Fall convocation season arrives quickly, and the schools that have the smoothest ceremony week are almost always the ones that ordered early. Earlier this year we looked at how many certificate holders to order for graduation season. This blog covers the other half of that question: when to place the order.
At The St. James Paper Company, we work with schools, colleges and institutions across Canada to get certificates, certificate holders and certificate frames delivered well before ceremony day. Here's how to plan your ordering timeline with confidence.
1. Work Backwards From Your Ceremony Date
The clock that matters starts at proof approval. After your proof is approved, production runs and then shipping time follows on top of that.
Everything before approval is the part that varies. Finalizing your graduate list, confirming the exact wording, tracking down a crest or signature file, and getting sign-off from whoever needs to give it can take a week or it can take a month. That stage is where most of the time goes, so plan it generously and treat the production window as the fixed part of your schedule.
A simple way to approach this: pick your ceremony date, count back the shipping time to your province, count back the production days, and mark the date your proof needs to be approved by. Everything else works backwards from there.
2. Choose Your Certificate Holders First
Holders are the item most often left to the end, and they're the one worth locking in first. Every graduate needs one, so the quantity is the largest on your order and the easiest to underestimate.
- The Bravo Collection is our recommendation for convocation. It's built for the moment a diploma is handed across a stage.
- Double fold holders are the classic choice for a single certificate and work for almost any ceremony.
- Tri fold holders suit ceremonies where you're presenting a certificate alongside a letter, transcript or program insert.
3. Confirm Your Certificate Designs
The certificate itself is the foundation of the whole presentation. Our archival-quality, acid-free, FSC-certified paper means the document still looks right decades after the ceremony, which matters when you're recognizing years of work.
There are a few directions to go depending on the ceremony:
- Foil certificates for a polished look at convocation scale.
- Premium foil certificates when the document needs to feel like the centrepiece.
- Classic certificates for a traditional, understated finish.
4. Allow Extra Time for Custom Certificates & Holders
Custom foil-stamped logos, crests and layouts require design and setup before anything is printed. If you want custom holders or certificates for this fall, request your quote now rather than closer to the date.
Have your high-resolution artwork ready when you do. A logo pulled from a website usually won't foil stamp cleanly, so ask your communications team for the original file at the same time you ask for approval. Our sample gallery shows what previous academic and business custom work has looked like, which is often the fastest way to explain to a committee what you're proposing.
5. Offer Certificate Frames as an Upgrade to Student
Certificate frames work well as an optional upgrade for students. Many institutions offer them at the point of order or pickup, giving graduates a way to protect and display their certificate without making a frame part of the standard package. Deciding early whether frames will be offered this way, and to whom, changes your quantities and gives you time to set pricing or a simple order process before the ceremony rush hits.
Framed awards also work great if you're recognizing retiring faculty, long-service staff or honorary degree recipients this fall.
- Glass frames are the straightforward choice for a clean, protected finish.
- Double mat frames suit honorary degrees and donor recognition, where the presentation carries real weight.
- Solid colour wood frames work well when you want the frame to match school colours or a consistent look across a department.
- Traditional wood frames suit awards destined for a faculty office or a wall of recognition.
- Multi-size frames are worth considering if you're framing more than one document for the same recipient.
Why Schools Trust St. James Paper Company
For over 30 years, we've supported schools, colleges and institutions in recognizing achievement with dignity and professionalism, offering high quality certificate paper, certificate holders and diploma covers in a range of finishes, a full range of framing options, custom foil stamping and personalized layouts, and fast, reliable shipping across all of Canada.
Order Early. Celebrate Without the Stress.
Get a free personalized quote today and head into convocation week fully prepared.