Prepress Specialists-does anyone know how to apply embossing and debossing for output?

[Dee Holmes]

We've just come into a new proceedure that we're applying with two magnesium plates for embossing and debossing. We need a female and male plate. We have had some good luck and some bad. I guess we're still trying to figure it out, it much depends on the graphics.

I think more complicated ones are confusing us. With knockouts and so forth.

I would appreciate any knowlege that anyone has on this matter.

[Dee Holmes]

Does anyone know embossing?

[John_Kallios@adobeforums.com]

Well, you definitely confused me with this thread. :)

What exactly did you need to know?

I do not produce dies, only film for them. The counter dies my vendors use are made from the original dies.

[Dee Holmes]

Thanx for the response at least, John.

We thought we had the embossing thing down when we started. It seems we just worked with what we had at the time. You know deadlines to meet and all. So we were just going with the original art (which would be called the male plate) and they were putting the point board above cardboard to make the impression.

Now, we are going to a female and male magnesium plate. And sometimes our output is good and sometimes it doesn't work. I think it depends on the knockouts in the artwork.

What's harder is I don't directly work with this product, I'm just trying to assist a collegue.

So, if you know anything about these plates, obviously the male plate has to fit into the female. And if the male is the original artwork, then the female has to have a knockout stroke to become larger.

Am I correct so far?

We are getting confused with artwork that has alot of knockouts, IMO.

If you're trying to think negative it's o.k./ if you're trying to think positive it's o.k. But what happens when you have to fit the two together?

So, I guess I'm asking for advise on female to male plates?

Maybe a metaphore, to better understand what we are doing.

[Dee Holmes]

Well, only since you've been so good at metaphors lately.

[John_Kallios@adobeforums.com]

The counter dies (male dies) I use (really my vendors use) are made from the emboss die (female die). The female die is used as a mold for the male die.

I am unfamiliar with the process you refer to so I cannot help.

Maybe a metaphore, to better understand what we are doing.






:P

[Dee Holmes]

O.K. Good to know anyway, John. Thank You.

Does anyone know what embossing or debossing is?

I don't, so don't worry, we'll figure it out.

I'm speaking of a type of stamp looking thingymabob in the middle of paper whatever. An impression.

Has anyone here had experience with embossing?

[Steve_Werner@adobeforums.com]

Dee,

That's a pretty specialized question. You probably need to go to a more print-related forum. There aren't that many prepress techs who hang out here.

I don't spend time there, but you might try the forums at [url]www.printplanet.com[/url].

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

Debossing and embossing are the same thing Dee you should discuss this with you
die maker and they use if I am not mistaken a CAD program for this.

They do import AI files I understand a lot for this purpose.

I think it is best to contact the Die Maker!

[Dee Holmes]

Wade, we are the die maker. We are trying to figure this out with 2 plates instead of one. I know that debossing and embossing are the same, you just flip the plates. We have had this work, but some artwork is more complicated to figure out than others.

Just thought maybe someone here had some experience with this. We'll get it though.

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

I believe to multiple level embossing you do a separation as you would for spot colors.

I know that was how I prepared mechanical art before desktop.

I don't know of a plug in for this.

I think you might simply give the die maker a file with key lines as layers.

[Dee Holmes]

Wade, say you have a one color job. Now you output that to neg, that is your male plate.

Now, the female plate is where it's confusing. Using the same art, you have to make it bigger. So that the male plate will fit inside the female plate. So I think you put a white stroke on your art and send it to film as positive.

Does this make any sense?

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

Yes! Or! Perhaps Object>Path >Offset Path

[Mordy_Golding@adobeforums.com]

In my experience, this is something that we used to refer as a "sculptured die" -- for example, we'd have a complex design created and then create a die that would be able to produce both emboss and deboss effects simultaneously (we did this mainly for book covers). Most of the mainstream paperback books out there use these kinds of dies to get a more realistic look and feel. These are also sometimes combined with foil stamps as well.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can help here because we always created the art and then sent it out to a die maker to actually create the necessary dies.

:) Mordy

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

I do believe I read that there is a software for this but it is some kind of CAD program and I am not sure it is either Windows or Mac!

[Dee Holmes]

That's o.k. I just thought I'd get your opinion. We'll get it down.

[cm_lim@adobeforums.com]

This is involve into printing sector.
to do the emboss and deboss:
1. output the original artwork to positive film as usual.
2 . add stroke 2pt to 4pt(depend on how deep the effect you want to produce) on your original artwork and save as seperate file.
3. out the new file to negative film.
4. now you get 2 film whick one bigger in size than other.
5. send for plate making.