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twriterext
Participating Frequently
January 3, 2011
Answered

Award Certificate Templates

  • January 3, 2011
  • 6 replies
  • 83489 views

I am looking for a source for free award certificate templates for InDesign.

I have InDesign CS3 (v. 5.0.4), and only 1 certificate template is included (and I don't care for it).

I searched this forum without success; I searched the Adobe website without success (lots of info on how to use templates); even used Google, but found nothing relevant that is free.

Can anyone help?

I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 with a 1.5 Ghz Pentium M processor, 2 GB RAM, Win XP/Pro SP3

      Correct answer macinbytes

      I generate a border from Quark since it has it a box style. They are pretty crunchy as vector, so I rasterize the thing and get pretty good results. I use a grayscale tif and color it in InDesign. 300 ppi for 8.5 x 11 tif at the following link. Use your direct selection tool to color it.

      http://db.tt/1xCyevo

      6 replies

      Herculred
      Herculred
      Participant
      December 25, 2021

      Award winning 2020

      World market winning award
      I
      Ian C. Matthew
      Participant
      January 5, 2011

      I don't know about certificates as such. However, I use a nifty little prog called GraphicType Designer. I paid for mine BUT it's now available as a FREE download. See below:

      http://www.graphictype.co.uk/products.php?

      GraphicType Designer can create surface pattern designs, separators AND borders, including certificates. However, to achieve this you really need to purchase the fonts which are TrueType decorative fonts. Sort of like Dingbats / Wingdings but which adjoin one another in a unique way to create various patterns and designs. This should easily offer more scope than the limited stroke designs found in InDesign.

      Here is a certificate border design knocked up in seconds:

      As you can se, you can get a great looking certificate design. They export as WMF, RTF and plain txt formats. Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop can all paste these designs.  These designs come into their own when you overlap them using different design and colour combinations. You can even use the seperators in Illustratot to create brushes.

      This is NOT win Vista or 7 64bit ready. However, it works with 32 bit versions and Win XP is fine. it even works well in Win XP mode on 64 bit Win 7! I have been using this program myself since 1996!

      Sorry if i sound like a salesman, but this could be tha answer you're looking for. Plus you'll be creating original work rather than relying on a template!

      E
      Community Expert
      Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 5, 2011

      You can do something very similar by using InDesign text frame ant the Type on Path Tool

      Use a font like Adobe Caslon pro that has nice decorations in the Glyphs.

      The fill the path with a glyph and adjust the tracking/kerning.

      You may have to bevel the frame edges to get a smooth corner for the award frame.

      I didn't do the one below very well.

      I believe that InDesign CS2 came with some templates and I think this is how they were created too???

      http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/3198/84964660.jpg

      Peter Spier
      Community Expert
      Peter SpierCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 4, 2011

      Or go to Staples and buy some blank certificate paper....

      macinbytes
      macinbytes
      Inspiring
      January 4, 2011

      Dwight Shrute would not approve of that approach, Peter.

      Peter Spier
      Community Expert
      Peter SpierCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 4, 2011

      But you can get gold embossed borders! Try doing that on your inkjet.

      macinbytes
      macinbytesCorrect answer
      Inspiring
      January 4, 2011

      I generate a border from Quark since it has it a box style. They are pretty crunchy as vector, so I rasterize the thing and get pretty good results. I use a grayscale tif and color it in InDesign. 300 ppi for 8.5 x 11 tif at the following link. Use your direct selection tool to color it.

      http://db.tt/1xCyevo

      T
      twriterextAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      January 4, 2011

      Thanks to macinbytes for the link to the certificate border.  That works for me.

      And thanks to MutantPixel and Eugene Tyson for your responses.  However, for this project I really needed the certificate to be free, and I did not find anything on the Exchange website.

      macinbytes
      macinbytes
      Inspiring
      January 4, 2011

      Glad it works for you. If you ever find yourself in the same jam but with a different style generally a generic frame from Quark with the Certificate Border will get you where you need to be. I've used it for the occasional giant presenter's check and gift certificate jobs.

      Definitely trick bag material at best. I've bought a few of them from stock photo sites and they all have proven to be no better than what you get on out of the box Quark 36 point stroke, pdf, rasterize, colorize and push it out the door.

      E
      Community Expert
      Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 4, 2011

      You might find some here

      http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?l=-1&s=5&o=desc&exc=19&cat=225&event=producthome

      A
      Anonymous
      January 4, 2011

      A quick search at istockphoto.com shows several hundred clip art certificates. They arent free, but they are so cheap, they might as well be.

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