A Plaque, Lamination or Custom Framing
Once you finally earn your long-awaited college or university diploma, don't let it sit in a drawer or stay all rolled up in a tube.
After all, even the tube or folder that you may use for storage is likely not acid-free - and will, in and of itself, contribute to damage over time.
Your diploma is one of the most expensive and valuable credentials you will ever earn -and it's never too soon to put this "personal marketing tool" to use in your home or office.
When considering options for showcasing your diploma, there are three primary choices:
- A Plaque
- Lamination
- Custom Framing
Using a Plaque for Your Diploma
The least expensive option is to place your diploma in a plaque, so that the diploma is showcased on a wooden board with an acrylic sheet over the document for protection. Some styles do allow you to slip the document in behind the acrylic easily, while others use 4 brads that may require you to poke holes in the document. Obviously, the latter is unacceptable for a diploma. From a conservation perspective, even the “ship-in” plaque style is not ideal because the document is in direct contact with the acrylic. The problem is that if moisture builds up, or in high humidity, the document can stick to the acrylic and tear upon removal. In some cases, this lack of breathing room for the document can contribute to staining or even mold and mildew growth.
Permanent Lamination
You can also choose to have your diploma permanently laminated to a cherry or other finish wood board, commonly with gold highlights. This makes a nice presentation, but it is totally irreversible so you can never change it or update the look. Your diploma is permanently encased. As another footnote that I discovered personally, if you have a diploma with a gold seal or honors sticker such as Cum Laude, this type of lamination completely flattens the embossed wording on the seal—so you can no longer read the Cum Laude!
Custom Framing
Because quality custom framing is completely reversible, meaning that you can remove the document at a later date without damaging it, this approach affords some unique advantages. With custom framing, you can “change” the style or colors easily should the need arise, you can safely remove your diploma to be reproduced if necessary, and you can assure that it safely “isolated” away from the glass to greatly reduce the risk of humidity damage. Here are some key tips to keep in mind when choosing a diploma frame or when speaking with a custom picture framer.
Key Tips in Custom Frame Selection
First, your diploma should never be dry mounted, spray mounted, or otherwise permanently adhered to a board for framing. As with any important document, it should be hung within a mat opening, either from the top with archival tape, or it should be hinged to a conservation quality backing board using archival mounting corners. It is best for the document to have room to expand and contract with changing temperatures, and even a slight “wobble”in the document on a humid day is preferable to permanently and irreversibly pressing it flat.
You diploma should be custom framed using a high quality mat, which both showcases the document and keeps it away from the glass. You’ll want to insure that the matting and backing materials are not just buffered to be acid-free, but are designed for “conservation.” This will be indicated in the documentation for the frame or on the mat board samples and specification sheets. Typically the mat should be 2.25” to 3” wide, depending on the size of your document. You’ll want to choose an attractive frame that coordinates with your home or office environment, and why not splurge for something your really love since you’ll be looking at your diploma for many years to come. Finally, either choose a location for your diploma that is not near direct sunlight, or consider an upgrade to UV protective glass.
Conclusions
With graduation for the Class of 2007 just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about how you will display your diploma to maximize its career-building value. Even if you graduated a few years ago, it’s never too late to give your diploma the showcase that it deserves. For parents seeking the ideal graduation gift, a custom diploma frame is a great idea--what better tribute to many years of hard work and dedication?
For more information on preserving your family treasures, visit: http://www.nedcc.org/resources/resources.php
To learn more about the Library of Congress standards for document preservation, try: http://www.loc.gov/preserv/preserve.html