Embossing is a marking process that leaves raised or recessed designs on metal, or any other material for that matter. When embossed metal plates are created, the process uses a couple of rollers or dies that are matched and are even called male and female dies. To emboss sheet metal, a combination of heat and pressure is used to mark the sheets with the designs that are on the roller dies.
Technically, when a design is pressed into the metal, as opposed to raised designs being created in the metal, it is called an impressed design and not an embossed one. These two are, however, crafted in the same manner with one having raised designs and the other having recessed designs. The difference is in the placement of the male and female dies when these sheets are crafted.
When these sheets are being marked, the top part of the die is the one that is stationary while the bottom part is the one that moves. Together with heat, when the bottom part presses into the top part with the metal sheet in between, the metal is smoothed out while being stamped at the same time. This leaves behind a smooth, ironed out design on the metal.
There are many types of metals that are ideal for this particular marking method. The most commonly used metal for creating embossed metal plates is, of course, aluminum due to its ductility as well as abundance. It is also a very attractive metal to work with since it does have a silvery luster to it and can be easily cleaned. It is also corrosion resistant as well as relatively inexpensive compared to other metals.
Other metals that are used with this process include stainless steel, brass, copper, and zinc. All of these metals are considered corrosion resistant as well, making them suitable for use as metal nameplates which can be used for many different purposes. Once the plates are embossed with the designs that are to be placed on them, a customer may choose to have the embossed or recessed parts painted or inked in order to make the design more pronounced.