CA2265882C

CA2265882C - Embossed fabric

Info

Publication number: CA2265882C
Application number: CA002265882A
Authority: CA
Inventors: David Morrison; James R. Mcculloch
Original assignee: Microfibers Inc
Current assignee: Microfibers Inc
Priority date: 1996-10-29
Filing date: 1997-10-28
Publication date: 2004-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 2017-10-28
Also published as: DE69714458T2; ES2179314T3; US5771796A; PL332897A1; US6376041B1; DE69714458D1; IL129495A0; CA2265882A1; PL184569B1; EP0935686B1; EA001177B1; EP0935686A1; EA199900430A1; WO1998018990A1

Abstract

An embossed pile fabric (1) having a foreground (10) and background (12) with the foreground (10) having a depth in the order of 1.5/2.0 to 100 times that of the background (12). The background (12) can be formed by an engraving roll (50) having portions (12A) that are either mill engraved or acid etched, and the foreground ( 10) is formed by the engraving roll (50) having portions (16A) formed with a router engraved technique.

Description

ï»¿UICA 02265882 1999-03-09-1-EMBOSSED FABRICField ofthe InventionThe present invention relates to an embossed fabric and a method for making it.Background of the InventionPile fabrics formed by flocking or other methods are frequently embossed to form awide range of surface patterns and textures. Ordinarily embossing a pile fabric is achieved byrunning the fabric through a single cylinder bearing an engraved pattern and subjecting thepile surface to selective amounts of heat. pressure and time embossed with the variousparameters determined in part by the type ofpile fabric treated. Of particular importance isthe engraving cylinder upon which the pattern being embossed is formed. There are basicallythree types of engraving techniques used to form patterns on these engraving cylinders. Theyare (a) film photo engraving, which uses an acid etch; (b) mill and dye tooling engraving; and(C) router engraving; which includes both mechanical and hand tooled applications. Thechoice of each results in an engraved cylinder having different characteristics from the others., In the film photo engraving. which is predominantly used for fabricating wallcoverings and foil wraps using vinyl or vinyl coated papers. a cylinder is made having thecapability of very shallow embossing at low heat and pressure. A cylinder capable of shallowembossing, known in the trade as kiss embossing, is ordinarily achieved by acid etching apattern on a steel or copper cylinder. The pattern is engraved by select1vely_wrapping theembossing steel or copper cylinder with a special film and thereafter exposing the wrappedcylinder to an acid bath which etches the steel or copper only in areas where the metal isexposed to duplicate the desired pattern. Although steel or copper cylinders are ordinarilyused for ï¬lm photo acid etch engraving, brass will, on occasion. be used to make smallcylinders or rolls for specialized applications. Ordinarily the use of brass cylinders or rolls isavoided because the cost is prohibitive. The range of the engraved depth obtained on a steelcase cylinder or roll varies from about .003 to .035 ofan inch (0.076 to 0.889 mm), while acopper base cylinder or roll has a slightly deeper range of engraving depth possibility of up to.050 of an inch (1.27 mm). To some extent the engraving depth that is achieved is dependentAMENDED SHEETï»¿CA 02265882 1999-03-09-1/1-upon the characteristics of the particular design to be engraved. In general the use of this ï¬lmphoto etch engravingAMENDED SHEETï»¿I\)(J:CA 02265882 1999'-03-09 1 I 3-2-technique to form cylinders or roll for embossing pile fabric is rarely selected because thedepth of engraving is too shallow for a permanent embossed design. IA second type of engraving involves a mill and dye tooling engraving technique.Ordinarily mill engraving is effected primarily on steel cylinders although it may also be usedon copper or brass cylinders. Steel is preferred because copper does not stand up well to thehigh heat and pressures ordinarily used during the embossing process for upholstery fabricwhile brass is cost prohibitive for this type of application. IIn the mill and dye tooling engraving process. a hand crafted cutting tool is used forthe actual pattern to be engraved. The depth of the engraving in the cylinder is dependentupon the configuration of the pattern. The actual object size, line thickness and spacing of thepattern to be engraved determines or limits the engravers ability to achieve depth. Ordinarily,the depth achieved ranges from .002 to .060 ofan inch (0.051 - 1.52 mm). One limitation inutilizing mill engraved cylinders for embossing is the engraving depth while another is patternrepeat size. In a furniture upholstery fabric application this is quite relevant since the repeatsize relates to the usefulness of a particular design used for furniture upholstery. A 54 inch(1.37 m) repeat would be considered a full repeating pattern. A 27 inch (0.69 m) repeat wouldbe considered a half repeating pattern. In this type of engraving, with few exceptions. thelargest pattern typically engaged is much smaller and usually is an all-over texture. In manycases the technique is used for all-over textures which do not have pattern repeats and thus canbe applied to furniture fabric in any manner or direction required. For example. a backgroundstriation type of pattern is possible.A. third type of engraving technique. routing engraving, is usedito engrave patternswith larger