• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Printing for Less

Printing for Less

Satisfaction Guarantee

At Printing for Less, we've offered high quality online printing services since 1996. Shop business cards, booklets, stickers, and more!

800-924-2041
Get A Quote
  • Products
    • Announcements
    • Banners
    • Booklets
    • Booklet Envelopes
    • Bookmarks
    • Brochure Holders
    • Brochures
    • Buck Slips
    • Business Cards
    • Calendar Printing
    • Campaign Printing
    • Carbonless Forms
    • Catalogs
    • CD Covers
    • Club Cards
    • Coil Bound Booklets
    • Custom Printing
    • Digital Printing
    • Door Hangers
    • EDDM Postcards
    • Envelopes
    • File Folders
    • Flyers
    • Folded Business Cards
    • Folders
    • Forms
    • Greeting Cards
    • Hang Tags
    • Holiday Cards
    • Invitations
    • Labels
    • Large Envelopes
    • Large Format
    • Large Posters
    • Letterhead/Envelope
    • Magnets
    • Mailer Printing
    • Mailing Envelopes
    • Mailing Services
    • Memo Pads
    • Menus
    • NCR Forms
    • Newsletters
    • Note Cards
    • Notepads
    • Offering Envelopes
    • Packaging
    • Plastic Cards
    • Pocket Folders
    • Postcards
    • Posters
    • Post-it® Notes
    • Presentation Folders
    • Rack Cards
    • Recieipt Books
    • Remittance Envelopes
    • Sell Sheets
    • Signs
    • Statement Stuffers
    • Stationery
    • Stickers
    • Table Tents
    • Tickets
    • Variable Data Printing
    • Vinyl Banners
    • Yard Signs
  • Industries
    • Advertising & Design
    • Real Estate
    • Medical
    • Food & Beverage
    • Non-Profit
    • University
    • Technology
    • Enterprise
  • Services
    • Reseller Program
    • Fulfillment
    • Digital Printing
    • Mailing Services
    • Custom Solutions
    • Design Services
    • Hybrid Experience Platform
  • Resources
    • Marketing & Design Tips
    • Templates
    • Blog
    • Help & FAQs
    • Printing Terms & Glossary
    • Video Library
  • Get Samples
  • My Login
  • Contact
  • About
    • Why Printing for Less?
    • Our Team

Custom Printing of Diplomas, Awards, and Certificates

No matter the occasion, awards mean more when they are polished and attractive. If you obtained a professional certification that took you years to achieve, chances are, you wouldn’t be too excited about framing a generic, pre-formatted form your boss found on the internet and printed off.

You might even feel a little insulted.

To give your awards and certificates the appropriate degree of flair and craftmanship you need the help of the custom print professionals. Custom printing effects like embossing and foil stamping help any print stand apart from the crowd. When you need to notice someone for achievement, make the award noticeable as well.


A Story of Elegant Certificates on a Budget

Printing For Less customer Dave Molmen needed custom Leadership Achievement Diplomas for several students. He came to Printing For Less with a great design, pictured below.

diploma example

The entire piece honors the accomplishment of the recipient with a sculptured embossed seal. See how the blue, gold, and red foil stamping accentuates the design?

These awards are 12.5″ by 15.25″ on #80 cover stock (similar weight to a standard business card) which contributes to its impact. What’s more, Dave didn’t have to go in and hand-write every recipient’s name. Using variable data printing, Printing For Less printed each graduate’s name on their diploma in stylized text that matched the theme. Dave’s final take: “I was thrilled with the quality of the printing. It’s a work of art. Beautifully done, with great attention to detail!”

 

How to Create Award-Winning Award Certificates

Of course, having a great design from the start made Printing For Less’s job a lot easier. Here are 4 tips for streamlining the certificate-creation process.

 

#1: Emboss the right way.

Embossing (and its opposite, debossing) is one of the easiest ways to give a printed piece a touch of class. It’s best used sparingly, however. Think of it as an accent wall. It draws the readers’ attention, but also leaves space to see the other beautiful design elements. Logos, header text, names, and patterns or embellishments are all great candidates for an emboss or deboss.

embossed seal

Here’s how it works. Two dies, which are big pieces of metal, sandwich your certificate. These dies are custom-made to imprint a specific design onto your paper. For an emboss, the male die (the one with a relief of your design sticking up) goes under your paper, and the female goes on top of it. For a deboss, the dies are reversed – pressing your image down into the paper instead of raising it up. If you emboss elements that won’t change, you can use these dies for later print pieces as well.

 

#2: Use a metallic foil stamp.

We’re huge fans of metallic foil stamping for certificates and awards. Why? Nothing says sophistication quite like it. To get that Midas touch, first identify which part of your design (could be text, an image, or a shape) should get the special treatment. Your printer will use a heated die to create a stamp of this element directly onto your paper or stock.

foil stamping example

A note about metallic foil stamping (also called hot foil stamping): the foil is tough! It has a more pronounced sheen than a metallic ink, so it’ll glimmer from far away. This is what makes metallic foil stamping ideal for certificates and awards, which will should live up high within frames or display cases.

