A die and counter die system for impressing a relief pattern onto a substrate, including a male die film and at least one female die. The female die includes a female-die contact surface including at least one cavity defining the relief pattern. The male die film includes a flexible male-die contact surface which is featureless in a region thereof opposing the relief pattern on the at least one female die. The system further includes a compression mechanism adapted, when the substrate is disposed between the male die contact surface and the female die contact surface, to move the male die film and the at least one female die towards one another so as to impress the relief pattern on the substrate.