Emboss vs Deboss | What’s the difference

PAP 21 recycling symbol debossed on packaging cardboard

The prefix em- is a word-forming element that means to ‘put into’, and de-, inherited from Latin, means ‘down from or off’.

This context should give you an idea about the difference between embossing and debossing in custom branding and which would work best for you.

3D illustration of an embossed stamp with the text trusted partner

Embossing

Embossing is the process of stamping or carving something into a material. This could be paper, leather, binders, A5 notebooks or folders in a custom branding environment.

The material (or substrate in our custom branding world) on which you’re printing is wedged between male and female die plates. The female plate houses the design, and the male plate matches the design but is sunken into the plate. The male and female plates are pressed together, and the design is pushed up to appear raised on the material.

Vegan certified food stamp debossed over brown natural background

Debossing

The debossing process is almost identical to embossing, but the design result is pushed into the substrate to appear recessed rather than raised. This type of printing is trendy on leather and PVC binder products and tends to exude a certain quality and esteem.

Types of embossing and debossing

Various types of embossing and debossing techniques are used depending on the requirements and substrate.

Debossing techniques

Three types of techniques exist for debossing: blind, registered and combination. Blind is a simple deboss using no colour or foil. Registered debossing uses ink or foil, and a combination uses a mix of registered and embossing techniques.

Embossing techniques

Blind embossing is the simplest type to emboss or deboss without any colour. Single and multi-level embossing is the process where the raised emboss looks 3D, with single-level being the most basic, and multi-level including varying techniques to make the design look 3D.

Specialist embossing is the process of using pastelling, scorching or glazing techniques to enhance a design. Pastelling uses a combination of dyes to give a design an antique look. Glazing makes the top layer of an emboss shine – often used to make the same colour design stand out. Scorching, as the name suggests, means the die plates are heated to ‘burn’ the design into the substrate.