repeat sizes or patterns that require greater depths of engraving. A full repeat of54 inches (1.37 m) may be engraved and depending on the pattern conï¬guration, engraving inthe order from .060 ofan inch (1.52 mm) to .200 ofan inch (5.08 mm) on a cylinder isachievable. In this routing engraving process, the embossing cylinder is ordinarily a brassbased cylinder rather than steel based cylinders. Steel based cylinders can be used, but thehand tooled routing technique is very time consuming and costly. Depending on the particulardesign and the desired end result the additional cost of hand tooled router engraving may bejustified. Steel base cylinders are not ordinarily used for mechanical routing applicationsbecause the steel is too hard and brittle and has a tendency to break or crack when deepengraving is required. In the mechanical routing process a film is wrapped about the brassAMENDED SHEETï»¿embossing cylinder or rollCA 02265882 1999-03-09AMENDED SHEETï»¿U:CA 02265882 1999-03-09*5-3-bearing the exact pattern to be engraved. The cylinder or roll is cut with an overhead millingmachine that is ordinarily manually operated to engrave the pattern outlined on the ï¬lm.Because the engraving on the cylinder is achieved manually on brass. a much deeper cut in thecylinder is achievable. Hand tooled router engraving typically involves the use ofeither asteel or brass cylinder or roll. Again the film is wrapped around the cylinder or roll to beengraved, but in this case theitechnician uses strictly hand tools to cut out and engrave thedesign. Routing engraving is typically used to engrave patterns with large repeat size andgreat depth of engraving. A full repeat of 54 inches (1.37 m) can typically be engraved into acylinder or roll, depending upon the pattern configuration with a depth of anywhere fromabout .060 ofan inch (1.52 mm) to .200 of an inch (5.08 mm). The advantage ofthe routingtechnique is that due to the depth of engraving that can be achieved. the unembossed areas inthe pile surface are never exposed to the high heats and pressure associated with theembossing process. Thus. the free ends of the pile under the deep embossed area of thecylinder do not touch the cylinder surface. The end result is that the finished fabrics exhibit afar superior overall improvement in âhandâ than when other types of engraving are used.âHeretofore. embossing cylinders have been used that were engraved by acid etching.mill engraving or router engraving to form patterns on ï¬ocked or pile fabric. It has. also.been not uncommon in the industry to combine on one embossing cylinder or roll a designformed in part by acid etching and in part by mill engraving. Insofar as is known thistechnique has not been used to emboss pile type fabrics. Also, insofar as is known. embossingcylinders have not been heretofore made by combining either mill or acid etch in combinationwith routing engravingâ(hand or mechanical) techniques in a single cylinder to emboss pilefabrics.Exemplary of prior an methods for producing embossed pile fabrics are British PatentSpecification 1,122.026 to Haughton (â026), U.S. Patent 2,723,937 to Rice (â937), and U.S.Patent 2,756,669 to Hoffman (â669). Haughton (â026) is directed to a method of making apatterned ï¬ocked material using one or more embossing roiiers each having a simple patternthereon, such as a series parallel ridges. Rice (â93 7) discloses a method for producing a pilefabric suitable for floor covering use, in which the pile has relatively deep sunken ordepressed areas that areheld in place by a heat-activated thermoplastic powder after beingproduced by an embossing roller having embossing projections or blades thereon. Hoffman(â669) is directed to an embossing machine with an embossing roller, having a relatively thinAMENDED SHEETï»¿LJICA 02265882 1999-03-09-3/1-peripheral wall and appreciable ï¬exibility, used to produce a pattern in a textile material withthe features of the pattern at relatively constant and uniform depths throughout thellength andwidth of the material.In the manufacture of upholstered, embossed fabric one common problem that hasplagued the industry relates to the shiny, glossy, flat areas that are created when a pile surfaceis embossed. These shiny, glossy. flat surface areas make the fabric look cheap and reduce theoverall value of the material. It has been customary to try to avoid these shiny, glossy, flatareas by further processing the embossed goods through a wet or dry processing, or,alternatively using designs that exhibit ï¬ne areas only of embossing. The washing processes.however. are relatively costly and often make the fabric of limited commercial value becauseofcosts involved. On the other hand. utilizing patterns with limited embossing areas forAMENDED SHEETï»¿l0U202530CA 02265882 2003-07-1764371-168.4-small embossed patterns limit the scope of marketable product. These problems havedeveloped primarily when using router engraved cylinders alone. VThe problems of fabrics âwith these glossy flat areasis particularly acute in ï¬ockedfabrics using synthetic ï¬bers because the high heat and pressure used during the embossingprocess plasticize the synthetic ï¬bers, resulting in a shiny area; Additionally, whenembossing woven, knitted or tufted pile fabrics the fabric can initially be formed with anirregular pile surface areaor texture, which when embossed reduces the undesirable shinyeffect. 