I'm doing this from my head, so I may miss a few steps or get the command names wrong. Hopefully this gets you in the right direction.
First, create an offset plane tangent to the side of your cylinder.
Create a sketch on that plane and from the Insert menu, click profile text.
Type your text and locate it where you want on the cylinder.
Using "Project Curve" command, project the text onto the cylinder.
Use the normal extrusion to extrude the projected curves as your embose.
This is tedious because you may have to project and extrude one letter at a time, and you have to select each individual line segment of the letter, also. Good luck. Keep me posted.
--Scott
For some pleasure reading, the Round Table recommends FAQ731-376