Embossed logo
Letterpress printing is a debossing process, meaning the art is pressed into the paper (usually as it applies ink). In the first photo you can see an example of a different, but similar process called embossing, which is the opposite: the art is coming up out of the paper. This is done with a corresponding set of male and female dies on each side of the paper that press together to create the impression. You’ll see a clear reverse image of the design pressed into the back of the paper.
Another option is doing a blind-deboss, which is still a letterpress process, but where we use no ink, but just press the image into the paper. I usually use 5-10% grey ink for this process just to make sure the image/text doesn’t get lost. It still ends up looking like no ink, but the impression looks deeper. See an example of what this looks like in the image below.
Blind debossed logo
Semi-blind debossed cactus
Semi-blind debossed woodgrain
