Printing Resources
Learn about printing, proofing, and finishing operations, the ins-and-outs of paper, and find conversion charts useful to the graphic arts and printing industries.
Printing 101
Die Cutting & Embossing
Both processes change the shape of the paper. Die cutting involves making actual cuts through the paper. Embossing and, its opposite, debossing involve pressing a design into the surface of the paper.
Die Cutting
Printed sheets are die cut for functional reasons (door hanger, pocket folder, etc.) or to enhance design appeal (i.e., die cutting a band’s album-release announcement into a CD’s shape).
A cutting die works similar to a cookie cutter. Sharp-edged, thin-metal strips, or rules, are mounted in a wooden block where slots have been cut into the desired shape. On a letterpress, the paper is squeezed against the rules and cut. “Kiss cutting” is a technique that allows labels or decals to be cut to shape, but not their paper backing.
Most printers maintain standard dies supply for common items like pocket folders, etc., and custom dies can be created to cut virtually any shape or configuration.
Embossing
Embossing (image higher than the surrounding sheet) and debossing (lower) add depth to a printed piece. Generally used for stationary, folders, and covers, this process presses the sheet (usually with heat) between two molds (embossing dies) that rearrange the paper fibers, raising (or lowering) the image as much as ⅛-inch. The heat assures finer detail and creates a shiny finish.
Embossing can be registered to a printed image, but this is more expensive than “blind embossing” where the embossing dies don’t have to be registered precisely by the press operator.
Designer Tips
When specifying paper, remember soft paper takes impressions more easily than hard paper -- such as laid bond -- and textures may become smooth under pressure.