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03/11/2005 11:08:29 PM · #1 |
Hi Everyone,
Was wondering if anyone has purchased a mat cutter and would share their experience - was it worth it? Do you still use it? Did you find the ability to chose your own mat board and cut it to size really useful or do you find it was easier/cheaper to buy prefab mat boards? Thinking of buying one to save money, but if cutting your own mats is very difficult or time consuming I'd prefer to save my money and buy other equipment such as a new lens.
Thanks in advance for any replies:)
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03/11/2005 11:15:18 PM · #2 |
If you buy a quality mat cutter they can be very useful. I own several, but no longer use them because of my eyesight. Precut mats have never been an option for me as I size my images as I think they should look, not the way someone at the head of marketing of some stationary company tells me they should be sized. I do my own printing and mounting, but have someone mat and frame my prints for me.
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03/11/2005 11:30:50 PM · #3 |
Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear about your eyesite. If I may ask one more question, when you refer to quality, do you mean a particular brand or price range? If you could suggest something for a beginner that would be easy to learn on and do a quality job I would really appreciate it. I live in a somewhat rural area with a very limited selection of premade mats. I would also like the option of sizing. Thanks alot, bj
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03/11/2005 11:33:57 PM · #4 |
Mine is worth every penny I paid for it in conveniece and cost. By make mine is a MAPED.French made, it is a little more fiddly than others, but it cuts smoothly and accurately. It cost under $nz200.
Message edited by author 2005-03-11 23:34:59. |
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03/11/2005 11:42:33 PM · #5 |
thanks - I think I will definately look into getting one:)
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03/11/2005 11:44:21 PM · #6 |
The one I used the most and found the easiest to cut with was the Logan #750. You can check it out here. I don't remeber the name of the other one I have and it's up in the attic so I'm not looking. It worked well for anything up to about 30" but not on larger mats.
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03/11/2005 11:47:16 PM · #7 |
I have a Logan 450 and I like it. I cut my own mats for several reasons. It is not always cheaper, but it is sometimes. Your options are simply greater with your own cutter. As nsbca7 said, you can print whatever size you want.
As far as saving money is concerned, I don't know if it's really saving me anything at all. It does save me money on odd sized mats though. You can't get much custom cutting done for less than $20 around here and my cutter only cost $120 (with a 40% off coupon from AC Moore). |
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03/12/2005 12:37:24 AM · #8 |
I get good results using a Dexter mat cutter and a T-square, but then again, I have had lots of practice.
The fastest path to good results if you can afford it is a Logan.
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03/12/2005 05:28:56 AM · #9 |
I use the Logan 750 also. I would reccomend it.
If you live near an AC Moore, You can buy one for 40-50 % off. Bought my for less than $100
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03/12/2005 09:41:02 AM · #10 |
I have a Logan 750, and I have no complaints, but I must admit it is collecting dust now. I just found the cutting process to be too tedious. I do not find the costs of pre-cut mats from places like AmericanFrame.com to be that prohibitive and I am already buying the frames there, so....
You really can save money doing your own though. Just takes some time, effort and practice. But as far as mat cutting goes, I came up short on all three of those pre-requisites :-) |
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03/12/2005 10:01:59 AM · #11 |
The main reason i want to cut my own mats is so I can 'bottom weight' each of them. I can't buy pre-cut mats like this. As an example:
Peek
Here's a standard 8x10 print in an 11x14 double mat that I cut myself. Both the print and mat are 'standard' sizes, but this mat is bottom weighted. The mat creates a 1.5" border on 3 sides and a 2.5" border on the bottom.
Red Tailed Hawk
Here's another example of bottom weighting a standard size 11x14 print in a 16x20 mat.
Standard mats are not usually uniform in their border widths. The standard mats are wider on two sides usually. The only one I can think of that is uniform is an 8x10 mat for a 5x7 print. They have a uniform 1.5" border.
These two examples I have shown also help realize why you will be custom framing most of what you mat. To create bottom weighting on either of these sizes in a horizontal orientation, you will not have a standard mat/frame size. |
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03/12/2005 10:06:50 AM · #12 |
John- in the Hawk picture, is that double matted, or V-Grooved?
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03/12/2005 10:11:10 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by spydr:
John- in the Hawk picture, is that double matted, or V-Grooved? |
It's double matted. I don't have the groover attachment. |
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03/12/2005 10:28:05 AM · #14 |
Thanks for all the info everyone - I will definately try to get to AC Moore - I think there is one about an hour and half from here (maybe next weekend - we're have another snow storm today!). John your photos look great - and that's the type of matting I would like to be able to do someday. I like the look of the bottom weighting.
bj
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03/12/2005 11:35:17 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Originally posted by spydr:
John- in the Hawk picture, is that double matted, or V-Grooved? |
It's double matted. I don't have the groover attachment. |
I have the V-Groover. Haven't mastered it yet. Was looking for tips.
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03/12/2005 02:00:53 PM · #16 |
| I had thought about buying a mat cutter too. Useful advice, thanks. BTW, I love the hawk picture. |
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