for user on cotton and polyester cotton blends, but may also find success on paper, porous fabric, and wood. Ready for basic screen-printing use, the Yudu includes a mesh screen, emulsion sheet, squeegee, adult t-shirt platen, platen adhesive sheet, blank ink-jet transparency, and a 2-ounce bottle of water-soluble black ink. The Yudu’s lid lifts open to give access to the lighted table for screen exposure and printing; four replaceable, 18-inch 15-watt T8 bulbs illuminate the table. To ensure proper screen, image, and platen alignment, the table features registration guides and posts. A straightforward control panel, equipped with digital display, allows the user to operate the fan, exposure, and light functions, as well as adding or subtracting time for different project needs. Underneath the light table, a drying drawer is installed. The printer comes with an instructional DVD and a user manual. For more intricate images and text, Provo Craft offers finer mesh screens for separate purchase, along with essential accessories like emulsion remover and blockout. Operate the printer away from sinks and always unplug before wiping clean with a damp cloth. With a limited 90-day warranty on labor and non-electronic parts, the Yudu’s electronic parts are covered by a limited 6-month warranty. The screen printer measures 31 inches wide by 21 inches deep by 11 inches high and weighs 32 pounds upon shipping.
Product Description
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. Unsilence yourself today with the Yudu Personal Screen Printer. Includes printing machine, mesh screen, emulsion sheet, squeegee, adult t-shirt platen, platen adhesive sheet, blank ink-jet transparency, and 2-ounce bottle of black ink. Features easy-to-use control panel that operates printer's light, exposure, and fan operations. Kit provides instructional DVD and user manual. Ideal for use on cotton and poly-cotton blends. Unplug printer before wiping clean with damp rag, or when not in use. Measures 32 inches wide by 21 inches deep by 11 inches high.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
599 of 600 people found the following review helpful
After spending most of my three years of grad school in the screenprinting facilities, I was anxious to create some sort of setup for myself at home once I'd graduated. As a couple of other reviews point out, the YuDu is indeed different from traditional screenprinting - the tools are different but the process is essentially the same with the major difference being the application of the photo-sensitive emulsion. And this is where the YuDu will make or break you. While in the end I'd give the YuDu a rating between 3 and 4 stars, mostly for potential, these have been the challenging areas for me along the steep learning curve:
EMULSION:
Applying the emulsion in sheet form (rather than as a liquid with what's called a scoop-coater, as you would in traditional screenprinting) has been the most challenging part of the learning curve for me (and most others, it seems). But like any tool, it takes time and back-up supplies to learn it so do yourself a favor and have at least 2 sheets of emulsion on hand, a lot of patience, and a first project that is not on a tight deadline. The trick is having the screen wet enough but not too wet (since you're essentially doing something in solid form that's ideally applied as a liquid) and this will take practice.
BUY A 220 MESH SCREEN:
Once you get the hang of emulsion application, you may want to add a 220 mesh screen to your supply inventory since the 110 mesh screen that comes with the machine won't be fine enough to handle most text-based projects or designs with lots of detail. I got the YuDu primarily for client-based work, primarily text-based, and my own art projects, which are more graphic design based with some text. I'm not terribly interested in printing t-shirts, which is what the YuDu is primarily marketed for, so having at least one 220 mesh screen is essential.
GET YOURSELF A REAL SQUEEGEE:
I'm not fond of the tone taken in a few reviews here, most of which are hardly reviews of the product (I doubt those reviewers even have a YuDu) but rather snobby declarations of their preference for "traditional" screenprinting. I will be a snob on one point though and that's the "squeegee" that comes with the machine. Maybe this piece of plastic works well printing on t-shirts but I found it to be really inconsistent with pulling the ink through and getting a consistently printed surface on the paper below. You can find a variety of screenprinting squeegees at your local art store (or try [...] - I got the "graphics" squeegee but a standard squeegee should work just fine and there are squeegees especially made for textile printing). This is one of several details the folks at Provo Craft need to work on to make a good machine with potential really great.
INKS:
Once I finally mastered the art of applying emulsion to the screen and successfully burned my design, I found the YuDu brand inks to be too thick to pass through the finer mesh of my 220 screen. Like my squeegee rant above, this may not be an issue with the 110 screens and printing on textiles, but I found it to be a real problem, only passing through the larger parts of my design despite being able to tell that my image had burned perfectly and the emulsion had rinsed out no problem. So I experimented with a different brand of ink (Versatex which I got at my local Blick art supply store) and sure enough my design printed just fine (having a new squeegee at this point also helped). I had my heart set on a particular YuDu color, however, so I tried adding some extender (again, available with the screenprinting inks or online) and, although this did dilute the color ever so slightly, worked like a charm. I mixed enough ink (about 3-4 parts YuDu ink to 1 part extender but it may vary for you) for my entire print run and stored it in a little plastic container you can get at just about any art or craft supply store (or even a tupperware devoted to your Yudu would work).
