A Guide to Preserving Your Diploma for Years to Come

Preserving your diploma is a topic that not a lot of people talk about, even if it should be a more common topic. The thing is, diplomas are usually paper-made, and even if this is special paper, it’s not going to last for a very long time. Hence the reason why you want to know how to take adequate care of your diploma and other relevant documents. The more you pay attention to that, the better it will be in the end.

Understand why the diploma matters

Diplomas are crucial for a variety of things. They show the knowledge you accumulated over the years, and can be mandatory in the case of getting professional certification, applying for a visa or anything of that nature. Some think that a fake diploma can help them in many of these things, including skilled trades, starting a business and so on.

While you can replace a diploma in most situations, the truth is that you always want to focus on protecting the existing one. And there are many different approaches when it comes to protecting and preserving a diploma. That can help quite a lot, and it’s exactly the thing you need to take into consideration, to the best of your capabilities. As you do that properly, the outcome can be excellent, and it’s exactly the thing you want to adapt to the most here.

Always handle your documents with care

Handle your diploma as little as possible. Every time you move, tape, unfold it, that can lead to damage. Make sure that your hands are clean and dry, and prevent any moisture from reaching these documents. Another good idea is to hold the document by the edges, as it makes it easier to prevent any problems.

Another thing that you want to do is to not write on the diploma, attach sticky notes, place paper clips on it or even repair tears. Knowing how to handle these things is crucial and it will help alleviate a lot of possible issues. The most important thing is to always adjust and figure out where to go next. It’s an amazing opportunity to avoid any rush when handling your diploma and instead you want to focus on streamlining things more effectively.

Choose a safe storage location

The place where you store a diploma matters just as much. Ideally, you want the location to be dark, clean and dry, not to mention the temperature needs to be very stable here, just to be on the safe side. Any exposure to sunlight and humidity, but also heat or environmental changes can prove to be very problematic. It can bring issues like mold, faded ink, not to mention it can end up weakening the paper, too.

What you need to do is to lock the file cabinet, use a document box or anything of that nature. Using gloves when you are handling these sensitive documents, that can also be extremely useful. In general, you want to avoid major exposure to the elements, and that alone can be a major part of the process. Then again, if it’s done right, it will help optimize things, and in the long term it can be extremely handy and very effective.

Always try to avoid storing diplomas in a damp or very hot place. That means it’s not really a good idea to store that in the garage, attic, basement or shed, because the humidity and temperature levels will change very fast. And there you also have exterior walls, windows, water pipes that can lead to sunlight, condensation, leaks or any other similar concerns.

 Using archival-quality protection

That type of protection is great because it allows you to preserve documents more effectively. But what kind of items are ideal here? In general, you want to opt for sleeves and folders, but these should be archival-quality, against scratches, lignin free, acid-free and anything of that nature.

We recommend acid-free products because they are usually good for preserving a diploma for multiple years, and that is going to matter more than expected. Storing the diploma flat inside the sleeve is the best idea, because you don’t want to force it inside. Otherwise, it will damage the document, and it can lead to creases at the very least. It just makes sense to protect everything to the best of your capabilities, so use that to your advantage where possible.

Think twice before framing

For a lot of people, their diploma is the prized possession they want to frame. The problem with framing is that it can bring sun exposure, adhesive stains, moisture damage, not to mention it might even fade. So it definitely helps if you avoid framing it to begin with.

However, if you do want to frame it, a very good rule of thumb is to use a frame that has UV-protective glass or acrylic. UV can fade ink and discolor paper, so any type of protection against that will help a whole lot more than expected. While here, you also want to pick acid-free matting and backing. We recommend that where possible, and also try to focus on streamlining the process so it can be as effective and as comprehensive as it can be.

Also, a recommended thing is to create secure copies of the original and while there, don’t laminate the original. Sure, laminating sounds great at first, but it’s not recommended because it seals the paper between plastic and adhesive layers. So it can bring issues down the line, even it might feel ok now. Learn how to adjust to that, and in the long run you will have a much better experience.

Conclusion

The truth is that preserving your diploma for a very long time requires a lot of attention. But the good thing is that it’s not very hard to do, if you know the right steps. It’s the reason why we highly recommend using our steps highlighted here, because that can save time and a lot of effort. Done right, it can prolong the lifespan of your diploma, without worrying about any issues that arise down the line.