Embossing with printed relief pattern

A printing system for simultaneous printing and embossing media comprising:

• a first cylinder;
• an embossing die on the first cylinder, the embossing die made up of a printed relief pattern;
• an impression layer in a printer comprising a printed alignment image;
• a second cylinder forming a nip with the first cylinder such that media passing through the nip is pressed against the embossing die;
• and
• a photo-imaging cylinder to deposit an ink image on the second cylinder, the second cylinder being configured to transfer the ink image to the media as the media passes through the nip.

An embossing apparatus comprising:

• an embossing die made up of a printed relief pattern made up of multiple stacked layers of a deposited material;
• a first cylinder having a resilient surface to press a print medium against the embossing die such that embossed features corresponding to the printed relief pattern on the embossing die are formed in the print medium;
• and
• an impression layer in a printer comprising a printed alignment image with the embossing die.