I have been given a couple of documents to restore--some older high school certificates--and was wondering about the best way to output them when finished.

The restoration is not the problem--just some water stains and creases--but wasn't sure about printing to maintain a "document" feel to them. I am not 100% certain of the clients final presentation of them and whether they will be framed or not. I have had success with "faux watercolours" and printing them as photos with textured background etc. Once they are behind glass it's hard to tell they are on photo paper. But for these they are actual documents and I was wondering about keeping them as such.

I am in SW Ontario (Cambridge) and will be contacting regular printers on Tuesday following Thanksgiving here. But I have a fear that the printing costs for these will be huge because they are just one copy for one document and seven for the other. Any suggestions for who to call or type of printer to call? Suggestions for type of printing or output would be helpful as well?

Thanks in advance.

>Any suggestions for who to call or type of printer to call?

Do you have Kinko's there?

I am not 100% certain of the clients final presentation of them and whether they will be framed or not

The first thing to do is find out the client's intentions and wishes.

I've printed quite a few documents on specialty papers to keep the document feel and they have worked well. Although this is only an option if you were printing yourself. Some printers will do a single item I've had larger items (larger than A3) done that way many times although it does add considerably to the cost. Your printer should be able to give you a range of paper options and advise you. But first be sure what your client wants.

Swampy, yes, we have Kinko's here. I'll check them out and their competition as well.

Sanda, you're right, I should know what the client wants. In my meeting with him on Friday I basically told him about the "photo"-type option and he seemed happy with that but also told him I would check into more of a paper document option as well. I suspect what the client wants will depend on the price that I can get for him. Sending a one-off like this to a printer may get expensive so he may just opt for the photo option and mount them all himself or something like that... A couple of more calls to make on Tuesday.

Thanks for the advice and hopefully a few more people will chime in... Anyone? Anyone?

the two major questions are taken care of already... what's the client want and what's available. between communications with both you shld arrive at a good solution.

ask the printer what he has and what he suggests.

also, you didnt mention what size you're printing or if you have a printer yourself. papers available for the home printer are quite extensive any more and might just be able to do it yourself. for document printing you usually want a low gloss print, but again, that somewhat depends on the customer's needs and wants.

Thanks for your reply, Kraelin.

The thread is a little moot at this point in time as the docs have been delivered to the client. I found a Kwik Kopy place here in Cambridge that had great stock available for what I wanted and was able to do exactly what I wanted while I waited. Great service and a great price. To great things to pass on to a new client.

I do have a basic printer for myself for printing basic documents e.g., invoices, letters, etc., but nothing of the quality that I would want for restored documents or photos. Both of those I farm out to much higher quality labs/print shops--it's worth it.

Thanks for all your help! Keeping on learning!