If you want to read more, you can check out my even longer, more rambling blog post on the topic: [...]
I hope Provo Craft is reading all of these reviews, and the countless blog posts and video tutorials and taking all of these complaints into consideration. The machine itself is great - it's nice to have something that will fit on my table that's an exposure unit, light table, and printing apparatus all in one. But the accessories could use some work - emulsion sheets are tricky and costly and the squeegee is worthless. I can understand why they don't want to include all these little bits of information in the instructional DVD and pamphlet (they'd turn off a lot of potential customers if they advertised just how tricky this thing is) but a little more information up front would be useful. On the other hand, keep in mind that screenprinting is an art form that some folks spend years perfecting. Like any tool, it's going to take some time and practice to get it right, but I think this thing has a lot of potential, especially for folks like me who don't have the time or resources to create a screenprinting setup from scratch in my nonexistent garage.
Good luck and happy printing!
EMULSION:
Applying the emulsion in sheet form (rather than as a liquid with what's called a scoop-coater, as you would in traditional screenprinting) has been the most challenging part of the learning curve for me (and most others, it seems). But like any tool, it takes time and back-up supplies to learn it so do yourself a favor and have at least 2 sheets of emulsion on hand, a lot of patience, and a first project that is not on a tight deadline. The trick is having the screen wet enough but not too wet (since you're essentially doing something in solid form that's ideally applied as a liquid) and this will take practice.
BUY A 220 MESH SCREEN:
Once you get the hang of emulsion application, you may want to add a 220 mesh screen to your supply inventory since the 110 mesh screen that comes with the machine won't be fine enough to handle most text-based projects or designs with lots of detail. I got the YuDu primarily for client-based work, primarily text-based, and my own art projects, which are more graphic design based with some text. I'm not terribly interested in printing t-shirts, which is what the YuDu is primarily marketed for, so having at least one 220 mesh screen is essential.
GET YOURSELF A REAL SQUEEGEE:
I'm not fond of the tone taken in a few reviews here, most of which are hardly reviews of the product (I doubt those reviewers even have a YuDu) but rather snobby declarations of their preference for "traditional" screenprinting. I will be a snob on one point though and that's the "squeegee" that comes with the machine. Maybe this piece of plastic works well printing on t-shirts but I found it to be really inconsistent with pulling the ink through and getting a consistently printed surface on the paper below. You can find a variety of screenprinting squeegees at your local art store (or try [...] - I got the "graphics" squeegee but a standard squeegee should work just fine and there are squeegees especially made for textile printing). This is one of several details the folks at Provo Craft need to work on to make a good machine with potential really great.
INKS:
Once I finally mastered the art of applying emulsion to the screen and successfully burned my design, I found the YuDu brand inks to be too thick to pass through the finer mesh of my 220 screen. Like my squeegee rant above, this may not be an issue with the 110 screens and printing on textiles, but I found it to be a real problem, only passing through the larger parts of my design despite being able to tell that my image had burned perfectly and the emulsion had rinsed out no problem. So I experimented with a different brand of ink (Versatex which I got at my local Blick art supply store) and sure enough my design printed just fine (having a new squeegee at this point also helped). I had my heart set on a particular YuDu color, however, so I tried adding some extender (again, available with the screenprinting inks or online) and, although this did dilute the color ever so slightly, worked like a charm. I mixed enough ink (about 3-4 parts YuDu ink to 1 part extender but it may vary for you) for my entire print run and stored it in a little plastic container you can get at just about any art or craft supply store (or even a tupperware devoted to your Yudu would work).
If you want to read more, you can check out my even longer, more rambling blog post on the topic: [...]
I hope Provo Craft is reading all of these reviews, and the countless blog posts and video tutorials and taking all of these complaints into consideration. The machine itself is great - it's nice to have something that will fit on my table that's an exposure unit, light table, and printing apparatus all in one. But the accessories could use some work - emulsion sheets are tricky and costly and the squeegee is worthless. I can understand why they don't want to include all these little bits of information in the instructional DVD and pamphlet (they'd turn off a lot of potential customers if they advertised just how tricky this thing is) but a little more information up front would be useful. On the other hand, keep in mind that screenprinting is an art form that some folks spend years perfecting. Like any tool, it's going to take some time and practice to get it right, but I think this thing has a lot of potential, especially for folks like me who don't have the time or resources to create a screenprinting setup from scratch in my nonexistent garage.
