What I want

[MHD]

Often I see reasonably nice photo frames being sold rather cheap... Now I am a sucker for a good framed prints and love a beveled matt around it...

What I want to find is a supplier of matts which specify thier inner and outer dimension.
For example fits a frame of 15x10 and a photo of 12x8

I just did a short google and found nothing in Aus.... (as I said it was only a short google)

And, as an aside, does anyone cut thier own matts?

[AlistairF]

Often I see reasonably nice photo frames being sold rather cheap... Now I am a sucker for a good framed prints and love a beveled matt around it...

What I want to find is a supplier of matts which specify thier inner and outer dimension.
For example fits a frame of 15x10 and a photo of 12x8

I just did a short google and found nothing in Aus.... (as I said it was only a short google)

And, as an aside, does anyone cut thier own matts?

I cut my own matts and, if you have the right cutter, it's a breeze. A good framing place will be able to computer-cut matts to your specified dimensions at a reasonable fee, although it's much cheaper in the long run to buy larger sheets of matt board and cut them yourself.

Alistair

[MHD]

How much did it cost to set it all up...
That is one thing that my search did turn up: plenty of places that will sell you the gear..

[AlistairF]

From memory, around $150. I find that the logan is simple to line-up and use compared to another cheaper one that I aquires a couple of years ago. The price varied greatly, depending on the length of the guide/ruler.

http://www.logangraphic.com/products/handheld/

Alistair

[birddog114]

From memory, around $150. I find that the logan is simple to line-up and use compared to another cheaper one that I aquires a couple of years ago. The price varied greatly, depending on the length of the guide/ruler.

http://www.logangraphic.com/products/handheld/

Alistair

Not only the above, it's also depend: style, quality etc...

[Oneputt]

MHD a mate of mine has just brought in a fantastic mat cutter from the USA. It will handle mats up to nearly 1.2mtrs. Matt board is not that expensive to buy and I am always buying off cuts from framing factories. The cutter cost about $250 US.

A lot cheaper than any lens and it is sure to get a lot of use.

[Matt. K]

Oneputt
Good quality museum grade archival matt board costs an arm and a leg. And who in their right mind would use anything less?

[Oneputt]

Matt how does museum grade differ from the normal matt used by framers?

[Matt. K]

Oneputt
It's made from 100% cotten rag and contains no acid. It will not go yellow with time or contaminate your print in any way.If it's worth framing then it's the only board to use....but expensive.

[Oneputt]

Thanks for that Matt. Always nice to collect new knowledge

[AlistairF]

Oneputt
It's made from 100% cotten rag and contains no acid. It will not go yellow with time or contaminate your print in any way.If it's worth framing then it's the only board to use....but expensive.

This is fine as long as you are also printing on 100% cotton rag paper or archival canvas and using pigment archival inks. Are you also mounting your images onto acid-free archival foam-board with a heat-press or archival adhesive paper? Oh, and don't forget the Giclee varnish over the surface of the print.

Although I'm using 100% cotton rag paper with ultrachrome inks, I've never been warned of using regular garden-variety matt board for any medium-long term mountings. Is the matt board that framer's use low-acid? Is this adequate?

[Matt. K]

AlistairF
The local framer is not going to use museum grade matt board unless you ask him for it. The last time I purchased a large sheet of this stuff it cost me about $90. You learn to cut your matts very carefully and accurately at that price. It also depends on the end use of your framed image. If it's a casual gift or you just happen to like that pic then use a lesser matt board by all means. But for a masterpiece, (we know what they are, don't we?), use the museum grade and all other things being done properly it will last for 200 years.