I was at he location framing store, looking for matting and frames for my pictures. Had a thought about matting, hoping someone out there can help.
Since I have several rather large and odd-sized photos, the matting would have to be custom, thus quite expensive. Does anyone cut their own mats for professional displays? I was looking around art store and they do sell mat cutters, are they worth it? What do you guys do?
Many Thanks!
Chun Ming Huang
Posted by Ron Leraaen on December 23, 2006 at 1:32 AM
Check out Logan mat cutters. It is pretty easy to learn how to cut mats with them. You can get good results with their low end models, but they are limited due to their size. I believe they are only 30 inches wide, and standard mat boards are 32 x 40. They cost a little over $100 so the return on investment vs. custom is very quick. I believe the next step up is the 700 series that cost about $250 which is worth the money. I used both of these cutters before I got into my own framing business. Don't buy the lower price ones that you see in the art stores other than Logan. Some of those stores sell Alto brand, which does not look like a good product to me.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on December 23, 2006 at 5:55 AM
I use the Alto's 4505 mat cutter. Sturdy, flexible, and easy to use. It's very accurate also and makes it pretty easy to get good corners with no overcut. I haven't used the Logan cutters but the low end systems didn't impress me. Try as many brands as you can.
It doesn't take long to get a good return on your investment with a good cutter. I tend to crop for composition rather than standard sizes, so being able to custom mat is a great time and money saver.
Posted by Rick Dunn on December 23, 2006 at 7:46 AM
I've been using a Logan 301 for several years - works very well for my needs. It's 32" wide and accommodates a standard 32x40 mat board. There are usually good deals on ebay. I got mine for $60 or so, and it's paid for itself many, many times over.
Cutting your own mats can be very economical and also very frustrating at first. It can take a little practice, so pick up some cheap board if you can and spenda little time with it. A few tips:
1. Sharp blades. I typically use a blade for 4 or 5 mats; after that, I find that unless I'm extremely smooth in my cutting action, the blade will cause a rougher, less clean cut. If I haven't used the cutter in a while, I put in a fresh blade.
2. Outer edges. There's a guide built into the cutter to help keep your cuts square. If you use this, you need to make sure that your outer edges are also square/parallel before you start cutting. If not, then your inner cuts will be out of square as well. If I know that I need a 16x20 mat, I'll try to get the larger mat board cut down to that size at the store (I use Aaron Brothers - they'll usually chop up a 32x40 into smaller pieces for free, if they're not busy).
3. If you go Logan, one of the cutters that comes with a straight blade (in addition to the bevel) is handy for making the outer cuts.
4. This was the most frustrating part - overcutting. Your simply pushing a blade along the length of the mat. Clean cuts are dependent upon a nice smooth cutting motion. Stopping smoothly is harder than starting smoothly. Trying to slow down the blade as you near the stopping point can lead to a rougher cut, and it's also easy to overcut. There's nothing on the less expensive cutters to aid in this area, so I use binder clips placed on the cutting rail as a 'stop' for the blade - I use one constant speed until the blade holder hits the 'stop'.
5. When making bevel cuts, you need to go about 1/8" past your markings so that the corners are cleanly cut.
Good luck!
Posted by Roger Rouch on December 23, 2006 at 9:21 AM
I don't have any experience cutting mats, though I'm getting inspired reading about it. Custom cut mats don't have to be super expensive. I use American Frame for most all of my framing and matting and think they are quite reasonable and much less than the retail framing stores I've visited.
Posted by Brent Murphy on December 23, 2006 at 10:18 AM
I also use American Frame. However, I've found that I can get custom framing done at RCF in Lakewood for about the same price, maybe a little less. Their prices are a lot less than other local frame shops, and the results are great. I know a lot of people on this forum use them. Give Lana a call at 303-985-2644.
Posted by Jody Grigg on December 23, 2006 at 10:48 AM
I have a brand new Logan 301 Model Mat Cutter that has never been used, cuts upto 32" if you are interested.
Hmmm.... Sounds like in the long run, cutting your own mats are the ways to go! I think I'll put more thoughts into purchasing one. Thank you all for your help!
Posted by bill meikle on December 23, 2006 at 6:13 PM
Cutting your own mats is easy, after a wee bit of practice, (follow the guidelines with the cutter). I just use a low end cutter and it does a good job. I wouldn't pay to have mats made, they are very expensive.
I have a Logan 650 which i find that the pushbutton options (and start stop guides) make life really easy. the only bad thing about it is that I dont like the way it cuts 8ply.
RichieV
Posted by Mel Ladewig on December 26, 2006 at 6:27 PM
I am an Altos user. I inherited the system from my mother who purchased the system and then never really got into using it. In other words I did not choose it by shopping around myself so I don't know that it is what I would have purchased.
But I've found it very easy and quick to use for accurate mat cuts.
I would also suggest that you invest in 2 other items. A good quality T-square and a self healing cutting mat. I have an OLFA brand cutting mat.
