Great print is more than just ink on paper – it’s where embossing and debossing come in to play to leave you with a lasting impression.
The quality of your printed material reflects your brand or business so we think it’s vital to give your clients something different, something memorable.
We humans are tactile animals. The tips of our fingers are filled with nerve endings, making us highly sensitive to texture. When handing a business card to a potential client, or when a customer picks up your brochure, a three-dimensional texture is a strong sensual stimulant.
Read on to find out more about the power of embossing and debossing
Embossing and debossing are the impressing or depressing of an image or text onto a sheet of paper or card.
The image or text is raised above or pushed below the normal level of the paper. This method serves to create contrast of light and shade, making the text or image really stand out to the eye as well as to the touch.
The main tools needed for this technique are:
To begin the embossing process, we start with two metal plates which are known as the ‘die’ and ‘counterdie’.
The selected image or text is then etched into the die, and onto the counterdie using specialist engraving tools and compounds. These dies are made to fit perfectly together.
Once you have selected the paper or card, it’s placed into the press, between the die and counterdie. We recommend using medium weight stocks when embossing or debossing.
The die goes on top and the counterdie goes underneath. The clamping machine then uses a combination of high pressure and heat to squeeze the card between the two dies.
Your chosen text or image is therefore ‘raised’ above the card, standing out.
With embossing, the back of your card will also show the indentation of the text, in reverse.
If this isn’t part of the effect that you want to achieve, the indentations at the back can be covered up using the technique of duplexing.
During this process, only one die is used – the counterdie.
The counterdie is squeezed against the top side of the card using the same press with its high pressure and heat, creating an indentation of your selected image. If your card is thick enough, this mark won’t show up on the back side of the piece.
When it comes to debossing, the counter die is covered with ink, so that the indented image emerges filled with colour while maintaining its three-dimensional texture.
A very common way of using embossing and debossing is to combine with foiling techniques.
To achieve this effect, a foil is applied using the same technique as traditional foiling. When the card is pressed for embossing or debossing, the foil is stuck into the indentation or on top of the ridges of your image, giving your card a truly opulent dimension.
Whether it be embossing, debossing, duplexing, triplexing, or any combination of a whole range of clever printing techniques that your needs require, we have you covered.
We make print that will get noticed for all the right reasons. The textural contrast of an embossed business card will make people want to touch it, and what could be more memorable than that?
