Mat
Cutting
When a person takes a picture to a custom framer to get it custom framed
they are right off faced with hundreds of choices of mat colors to choose
from. Of course this is true only if the framer shows all these colors
to the customer.
Many times the choices overwhelm the customer to the point they cannot
decide what in the world to use and feel frustrated by the whole affair.
We at Grignon’s Art and Frame have overcome this by the techniques
we use, and still allowing the customer to see as many colors, as they
want. People get frustrated usually because there aren’t just one
or two pretty mat colors that work with your art. There are lots of
combinations that would work with your art and your home interior. We
have become experts in choosing colors that will compliment the art
and the frame that goes around it. The matting and framing combinations
for the art that is sold on this site has been carefully chosen to compliment
the art.
Because we are very familiar with all the hundreds of colors of mats
available we chose matting combinations that go great with the art.
But there is more to framing a picture than just the colors. When you
hang works of art on your wall for sale, you want a custom picture that
doesn’t look like it just came from a department store. To do that
you want a picture that has been properly framed and matted. To sell
art you want your pictures to present the most processional appearance
possible. By proper matting I mean a picture that has at least two mats.
After all, if people are spending the money on custom framing, what’s
a few more dollars for another mat? And they also want mats that are
wide enough to accent the art, yet not being overdone to the point of
being too wide. Then, why stop there when for just a little more a nice
V-Groove can be put around the art. This automatically denotes your
picture as one that has been custom framed when looked upon by the casual
observer. I would say that ninety percent of the art we frame uses two
mats and a V-Groove. This presents the most professional appearance
possible as long as the mats are wide enough. Many pictures done this
way today have too narrow a mat border.
Are
wider mats better?
Many people do not choose a mat wide enough. Usually because of lack
of experience or they think it costs lots more. Which it really doesn’t.
You can prove this to yourself. The next time you have a picture custom
framed, ask your framer to quote you the price of the whole job using
only a 2-inch mat border around your picture. Write this price down
on a piece of paper right there on the frame shop desk. Now ask your
custom framer to change the border to 4 inches wide. A good shop can
do this instantly. Write this price above the former price. Subtract
the difference and you will find the difference in most cases to be
very little compared to what you receive. Just a couple of inches and
a small change in price could take your framed art from being ho hum
to OH Wow!
It is like the mechanic that has all his tools out to change the spark
plugs in your car. There is going to be a certain charge you are going
to have to pay to have those plugs changed. After he has put in the
five plugs you really needed into your car he tells you he can put in
the sixth and last one in for you while he is at it for just a few dollars
more. It is the same in framing, a picture that is 13½ inches
by 19 inches is going to be cut out of the same piece of glass as a
16 by 20 inch picture.
How wide a mat border do you need?
Without
seeing the artwork it is difficult to say. But I will say this. A picture
up to 11 by 14 inches needs a minimum of two to three inches of border.
From there up to 16 by 20 you should have a minimum of three inches.
Anything over 16 by 20 should have at least 3 or 4 inches of border.
This is a fairly good guide for most people. Remember these are minimums.
Have you ever seen a postage stamp framed using six inches of border
all around it. Watch how that really draws people up to it to find out
what has been framed in that little hole! See, a lot depends on what
you are framing.
Another example. Usually a smaller picture using a wide frame doesn’t
need as much mat border as the same picture with a narrow frame. But
again it all depends on the picture. Quite often, the minimum mat borders
given above will look fine on your picture. If you are really in doubt
I suggest leaving the decision to a good custom framer.Again, I will
suggest you think real hard before using a narrow border. If you are
having your pictures framed by a custom framer, you want your pictures
to LOOK Custom Framed. Narrow borders almost always look unprofessional.
Let’s face it, they look cheap. You can find pictures framed using
narrow borders all over the place including the web. They are usually
framed this way to keep the price as low as possible. At Grignon's Art
and Frame, we frame pictures with borders wide enough to compliment
the art. Pictures with narrow borders do not sell good. If you want
to buy pictures to resell, you want pictures that make customers really
sit up and take notice. At Grignon's Art and Frame, we have but one
goal, and that is to supply you with pictures that sell! No one can
always tell if a picture has been "professionally" custom
framed. But many can always tell when one hasn’t been "professionally"
custom framed. I put emphasize around "professional" because,
well there are some so called custom framers and "frame it quick
shops" around that aren’t doing what I would call professional
work. There are crumbs in every cake! One things for certain. If you
pay $150.00 to have a picture custom framed it shouldn’t look like
you just picked it up at a department store. If it does, you need to
either find a better custom framer, or spend a little more money with
the one you now have.
Can you go overboard with matting?
Yes we at Grignon’s Art and Frame sometimes think you can. Although
we will gladly use any number of mats and fancy cuts that you want on
a picture, ninety percent of the custom framing that we do for people
usually ends up being done using two or three mats and a V-groove because
it looks so good. Lots of times I have seen fancy scroll work done to
extreme on a mat. I’ve seen mats cut into fancy designs overlaid
with more fancy mats. I have seen fishing and hunting scenes cut into
the mat borders. I have watched people walk all the way across the room
to look at a picture, and exclaim, "Wow, look at the really neat
designs cut into this mat." Hey, what ever happened to the work
of art that had been custom framed? Mats should compliment the art,
not distract from it!
Sometimes I think people can get too fancy. We at Grignon’s Art
and Frame never go overboard on our art. We strive to use the best materials
in the best way that we know, to bring out the best in the art. We don’t
do anything, anytime, just for the sake of trying to get a few more
dollars out of you. We operate our shop on Godly principles and on those
principles we stand. I understand that many others do not agree with
this point of view, and that is great! It really is, because this world
needs as many different people in it as it can get. There is a
place for really fancy mats. This place is for customers that go into
a frame shop and want their picture framed this way. But if you are
looking for art to resell, you don't want these kinds of pictures. They
appeal to a very limited audience. You want art matted with mat borders
wide enough to compliment the art, mat colors that compliment the art,
nice wood frames, and real good quality glass.
Learn how to cut mats
here.
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