Raised printing is often seen on special documents like formal stationery and wedding invitations. Some people like to have raised printing on their business cards and letterhead, because they believe it will convey high quality and elegance to the recipient. Glossy raised print on a business card adds sophistication to an ordinary object. Raised printing is produced by a process called thermography, and thermography business cards are very popular among those who want to convey style and sophistication. And as a bonus, thermography allows for faster turnaround than many other print jobs. You can even buy them online.
Thermography uses a plastic resin, which dries instantly so products made by thermography can be finished and shipped off in the same day. And thermography business cards (and other documents produced by this process) can be printed in almost any color ink, from red to gold to silver to black or just about any other color. Whatever color it is, raised ink gives a distinctive look to items made by thermography printing.
How thermography business cards are made
In thermography printing, a powdered plastic resin is dusted over wet ink and melted instantly, which produces a raised surface. You may have heard the phrase “thermal printing” applied to the printouts from older fax machines that used paper that curled. This is not the same process as that used to produce thermography business cards and documents.
Thermography is a post printing process that uses traditional print methods plus the use of a thermography machine. Thermography machines are made in three sections. The printed material travels through the machine by a conveyor belt. In the first part of the thermography machine, powdered polymer is applied to the whole sheet. The inks used in thermography do not contain hardeners or drying agents so that they remain wet during the powder application. The next section of the printing machine is a vacuum that removes excess powder from the non-inked parts of the document. It is then sent through a radiant oven where the temperature reaches 900 to 1300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heating a document that is being thermographically heated only takes a few seconds. If the temperature isn’t monitored in the heating oven, the paper can catch fire, and the smell of burning thermographic ink is reported to smell like burning popcorn or burning hair.
The paper used in thermography printing has a peak of infrared radiant absorption at the temperature used in the oven. The powder, through conduction from contact with the paper, rapidly starts filming at the edges of the raised printing areas. Then, when the center of the filmed area reaches the proper quality but before it combusts, the document exits the machine and goes immediately into a convection cooling section so that the process stops before the quality of the film can deteriorate.
Thermography printing by hand
Thermography printing can be done by hand using manual powdering. The paper with the wet ink is dipped into the powdered polymer and the sheet is tilted back and forth so that the powder rolls across the image. Then the paper is set vertically and tapped to remove the excess powder. The sheet then is fed into a radiant heater to increase the quality of the film process. In some cases, the powder is melted with a handheld heat gun that blows hot air onto it.
Thermography business cards are far from the only documents made with raised printing. It is commonly used on wedding invitations, greeting cards, letterheads, diplomas, and can be used for printing braille. It is also less expensive than engraving, which involves microscopic detail that discourages counterfeiting, and is most commonly used on paper money, checks, and other paper documents that require high security.
Thermography business cards have a distinguished, customized appearance that other business cards (with the possible exception of engraved business cards) do not have.
Designing thermography business cards
When designing thermography business cards or other thermography printing projects, there are several factors that should be taken into consideration. For one thing, thermography can’t make up for a poor design or poor printing. For another, type sizes less than 6 point are likely to fill in and should be avoided, and the same is true for very fine type faces. You should avoid having large solid areas and small type on the same page because they will require different types of resin.
Thermographic business cards and other documents may require special trimming techniques, because raised print makes typical guillotine cutters difficult to use. While large thermography printing companies handle large volumes of print and are very cost effective for large scale standard products, they may not be able to do customized or specialized thermography.
The plastic resins that make up thermographic powders were introduced in the 1970s. The resins available before that were made from ground up tree sap. There is now a wide variety of thermographic powders that can produce an almost endless number of variations in style. They also come in many different particle sizes to suit the application at hand. Finishes from matte, to semi-dull, semi-gloss, and gloss are also available for thermography business cards and other products.
Thermography special effects
There are also a number of special effect thermographic powders available. Metallic resins give a metallic sheen after melting, and they cost less than foil stamping. They’re unaffected by the paper stock color and they work well even on dark colored paper stock. This process makes attractive presentation folders, announcements, and advertising. Silver, bronze, copper, and gold metallic resins are available.
Glitter can be added to resins, as can varnish on applications like four-color processing print jobs to give the four-color images thermographic qualities. Pearlescent resins give printed matter a soft sheen during processing. There are also static resistant powder resins that reduce static electricity buildup on applications. Highly viscous powder is used on fine-lined projects so that the level of detail is maintained after thermography printing. And laser safe powders allow thermographic documents to make them safe from re-melting if they should encounter heat from a laser printer or photocopy machine.
Special resins can be combined, too, so that you could, if you wanted, add glitter on top of metallic resin to give a very sparkly effect. There are a number of substances that can be added to resins to create a huge range of special effects. Sequins, tinsel, and even diamond dust are used to create special thermography printing effects.
Different particle sizes allow for best printing on a project, whether it involves fine detailed graphics and thin lines or heavier, larger images. “Extra fine” is used for font sizes 14 and smaller, while “fine” works for type sizes from 12 to 30, and “medium” works for solids and font sizes from 24 to 42 point. Coarse powder is used on type sizes greater than 35 and large solid objects.
Quality paper and ink
Some paper stocks are not suitable for thermography business cards because of the high temperatures required for the process. For example, 20 lb. bond can’t handle high temperatures without adverse effects. The height of the raised print is also dependent on the type of paper stock. Excess moisture in paper stock can result in cloudy appearing thermographic images when moisture is released from the paper during heating and trapped by the thermal coating.
Ink quality also affects print quality. The ink should be sticky when the document goes into the thermographic device. This is what causes thermographic powder to stick to the printed surface before being melted. This is necessary so that when excess powder is vacuumed off, it doesn’t carry off the printed letters or images as well.