I went to an arts and crafts store to day to check on prices for custom cut mats. I’ll be needing several 14"x14" mats for a project. I asked the guy at the framing department and he told me it would cost $14.00. Per mat. One mat. JUST one. No matter how many I wanted. Even if they all come from a full-sized mat and I used up all or part of the mat. FOURTEEN DOLLARS to mat two cuts. :eek:
I asked the price on a full-sized uncut mat. He told me a 32"x40" standard mat would cost $13.00. For the ENTIRE mat.
Now, I do not profess to know anything about the framing industry. That’s why I’m here. Could someone in the industry (or knows someone who is) PLEASE justify the expense? I am not bitching per se, I just want to know why it’s so expensive.
Because it’s freaking hard to do it right, and if you do it wrong you have a 14"x14" piece of trash. My parents got the mat cutter and were going to do it themselves to save money - they ended up going back to the framing service after all.
The problem being that you are cutting an inside rectangle, the cut has to be exactly 45º, the cut must be straight, you can’t stop and you can’t overshoot.
Okay, vet framer here. When you buy a custom cut mat your paying for:
[ul]
[li]The overhead – the framers salary (not inconsiderable for a certified professional framer), the store’s rent and electricity, the cost of stocking odd color matboards nobody uses, the cost of mis-cuts and unclaimed orders, etc, etc, etc. [/li]
[li]the materials – Wear an tear on the mat cutter, the blade, gillotine cutter. Double sided tape, the 32X40" mat board itself, and prices vary depending on quality of matboard from $4.00 for crapboard to $12.00 for Acid-free cotton to $40 and up for suede (the dirty secret in framing is that we save the scraps and use them for smaller mats, so ask for your scraps).[/li][/ul]
If you need a good many single-sided mats (say, for an art class) money wise your better off buying the tools and cutting them yourself (if you have the skill, that is).
You’d need a manual cutter ( for a student Logan bevel 2000’s are the best value in the long-run when you factor in the blade prices and availability), a metal straight edge, two of those orange springy clamps you can find in hardware stores, a few sheets of foamcore (to protect your table from overcutting through the matboard) and the matboards will probably run about $40-$50 all together.
Be warned, it takes awhile to learn to do a professional job using a manual cutter and straight-edge (especially double-mats) and the professional hinged cutters can cost alot, so it’s a trade off.
I’m sure there are a bunch of sites detailing the intricies of manual mat cutting, but if not e-mail me and I’ll get you started.
After 20-30 wobbly overcuts and undercuts and being reduced to literal tears, I went to a frame shop and joyously paid the almost $100 to matte my pixs for my senior show. Unless you revel in meticulous and painstaking work with very sharp blades on very delicate surfaces, or can accept a less-than-perfect job, I’d say don’t try matting your own stuff.
“…and prices vary depending on quality of matboard from $4.00 for crapboard to $12.00 for Acid-free cotton to $40 and up for suede…”
^^^^ THAT is the point. Matboards are relatively expensive, especially if you bother with acid-free.
If you just want pieces of cheap mat-like backing material, buy posterboard and cut it yourself. If you want actual framing mats, be prepared to pay. Shrug That’s capitalism, folks…all the traffic will bear.
The art store I go to has a mat cutter set up in the back of the store. You buy the whole board, and can then go and cut it to whatever size you choose. Either the store you went to misunderstood what you wanted, or they’re greedy bastards.
Or, perhaps we all misunderstand what you want…are you just looking for 14x14 chunks of board, or are you wanting nice outside bevel cuts with crisp corners? If you want proper bevel cuts, expect to buy equipment and learn do it yourself, or pay $$ for it.
Perhaps you can find another store. Frame stores might be worth avoiding, since you end up paying for a professional framer’s time, when all you need is a flunky with an X-acto knife.
I called the store today and spoke with the manager of the framing department. I told her what the guy said and it was obvious he misunderstood me. She told me they could take a full sheet mat and make as many STRAIGHT cuts as I wanted at $.25 each. They could usually do it while I’m waiting unless they had other customers, otherwise I could come back in an hour or so.
The edges don’t need to be perfect since they’ll be hidden by the edge of the frame.
