Jon Kobeck , Feb 03, 2012; 10:33 a.m.
Im not sure if this is the right place to post this in, but I thought that since its regarding the "square" this might be a
good place.
For those of you who exhibit in galleries, fine art work: Is there a place that you use to cut mats, or do you buy pre-cut
mats? I need to mat and frame some images for an upcoming show and in the past I have a few local places to do the
work but it was very costly.
I need archival mats with traditional exhibition frames. Im not 100% sure of the image size, I'm thinking either 12 X 12
or 20 X 20 images.
One other question: do you prefer overall square dimensions, or do you generally leave a few extra inches to denote
the bottoms (rectangular mats)?
Any mail order places or similar would be great! Im in New York city
Les Berkley 
, Feb 03, 2012; 10:57 a.m.
Jon Kobeck , Feb 03, 2012; 11:15 a.m.
Les they only sell consumer mats pre-cut.
Did you read my post?
More then likely I will need custom cut mats for square openings. Unless someone knows a place that has
pre-cut
Richard Sperry 
, Feb 03, 2012; 11:28 a.m.
http://www.goldenstateart.com/
They cut custom mats for reasonable rates. Just call them and give your dimensions.
I prefer square for square myself.
Peter Mellis , Feb 03, 2012; 11:57 a.m.
Best resource that I've found is: www.framedestination.com Check their web site before going anywhere else. Prices are good, quality and service are excellent; they pack very well, are reasonable on shipping. I particularly like 8 ply mats, which they do very well.
The usual disclaimer: no connection, just a very pleased customer.
D Purdy , Feb 03, 2012; 12:02 p.m.
It is not so hard to learn to cut your own. I can't afford to have mine cut so I bought a Logan mat cutter for not too much and went through the learning curve. Depending on where you are you might give Daniel Smith mail order a try. they often have free shipping and I recently bought a case of museum board cut down to 16x20s and they charged almost nothing for the cutting.. buying 200 dollars worth got me free shipping
I always mat into rectangles and usually vertical because I have various formats and I like to standardize for the finished size. It is standard and a good idea to leave more space at the bottom.
Curt Wiler , Feb 03, 2012; 02:04 p.m.
they only sell consumer mats pre-cut
Regarding American Frame: strange, I have used them often for custom-cut 8-ply solid-core archival board. Of course, you may need to buy the frame from them at the same time, but the question implies that you are looking for these also. As for the other question, I have used both square and rectangular frames for all format images in different exhibits. If I have mixed format images in one exhibit I keep the frame format constant, and I try to keep the image area approximately similar (such as 100 square inches in a 20x20 frame). As for weighting the bottom, it is traditional but it hampers re-use of the mats and frames so I have not been doing it lately. I cut my own 4-ply mats when I use them, but 8-ply is too much for my Logan cutter.
Hugh Sakols , Feb 03, 2012; 08:53 p.m.
I buy my frames from American Frame and matt board from Documounts. I've learned to cut my own mats. My square
images are kept in a square mat.
Jon Kobeck , Feb 03, 2012; 09:07 p.m.
Thanks for all the answers!
So if you wanted to have a frame with overall dimensions of 24 X 24, what size would you use for the
matt opening?
I guess what I am asking is; with a perfect square matt, how much space do you leave on top and
bottom.
My guess would be a 16 X 16 image for a 24 X 24 mat/frame.
Does this sound good?
Curt Wiler , Feb 03, 2012; 09:44 p.m.
In my view, the minimum mat exposure framing a print this size should be 3 inches on each side to give a nice balance, and a maximum of 5 inches, so you could go a bit larger with the image but it falls in this range. I always set the mat back 1/4 inch on the top and sides, and 3/8 inch on the bottom to leave a little more room for a signature, so effectively the opening would be 16-1/2 inch by 16-5/8 inches high. This assumes a simple, relatively thin black gallery frame. I also prefer to have about 2 inches of print border under the mat on all sides to hold it well and prevent buckling, since I only use a tape hanger attachment at the top.
