Custom Embossed Folders
Custom embossed folders — heavy card with a raised logo, one or two pockets, a card slit and a spine sized to the documents — from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
A folder that is felt before it is read
- Board
- 300–400 gsm uncoated or textured; duplexed for a deep emboss
- Builds
- One or two pockets; card slit; 3–10 mm spine; tab or elastic closure
- Emboss
- Blind, foil, registered or deboss; brass or magnesium die, kept
Get a price for Embossed Folders
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Blind, foil or registered emboss
| Blind emboss | Raised shape, no ink or foil; quiet; strongest on uncoated or textured card |
|---|---|
| Foil emboss | The raised area carries foil; one die does both; the loudest |
| Registered emboss | Emboss aligned over a printed element; lifts a printed logo |
| Deboss | Pressed in rather than raised; reads as engraved |
Card that takes a deep emboss
An emboss needs fiber to displace. 300–400 gsm uncoated or lightly textured card takes a deep, crisp relief; coated gloss card takes a shallower one and can crack at the edges. Duplexed card — two sheets bonded — embosses deepest of all and gives a folder with a colored edge. The die is brass or magnesium, made once per artwork and kept.
Pockets, slits and the spine
Our specialty finishes on boxes and print cover foil, spot UV and texture on the packaging that matches a folder.
- One pocket on the right — the standard; a card slit in the pocket for a business card.
- Two pockets, for a proposal on one side and terms on the other.
- A spine of 3–10 mm, scored on the fold, so twenty or fifty sheets sit without bowing the cover.
- A tab or a closure — an elastic, a tuck — for a folder that travels.
Where the emboss goes
Centered on the front, or small at the bottom corner where the hand lands. Large embosses show through to the inside as a deboss, which is fine on a plain inside and a problem over printed text. The dieline shows the emboss area on both faces so the inside print avoids it.
An emboss over a fold or a pocket glue line will not form cleanly. Keep it 15 mm clear of both.
Who orders embossed folders
Law firms, financial advisers, estate agents, architects, universities and hotels. A run of 100 to 500 is a year for most; the die is kept and a reprint changes nothing but the count.
Embossed Folders — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Board
- 300–400 gsm uncoated or textured; duplexed for a deep emboss
- Builds
- One or two pockets; card slit; 3–10 mm spine; tab or elastic closure
- Emboss
- Blind, foil, registered or deboss; brass or magnesium die, kept
- One color, full color or none; inside print clear of the emboss
- Sizing
- A4, letter and custom; fits a full sheet with 3 mm clearance
- Supply
- Flat, pockets glued; folds at the desk
- Minimum
- 100 folders
On every job
- Print process
- The wrap is printed offset as a flat sheet and applied to the board, so the print quality is that of a sheet rather than a box.
- Color
- CMYK on the wrap with spot colors for a brand match. A textured or soft-touch wrap mutes a solid color slightly.
- Tolerance
- Board cut plus or minus 0.5 mm. Lid fit is set on a sample and held on the run, with an allowance for the delivery climate.
- Tooling
- No cutting die on the box itself. The tooling is the wrap print and any foil or emboss die, made once and kept.
- Food contact
- A food-grade liner or an inner tray where a rigid box holds unwrapped food.
- Sustainability
- Board and paper recycle together. Magnets, ribbon and foam come out first, and the spec says which the box has.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build embossed folders on
A rigid box is two materials: the grayboard that holds the shape and the paper wrapped around it. The board decides the feel; the wrap decides everything a customer sees and touches.
Grayboard 1.2–1.5 mm
The light rigid box: jewelry, small cases, card boxes. Heavy in the hand for its size without thick walls on a small cavity.
1.2–1.5 mmGrayboard 2–3 mm
The full rigid box. Resists crushing, bends poorly — thickness is chosen from box size so a wide lid does not sag.
2–3 mmArt paper wrap
Printed coated paper, matte or gloss laminated. Full color, photographs, any design. The most flexible wrap and the least tactile.
128–157gsmSoft-touch wrap
A velvet-feel laminate over printed paper. Reads expensive, shows fingerprints on white, and scuffs at the corners before anywhere else.
128–157gsm laminatedLinen and textured wrap
Texture woven into the paper, so it cannot scuff off. Takes foil and deboss beautifully; breaks up a solid print.
120–140gsmLeather-grain and specialty
Embossed grain papers, metallics and colored stocks. One color and a foil mark, not a photograph.
120–160gsmFlocked and velvet liners
A short-fiber or woven pile for the interior and the insert. Holds a product without marking it and sets the color the piece is seen against.
Applied to board or foamMagnets and hardware
Neodymium magnets under the wrap, ribbon pulls, and hinges built from the wrap itself. Each is a line on the quote.
Per closureNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
On a rigid box the wrap is the finish, and the corners are where it is judged.
Soft-touch wrap
Velvet in the hand. The category default, and it scuffs at the corners first.
Linen and laid
Texture woven into the paper; hides marks and cannot rub off.
Hot foil
Stamped into the wrap. Small block, cheap die, large effect on a lid.
Blind deboss
Shape with no ink. On a textured wrap it is the quietest premium mark there is.
Spot UV on matte
A gloss shape on a matte field; a pattern that only shows at an angle.
Colored liner
A wrap on the inside face, seen for a second as the lid lifts. The cheapest thing that changes an opening.
Leather-grain
Embossed grain paper. One color and a foil mark, never a photograph.
Ribbon and hardware
A pull under the product, magnets under the wrap, a hinge built from the paper.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a rigid box, where the wrap is part of the wall: embossed folders
A rigid box is built up rather than folded, so the internal size is set first and the board and wrap are added outside it. The lid is then made to fit the base, and that fit is the thing people judge.
- Internal dimensions
- The product plus its insert, at the widest point. Everything else is built outward from this number.
- Wall build-up
- Each wall is the grayboard plus the wrap on both faces — roughly 2.5 mm on a 2 mm board. A small box gains noticeably in outside size.
- Lid clearance
- A few tenths of a millimeter. Set on a plain sample: a slow, air-cushioned lift, not a lid that drops off or has to be prised.
- Insert depth
- The tallest item plus 2 mm. On a two-layer box, this sets the total height and the ribbon lift.
- Humidity
- Board takes up moisture and a lid set snug in a dry factory can bind in a damp shop. We allow for the delivery market.
- Tolerance
- Plus or minus 0.5 mm on a rigid box, tighter than folding board because nothing springs back.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Embossed Folders in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about embossed folders? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
Blind emboss or foil?
Blind for a quiet, tactile mark on uncoated card; foil emboss where the logo should be seen from across a room. One die does either.
What card embosses best?
Uncoated or textured 300–400 gsm, and duplexed card for the deepest relief. Gloss-coated card embosses shallowly and can crack.
Will the emboss show inside?
Yes, as a deboss. The inside is left plain there, and the dieline shows the area on both faces.
Can I have two pockets?
Yes, and a card slit in either.
How many sheets does the spine hold?
A 3 mm spine takes about 20 sheets, 10 mm about 70. Say the count and we score the spine to it.
What is the minimum order?
100 folders.
Is the die kept?
Yes, per artwork, so reprints skip the tooling.
Can the folder be printed as well as embossed?
Yes, one color or full color, with the emboss registered over a printed element if wanted.
Do folders ship flat?
Yes, with the pockets glued, and they fold at the desk.
Can I have a colored edge?
Yes, with a duplexed card whose core is a color.
What sizes are available?
A4, US letter and custom, each fitting a full sheet with 3 mm clearance.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
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