The invention relates to a method for producing a surface structure on a pressing tool, in particular a pressing plate (1), endless belt, or embossing roller. According to the invention, in order to avoid a lengthy etching process, the surface structure is produced by means of metal layers lying one over the other. For this purpose, at least a one-time application of a mask is performed in order to cover partial regions and at least a one-time application of a metal layer to the non-covered regions (5, 6) is performed in order to construct a surface structure composed of elevations. The two individual steps are repeated until the desired structure depth has been reached. By means of a final treatment method, the surface can be rounded or provided with a hard chromium layer (7), for example.