[Keith Alan]

I have started buying frames for a gallery show I'm doing in September.
A new series of very modern metal frames with a brushed black finish has caught my eye, and they come in non-standard sizes I like very much.
The price is very nice, too, and I'm trying to keep my first show's budget under control but want my presentation to look like I spent some money.

The drawback is that in every frame of this new series the cutouts in the mats are offset, so a vertical will sit a little high in the frame, but horizontal photos will be offset to one side and I really don't think this works for me.
Too gimmicky and cheap looking, even with a photo that's well-suited to the effect.

So I'll be needing custom mats in some odd sizes, and am thinking that plain white isn't what I want.
Does anyone have experience ordering custom mats, and can you give me some rough idea of what the options are and what the pricing is likely to be?
Can I get a dark grey for example, or interesting textures?
Is white the most used mat color because it's the best all-around choice?

I think most of the frames I get will be the 15.5" by 17" size that I bought today, matted for an 8x10" print.

Thanks.
This is all so new to me, and I appreciate any help.

[Toad]

Keith:

You can buy a pro quality matte cutter for less than $200. Matte cutting is easy to learn from the net or from the included booklet. I did all my own mattes for my exhibition a couple of years ago and the savings for that one show alone easily paid for the cutter (13 pieces). Everything since then has been for free. Uncut matte boards cost only about $5 - and you will get 4 16x20s from that one board. Getting a double matte done professionally in a custom size will cost in the area of $20 - $30. Do the math.

I have the Logan Intermediate cutter - always buy one large enough to handle 32 x 40 boards - and buy one where you draw the blade towards you rather than push the blade away from you as it makes a much neater cut.

Once you have a cutter - you can get as fancy or as simple with your mattes as you want. When I did my show - I wanted to have a consistent look to my work - so I used a snow white outer matte - and a colored inner matte. For each inner matte, I picked one of the colors in the photo that I was framing. This gave a nice consistent double matte look to the my presentation - but each one was still custom to a degree.

Trust me - once you start cutting your own mattes - you will never look back. It is really quite simple - but it is one of those "measure twice - cut once" type of things.

Uncut matte boards are available in literally hundreds of colors - check you local art supply shop.

Let me know if you want more info.

[edit] here is a link to the cutter that I have - even includes an instruction DVD...

http://www.logangraphic.com/products/boa...iate.shtml

T

[essaljay]

I agree. Doing it yourself is the best way to go. It takes a little practice but it's well worth it to have the results you want. My best tip is to be bold with the cutting. it gives a straighter cut at a consistant angle. As far as colour is concerned you don't mention if the prints are mono or not. White is always good, particularly in a black frame but it really depends on the mood. Try laying the image on the computer onto a larger canvas, then you can paint that layer any colour you like to check the results. If the finished frame is under glass then I don't think the texture is that important (although you may want to go with a more open-weave type of cartridge paper. Best of luck!!

[EnglishBob]

I have the same cutter, highly recommend it.

I make maybe 30 cuts with a blade before replacing, that way the edges are always neat. If you find a little "furing" along the edges, clean up with an emery board.

[Irma]

I have seen already those machines but I never thought it would be so useful to have.
After reading your comments I am considering to get me one of those, I know they are a bit expensive but in the long run, your mattings because really cheap.

Thanks a lot you all for your comments...

Keith, Good Luck!!

[matthew]

I just faced a similar problem with an image that I just couldn't crop to fit a standard paper size, and my only spare frame is 11x14 matted to 8x10. What I did was print the size I wanted (9x12) on an A3 sheet, using a subtle drop shadow to give an illusion of depth and definition to the image. Keeping with the colour tones and brushed metal frame, I used a light silver-grey to fill the rest of the image. It looks better than you'd expect.

The photographer that taught me this trick likes to frame four- and five-foot-long panoramas. Naturally, he lives in a small apartment.

[NT73]

I have bought matte or art board at an art shop. I don't need great quantities, so I get off cuts. It comes in many colours and shades. I mark with pencil on the rear and cut with a stanley knife.
For one offs it is ideal, just the corners that need a little care.

I have also printed A4 sheets with a single colour/shade that I required and cut out for the photo, and laid that over the matte. A tiny bit of double sided tape will hold it in place.
The ones at either side (grey matte) are the ones I have framed with charity shop frames My printer was on the blink so they are a tiny bit striped, but this will be rectified when I re-frame them.

[shuttertalk]

My dad cuts his own mats too (he did a course last year), and judging by the number of frames he has hanging on the wall, he must have saved a bit.

I haven't tried it myself, but I think it would definitely add a personal touch to your photos...

[Keith Alan]

I'm starting to realize that cutting my own is the only way for me to go.

Luckily, thanks to decades spent doing very precise modelling plus a few years as a graphic artist/darkroom guy (for a print shop I owned in the pre-digital days) I'm an expert with an ExActo™ knife and a metal ruler.
I suppose if I can make a single dot in a 120 dpi halftone perfectly round using a blade, I can cut a mat's corners without too much trouble.

Thanks for the advice everyone.
I'm looking forward to showing my work in public, and hopefully at least one person buys a print.
It's a great excuse to print and frame my favorites.

[Pat]

Wish you all the best and hope you sell the lot, let's know how you go