March 2003: Award Holders

It’s only March, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start planning for upcoming school graduations. Every graduate in America will receive an all-important diploma, and most will be housed in a certificate holder befitting such an achievement. Of course, award certificate holders aren’t only used at graduation time. Other academic achievements; athletic awards; employee recognition programs and training course completions are year-round opportunities for award certificates to be distributed.

Design and Production Options

Award certificate holders can be designed to hold a picture along with the certificate. Multiple-panel holders are ideal for display on a table, while a punched hole allows for wall mounting. Here are a few of the most popular decorating options for both the inside and outside of the certificate holder:

Turned-edge - This process involves turning the edges of a substrate over a board to form a decorative wrap. For most certificate holders, the board is padded chipboard. The most common turned-edge cover material is a latex-saturated paper available in a wide range of embossed patterns. We can then decorate this material with foil stamping, screen printing or debossing. On the inside, a silk moire sheet mounted to or turned over an SBS (solid bleed sulfate) board is the most common application. This is often used on both inside panels; four corner ribbons are attached to the inside back panel to hold the certificate.

Heat-sealed vinyl - Two sheets of vinyl are sealed around either a padded or unpadded board. The outside sheet is often decorated with either foil stamping or screen printing.

Pajco™ - This is a brand name for a popular flush-cut material used for certificate holders. A single sheet of SBS or moire may be used to hold the certificate with four corner ribbons.

The Eckhart Advantage

At Eckhart and Company, we produce only made-to-order certificate holders; we don’t stock "standard" sizes or designs. This allows you to create truly customized certificate holders. We also perform all production functions under one roof, including the screen printing, foil stamping, embossing and debossing, turned-edge construction and more. Customized award certificate holders require open communication between all parties for production to stay on schedule and quality expectations to be met.

Back Issues

• April 2004 Turn Your Binder into a Display Piece
• March 2004 Material Options
• February 2004 Ring Binder Solutions
• January 2004 Our Capabilties for 2004
• December 2003 Versatile Pocket Styles
• November 2003 Create Attractive Dust Jackets
• October 2003 Point-of-Purchase Displays
• September 2003 Make Products User Friendly with Index Tabs
• August 2003  The Advantages of Prototypes
• July 2003  Creating the Perfect Package
• June 2003  Mechanical Binding Cover Styles
• May 2003  Custom Ring Binders
• April 2003  Mechanical Binding Options
• March, 2003  Award Holders
• February, 2003  Slipcases, Slantcases & Boxed Sets
• January, 2003 Serving Our Customers
• December, 2002 Media Packaging Options
• November, 2002 Ring Metal Options
• October, 2002 Customized Binder Options
• September, 2002 Turned Edge Possibilities