Print & Emboss Thank You Card

Print and Emboss Thank You Card by Kelly Wayment for Silhouette

Have you tried the new Curio’s “print and emboss” feature yet? I made this card with my Curio, and I’m so “impressed” with how it turned out! 😉 All of these colorful words are embossed around the edges so the letters are gently raised above the rest of the card surface.

If you have a Curio, you have access to the Emboss features of Silhouette Studio. The one I used in this project is the Print & Emboss. It tells you step-by-step how to go through the process. It does have several steps where you are switching between mats and adding/removing platforms on your Curio base, but the end result is worth it.

I used this Thank You card design and ungrouped it so I could just use the stack of colored printable Thank You words. You can save the card base and its perforation for later, or just delete them if using a different card base.

Print & Emboss Step 1:

In Step 1, you create embossing lines and turn on registration marks. For this file I went to my Send Panel, and used the Line Action (and line-color order) to organize everything. I also added an outer rectangle (3.75” x 5.0”) for an outer cut edge.

If you set up your blade/emboss tool and paper settings now, the steps in the Emboss Window won’t leave you wondering which tool holder will be used or if your paper settings are correct when it comes time to apply each step.

  • “Turn on” embossing cut lines by checking the box with the blank line color (for this Thank You design), change it to the right tool holder (blue circle), and change the Material Type to Emboss (Fine) Score & Emboss Paper. Put your Fine embossing tool in the right tool holder (blue circle).
  • Then set the rectangle for cutting the paper at the last stage by choosing the left tool (red circle) and set up a Material Type Custom setting as follows: Ratchet Blade on 2, Platform 6, Speed 5, Thickness 30. For the time being, uncheck the box for that shape so it doesn’t try to cut on the first pass. Put your ratchet blade in the left tool holder (red circle).
  • Note: if you are using a different design with other line colors, just make sure your emboss lines are one color and your cut lines are a different color. Then you can clearly define their materials in the Advanced cut options.

To finish preparations for Step 1 in the Print & Emboss section, turn on registration marks in the Registration Mark Window. If using the small Curio base, I suggest leaving the left/top/right insets at their default and only changing the bottom-inset position to 6.00” (just type it into the input area) so it fits on the mat and leaves half the paper for another project. Now Print the document.

Print & Emboss Step 2:

Then on to Step 2 in the Print & Emboss section of the Emboss Window. Be sure to use the Curio cutting mat and the blade with platforms 2+2+1+mat. When you click on the button in Step 2 for Cut Registration Marks, it will actually cut out the registration marks, so don’t freak out if you’re used to regular print and cuts. 🙂

Print & Emboss Step 3:

Step 3 has you change mats and flip the page horizontally. You’ll need to remove the cutting mat and the #1 platform, and place your embossing mat on top of platforms 2+2. As you place the printed page face down on the embossing mat as instructed, place the thin plastic black squares that came with your Curio so the black shows through those cut-out registration marks.

Click the button on Step 3 to Emboss. If you want a deeper emboss after seeing the results, just click the Emboss button again for another pass.

At this point, the printing is done and the embossing is done, but remember we also set up an outer cut edge for this card. Go back to the Cut Settings Window and uncheck the box for embossing and do check the box for cutting. Remove the embossing mat, add back a #1 platform on top of 2+2, and put the cutting mat back on top. Use those black backing pieces again as you place the printed and embossed paper back on to your cutting mat so the black shows through the cut-out registration marks, with the printed side face up. Click Send to Silhouette in the Cut Settings Window.

That’s it! Now you can add this to a card front and embellish as desired. As I said, there are a lot of steps but the look is professional. The subtle embossing adds a beautiful texture to the printed card.

The embossing is difficult to photograph, but you can definitely see it with the naked eye, and you can definitely feel it. Are you ready to try this new technique with your Curio?

 

This post originally appeared on the Silhouette Blog. It was created in v3, so I’m in the process of updating the Send Panel screen shots for v4. Thanks for your patience. If you have any questions, please ask.



8 thoughts on “Print & Emboss Thank You Card”

  • Kelly Your card is so cute. I tried a print and emboss but my emboss barely shows at all. Clearly it takes special paper. Other than silhouettes embossing paper do you have a suggestion for something a little easier to find? Kate

    • Hi Kate. I have tried Canson 70 lb. drawing paper and it was a little thinner than Silhouette’s score & emboss paper, but was fairly comparable. It printed fine and the emboss was visible. You can also do multiple passes with the emboss tool to make it deeper. Good luck!

  • I am glad I found your site. I am trying to learn to use my Curio more. Or use more of the potential it has. I am trying to find out how to cut registration marks, as I cannot find that in my newer version..was it only in older versions? I would prefer to have the machine cut it, as I do a terrible job by hand. Any suggestions? Thank you for all the great tutorials you do,

  • Hi Kelly,
    I am a brand new curio user. I have tried cutting images out of vinyl a few times and every time only the left half of the image cuts. The right side doesn’t have any marks. Any advice you have would be much appreciated. Than you!

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