How I mat and frame my prints

Wow, Chris. Very timely. I have a Logan Simplex Plus 750 I've had for awhile and just made room to set it up and do some matting.

I appreciate your info about your processes on your site!
 
Thank you for another great technical overview, Chris. I'm ready to try this and had a question about the backing used for pring mounting. Do you just use mat board behind the print, or foam board for a more rigid backing? Or both?
Gary
 
ellisson said:
Thank you for another great technical overview, Chris. I'm ready to try this and had a question about the backing used for pring mounting. Do you just use mat board behind the print, or foam board for a more rigid backing? Or both?
Gary
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Gary,

For small prints I just use mat board. For large ones mat board behind the image then foam core behind the mat board. That won't fit in standard metal frames, too thick, so you have to get frames with a higher profile that gives more space for thicker materials. Neislen makes one like that that looks just like the standard style 11 but is a little taller, but I can't remember the style number.
 
Thanks Chris. After paying over $200 to my local frameshop for archival mounting and framing of a single 13 x 13 image, I'm ready to do this myself.
 
ellisson said:
Thanks Chris. After paying over $200 to my local frameshop for archival mounting and framing of a single 13 x 13 image, I'm ready to do this myself.
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That's why I learned to do this too. In school, I was required to turn in my work mounted and matted. The prices for this at frame shops just blew me away; I was a student from a middle class family, not a rich kid. I couldn't afford it for the number of prints I had to turn in! I paid $250 for my mat cutter (I think they're a little over $300 now) and it literally paid for itself the first time I used it.

To frame a 6x9 print the way I describe on my webpage takes about half of a $14 sheet of museum board to get the back and mat boards. The frame cost $20 and the glass $4. So, total cost $31. Most of the framers where I live want about $130 for that.
 
Thanks for the info and post. I'm about to get in to this, and wonder whether to go with the UV and/or anti-glare plexiglass (or just go with plain old glass). From what I've read, it would seem the UV would be the way.

Your thoughts?

Thanks!
 
Zonan said:
Thanks for the info and post. I'm about to get in to this, and wonder whether to go with the UV and/or anti-glare plexiglass (or just go with plain old glass). From what I've read, it would seem the UV would be the way.

Your thoughts?

Thanks!
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UV glass is fine, its supposed to help prints last longer. Non-glare is bad though, it has a texture that actually obscures print detail.
 
Detailed, instructive, and generous, as always, Chris, thanks.

That same $30 frame you're making can easily cost $300 in NYC. But, after reading your tutorial, I think I'm ok paying the extra $270 just to avoid the madness of getting the glass perfectly clean. I would surely leave a thumbprint or dust or dirt each time I tried and slowly lose my mind. $270 might actually be less than the therapy it'd take to recover.
 
Thanks for a very interesting article and thread... I'll be saving it for reference. Personally, I dry mount my prints and I've had excellent results with a Logan mat cutter.
-Jim
 
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