Good luck and happy printing!
488 of 499 people found the following review helpful
I have been wanting a thermofax machine for a long time now and when the YUDU came out I thought it would work similar to the thermofax for far less money. I have never screenprinted a thing in my life and have been researching how to do it and what to buy for a while now.
Here are the things I like and dislike about the machine:
PROS:
I like the exposure unit since this seems to be the issue with traditional screenprinting.
I like not having to deal with chemicals - the exposure sheets are easy to use.
After botching the first screen, the second was a breeze - the screen came out great and made a bunch of pulls experimenting with inks and paints. All of the images came out great!
CONS:
* I think it's really pricey for what it is, but I used a circular flyer coupon and saved a lot on my unit.
* The first go-round I didn't have the screen wet enough and consequently my result was a wasted emulsion. I blame this on...
* The DVD it comes with is just TERRIBLE. It's really annoying, not serious and did not help at all. I could not get past the fact that they were in a garage in one part with FLIES flying around them!
* It does not come with the emulsion remover so make sure and buy it or if you ruin your first try you can't wash it off to try again. There is nothing worse than having to wait when you want to play!
* The unit is HUGE - it has a 17" X 26-1/2" footprint.
They recommend that you use their inks but I used my fabric paints I had on hand and they worked just fine.
Overall it was pretty easy to use (after I ruined the first one to figure it out) even for a novice like me! I wish they would redo their DVD and show up close how things are supposed to look - assume no one has ever screen printed before. I would say that I am happy I have a fairly mess free way to screenprint that is easy and quick! It's definitely more affordable than a thermofax setup. I will also layout more images on my transparency to burn onto my screen rather than waste all that emulsion space.
I am going to experiment with using the machine as an exposure unit for my own screens - I will have to follow up with how well that works. I want the freedom to make smaller screens and save them for future use and I think it can be done with this machine (without having to use the YUDU screens). We'll see!
-------------------------
After playing with it for the weekend I wound up returning it. I think it's great if you want to do LARGE area graphics without fine details. I tried to burn some screens with finer details to no avail. It jut couldn't pick them up. So, I think it depends on what you want to use it for, and since they are leaning toward t-shirts with big chunky graphics it's fine. Skip it if you want to use it for fine printing, like small text or detail.
Here are the things I like and dislike about the machine:
PROS:
I like the exposure unit since this seems to be the issue with traditional screenprinting.
I like not having to deal with chemicals - the exposure sheets are easy to use.
After botching the first screen, the second was a breeze - the screen came out great and made a bunch of pulls experimenting with inks and paints. All of the images came out great!
CONS:
* I think it's really pricey for what it is, but I used a circular flyer coupon and saved a lot on my unit.
* The first go-round I didn't have the screen wet enough and consequently my result was a wasted emulsion. I blame this on...
* The DVD it comes with is just TERRIBLE. It's really annoying, not serious and did not help at all. I could not get past the fact that they were in a garage in one part with FLIES flying around them!
* It does not come with the emulsion remover so make sure and buy it or if you ruin your first try you can't wash it off to try again. There is nothing worse than having to wait when you want to play!
* The unit is HUGE - it has a 17" X 26-1/2" footprint.
They recommend that you use their inks but I used my fabric paints I had on hand and they worked just fine.
Overall it was pretty easy to use (after I ruined the first one to figure it out) even for a novice like me! I wish they would redo their DVD and show up close how things are supposed to look - assume no one has ever screen printed before. I would say that I am happy I have a fairly mess free way to screenprint that is easy and quick! It's definitely more affordable than a thermofax setup. I will also layout more images on my transparency to burn onto my screen rather than waste all that emulsion space.
I am going to experiment with using the machine as an exposure unit for my own screens - I will have to follow up with how well that works. I want the freedom to make smaller screens and save them for future use and I think it can be done with this machine (without having to use the YUDU screens). We'll see!
-------------------------
After playing with it for the weekend I wound up returning it. I think it's great if you want to do LARGE area graphics without fine details. I tried to burn some screens with finer details to no avail. It jut couldn't pick them up. So, I think it depends on what you want to use it for, and since they are leaning toward t-shirts with big chunky graphics it's fine. Skip it if you want to use it for fine printing, like small text or detail.
