Decorating Terms

Debossing

Depressing an image into a material’s surface so that the image sits below the product surface

Embossing

Impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface

Hot Stamp

Setting a design on a relief die, which is then heated and pressed onto the printing surface

Laser or Foil Stamp

Applying metallic or colored foil imprints to vinyl, leather or paper surfaces

Personalization

Imprinting an item with a person's name using one of several methods such as mechanical engraving, laser engraving, hot stamping, debossing, sublimation, or screen printing, to name a few.

Die-casting

Injecting molten metal into the cavity of a carved die (a mold)

Die-striking

Producing emblems and other flat promotional products by striking a blank metal sheet with a hammer that holds the die

Etching

Using a process in which an image is first covered with a protective coating that resists acid, then exposed, leaving bare metal and protected metal. The acid attacks only the exposed metal, leaving the image etched onto the surface.

Engraving

Cutting an image into metal, wood or glass by one of three methods--computerized engraving, hand tracing, or hand engraving.

Pantone Matching System (PMS)

A book of standardized color in a fan format used to identify, match and communicate colors in order to produce accurate color matches in printing. Each color has a coded number indicating instructions for mixing inks to achieve that color.

Colorfill

Screen printing an image and then debossing it onto the vinyl’s surface

Embroidery

Stitching a design into fabric through the use of high-speed, computer-controlled sewing machines. Artwork must first be "digitized," which is the specialized process of converting two-dimensional artwork into stitches or thread. A particular format of art such as a jpeg, tif, eps, or bmp, cannot be converted into an embroidery tape. The digitizer must actually recreate the artwork using stitches. Then it programs the sewing machine to sew a specific design, in a specific color, with a specific type of stitch. This is the process known as digitizing.