2It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved pile fabric âwhich can be made with a wide range of patterns of large repeat size and without costlyprocessing after the fabric has been embossed. A further object of the present invention is toprovide an improved embossed pile fabric that is relatively simple to manufacture and whichis less likely to encounter rejection in the manufacturing process. It is, also, an object of thisinvention to obtain a very soft hand with a texture in the background that eliminates theunfavorable shiny areas in the embossed pattern.SummarxnttbclnvsntimIn the present invention a pile fabric is embossed using an overall non-repeating or- repeating texture design engraved on an engraved steel or brass cylinder or roll using a milland dye tooling or, for very shallow embossing, an acid etch technique to create a backgroundfor an embossed design, and a foreground or pattern, in turn, formed by a router engravingtechnique.The process utilized uniquely combines two or more separate and distinct designshaving different levels of engraving depths to achievea texture and ï¬nish that is uncommonin ï¬ocked velvets or other pile fabrics and particularly ï¬ocked fabrics; In the presentinvention, the finer detail of elements achievable by use of mill tool or, in some-cases, acidetch engraving on a cylinder or roll is combined with the deeper engraving advantages of arouter engraving technique on the same cylinder or roll to produce a bold wellâdeï¬ncd orclean cut pattern with a soft overall hand.The invention provides an embossed pile fabric created from an unembossed pilefabric by embossing with an embossing cylinder or roll utilizing heat and pressure,characterized by: the pile ï¬bers having a foreground pattern and a texturedï»¿10152025CA 02265882 2003-07-1764371-168background wherein the textured background is formed by amill or acid etch engraved patterned portion of theembossing cylinder or roll and the foreground pattern isformed by a routing engraved patterned portion of the sameembossing cylinder or roll.The invention also provides a method of embossinga pile fabric in an embossing machine with an embossingcylinder or roll utilizing heat and pressure characterizedby: forming a textured background in said fabric using anengraved portion of the embossing cylinder or roll definedby a process selected from the group consisting of a millengraving technique and an acid engraving technique andforming a foreground pattern in said fabric using a routerengraved portion of said embossing cylinder or roll.The invention further provides an embossingcylinder or roll for use in embossing pile fabric,characterized by: having a portion of the surface thereofdefining a background pattern engraved with an engravingtechnique defined by a process selected from the groupconsisting of a mill engraving technique and an acidengraving technique and a portion defining a foregroundpattern engraved with a routing engraving technique.It is thus an object of this invention to providea method of making a pile upholstered fabric having a widevariety of pattern applications with the patterns welldefined and the fabric having a soft overall hand.ï»¿LIICA 02265882 1999-03-09.5-A further object of this invention is to provide an improved means and method offorming a pile fabric embossed using an embossing cylinder or roll having a backgroundpattern defined by mill engraving or acid etch engraving techniques and a foreground patternformed by a routing engraving technique, either mechanical or hand tooled or a combinationof both.Another object of this invention is to provide an embossing cylinder or roll having asurface defined in part by mill tool engraving or acid etch techniques and in part by a routingengraving technique either mechanical or hand tooled or a combination of both.Another object ofthis invention is to create a pile fabric with a very soft hand whichhas a textured background and which eliminates the unfavorable shiny areas in the embossedpattern.A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved method ofembossing a ï¬ocked fabric using an engraving cylinder having a background formed by anacid or mill engraving technique and a foreground pattern formed by a routing engraving.One more object ofthe present invention is to provide a method of forming anembossed surface on a pile fabric in which a background pattern is embossed with anembossing roll defined by an acid or mill engraved area and a foreground area is defined by arouting engraved area having a depth greater than the depth of the pile ï¬bers.A still further object of the present invention is to provide an engraving cylinder madeof steel or brass and having at least one area engraved by an acid or mill routing technique toform a background pattern and a second area engraved by a routing technique to form aforeground pattern.Another object of the present invention is to produce a soft embossed pile fabricutilizing a ï¬ocked fabric consisting of synthetic pile ï¬ber which has been embossed with amultilayer cylinder produced with mill and dye tooling or acid etch technique combined witha router technique.In the present invention in a preferred form, there is provided an embossed ï¬ockedfabric which preferably may have a total weight in the order of 6.5 to 9.0 02s., per squareyard (1 84 to 255 grams per square meter), and a pile weight in the order of 1.0 to 3.5 02s.. persquare yard (28 to 99 grams per square meter) with the fabrics preferably having a denier inthe order of .6 to 3.5 DPF (denier per filament) and with the ï¬ocked fabrics embossed in apattern having a background and foreground with the A, ,,._._Â».