140 of 144 people found the following review helpful
While the machine is convenient to use, you need to be aware of some of the issues.
I followed the tutorial online step by step. I wasted both emulsion sheets in the process. Being a beginner, the tutorial shows a woman using a spray bottle generously to get the emulsion sheet attached to the screen. She then lets the emulsion dry in 20 minutes. I tried this, and the emulsion was still wet, so I gave it another 20 minutes. After coming back, it was still a little wet, but I was unsure if it became "too dry" whether or not the plastic would become cemented to emulsion. The instructions included are vague, and make this process seem a quick step by step without giving any word of potential issues.
This happened to both emulsions, before I realized on the second emulsion that it took way longer than 20 minutes to dry this. Once again, I followed both the instructions and the book, and they both made it seem that one 20 minute cycle (hitting the fan and walking away) was how to handle the emulsion.
My issue at this point is that I live on Long Island, with 2 JoAnn's, and 3 Michaels and 2 AC Moore's all within 25 miles of me. I have driven to each and every story every other day for the last week, and none of them sell emulsion sheets. I tried contacting Yudu, and after explaining my problems, they told me the only place these emulsions were available were at JoAnn's and HSN.
Anyway, if you consider using this product, just be aware of the potential problems that come along with it. If you mess this up, Yudu won't help you, and if there is no emulsion available in stores, you are SOL. I wish I could give you an idea of what the shirt came out like, except I couldn't get past the drying process.
I followed the tutorial online step by step. I wasted both emulsion sheets in the process. Being a beginner, the tutorial shows a woman using a spray bottle generously to get the emulsion sheet attached to the screen. She then lets the emulsion dry in 20 minutes. I tried this, and the emulsion was still wet, so I gave it another 20 minutes. After coming back, it was still a little wet, but I was unsure if it became "too dry" whether or not the plastic would become cemented to emulsion. The instructions included are vague, and make this process seem a quick step by step without giving any word of potential issues.
This happened to both emulsions, before I realized on the second emulsion that it took way longer than 20 minutes to dry this. Once again, I followed both the instructions and the book, and they both made it seem that one 20 minute cycle (hitting the fan and walking away) was how to handle the emulsion.
My issue at this point is that I live on Long Island, with 2 JoAnn's, and 3 Michaels and 2 AC Moore's all within 25 miles of me. I have driven to each and every story every other day for the last week, and none of them sell emulsion sheets. I tried contacting Yudu, and after explaining my problems, they told me the only place these emulsions were available were at JoAnn's and HSN.
Anyway, if you consider using this product, just be aware of the potential problems that come along with it. If you mess this up, Yudu won't help you, and if there is no emulsion available in stores, you are SOL. I wish I could give you an idea of what the shirt came out like, except I couldn't get past the drying process.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
good product, easy use
good product, easy use, I used it to make funny tees at my store, we contribute part of our income to benefits that battle crack addiction.
Published 28 days ago by Kenny Hotts
Excellent with tweaks and hacks
I have a degree in art with a focus in printmaking, and I worked in an excellent studio when I was in college. Read more
Published 1 month ago by LCaura
Works great for me, with minor modifications.
I agonized over whether to buy the Yudu after reading a lot of the Amazon reviews, but I'm so glad I finally did. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Laura Shaffer
It's alright...
I've been using this printer for about 1 year now and each time I use it, I find something that can be improved! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Cynthia L. delaCruz
Save your money
I tried to enter into using this device with an open mind. Even after I read many reviews saying "Keep away". But no.... I was much smarter. Much more handy than those folks. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Larry
Works nicely with Adjustments
I purchased the machine from my local Michaels with a 50% off coupon. I read most of the reviews here 1st and I made sure that I had the following on hand 1st.. Read more
Published 7 months ago by alowriderswife
Ummmm...
Well, the Yudu is a nice product, but it has its flaws. MANY! The video is not the best instruction guide, but it does come with a nice little booklet that gets you confused from... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Starvelle
Good for Hobbying
This is a great product if you plan on only using it for a hobby. It is great for introducing people into printing, but if you plan on really getting into it, I would say to invest... Read more
Published 10 months ago by [.] (dot) by Naju
Expensive, but fun hobby
I received the Yudu system as a Mother's Day present after wanting it for the past few years. I had read all the reviews and was a little intimidated to actually try it since the... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Captain Hook
Not for quick projects, but nice results
This is not a "Hey kids, let's make some T-shirts" type of product as one is led to believe. Preparing the screen takes both time and skill. Read more
Published 12 months ago by audresmommy
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