With The Yudu CardShop Anything Is Possible
Have you ever seen the original Yudu Screen Printing Machine? Its technical ability was great, but it was huge and difficult to clean. Well Provo Craft went back to the drawing board and used that same screen printing concept along with user friendly enhancements to make the Yudu CardShop. Although it's called a personal card screen-printer, the Yudu CardShop can make a lot more than cards. You can print on paper, canvas, fabric, and more! It does not require any batteries, or electricity, and is easier to use than you'd think. Just place your material on the mat, pick your pre-designed screen, and squeegee the ink from one end to the other. The maximum print size area is 5x7, which means it is much easier to clean because it will pretty much fit in any sink, but it's big enough for a variety of cards and projects.
Sounds fabulous, right? Well almost. As I researched this product, I was really intrigued by the video. It looks rather easy to use, and I like that the result you get is a cross between a stamped image and an embossed one. However, it only comes with one pre-designed screen, and there are only 3 other ones you can purchase. The screens that are sold separately actually include two screens in the package with a total of about 7 designs, and they are very cute and versatile. But do you really want to buy a machine when your image choices are that limited? I don't know...
Knowing that many of you might feel this same way, I contacted Provo Craft and inquired if more screens were going to be released in the future. They advised that this was their intention, but that no specific designs or release dates were available.
There is also a blank screen available and I had the hardest time figuring out why. You cannot burn your own designs with the new CardShop machine. But if you have the original Yudu, you could use that to burn the blank screens for the CardShop. I also read that you might be able to cut out designs using vinyl and use that as a stencil with the blank screen. That would really open up the world of possibilities for this new machine.
As a crafter myself, I often go to my crafty friends when I have questions about a product. So I'm shouting out to all of you to let me know what you think of the Yudu CardShop! If you've purchased it from us, write a product review about it on our site so we can all see what you think! Let us know if you've tried using vinyl with the blank screen and how it turned out! Or check out our blog on Thursday when we'll post this article and open up discussion about it. (Or go to the Blog now, enter our giveaway for a Cricut Imagine Yummy Cartridge with Imagine sunglasses, and then check back on Thursday to see who wins while you comment on the Yudu!)