How does matting work

Textiles look best sewn and floated on a linen mat, like this pink Otomi fabric we framed in our White Gallery Frame Deep for Liz Libre's Brooklyn apartment. This high-contrast photo from Permanent Press Editions is matted with a reveal in our Gallery Frame in Dark Walnut , and we love to how the illusion of multiple layers mirrors the photograph itself. What other mediums might determine your mat and framing style? Well, for large custom framed concert posters or movie posters, we usually recommend the straightforward look of a full-bleed custom frame job.

And for important documents and press clippings , we recommend a mat. A custom-cut mat and our White Gallery Frame are all it takes to make your finest press clippings to shine. Framing a photograph? A mat can really make your photo pop and complement the flat nature of the medium. Personal photographs or smaller scale pics seem to transcend from casual snapshots to the realm of fine art with the addition of a mat. And for very large-scale and more atmospheric photographs, such as landscapes, framing full bleed can look fab.

Photographer Max Wanger created his gallery wall of family photos using all full-bleed black and white images in our Natural Gallery Frames. A large-scale aerial photograph by Ryan Longnecker looks fabulous framed full bleed in our White Gallery Frame.

Photograph by Eva Black. We like to frame pieces in a timeless way, so they can be easily moved from one wall, room, or home to another. If you would like to show as much of your image as possible, carefully measure the image size from top to bottom and side to side. Most frame shops would recommend the same practice, as this very small amount of extra mat board margin coverage will make it significantly easier for you to place your piece when the time comes to mount it.

As an example of this strategy, imagine that you have an image area that measures exactly 8 x inches. To Summarize: You may wish to crop in a great deal, as was done with the photograph of the Enterprise on the left above. Centering and Weighting: You may think that every window cut into every mat should be in the exact dead-center of the mat. This is an optical illusion, but it can be visually distracting — especially when the artwork or photograph is framed and hanging on a wall.

All you have to do is enter the correct measurements for the exterior size of the mat you want and the size of the window you want. If you still have questions or need clarifications, we hope you will feel free to contact us to sort out all the options available to you or to discuss your particular needs. Hinging: Lastly, once you have gone through the sequential steps of the Custom Mat Cutting template you will have:. The last thing you need to do now is decide on which interior side you would like your window mat to be hinged i.

Hinging is usually done with either water-activated acid-free linen tape or self-adhesive Tyvek tape see photo above. Both tapes are easy to cut to size, apply by hand, and burnish down with a simple but very effective burnishing bone.

Self-adhesive photo corners found in many art supply stores can be problematic due to their tendency to fail and become stuck to the object that they were holding. When a traditional window mat is not appropriate or desirable a spacer can be used.

Spacers should be arranged in a post and lintel style arrangement with the top piece resting above the side pieces and the bottom piece below. Many custom framers are able to create spacers that are built in or match the finish of the exterior frame. As always, the object should be attached to an appropriate backing board and framed so that it is not in contact with the glazing or the frame interior.

Glazing, which can be either glass or acrylic, is an essential component of the frame package for works on paper. It protects the fragile, porous paper surface from air-borne dirt and pollutants, and in a gallery setting it will protect against unwanted touching from curious visitors.

Objects should never be in contact with the glazing surface. There are draw backs and benefits of each type of glazing product. Glass is much heavier than acrylic glazing. Acrylic glazing is available in larger dimensions than regular picture framing glass.

For very large pieces that require glass, laminated glass can be used. Glass is generally less expensive, but it is difficult to safely ship because of the risk of breaking or shattering, which can cause major damage to the object within. Acrylic will not break in the same way as glass but is more easily scratched.

Acrylics tend to be more expensive than glass especially when they include added options like scratch resistant, anti-reflective and anti-static coatings.

Similar to polyester films, conventional acrylic glazing carries a strong static charge and must never be used for objects with friable media such as pastels, charcoal drawings, light tissue-like papers, or photographic prints on polyester substrates. UV-filtering glass or anti-static acrylic glazing should be used with these objects instead. While glass is considered to be a true vapor barrier that does not allow any moisture to pass through, acrylic is slightly permeable allowing very small amounts of vapor to pass through.

The best glazing materials for works on paper and photographs are designed to filter out damaging UV light as much as possible. Normal glass and regular acrylic glazing does not block UV radiation. When choosing glazing, be certain to select a product with a high UV-filtering capacity, at least 99 percent such as Tru-Vue Conservation Clear or Acrylite OP-3 acrylic glazing.

In instances when it is important to retain the original antique glass in an old frame, a double-glazing system can be used with UV-filtering glazing next to the object but not touching it and the old glass on top.

Aside from the UV protection this technique offers, it also protects the object if the fragile antique glass should break. The second glazing layer will not be obvious to most viewers. A secondary backing layer should be placed, unadhered, behind the primary backing board on which the object is mounted. This secondary backing board, meant for physical and thermal protection, should be an archival, lignin-free board such as archival corrugated board.

Wood can give off volatile substances damaging to paper. While this is especially true of freshly cut wood, even old wooden frames will off-gas. This is particularly obvious in frames with wooden slat backing boards, which over time will burn a strong wood grain pattern into any paper-based material they are in contact with. Ideally the inside of the frame should be an inch or more away from the object on each side.

Sealed packages are a good option for some framing projects, such as for objects that are particularly sensitive to changes in room conditions. This practice is one way to create a micro-climate that can help to protect the object within from fluctuations in temperature and humidity, insect damage, and damage caused by the water and smoke of a disaster event. The finished sealed package is placed in the frame as a unit.

Creating a sealed package can make the fitting step of framing easier, as it keeps everything well in place and will keep dust and other unwanted specks out of the inside of the frame.

The frame should be deep enough to accommodate all layers. When ordering new frames, make certain they are deep enough. The frame should be as air-tight as possible to keep out dirt and pollutants and to stabilize the interior against short-term fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity. The contents of the frame should be firmly held in place with points, brads, or a strainer back. For objects that are to be housed permanently in a frame, the back of the frame should be finished with an archival paper or Tyvek dust cover attached to the back of the frame with archival double-sided tape.

The final reason matting is used in custom framing is to hide the mechanics going on behind the picture that allows it to hang within the frame, like hinging or dry mounting. Tapes, hinges, and other mechanical parts of the frame are concealed behind the matting so as not to distract the eye away from the art itself.

There are plenty of types of matting that can be used for custom framing. However, you are encouraged to use preservation grade materials to protect your artwork from the damaging effects of mat board and prevent the gradual degradation of the matting within the frame over time.