Thermography is the raising of ink on printed items, such as paper or cards. The look of the item embellished with thermography is meant to mimic a more expensive engraved look. Thermography can be done with rubber stamps, a printer or, more typically, a commercial printing press if available.

  • Thermography is the raising of ink on printed items, such as paper or cards.
  • The look of the item embellished with thermography is meant to mimic a more expensive engraved look.

Print out the item that you want to raise on your printer, or stamp it with a rubber stamp. The ink dries extremely quickly, so be ready to retrieve it for the next step immediately.

Shake thermography powder onto your printed sheet. This step needs to be done while the ink is still wet. The thermography powder will stick to the wet ink. Thermography powder is available in a multitude of colours, or to keep the colour of the printing, use a clear powder.

Shake off the excess powder into the trash or onto newspaper to dispose of. You can also funnel the newspaper and pour excess back into package to use on a later project.

Blow-dry the paper. The thermography powder will begin to react to the heat and the powder, causing the printed area to raise. The dryer should be held approximately 6 inches away from the paper. The process typically takes less than a minute to work.

  • Shake off the excess powder into the trash or onto newspaper to dispose of.
  • The dryer should be held approximately 6 inches away from the paper.

Allow a few minutes for printed ink to dry before attempting to use further.