How do you handle order of operations?

Cotton this heavy moves. Print first and the deboss can crack the ink; deboss first and the process pass can fill the impression. Process first, then copper foil, then deboss last with a generous relief. The deboss lands in unprinted stock so there is no ink to crack.

How do you handle copper on white cotton?

Bright copper on bright white can look brassy under warm light. A satin copper foil rather than a mirror one, so the leaf mark reads as metal without flashing.

How do you handle deboss depth?

50pt cotton is thick enough to take depth but the back face shows a ghost if pushed too far. Depth set so the reverse stays clean under the process flood.

Case study · Business cards · Marigold & Moss (proof 153071)

Copper, a deboss, and a watercolour that had to survive both

A soft process-printed wash, a copper leaf mark and a deep blind deboss of the same mark, all on Fedrigoni 50pt cotton. The card had to go through the press three times and line up every time.

Business-cards for Marigold & Moss (proof 153071) with copper foil stamping, 50pt 100% cotton bright white, 4-colour process and blind deboss.

FoilsDeep Copper · 115-2 TechniquesDeboss, Hot Foil, Copper Foil StocksHyacinth Cotton · 48pt

The idea

A studio card that reads as handmade: soft watercolour colour, a metallic mark, and something to feel. The client sent finished art with three separated layers, which is exactly what a three-process card needs.

Three rules

01Order of operations. Process first, then copper foil, then deboss last with a generous relief. The deboss lands in unprinted stock so there is no ink to crack.
02Copper on white cotton. A satin copper foil rather than a mirror one, so the leaf mark reads as metal without flashing.
03Deboss depth. Depth set so the reverse stays clean under the process flood.