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Emboss Like a Boss – Inspirational UV Ink Effects

Featured image (above) courtesy of Cascade Graphics

There was a time when embossing meant creating a special die-cut stamp for a letterpress machine that would impress the design onto a paper substrate. There’s definitely still a place for these traditional techniques, however, with digital UV technologies from Roland DG, the art of adding textures and embossed effects to all manner of media and surfaces has never been easier or more impressive.

The following close-up examples of raised textures and embossed designs were created with Roland VersaUV LEC Printer/Cutters, LEJ Hybrid Inkjet and LEF Benchtop Flatbed Printers.

Text Effects

These clear UV ink examples include super-stylish clear on black as well as braille applications and more traditional styles of raised text effects.

spot varnish text effect

Embossed ink effects on paper and acrylic substrates, including a clear ink on black example (top) by Fineline Graphics of Smithfield, Rhode Island – all showing the versatility of Roland UV technology

Shapes and Lines

The poster below that was created by Australian designer, Dave Foster, shows how you can add intricate lines and sharp geometric patterns with UV clear ink as an integral part of your design.

spot UV embossing

Dave Foster created these brightly-colored UV printed line effects to illustrate his unique font design

Water and Liquid

The following examples of UV ink effects illustrate the realistic condensation and water effects that you can add to your designs to give them a whole new tactile look and feel.

UV ink embossing

A collection of UV printed samples that Roland designers have created to show the effects that you can add to your designs.

Cool Textures

The following examples showcase the texture and character that Roland UV machine users are able to add to media and substrates to produce leather, animal skin and other custom patterns.

UV ink texture printing

A selection of print textures, including a stunning book cover texture (top) by Australian bookbinding experts, White Laws Binding.

Packaging and POP

Having the freedom to print embossed effects on pretty much any paper or card substrate, plus a selection of PET films, generates some eye-catching effects for POP and packaging projects.

UV clear ink printing

These POP displays, printed with LEJ Hybrid Inkjet and LEC Printer/Cutter technologies illustrate some stunning packaging work, greatly enhanced with UV clear ink effects.

Products and Unique Media

The following examples that include smart device covers, a mousepad and a laptop, show how users have been able to print and add clear ink effects directly onto products for unique customizations that stand-out.

embossing effects UV Roland DGA

Examples include Voodoo iPhone cover (top) by award-winning graphics company, Cascade Graphics and other inspirational product customizations.

These inspirational ideas are all possible with new digital technology that allows designers to produce short runs with special effects on unique materials. This was previously extremely expensive or not even possible. This is truly a golden age for printing signs and graphics customization.

  • All the examples in this post were created using clear Eco-UV ink effects with Roland VersaUV technology. The new VersaUV LEF-300 is the latest addition to our VersaUV range of products and enables printing on larger three-dimensional items at greater speeds, as well as providing value-added clear ink UV textures and embossed effects.

Roland DGA

Roland DGA supplies inkjet printers, printer/cutters, flatbed printers, and 3D production solutions. As well as offering the most advanced and reliable equipment in the industry, Roland DGA provides a rich network of information, support and article content for its dealers and customers.