Do you mat? If so, a few questions!

I've done both matting and going matless and printing borderless. It seems like going matless and borderless is more edgy, pardon the pun, and I kinda like it, but I want to mat a few of my citiscape shots to hang up in the living room.

So, a couple of questions:

1. Where do you buy your mats? Any online sources to recommend? I don't have a business selling prints, so I need to buy maybe a half dozen at most.

2. What shade of white would you recommend? Something neutral like Arctic White, or maybe an off-white shade?

If I'm framing under glass then IMO a mat, or some other means of separating the print and glass is required. I usually have my prints done at 16×12, since that is the price sweet point at the lab I use. There is a Chain of homewares and general stores here in the UK called Wilkinsons, and they have a range of cheap frames, complete with mats that I usually use. The frame with mat and glazing costs around £7.50 for a 20×16 with 16×12 mat.

I have also found an online seller that offers a very good price on mount kits, you get a mat, backing board and a cellophane bag which works out at just over £2.00 each in the previously mentioned sizes. Annoyingly, they only offer A3 in 20×16, to get the more usual photographic size of 16×12 is a special order, so adding about £10 to the price. They come in packs of 20, so if you buy a couple of packs the extra cost is not too bad. I keep meaning to get a couple of packs, as I have a lot of prints that I could then put in mounts, and swap between frames regularly. I found them on Amazon.

I like the bright white mats myself, but then I also like standard traditional gloss prints, either colour or black and white. Apart from prints on Ilford MG IV FB Baryta paper, which by their nature are more of a semi gloss finish. Not that I have many of those printed, the prices are a bit steep!

Alan

BigAl007 wrote in post #18344142
If I'm framing under glass then IMO a mat, or some other means of separating the print and glass is required. I usually have my prints done at 16×12, since that is the price sweet point at the lab I use. There is a Chain of homewares and general stores here in the UK called Wilkinsons, and they have a range of cheap frames, complete with mats that I usually use. The frame with mat and glazing costs around £7.50 for a 20×16 with 16×12 mat.

I have also found an online seller that offers a very good price on mount kits, you get a mat, backing board and a cellophane bag which works out at just over £2.00 each in the previously mentioned sizes. Annoyingly, they only offer A3 in 20×16, to get the more usual photographic size of 16×12 is a special order, so adding about £10 to the price. They come in packs of 20, so if you buy a couple of packs the extra cost is not too bad. I keep meaning to get a couple of packs, as I have a lot of prints that I could then put in mounts, and swap between frames regularly. I found them on Amazon.

I like the bright white mats myself, but then I also like standard traditional gloss prints, either colour or black and white. Apart from prints on Ilford MG IV FB Baryta paper, which by their nature are more of a semi gloss finish. Not that I have many of those printed, the prices are a bit steep!

Alan

Thanks for the steer on Wilkinsons ... wasn't aware of that. I'll take a look next time I'm in the UK. On-line, I have found quite a number of UK framers that will pre-cut various combinations of frame and window size at very good prices. If you can't get what you want from one, you may find it from another. But it requires a lot of 'Googling' and staring at a screen to figure out what is the best deal.

The OP is in the States, I think, so the UK market is not hugely relevant to them. But I am sure anything available in the UK will be more than equally available in the USA.

I have used 'Ivory' mats in the past ... just off pure white. But I am thinking of trying out 'Charcoal' (about 50% grey, I guess) after seeing some nice samples on-line.

I went ahead and ordered a few mats to test out. I did a 12x18 opening in an 18x24 mat in a slightly muted white. This should work perfectly with a 13x19 print with a 1/2 inch border. Damn things were expensive though when not buying in bulk. They cost about $10 each including shipping. Prices drop when I order large numbers, but I only got 3 to test out.

Scrumhalf wrote in post #18344300
I went ahead and ordered a few mats to test out. I did a 12x18 opening in an 18x24 mat in a slightly muted white. This should work perfectly with a 13x19 print with a 1/2 inch border. Damn things were expensive though when not buying in bulk. They cost about $10 each including shipping. Prices drop when I order large numbers, but I only got 3 to test out.