Another important point about metallic foil stamping is that you’re not limited to the shades of precious metals like silver and gold. Designing for a company? Render their logo in classy metallics. Creating diplomas for a high school? Use school colors! We even have holographic foils.

 

#3: Try a metallic ink.

If you’re not sold on the foil stamp, a metallic ink can have a similar effect. It won’t have as strong of a luster, but it’ll definitely appear more luxurious than standard CMYK colors. Metallic ink actually has bits of metal within it that give it shine: aluminum, copper, bronze, or zinc. It’s very similar to metallic paint on a car.

One of the benefits of opting for metallic ink instead of the foil stamp is budget limitations. Metallic inks are cheaper and a bit easier to design for than foil stamping, so if cost is a concern, you may want to give this custom print effect a try.

 

#4: Don’t skimp on paper.

The way an award feels is every bit as important as how it looks. This is why premium paper is usually the go-to choice for certificates. Premium paper may cost a little more than standard paper, but it’s worth it. For starters, your design will look better on higher-quality paper, because premium paper contributes to print performance. Premium paper will also make it so your ink won’t show through on the other side.

gold foil diploma

Not to mention, the wrong stock – too thin, too glossy, the wrong color – may make your award difficult to read when it’s on the wall, or make it susceptible to rips and perforations. Important certificates should last a long time, and paper quality is integral to this.

Printing For Less can help you get a custom printed certificate, award, or diploma that reflects well upon your business or organization. Our friendly print experts know their stuff and are ready to assist you. Call 800-930-2423 to share your ideas or get a quote for your project.

Need creative or technical advice on your certificate project?
Call our helpful experts now at 800-930-2423
RELATED MARKETING & DESIGN TIPS

How to Design Print Materials for Foil Stamping Effects

We share the top best practices for designing for foil stamped or metallic printing effects to insure that you get the best printed piece possible

Read More >


Rip Cards or Tear Off Cards

Rip card and perforated tear off postcard printing gets your business card, coupon or offer to your prospects easily and cheaply. Send a postcard with your marketing message and a tear off portion with a business card that they can…

Read More >


How to Create a Small Business Marketing Plan

Detailed and easy to follow steps on how to create an effective marketing plan for your small business. A marketing plan is much more than just another boring business document, it’s your map to revenue, growth, longevity, and success

Read More >


Box Toppers Printing

Box Toppers provide valuable and affordable real estate to share coupons, information, and new menu items with your customers. Get them custom printed.

Read More >


Fair and Square Binding

Get Square Back Binding on your catalogs and booklets for added usability and class

Read More >


Church Donation, Remittance and Offering Envelopes

Full color custom printed full flap remittance envelopes and church offering, collection and donation envelopes for churches, non-profits, and schools

Read More >


Ordering Process

Read More >


InTime: Play that Funky Master Page

Read More >


Door Hanger Marketing and Door Hanger Design

Printed samples of door hangers showing different designs and uses for targeted local door to door personalized marketing

Read More >


The Psychology of Color in Marketing

Create more effective marketing materials and a stronger brand by understanding the influence and psychology of color

Read More >


Brochure Printing with Custom Inks

Get metallic, pantone and custom ink printing on your brochures so you can stand out with improved visibility and enhance your conversion rates

Read More >


The Art of Business Card Marketing

Your business card is one of the best advertising tools you have – Five Steps for Business Card Marketing Success.

Read More >


Printing Terms & Glossary

Now you’re speaking our language (and yes, we’ve used every single one of these).

Read More >


Video Library

Browse our Video Library for helpful printing tips.

Read More >


Tip-On Printing Services

Read More >


Magnetic Business Card Printing

Get high quality magnetic business cards printed with numerous custom options, fast turnaround, live expert help and award winning service

Read More >


Roll Labels

Roll Labels and stickers printed to your specifications. Durable, high-quality full color label printing with many standard and custom options available. Use your design or have us design them for you. Printed right and delivered on time, guaranteed

Read More >


Saddle Stitch Binding

What you need to know to get saddle stitching binding done on your printed catalogs and booklets

Read More >


Printing Metallic Ink on Business Cards

Learn about using metallic ink printing on your business cards to make them exceptional and get you noticed

Read More >


Plastic Business Card Printing

Get high quality plastic business cards printed with numerous custom options, fast turnaround, free templates, live expert help and award winning service

Read More >


Graphic Design Help
Marketing & Design Tips

Guides
Jumping into the world of printing? We’ve put together these handy resources to help you get your footing.

Explore >

Templates
Templates

Templates
Pre-made templates are a great way to springboard your creativity and make sure everything is laid out exactly the way you need it. Utilize one of our printing templates and speed up the printing process even more.

Explore >

Blog Articles

Blog Articles
We’ve compiled a list of our best blog posts to help you dive into custom printing

Explore >

Footer

Printing for Less

info@printingforless.com
100 P F L Way, Livingston, MT 59047

800-924-2041

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Products
  • Industries
  • Services
  • Get Samples
  • Resources
  • Guides
  • Templates
  • Blog
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
  • About
  • Why Printing for Less?
  • Our Team
  • Careers
  • Login

Copyright © 1998-2022 PrintingForLess.com. All Rights Reserved.

logo
  • Products
  • Industries
  • Services
  • Resources
  • Get Samples
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • My Login