Everyone wants to record their accomplishments for their children, for their businesses, and for their futures. Everyone wants to be seen for the good they’ve done for others and their communities. So, if you’ve had a newspaper article written about you, we’re sure that you’ll want to get it framed so that you can display it for everyone to see. We all like showing off, but isn’t it nice when someone else does it for you?
However, framing and hanging newspaper articles isn’t just about putting it in a large enough frame to hang. How can you make sure that the newsprint that it’s on doesn’t degrade and leave you with only a simple sheet of yellowed paper with badly faded ink? Well, there are some ways to ensure that a display is kept looking beautiful, and framing the article does produce benefits. We’ve listed a few of those benefits below, so take a look through and see how framing can keep your articles looking as good as new and keep them a mark of pride for you, your office, and your accomplishments.
Sunlight Degrades Paper
Everyone who has ever tried to preserve a newspaper without keeping it away from sunlight knows that they degrade fairly quickly. That’s because newspapers are made from inexpensive wood pulp, designed to last only for a few days. They’re really not meant for full displays or to be kept for posterity. They’re intended to be recycled or trashed at the end of the day, meaning that longevity isn’t a major concern.
However, sometimes articles are a little more meaningful, or the news story big enough for the day, that you might want to preserve it. Keeping it out of the sunlight is a very helpful thing that you can do to make sure that the paper doesn’t degrade. Framing newspapers can easily assist in achieving this. Regular sunlight can yellow the newsprint, destroying the paper and ruining any display you had of the newsprint. But did you know that ultraviolet rays (the same kind that give you sunburns) can add to oxidation and yellow the paper faster? A good display has UV-resistant glass to mitigate this concern, and framing it and keeping it indoors means that the only light the paper sees is artificial light—which keeps the paper looking pristine longer. And isn’t that the point of what you’re trying to do?
Oils Degrades Paper
If you’re not framing or displaying the paper on the wall, you’re probably leaving it out where people can read it. This is understandable—after all, a good article is meant to be read. But every time someone touches the newsprint, they’re leaving a residue of the oils that the human body naturally has on it. While this doesn’t seem to affect the newsprint immediately, you’ll start to notice that the paper is taking on a yellowish tinge where people are touching it. This is because the oils are staining the newspaper and blemishing it. That’s a big risk!
But framing has a big benefit: people can read your article without touching the newspaper that it’s printed on, meaning that yellowing from oils is a less-likely scenario than it was before. If someone touches the frame for your paper, all you’ll need is a little cleaner and a rag to wipe the oils off of the display rather than having to have the oil removed from the newspaper—which is not an easy process. Why make more trouble for yourself when a simple, proper framing means easier maintenance and a stronger visual appearance?
Accidents Happen
Another concern you should be worried about is that accidents can and do happen everywhere. Imagine your newspaper article sitting on a desk after a client or a relative has just read it. Suddenly, they accidentally spill coffee onto the desk, soaking the newspaper and turning it a shade of brown. Or, if they’re reading it outside, the wind might pick it up and blow it away. There are innumerable kinds of damage that could occur, and we’re sure that you could think of some more possible disasters that could happen to your paper.
That’s another great reason why framing the article is one of the best ways to preserve your article. It will both prevent accidents—how could coffee spill onto the paper if it’s not on the desk in the first place?—and mitigate the dangers of ones that could happen to the paper if it’s hung on the wall. A sprinkler system going off won’t hurt a newspaper in a water-tight preservation frame. While accidents can still occur, a good frame can help eliminate the risk of most accidents and keep your article looking great and preserved for the benefit of your business or home.
Don’t Forget the Elements
There are other things that can attack your article, including the newspaper itself. Newspaper is made from acidic paper, meaning that it will destroy itself in the sunlight, in the elements, and even just by sitting in the open air. A good framer will employ techniques such as deacidification to help preserve the articles and use airtight frames to eliminate the risks and problems associated with framing.
The acids in the paper can also increase by being exposed to the elements. Even in a well-maintained, climate controlled building, the chance of exposure to pollutants and other risks is high if the article is sitting in the open air. The elements are dangerous to the articles and the newspaper and can destroy it if it’s sitting out even if you avoid other major catastrophes, oils, and sunlight. So, when considering if it’s worth it to frame an article, you should take into account all of the problems that come from it sitting out in the elements, waiting for its own self-imposed demise. Don’t let the elements strip your article from you—take steps today to ensure that it continues to survive. Framing is one of the best options for this, and is considerably easier than treating and archiving the work.
Plaque That Article
Above and beyond framing the article, you can seal the article within a plaque for long-term preservation and display. These plaques can keep an article safe from the ravages of the elements and accidents.
So, the answer is that if you’re looking to preserve articles for the future and keep the newsprint looking pristine and perfect, then having a plaque made is a great solution. We’d also recommend keeping a backup copy in an acid-free envelope or box in a dark, dry place in the off chance that an accident does wipe out your plaque. However, the strength of a plaque is that it preserves the document while still displaying it. A backup copy is a great thing, but no one will ever see it, eliminating the best benefit of an article.
Still, if you’re looking to preserve your achievements for the future, there’s no better idea than to plaque it and make it look good for your business, your clients, and yourself. It’s a great preservation system and it’s also quite good for your office’s style and class. If you’re thinking about preserving an article that has been written about your company or your achievements, a plaque is the ideal solution for creating an attractive display. Don’t hesitate—every day that the article is not being protected is another day that it’s degrading and looking worse!
