Process for producing a structure on one of the faces of a glass ribbon, carried out continuously using a printing device, in which: the printing device (8) is placed in a zone (A) in which the ribbon (B) is at an average temperature T1 insufficient for printing the pattern of the printing device onto the ribbon according to the nature of the pattern to be printed, to the pressure between the printing device and the ribbon and to the time during which the ribbon is in contact with the printing device; that face to be etched, upstream of the printing device (8), is heated so as to bring a limited and sufficient thickness of the ribbon to a temperature T2>T1 necessary for printing the pattern of the printing device onto the ribbon according to the nature of the pattern to be etched, to the pressure between the printing device and the ribbon and to the time during which the ribbon is in contact with the printing device, while still keeping the rest of the ribbon at a temperature close to T1; the heat flux transmitted through the ribbon by the heating means is such that the “printing number” is between 0.05 mm″1 and 2.00 mm″1 and preferably 0.3 mm″ 1.