All that said, my experience cutting mats myself has been very good. The last time I had a mat cut for me, it cost me nearly $50. Now, I buy a 32X40 sheet of matboard for $6 or less, and can mat 2 frames with that board.
I buy my frames at either Hobby Lobby or Aaron Brothers. Hobby Lobby is usually %50 off every other week, but they recently changed frame brands and the new frames are of rather poor quality. When Hobby Lobby is not %50 off, they are usually %25 overpriced in my opinion. Aaron brothers pricing seems much more reasonable and the selection and quality is generally better.
Posted by Les Barstow on December 27, 2006 at 9:57 AM
I picked up a Logan 450 Intermediate Plus cutter this past year; it's a good compromise between the smaller systems and the expensive ones. It has a single stop (no start indicator), and it can cut a full 40" board lengthwise. Full price it will run you just over $200, but there are many places who sell it online for almost half off. Comes with both a bevel and straight cutter. The single stop is generally sufficient for whipping out mats quickly; one pencil mark and then you're off to the races, at least if you're cutting even mats.
In addition to the above, make sure you have a FLAT surface for cutting. The support boards that come with the cheap and mid-grade cutters won't stay flat on uneven surfaces, and that translates into uneven cuts.
I can easily whip out an 18x24 and three 14x18 double mats for what I used to pay for a single 18x24 pre-cut.
Finally, check out redimat.com. They have a good selection of standard sized matboards for a good price. I like their "blanks"... They offer pre-sized - but not pre-windowed - blanks in a variety of sizes and colors for less than I can buy them retail uncut, and all it takes is a $100 minimum purchase, mix-and-match; I cut the windows to my own specifications (3" borders, which they don't offer for all sizes in digital formats...)
Discussion
11 repliesI was at he location framing store, looking for matting and frames for my pictures. Had a thought about matting, hoping someone out there can help.
Since I have several rather large and odd-sized photos, the matting would have to be custom, thus quite expensive. Does anyone cut their own mats for professional displays? I was looking around art store and they do sell mat cutters, are they worth it? What do you guys do?
Many Thanks!
Chun Ming Huang
It doesn't take long to get a good return on your investment with a good cutter. I tend to crop for composition rather than standard sizes, so being able to custom mat is a great time and money saver.
Cutting your own mats can be very economical and also very frustrating at first. It can take a little practice, so pick up some cheap board if you can and spenda little time with it. A few tips:
1. Sharp blades. I typically use a blade for 4 or 5 mats; after that, I find that unless I'm extremely smooth in my cutting action, the blade will cause a rougher, less clean cut. If I haven't used the cutter in a while, I put in a fresh blade.
2. Outer edges. There's a guide built into the cutter to help keep your cuts square. If you use this, you need to make sure that your outer edges are also square/parallel before you start cutting. If not, then your inner cuts will be out of square as well. If I know that I need a 16x20 mat, I'll try to get the larger mat board cut down to that size at the store (I use Aaron Brothers - they'll usually chop up a 32x40 into smaller pieces for free, if they're not busy).
3. If you go Logan, one of the cutters that comes with a straight blade (in addition to the bevel) is handy for making the outer cuts.
4. This was the most frustrating part - overcutting. Your simply pushing a blade along the length of the mat. Clean cuts are dependent upon a nice smooth cutting motion. Stopping smoothly is harder than starting smoothly. Trying to slow down the blade as you near the stopping point can lead to a rougher cut, and it's also easy to overcut. There's nothing on the less expensive cutters to aid in this area, so I use binder clips placed on the cutting rail as a 'stop' for the blade - I use one constant speed until the blade holder hits the 'stop'.
5. When making bevel cuts, you need to go about 1/8" past your markings so that the corners are cleanly cut.
Good luck!
Bill
RichieV
But I've found it very easy and quick to use for accurate mat cuts.
I would also suggest that you invest in 2 other items. A good quality T-square and a self healing cutting mat. I have an OLFA brand cutting mat.
All that said, my experience cutting mats myself has been very good. The last time I had a mat cut for me, it cost me nearly $50. Now, I buy a 32X40 sheet of matboard for $6 or less, and can mat 2 frames with that board.
I buy my frames at either Hobby Lobby or Aaron Brothers. Hobby Lobby is usually %50 off every other week, but they recently changed frame brands and the new frames are of rather poor quality. When Hobby Lobby is not %50 off, they are usually %25 overpriced in my opinion. Aaron brothers pricing seems much more reasonable and the selection and quality is generally better.
In addition to the above, make sure you have a FLAT surface for cutting. The support boards that come with the cheap and mid-grade cutters won't stay flat on uneven surfaces, and that translates into uneven cuts.
I can easily whip out an 18x24 and three 14x18 double mats for what I used to pay for a single 18x24 pre-cut.
Finally, check out redimat.com. They have a good selection of standard sized matboards for a good price. I like their "blanks"... They offer pre-sized - but not pre-windowed - blanks in a variety of sizes and colors for less than I can buy them retail uncut, and all it takes is a $100 minimum purchase, mix-and-match; I cut the windows to my own specifications (3" borders, which they don't offer for all sizes in digital formats...)