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Have you had pictures professionally framed lately?

13 years ago

I took some prints to a custom framer last week, and told them what color mats I wanted. The woman said something about straight cut with no white showing, and I said I wanted beveled/angled edges. I thought that was the way all mats were done and she said it was common to make 90 degree cuts, especially if the core color of the mat was white and didn't match anything in the print.

Have you heard that? I wouldn't even have taken them to a framer if I didn't want a beveled cut.

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Comments (4)

pammyfay
13 years ago
In my experience, even tho 99% of the time I want either stark white mats or stark white with a black core, they cut color mats beveled and THEN the customer realizes that there's a white core that's shown through and changes the look of the artwork. (The time I had 4 small royal blue mats cut was when I realized that I hadn't counted on white coming through! Personally, I didn't like it, but for what the artwork was, whatever.)

I have never seen samples of a straight cut on a colored mat on anything at the little frame shop I've been to. Or maybe I'm not looking close enough. Maybe the straight cut is a new trend.

There are some mats that have silver or gold cores, and that can be easier on the eye than having the white showing.

She did end up doing the beveled look you wanted, right? Hope she didn't look at you like you were a dope!
lindac
13 years ago
So I just went all over the house checking. I have pictures done both ways. Many of mine are double or triple matted....and some have white core mats angle cut and some have the core of the mat the same color as the surface of the mat.
I never do stark white mats mainly because old prints yellow a bit and the stark white emphasizes that.
It's no harder to bevel the edge when cutting a mat...in fact you can adjust the angle or the bevel of the edge with the cutter.
Bottom line is it's "never" "always" one way...get what you want of go to another framer....Hobby Lobby does a good job and if you can find a sale....cheap!
Linda C
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palimpsest
13 years ago
I have had several dozen things matted and framed at the place I go over the past couple of years and occasionally we have discussed matting so that the white core does not show. However we have never actually done a 90-degree cut. He said sometimes they will do a reverse bevel (against the picture) to avoid the white edge showing. However, if the white edge is going to be an issue, we generally go for a mat that is solid colored all the way through. These, as well as archival acid free mats, come only in limited colors.
TxMarti
Original Author
13 years ago
pammyfay, she did look at me like I was a dope! She hasn't done them yet. I called yesterday and they were still waiting.

lindac, I went around my house looking too, and all my mats are an angled cut, except the ones I did myself. lol

palimpsest, she didn't mention a solid core. I'll call her back and ask if she can do those. Should be a easy as this is a base color.

Thanks all! I didn't think I was totally nuts.

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