Tell me about it, Those cheap frames I mentioned using went through a phase where they started cutting the mat openings at exactly 16×12, instead of the approx 15.5×11.5 that they should be. The prints just fall through the hole, and they are completely useless. I ended up having to go to Hobbycraft for replacement mats for a couple of prints that were gifts, the mats ended up costing £9.99, to go in a £7.50 frame.

DaviSto Those Wilkinson frames are OK as long as you are careful in picking the right one from the shelf. They have some that are made from that very cheap MDF like stuff, but they do also seem to have some that are real "softwood", which are the ones I now try to go for. It is a shame that they stopped using glass for the framing, it definitely looks better than the rather thin perspex they are now putting them in. Anyway it really pays to give them a good close inspection in store to make sure they don't have any damage, a lot seem to get dinged corners, and sometimes even the joints can be a bit iffy too. But what can you expect at £7.50 a time for a complete 16×20 frame.

The local Clas Ohlson store that opened in Norwich also had a range of slightly better quality frames, for not much more, about £15 for the same size, and they also had mats and other bits in there too, and at good prices. But they have now closed in Norwich. Dunelm are also probably worth a look too, at least for complete frames off the shelf.

Personally being disabled I don't have a lot to spend on this, so I use them anyway. I don't have a lot of friends that are into art etc. so most people that see them on the wall think they look really good. Hopefully they are looking at the photo anyway, not the frame.

Alan

Michael's and Aaron Brothers here in the US have mats precut in most standard sizes, if one is near you it is probably cheaper than buying limited quantities online.

Kent Clark wrote in post #18344399
Michael's and Aaron Brothers here in the US have mats precut in most standard sizes, if one is near you it is probably cheaper than buying limited quantities online.

Thanks! I think there's one nearby.. I'll check them out!

Scrumhalf wrote in post #18344113
2. What shade of white would you recommend? Something neutral like Arctic White, or maybe an off-white shade?

IMO, a dark mat & frame will help isolate the image from the usual white walls that they're hung on, & can make a big difference in how it looks, just like when you click on the forum's eyeglasses & they show on a gray background.
The usual white mat tends to make a dark image look even darker. Take a look at POST #30 near the bottom of page #2: The gray bar at the center is the same density all the way across.
A few Car Lighting Tips

There's a Blicks in NW PDX that has what you need. I would suggest you go with a Crescent Select matte. This is the lowest grade of conservation matte. It is acid-free. Also acid-free mount board will be desirable. I use acid free 3/16" foam core. PH Neutral and acid free are not the same no matter what a salesperson may tell you.

Here's another source that I use: https://www.customfram​ingwholesale.com/store​/supplies

I cut my own mats. I buy a large sheets of 4 ply white museum board and cut down from that. I also do my own framing. It is a cheaper and I maintain the control.

https://www.archivalme​thods.com/category/boa​rd-paper

i've only framed a limited number of things in my apt...but when i went to try and have mat's cut at aaron brothers, i thought the cost was ridiculous...so i bought a mat cutter for like $100, and just cut all of my own mat's...cut them for friends and family if they need some...it's definitely paid for itself, and aaron brothers sells mat board in all different thicknesses and colors

airfrogusmc wrote in post #18344736
I cut my own mats. I buy a large sheets of 4 ply white museum board and cut down from that. I also do my own framing. It is a cheaper and I maintain the control.

https://www.archivalme​thods.com/category/boa​rd-paper

Same here, except I leave the framing to a friend that runs a framing shop. He buys moldings in large quantities thus gets the pieces at prices I could not. He can frame to any size.

I love being in total control of the printing and matting. I typically don't stick to any "standard sizes" and create prints and matt in dimensions that suites the image. Nothing more frustrating than having to crop out part of the image to fit a certain sized matt / frame.

Quint on Trask wrote in post #18344612
Here's another source that I use: https://www.customfram​ingwholesale.com/store​/supplies

Yep, this joint. Buy in bulk.

Do you need any special tools to cut the mats?

Mat cutters usually have the knife at an angle. There are cheap handheld units up to very large wall based units for thousands of dollars.

I tried the hand ones and cannot do it to my satisfaction. The larger units that have the blades on rails to hold everything strait are the best. You will spend multiple hundreds for the cheapest of them though.
This is why I buy mine pre-cut (or have them custom made by pros that do it for a living).