-p.-:3. $3-iEEâ.ââ|â- '__z .i.Â« -ï»¿U:30CA 02265882 1999-03-09.5-background formed with a mill tool or acid etch engraved pattern on the cylinder or roll andthe foreground formed with a routing engraved pattern on the same cylinder or roll.Brief Description of The DrawingsThese and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearlyunderstood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:Fig. l is a schematic perspective view of a ï¬ocked fabric embodying the presentinvention;Fi(IQ. 2 is a schematic of equipment utilized in practicing the process ofthe presentinvention; andFig. 3 is a schematic cross sectional illustration ofa ï¬ocked fabric in relation to anengraving roll as it is fabricated.Detailed Description of Preferred EmbodimentsFig. 1 illustrates a typical flocked fabric made in accordance with and embodyingfeatures of the present invention. The flocked fabric 1 may be made by conventional meansfor forming flocked fabrics. Such flocked fabric may typically consist ofa nylon pile face 2with an adhesive layer 4 and substrate or backer layer 6. The pile face 2 may. for example.consist of 100% nylon fibers having a pile weight typically in the range of l.0 to 3.5 02s.. persquare yard (28 to 99 grams per square meter) and a ï¬ber denier range of from about .6 to 3.5DPF. The adhesive layer 4, which may be a conventional acrylic polymer adhesive. typicallymay be applied in unifonn thickness with 2.0 to 3.0 ozs., per square yard (56 to 85 grams persquare meter) while the substrate may comprise a poly-cotton blend of 65%/ 3 5% having aweight in the order of 3.0 to 3.5 ozs., per square yard (85 to 99 grams per square meter). Thevarious parameters of the fabric components may be varied by varying the flock weight. theadhesive weight or the substrate weight and by varying the cut length of the flock fibers ortheir denier. By varying these combinations, a wide and rich range of products may beproduced to satisfy various customers or marketing requirements. Depending on the nature ofthe product desired, and the thickness of the product which typically will range between .025to .080 ofan inch (0.635 to 2.03 mm), the embossing pressure, heat and line speed oftheembossing process hereinafter described will be determined.As illustrated in Fig. 1, the fabric made in accordance with this invention consists of aï»¿CA 02265882 1999-03-09-6/1-pattern 10 on a textured background 12. The pattern 10 may, of course, be varied withAMENDED SHEETï»¿I02530CA 02265882 2003-07-1764371-168~7-5 innumerable pattems possible. In the illustrated embodiment, the pattern is a ï¬oral typepattern. The textured background 12 is preferably a non~ârepeat pattern whichin theillustration is essentially a striation style consisting of aâ series of parallel ridges 14 extendingthe length of the fabric. Other styles of overall background treatment are possible including,for example, striations or ridges extending crosswise of the fabric run and simulated weaveeffects. pIn the preferred embodiment, the parallel ridges-_ l4 may typically have a _depth in therange of .002 to .060 of inch (0.051 to 1.52 mm). The actual object size, line thickness andspacing of the pattern to be engraved determines the engraverâs ability to achieve depth on theengraving roll and consequently controls the normal depth of the ridges 14. I âThe pattern 10, in this case a ï¬oral pattern, will typically be formed of pile segments16 shaped to simulate leaves or petals having depths in the range of .060 of an inch to .20 ofan inch (1.52 to 5.08 mm). Thus, an embossed pile fabric having a foreground and -background with the foreground having a depth in the order of 1.5 .background may be formed. 5I The embossing process starts with an unembossed pile fabric typically comprising aï¬ocked fabric adhered to a substrate by an adhesive using materials and pararneters as .described above. The embossing of the fabric may be achieved using conventional embossingequipment in which fabric is embossed using a specially designed cylinder having abackground pattern formed preferably by mill and dye tooling engraving techniques and aforeground pattern formed by a routing engraving cylinder in place of the rolls heretofore.used.The engraving roll 50 used, for exarnple,"t5' create a floral pattern with a striationbackground is made of brass or steel." Typically, the brass or steel cylinder has an outercircumference of 27.5", plus or minus .25" (69.8 cm plus or minus 0.64 cm), or adiameter ofapproximately 8.678" (22.042 cm). The diameter can change depending on the type ofembossing equipment used and the requirements of the design. The overall width of thecylinder may vary but, typically, may be 60â to 80" (1.52 toâ2.03 In), with an engraved patternwidth of 60" to 80" (1.52 to 2.03 rn). The engraved cylinder 50 is initially treated byengraving a background using mill and dye tooling engraving techniques or acid techniques. Typically, the background 12 is defined by engraving the mirror images of theridges 14 over the entire surface and circumference of the roll 50. After thebackground has _to lot) times that otâ the"ï»¿CA 02265882 1999-03-09-7/1-been engraved on the roll 50, the pattern 10 is then engraved on the same roll using routingengraving techniques. The depth of engraving in the mill and dye tooling orAMENDED SHEETï»¿U:I\)U:soprocess is positioned between two paper/woodCA 02265882 