It may seem impossible to heat emboss your digital stamp images, because printer ink dries so quickly that there is no time to work with it. However, there is a solution with the help of an embossing pen. Let me share some tips and tricks to help you get started. In some cases, if you are printing your digital stamp image onto a non-porous surface, such as glossy papers, you may be able to hot emboss using the traditional method. Basically, the ink from the printer stays on top of the surface long enough for you to pour it on top of the powder and dry it with heat like you normally do. However, this is not a foolproof method as it requires a lot of testing with different papers, printer settings and printer inks. It is also necessary to perform the entire process at the speed of light.
A better method is to use an embossing pen. You can buy these pens at craft stores, where the same type of heat stamping ink can be used in pen form. Hot stamping ink is stickier and takes longer to dry, giving you time to work with it. Not only can you draw your own designs for heat etching, but you can also trace images, just like your digital stamps! I personally use two methods to trace the digital stamp image to get my hot stamped image for use. One way is to print the digital stamp as you normally do, then carefully trace the lines with your embossing pen. You can then continue with the stamping powder and stamping process as usual. If you are embossing in a specific color, try printing your digital image in an extremely light color or one that matches the color you are trying to achieve. This will help hide the original printed lines as much as possible and make everything blend into the final embossed color.
If you are using white or clear embossing powder, you can try the other method of tracing your printed digital image onto a different blank sheet of paper. This is best accomplished using a light box, so you can properly see your image and trace it carefully. This will give you the best effect, if you don’t want printed lines to appear. Another nice aspect of using an embossing pen is the ability to add your own details, designs, or fill areas of the digital stamp for embossing. It is certainly possible to emboss your digital stamp images and perhaps the process will stimulate you to create unique variations to use in your craft projects!