OUGD504 EMOBSSING

I managed to emboss using the real press giving me a way more constant emboss compared to my previous attempt. I tried on three different materials, all of them are possible materials for my cover. It had to be at least a nice and thick stock to be able to complete its form as a cover.

The first paper stock I used was a stock made from entirely recycled cotton and other paper. This stock could reflect the use of natural earthly materials in the process of memorial masonry. The paper initially seemed like it embossed quite well, however due to the materials used to create it it never returned to its natural plat form. This was because the stock was incredibly soft and lightweight. When I returned to the emboss later on I noticed that it was naturally pushing back out, removing the embossed design. This was no good at all and I would not use this for the cover material.

The second stock I experimented with was a thin ultra white paper stock. It was quite a rough paper stock but was only 170gsm. Due to it being so thin, the emboss was quite faint so I rolled it through twice over to re-emboss it a bit deeper. It came out really crispy and clean in comparison to the previous material, however I fell like this paper is better suited for the inside of the book. I will practice printing on this later. Given the fact its quite heavy, despite the thickness, relates to connotations of death. I wanted the book to be quite heavy as well so using this would really weigh it down.

Finally I embossed a really thick, 300gsm stock which came out perfectly. The emboss was really clean and the rough texture of the paper really supported its aesthetic. I feel like this would look great on the cover and give the book some initial character. However, I don't think I want the stock on the inside of the book and the out to match up too closely as having them both bright white might make it look somewhat unfinished. I think I'll experiment with a similar paper stock to this but in a different colour.