- What it is
- Two dies, a male and a female, are cut to the same artwork and the sheet is pressed between them. An emboss pushes the shape towards the reader; a deboss pushes it away. Blind means nothing is added — no ink, no foil, just the shape of the sheet itself. A single-level die gives a flat plateau with a bevelled shoulder; a sculpted or multi-level die models the shape at more than one depth and costs more to make. The die pair is tooling: it is cut once, and it is kept.
- What it is printed on
Bulky uncoated stock with enough fibre to be compressed and enough body to hold the shape afterwards. Cotton, felt-marked and heavy uncoated woodfree all take relief well. Linen board takes it but fights it slightly, because the sheet already carries an embossed texture and the die has to push through it. A thin sheet is the wrong choice — it stretches, then splits at the shoulder.
- Cotton soft white, 450 gsm0.66 mmThe most compressible sheet here, and the one that holds a deep shape without splitting.
- Felt-marked text, 300 gsm0.52 mmBulky for its weight, so the die has plenty of fibre to work into.
- Linen board, 350 gsm0.47 mmIt works, but the die has to push through a texture the sheet already carries — keep the shape simple.
- How it feels
- Readable with the eyes closed, which is the entire argument for it. Under raking light the relief throws a shadow and the piece looks printed; under flat overhead light it almost disappears, and that instability is a feature — the mark changes as the card is turned. On an emboss the reverse carries the exact negative, and a thumb on the back finds the hollow before it finds anything else.
- What it suits
- Monograms, logos, covers, folders, certificates, packaging panels, and any piece expected to outlive the campaign that paid for it. It suits generous, simple shapes. It does not suit fine serifs, small type or photographic detail, none of which survive a die shoulder, and it does not suit a laminated or heavily coated sheet, where the film whitens and cracks as it stretches.
- Lead time
- Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days. A cutting forme, a foil block, an embossing die or a screen made for the first time is made before anything can run; a tool already held is not.
- The common mistake
- Treating the reverse as free space. An emboss is a hollow on the back and a deboss is a lump on it, and a heavy solid or a second block of type sitting behind the relief ghosts through as a visible dent that no amount of care on press removes. Keep the reverse light behind the struck area, move the artwork so nothing sits back to back, or bond two sheets so the seam hides what the die did.
Print idea
Blind emboss and deboss
A matched pair of dies presses a sheet into relief with no ink and no foil. It is the only finish that survives being photocopied, faded or reprinted, because there is no colour in it to lose.
Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
What blind emboss and deboss is
Two dies, a male and a female, are cut to the same artwork and the sheet is pressed between them. An emboss pushes the shape towards the reader; a deboss pushes it away. Blind means nothing is added — no ink, no foil, just the shape of the sheet itself. A single-level die gives a flat plateau with a bevelled shoulder; a sculpted or multi-level die models the shape at more than one depth and costs more to make. The die pair is tooling: it is cut once, and it is kept.
Bulky uncoated stock with enough fibre to be compressed and enough body to hold the shape afterwards. Cotton, felt-marked and heavy uncoated woodfree all take relief well. Linen board takes it but fights it slightly, because the sheet already carries an embossed texture and the die has to push through it. A thin sheet is the wrong choice — it stretches, then splits at the shoulder.
- The trim — where the guillotine falls.
- The keep-out, drawn inside the trim. Nothing struck may cross it.
- The strike, drawn at a standard depth and lit from one side.
The specification
Six fields, and the last one is the useful one.
The same six questions are answered for every entry in this section, in the same order, so two objects can be compared without reading two pages of prose. The mistake is stated last and stated plainly, because it is the one that costs a reprint and it is the reason this page is worth sending to a colleague.
Where this sits.
Every entry is indexed three ways, because a buyer arrives knowing the occasion, the object or the material and almost never all three.
- Application
- Format
- Material and effect
Also worth looking at
- Letterpress cardStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Textured and laid paperStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Foil-blocked invitationStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Name cardsThe specification, and how it is quoted
- FoldersThe specification, and how it is quoted
- InvitationsThe specification, and how it is quoted
- CertificatesThe specification, and how it is quoted
- StationeryThe specification, and how it is quoted
- Every print idea, indexed three waysThe section index
- The materials libraryCaliper, weight and what each finish costs
Send the specification for this, and it comes back quoted.
Every job is quoted from its specification — stock, quantity, sides, finish, size and deadline.
- Quantity
- Stock — or the feel you want, if you do not know the stock
- Sides printed
- Finish
- Flat and finished size
- The deadline
Artwork is welcome but not required to start. Email sales@ezprint.com.sg if you would rather attach files.