An apparatus for embossing sheet material (32) by applying pressure to punch and die members (26, 28) positioned on both sides of the sheet material using force developed by one or more solenoids (40, 104) to force the punch and die members together to apply an imprinting force. In order to reduce the impact force, noise and wear on the mechanical parts, the solenoid may be energized in two separate steps, the first to move the punch and die members into contact with the surface of the card and the second to apply the embossing force to the punch and die members. Both rotary (104) and linear (40) solenoids may be used with differing coupling linkages (108, 110, 120, 122, 140, 142) in various embodiments of the embossing mechanism.