The word itself is old school French, coming from em (into) and boce (protuberance) and at Windmill it’s one of our most requested techniques our clients use to add a touch of class, texture and dimension to their projects.
Turning the process on it’s head and pressing an image or text into the card is called debossing. The depth of the imprint is often perceived as a lot more than is really there and creates an effect that turns heads.
The Windmill Approach
Embossing and debossing are two different processes, although often mistaken for each other.
Embossing gives a raised effect, making the design stand out, literally. Debossing is indenting the design into the card.
The mechanical precision of printing and foiling can be embossed or debossed to an outstanding standard. Blind embossing is a process where embossing or debossing is used alone for a more subtle effect, without any print or foil.
Embossing uses a ‘male’ metal die and a ‘female’ counterforce. The card is trapped between these two parts when on the press and raises the details which are being embossed on the card. There are different types of embossing dies available – flat dies, round dies and multi-level dies. We use some of the best dies available where incredible detail can be achieved.
Debossing is achieved by pressing a die into the card – a similar process to foiling except there is more pressure but no foil applied.
See more examples of Embossing / Debossing in the showcase.