In the 6 years I've been designing invitations, I have never had a client request thermography (raised printing). It's a very traditional element to wedding invitations, so I'm a little surprised no one has ever wanted it. But I think a large part of the reason my clients hire me is because I design less traditional invitations, and raised printing doesn't always go with the design. And, flat printing is usually less expensive, but still looks great, so there's also that. A couple months ago I got an email from Michelle in Chicago who needed an invitation designed, and she really liked thermography. The image she wanted to use is a very pretty peony (purchased from istockphoto.com) with lots of thin lines and details. I had to admit off the bat that I didn't have any thermography samples in my portfolio, but knew of a printer in town that specialized in it (NW Printed Solutions– love them!) We got to work, placed the order, and I picked up the finals today. Wow! I had no idea how great it would look, and how much it adds to the design. Here's just a snippet of the final product (taken with my cell phone under bad lighting, so it looks a little sparkly shiny):
