Raw & Post Processing, Printing > Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks

mat paper and size choices

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emreguclu:
Hello Everyone,

I am hoping to create mats myself and looking forward with the right size for my a3+ prints. I also really appreciate your mat choices (Brand & model).

Using hahnemuhle papers (photo rag & William Turner & Fine Art Baryta) for mostly landscape and urban photography.

I hope to bet on 2-3 different mats for my 99 percent of my prints  and cut the mats at home myself.

Really appreciate any input as I am very much beginner in printing:)

Kind Regards,
Emre

Dward:
For prints that size, I'd recommend mats between 2.5 and 3".   For B&W prints only, white mats (such as Bainbridge 8655 or 8634, and Crescent 918 or 3297, or Rising White.   For color prints, I recommend pale cream mats, such as Crescent 3293, 2961, 3259, and 1000, as well as Bainbridge 8640, 8656, and 8645, or Rising Cream, Ivory, Antique or Natural.  All these pale cream/off white colors are unobtrusive.  After all, you want folks to look at your image, not the mat.   I also highly recommend not using paper mats.  They are cheaper than the rag mats I list, but not archival.  They are made of wood fiber, which contains lignin, an acidic compound. 

Have fun!
David V. Ward, Ph. D.
www.dvward.com

framah:
Don't discount using a soft gray mat for B/W prints. There are times when a white mat IS distracting and adding that small amount of gray allows the highlights in the print to show as they are supposed to.

Personally, I don't want any mat to be a brighter highlight than the whitest part of the image.

Also, alot of color prints can be diminished by a white or cream color mat.

What i'm trying to say is, while rule number 1 might be to use white or cream colored mats,

rule number 2 is to ignore rule number 1 whenever necessary.

emreguclu:

--- Quote from: framah on July 16, 2018, 02:52:03 pm ---Don't discount using a soft gray mat for B/W prints. There are times when a white mat IS distracting and adding that small amount of gray allows the highlights in the print to show as they are supposed to.

Personally, I don't want any mat to be a brighter highlight than the whitest part of the image.

Also, alot of color prints can be diminished by a white or cream color mat.

What i'm trying to say is, while rule number 1 might be to use white or cream colored mats,

rule number 2 is to ignore rule number 1 whenever necessary.

--- End quote ---

Thanks a lot David! Great insight and information! The print company I usually work with is a well known fineart printing company in my location but they use Photo Blocks behind the paper and the mat cut on the front end. They mention the print will bend within time thats why they use photo blocks but what I have seen so far on my web resarch is the the common application is to put the photo between two mat boards instead of mat + photo block combination.

I want to understand the command standards for gallery applications (if thres such). PRos and cons around using a photoblock or two mat papers. Price / bending or other pros cons.

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