If you've ever run your hand over one of our greeting cards, you'll feel that the words literally "pop" off the page. (If you haven't, you should pick one up and try it!) That is because we emboss each card before foil stamping it. This extra step makes our cards elegantly classic and very special for the receiver. They feel like something you should save in a memory book or photo album. Remember those? We have a few!
What is the difference between embossing and debossing?
Embossing is a technique used to impress a design into paper. This raises the design off of the paper and creates the “pop”. We perform this step before adding foil to our greeting cards, giving them that luxurious look. This process requires an extra pass through our machines, but we think it's worth it!
Debossing is the exact opposite of embossing. The technique is used to depress a design into paper, lowering the design into the paper. This technique is not used on our cards, but we are experts at the process!
How is embossing done?
First, we start with a die. The die is made of two metal plates that are specifically cut to each of our designs. We send our designs to our die maker, and they send back the metal plates!
The two dies, front and back dies, are used to sandwich the paper and create the design with force. They use heat to press the paper like a stamp and slightly raise (or impress) the design into the paper. The result is a three-dimensional design that makes the foil on our greeting cards pop!
What is embossing used for?
We use embossing on our greeting cards! You'll find embossing on business cards, stamps, stickers, and many other consumer goods.
Check out the embossing on our greeting cards at WowWordz.com. Including our "Happy = You + Me" card:
And our "XOXO" card — it's difficult to photograph but, if you zoom in, you can see the lips are raised since they're embossed onto the card!