1999-03-09,_8_acid etch process to form the background will typically range from about .002" to .060" (0.051to 1.52 mm). On the other hand, the engraving of the foreground pattern will involveengraving. depths in the cylinder ofin the order of.060" to .200" (1.52 to 5.08 mm). with thisrouting engraving forming the ï¬oral pattern illustrated in Fig. 1.As illustrated in Fig. 2, the equipment preferably used in the present invention is athree-roll embossing system. Such systems are made, for example, by Rarnisch Kleinwefer ofKriefeld. Germany. Other systems may be used. iSince embossing is a function of dwell time, heat and pressure. the material beingembossed determines the amount of dwell time. heat and pressure that has to be used toachieve the desired results. The approximate roll pressure typically used ranges between 300and 450 PLI (34.6 and 5l.8 kg per linear cm), with a surface roll temperature preferably of375 Â°F to 500Â°F (jl9lÂ°C to 260Â°C), and with a line speed of between 5 to 20 yards/minute (-1.6to 18 meters/minute). The exact combination of pressure, heat and speed used depends on thematerial intended to be embossed including the thickness of the material as well as the- particular kind of material used.Various types of embossing equipment is available for use with the present invention.Selection of the particular equipment depends upon the material to be embossed, the depth ofthe engraved cylinders or rolls used. and the speed at which the fabric is to be processed.Commercial equipment may comprise an embosser which is either a two-roll or three-rollconfiguration. In a two-roll conï¬guration, the equipment will include an engraved cylinder orroll and a base roll. The base roll ordinarily consists of either a steel or paper/wood-type roll.In more sophisticated. newer equipment. a plastic base roll is used. In a two-rollconï¬guration, the pressure that may be generated is limited since the engraved cylinder or rollwill deï¬ect or bend and create uneven embossing if too much pressure is applied.In the three-roll embossing machine, illustrated in Fig. 2. an engraved cylinder or roll50 bearing a design formed by the mill and dye tooling engraving process and the routing"lled base rolls respectively 32 and 54. In thisthree-roll system, the pressure that can be generated is far greater than possible in a two-rollsystem because the top and bottom rolls 52, 54 stabilize the engraved cylinder 50 andminimize deflection problems. In some more recently developed equipment, a specialcompensating base roll is now available to virtually eliminate deflection. It is this system thatis preferred in practicing the present invention.â AMENDED SHEETï»¿2025CA 02265882 2003-07-1764371-168-9-In the preferred embodiment, the engraved cylinder or roll is typicallyya cylinder madeof brass or steel with anoutside circumference of 27.5 inches .25 of an inch (69.8 :1: 0.64cm)_for a diameter âof approximately 8.678 inches (22042 cm). In Europe, it is also commonto ï¬nd a circumference of 25" (63.5 cm), which would also be suitable for invention. Theinterior diameter of the sleeve will vary in accordance with thetype of embossing equipmentused. The overall width of the sleeve and the width of the engraved pattern, as well as theoverall circumference of the engraved cylinder or roll may vary in accordance the desiredend use and the type of embossing equipment that is used.The relation of the roll to cylinder to the ï¬ocked fabric during the embossing processis illustrated in Fig. 3. In this relation the embossing cylinder 50 has an engraved portion 12Afor forming the textured background 12 and an engraved portion 16A for forming the pilesegments 16. In the embossing process the portions 12A engage and compress under heat andpressure surface areas of the pile to form the background pattern 12. Simultaneously theforeground pattern or pile segments 10 are spaced fromiand are not engaged by thciengravedportion 1624.. This leaves the surface of the foreground pattern untouched. Preferably thespace between the upper surface of the pile segments 16 are spaced from the surface of theengraved portion 16A sufficient to avoid plasticizing or adversely affecting the surface.Preferably this may be achieved by making the depth of the foreground 16 engraved portion16A at least 20% deeper than the height of the pile. âAlthough the present invention is described in connection with the embossing of thenylon ï¬ock fabric, other types of fabrics may also be embossed including woven, knitted,chenille and tufted fabric using features ofthe present invention. Additionally and forexample, propylene, acrylic, polyester and rayon fabrics maybe similarly processed.However, in using each of these other materials, heat and pressure, as well as the speed withwhich the embossing takes place, will necessarily have to be adjusted to compensate for theparticular physical characteristics of the material.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An embossed pile fabric created from an unembossed pile fabric by embossing with an embossing cylinder or roll (50) utilizing heat and pressure, characterized by:
the pile fibers having a foreground pattern (10) and a textured background (12) wherein the textured background (12) is formed by a mill or acid etch engraved patterned portion (12A) of the embossing cylinder or roll (50) and the foreground pattern (10) is formed by a routing engraved patterned portion (16A) of the same embossing cylinder or roll (50).

