Do you cut your own mats for your photographs?
kk asked:
I have been buying mats for my photographs, but that’s getting expensive. Do any of you cut your own mats? Which mat cutter would you recommend? Why?
I have been buying mats for my photographs, but that’s getting expensive. Do any of you cut your own mats? Which mat cutter would you recommend? Why?
i haven’t cut mats in a long time for myself… mostly because i’m an oil painter… but i used to work at an art store. it depends on how much money you want to spend.
logan makes a bunch… you can get a mat cutter mounted onto a heavy straight edge for just under 100.00.
or you can buy the cutting head seperately and use your own straight edge.
dexter makes one where you can adjust the blade… so you can cut 45 deg and straight 90 cuts. that’s handy, i think.
any of them work better than just using an xacto knife. you need to replace to blades REALLY often to get good cuts.
i’ve always cut my own mattes. the only thing i used to have done is if i was matting a lot of stuff the same size then i’d go to a frame shop and have them cut everything to say 16 x 20 or whatever. then i’d cut the windows myself.
there are 2 matte cutters i recommend. the first is a two sided matte cutter. it has a 90 and 45 degree cutting edge in one. it’s fairly heavy duty and has its own cutting surface. the only draw back is that for larger pieces you sometimes need 2 people to hold the matte straight.
the second is a 2 piece system. it consists of a straight edge and a separate cutting tool. some people swear by these. i don’t like them but that’s only because i learned on the other kind. this kind also doesn’t have its own cutting surface. but the cutting action is very easy and smooth.
don’t go cheap on a matte cutter. you’ll regret it. shell out the $300-$500 and get something that’ll last.
I’ve cut my own mats for several years now. I ended up getting a Logan “Intermediate” cutting system because it came with the 90 deg. and 45 deg. cutters, and a decent sized board. So far, it’s been a very good system and I’ve made perhaps 100 mats or so. Just be sure to use sharp blades! Buy the 100 pack of blades and change them every third or fourth mat – it will make your life much easier!
I use a Logan, too. I was having a rough time at first getting a clean cut, even with fresh blades. I realized that the humidity in my work area was softening the board. Fortunately, I have a Seal mounting press. Heating board in it before I try to cut it dries it out and allows it to cut cleanly.