Suggestions: quality, low cost pre-cut mats?

[Bob_B]

I've been looking for a seller of reasonably priced precut mats for photographs, and hope that you might give me some input on where you buy yours? In the past, I've used Frames Destination for my mat and framing needs. They're a good supplier, but a bit more expensive than I would like. If you have a mat supplier that you like, please post a reply, and thanks.

[dgberg]

You almost have to do it yourself if you want to get the price lower than wholesale. Most shops are charging a labor rate from $50 to $75 per hour and you have to get rid of that number.
Once you are down to materials only you can do them as cheap as allmost all of the commercial shops.
Plenty of used manual cutters on the market that are extremely affordable. If this does't appeal to you then you have the option of buying wholesale quantities.

[Bob_B]

Thanks dgberg. I'm not sure I want to invest the time and money in cutting my own boards, but I'll keep that as one option.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I used in the past this one; was pretty reasonable for me at the time:

https://goldenstateart.com/

[nirpat89]

Not sure what kind of quantities you are looking for but I always thought these were a good deal for kits of 25 in various sizes and qualities:

https://www.redimat.com/products/matboard-show-kits/economy-cream-core.html

(Don't have an experience with them myself as I ended up going DIY route as my openings tend to be all different sizes.)


:Niranjan

[Bob_B]

Slobodan and Niranjan: Thanks for your tips.

[jrsforums]

https://www.clearbags.com/mats-backing/pre-cut

[langier]

If you can get by on the canned sizes, these all seem to be good. A little bit better quality is Framedestinations.com in Texas. If you need custom-cut, they will do it for you for a set-up charge then simply buy in quantity. Part of saving $$ when matting is to standardize on both your print and your matt sizes choosing off-the-shelf dimensions whenever you can.

[PeterAit]

You almost have to do it yourself if you want to get the price lower than wholesale. Most shops are charging a labor rate from $50 to $75 per hour and you have to get rid of that number.
Once you are down to materials only you can do them as cheap as allmost all of the commercial shops.
Plenty of used manual cutters on the market that are extremely affordable. If this does't appeal to you then you have the option of buying wholesale quantities.

Agree. Cutting your own will pay for itself very quickly. And you may end up saving time when you consider the time spent ordering, receiving, and unpacking purchased mats and then recycling the packing material. And there's always the satisfaction of doing it yourself!

[Eric Brody]

I agree with the "cut your own" suggestions. I've been doing it for years. It's pretty easy and inexpensive to get started. It's also helpful for that occasional one where you need a custom size. If you're lucky, as I am, and have some art supply stores where you live, you might try contacting them to see what's available. I buy 32x40 4 ply archival rag board and cut it into the sizes I need, eg four 16x20's for my 9x13 images on 11x17 paper or two 22x28 for my 13x20 images. Good luck.

[Bob_B]

Hi langier, PeterAit, and Eric: Thanks for your input. I have cut my own mounting board (gatorboard, I think is what I had been using), but the idea of cutting angled cuts interior to the board appears to require (at least) a specific cutter jig. (Forgive my lack of the correct terminology; this is an area I know little about.) I suppose I could do so with my cutting knife and straightedges, but I fear that I could not. I don't see needing that many mat boards per year to justify the cost of the equipment and the time it'll take in practice to make the cuts look good.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

For beveled cuts I have a gadget, flat on the bottom, sized to be easy to push with one hand, with a 45-degree slot into which you can insert and lock a straight cutter blade. you simply push this along the edge of a straight-edge, held in place with your other hand (or clamped down if you are nervous), and it makes great, easy bevel cuts on standard mat boards.

I've had it for years, so I can't remember where I got it. It's probably either a Logan or Dexter device, available at an art supply store.

[Bob_B]

For beveled cuts I have a gadget, flat on the bottom, sized to be easy to push with one hand, with a 45-degree slot into which you can insert and lock a straight cutter blade. you simply push this along the edge of a straight-edge, held in place with your other hand (or clamped down if you are nervous), and it makes great, easy bevel cuts on standard mat boards.

I've had it for years, so I can't remember where I got it. It's probably either a Logan or Dexter device, available at an art supply store.

Thanks Eric. I'll look around to see what this angle cutter is called, and whether it suits my needs. (Yeah, I don't want to lose any more of my finger tips thank you very much.)

[nirpat89]

Thanks Eric. I'll look around to see what this angle cutter is called, and whether it suits my needs. (Yeah, I don't want to lose any more of my finger tips thank you very much.)

I have something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Logan-Simplex-Classic-Inch-Cutter/dp/B005GV5EVS/ref=asc_df_B005GV5EVS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=191950313162&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14314798375537014777&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008022&hvtargid=pla-303163348745&psc=1

I think mine was cheaper by about $100 if I remember correctly when I bought it about 6-7 years ago (or more.)  Over the years, it certainly has paid off (having done 3 solo shows and cut a bunch of other occasional smaller numbers)  My picture sizes have all different aspect ratios and just to make it harder for myself I leave a white border around so the window has to be customized for each picture.  That made standard window mats out of reach for me. 

There is a learning curve involved in making good windows and the low-end mat cutter like above is hardly ever perfectly square and the measurements might be off a bit so you have to figure out ways to compensate for such things in order to make a decent/reproducible cut.  But once you set it up, it is fairly easy to crank out a mat as and when you need. 

However, if you are not doing a large quantities and only using standard sizes that you can buy off the shelf, then the question is whether it is worth going thru all the trouble to setting up shop of your own.  I guess weigh the economics of materials and personal labor and space accordingly against a mouse click and the credit card.

That's my 2 cents...


:Niranjan.

[Roscolo]

I've been looking for a seller of reasonably priced precut mats for photographs, and hope that you might give me some input on where you buy yours? In the past, I've used Frames Destination for my mat and framing needs. They're a good supplier, but a bit more expensive than I would like. If you have a mat supplier that you like, please post a reply, and thanks.

Great folks. Great work. Great prices.

https://www.matcutter.com/

[Bob_B]

Gentlemen: Thank you for your suggestions.

[John Nollendorfs]

Bob:
I'm planning on getting these from Clear Bags. I don't think you can beat the price!
https://www.clearbags.com/8-x-10-single-mat-white-black-core-4-5-8-x-6-5-8-inner-10-pieces-ms20199.html

[Bob_B]

John: Those do look good. Thank you.

[Bob_B]

Update: After much internal debate, I went with the cut-your-own mats approach, and bought a Logan mat cutter (model 301-1 for under $70 US). I had other mat-cutting equipment, so I think this is a relatively cheap experiment with a reasonable ROI. If I don't like it, I've spent only a wee bit, and if I like cutting my own mats, I'll have saved a bundle over buying precut mats.

Thanks once again for all your advice and suggestions.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Good decision, in my experience.