2. A fabric as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pile fabric is formed by flocking and comprises a substrate (6) and pile (2) extending therefrom.

3. A fabric as set forth in any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein said foreground (10) and textured background (12) patterns are formed in a nylon pile (2) that is flocked to said substrate (6).

4. A fabric as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said foreground pattern (10) has a foreground pile depth in the order of 1.5 to 100 times a background pile depth of the textured background (12).

5. A fabric as set forth in claim 4, wherein a depth of said routing engraved pattern (16A) forming the foreground pattern (10) is at least in the order of 20%
greater than the foreground pile depth.

6. A fabric as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a depth of said routing engraved pattern (16A) forming the foreground pattern (10) is at least in the order of 20% greater than a foreground pile depth of the foreground pattern.

7. A fabric as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 6 having a total weight in the order of 6.5 to 9 ozs. per square yard (220 to 305 grams per square meter) and a pile weight in the order of 1.0 to 3.5 DPF.

8. A method of embossing a pile fabric in an embossing machine with an embossing cylinder or roll (50) utilizing heat and pressure characterized by:

forming a textured background (12) in said fabric using an engraved portion (12A) of the embossing cylinder or roll (50) defined by a process selected from the group consisting of a mill engraving technique and an acid engraving technique and forming a foreground pattern (10) in said fabric using a router engraved portion (16A) of said embossing cylinder or roll (50).

9. A method of embossing as set forth in claim 8 wherein the engraved embossing cylinder or roll (50) is brass.

10. A method of embossing as set forth in claim 8 wherein the engraved embossing cylinder or roll (50) is steel.

11. A method of embossing as set forth in any one of claims 8 through 10 wherein said foreground pattern (10) is embossed such that it is characterized by foreground pile depths between 1.5 and 100 times that of background pile depths of said textured background (12).

12. A method of embossing as set forth in any one of claims 8 through 11 wherein said textured background (12) is embossed with a non-repeating all over pattern.

13. An embossing cylinder or roll (50) for uses in embossing pile fabric, characterized by:
having a portion of the surface thereof defining a background pattern (12) engraved with an engraving technique defined by a process selected from the group consisting of a mill engraving technique and ara acid engraving technique and a portion defining a foreground pattern (10) engraved with a routing engraving technique.

14. An embossing cylinder (50) as set forth in claim 13 wherein a ratio of a depth of a portion of a surface of the embossing cylinder or roll defining the foreground pattern (10) to a depth of a portion of a surface of the embossing cylinder or roll defining the background pattern (12) is in the order of 1.5 to 100.