• Welcome to the Framer's Corner Forum, hosted by the Professional Picture Framers Association. (PPFA)
    You will have to register a free account, before you can SEARCH or access the system. If you have already registered, please LOG IN
    If you have already registered, but can't remember your password, CLICK HERE to reset it.

Diploma Frames

Kai Vanuffelen

Kai Vanuffelen

Frequent Poster
Messages
1,278
Loc
Feilding 4702, Manawatu, North Island, New Zealand
Company
Kai Vanuffelen Pictureframer
Had a certificate coming in this morning accompanying a black frame with gold lip, black mat with the logo of Otago University, mdf backing, clear glass and bendable clips wrapped in plastic.

All this black creates a somber look. In it was a guideline for framing the certificate with the above title.
It reads as follows:
Enclosed is your diploma and a sheet of tissue to act as an acid-free barrier between the certificate and the backing board.
Attach the certificate to the back of the matte (sic) using magic tape (a scotch product) across the top of the certificate only, so it hangs. This way it can be removed if necessary and will not buckle as the humidity changes, as would occur if taped on more than one edge.
Repeat with the barrier.
It goes on a bit further with agreeable comments.

Any comments please?
 
Actually, if I were going to market a cheap, quick, easy-to-use frame for diplomas, that is probably the way I would go about it.

Black with gold trim is the most common style of frames that we sell for diplomas, especially Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees. Bachelor of Arts (BA) can be more easily persuaded to do something a bit different in frames.

I suppose barrier paper is marginally better than directly against shirt cardboard, so give them an extra half of a point.

Magic tape is marginally better than plain scotch tape (or address labels or who knows what all) and it is certainly good advice to just tape at the top.

All in all, for cheap junk diploma framing that looks good to the uneducated eye, the diplomate could do worse...
 
Diploma frames represent a neat niche for us. In this previous thread I described how our diploma frames are constructed in a variety of mouldings and mat combinations. Since the design involves just three matboard layers, moulding, glass, and hanging hardware, these are cost-effective to build in batches. We stock them for 8-1/2" x 11" and 11" x 14" document sizes.

When customers come in to buy, it takes less than a minute to open the frame, install the document, and reclose it.
The Platform Mount is an edge-support technique using no adhesive in direct contact with the document. It can be easily replaced anytime in the future, which is a handy feature for certificates that expire periodically. The easy-open/install/reclose feature makes this design suitable as a gift, too.

Platform mounting is also handy when customers bring in their documents and cheap ready made frames, which usually have very shallow rabbets. For those, we use only two mat layers; one for the platform mount, and and one for the window mat.
:peace:
 
Back
Top