A method of manufacturing a stamper/imprinter for patterning a recording medium via thermally assisted nano-imprint lithography, comprising steps of: selecting a recording medium for patterning, comprising a substrate with a first coefficient of thermal expasnsion (CTE); providing a first stamper/imprinter comprising a topographically patterned surface having a correspondence to a selected pattern to be formed in a surface of the medium; providing a sheet of a material having a second CTE matching the first CTE; molding a layer of a polymeric material surrounding the sheet of material and having a surface in conformal contact with the topographically patterned surface of the first stamper/imprinter; and separating the layer of polymeric material from the patterned surface of the first stamper/imprinter to form a second stamper/imprinter comprising a topographically patterned stamping/imprinting surface having a correspondence to the selected pattern.