Thermographic printing is a specialised process which has been around for many years, it combines thermography machines with the traditional litho printing press. It is a multi-stage process where the thermograpghy machine has a conveyer for the product to travel through.
Firstly, the product, say a business card in this case, is printed usually in 1 or 2 colours in the printing press, the business card is printed with ink that has no driers in, so it stays wet for longer. It then gets dropped onto the conveyer of the thermography machine, where it travels through to get the thermo/embossing powder shaken on to it, the powder sticks to the wet ink, a vacuum system then kicks in to remove any powder that hasn’t been used.
The business card is then conveyed on through a high powered oven reaching temperatures of between 900 and 1300 degrees Fahrenheit, this last process normally takes 2 to 3 seconds. Through transference of the paper, the powder temperature quickly increases and starts melting. The melted ink then bonds as the business card cools which creates an embossed raised finish to the ink.
Thermography is commonly used for wedding stationery, greetings cards, business cards & business stationery and can also be used to print braille text.
It really has a look of quality & professionalism and is an appealing alternative to the more expensive die-stamping process.