From the course: Print Production: Embossing, Foil Stamping, and Die Cutting

The visual impact of embossing

From the course: Print Production: Embossing, Foil Stamping, and Die Cutting

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The visual impact of embossing

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There's no denying that embossing has a visual impact. Of course it adds depth, here's a nice little piece. It's just blind embossing. There's no printing, there's no ink on the paper. The only thing that's carrying this art is just that depth of embossing. There's a little bit of texture to the paper and the embossed area is just a little bit smoother than the area around it. That contrast of texture and height, makes a wonderful but subtle effect. And embossing is tactile, it's sculpture. It's something that you can feel. This is a lovely little piece. It's a promotional for Gutenberg's. That's a company in the Atlanta area that specializes in creating embossing dyes, and doing embossing and foil stamping. And so, they showcased their capabilities here by using a multilevel emboss. You can see that the G is not quite as pronounced as their company name Gutenberg's. And then of course they've added some foil stamping. And then that little bit of die cutting on the lower right, that little rounded corner. Every little touch makes it something out of the ordinary. And a piece like this just instantly conveys value. This is a rich chocolate brown stock. It's beautiful paper. And the embossed G, because of the pressure and the heat involved in the embossing. There's just a little bit of scorching around the edges. That sounds like a bad thing, but it isn't. It really colors the edge of that G, just very subtly. And it's almost sort of a polish. And that's something you can use to your advantage. Scorching sounds like a bad thing but when you know what it's going to do, you can actually use it as a component of your design. A piece like this makes a lasting impression. This is a promotional piece for Ink Systems Incorporated and they make ink. I know you're not surprised at that. But you don't even have to read the logo. The minute you see it, you know they have something to do with ink. And you can almost feel that splat of ink. And it's a really, really nice looking piece. And then a piece like this, that uses a multi-level embossing die. And this is something called a combination die. And that means that the embossing and the foil stamping happen simultaneously. This looks a piece of metal. It looks like carved metal sitting on top of the paper. You can image there was a lot of work involved in creating this, but it's a really striking piece and it's a showcase for the company that made it. So, keep these things in mind. Embossing is really like paper sculpture and it adds depth. And it adds life to a piece that you work on. It takes planning, but the outcome is absolutely gorgeous.

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