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07/12/2006 02:26:55 PM · #1 |
Just curious what everyone's oponions are on matting prints.
I'm starting to sell framed photos and my first batch are not matted. I like the look as it reminds me of looking out a window and makes the images more 'natural' (I sell only landscape/wildlife prints).
What about you? Don't just say 'I like mats' and leave it at that. Tell me why - it will help educate me (and maybe others) as to what to do with future prints.
Thanks for your input!
wee! |
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07/12/2006 02:28:33 PM · #2 |
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07/12/2006 02:29:42 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by NstiG8tr:
I like mats |
I knew I soon as I said it, it would be said... |
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07/12/2006 02:29:48 PM · #4 |
If you don't use a mat, the print will come in contact with the glass; this is a big no-no, and is the primary reason for matting. It's possible to mat very unobtrusively and maintain your window illusion, if that's what you want.
R.
Message edited by author 2006-07-12 14:30:21.
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07/12/2006 02:30:21 PM · #5 |
| i also like mats...makes it look more professional and finished. plus, you should sign the mat. it is YOUR art! |
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07/12/2006 02:30:46 PM · #6 |
I matte almost always.
Reason: It keeps the photo from touching the glass, which over time could damage the photo. Photos can actually stick to the glass. |
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07/12/2006 02:31:11 PM · #7 |
unless they are potraits. I guess I like to fill big frames. Like a 11x14 frame with a 8x10. I think they highlight the photo also.
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07/12/2006 02:35:27 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
If you don't use a mat, the print will come in contact with the glass; this is a big no-no, and is the primary reason for matting. It's possible to mat very unobtrusively and maintain your window illusion, if that's what you want.
R. |
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
I matte almost always.
Reason: It keeps the photo from touching the glass, which over time could damage the photo. Photos can actually stick to the glass. |
Ah, yes - good point. I use 1/8" spacers to keep the photo from touching the glass.
Message edited by author 2006-07-12 14:36:16. |
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07/12/2006 02:36:13 PM · #9 |
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07/12/2006 02:36:36 PM · #10 |
for me, the mat give the picture space within the frame. A picture framed without a mat looks crowded. A mat gives a viewer space to comfortably move around the picture visually as he/she takes it in. Butting up against a frame, a harsh edge, just makes me personally uncomfortable.
When I started working my current job, we had 13 framed photographs on the wall. I looked at them and wanted to cry. They are historic photographs, worthy of much better treatment. Within a week, I had my boss and 4 of the professors agreeing with me; now I am in the process of getting them matted and framed correctly. Show someone the difference and most of the time they will choose matted over mattless. I'm still working on getting the scotch tape off the print of the crappily framed (not matted) Dorothea Lange I have next to my desk. Someone wanted to throw it away. |
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07/12/2006 02:42:34 PM · #11 |
Just to have something to look at - Here's one of the images with and without a mat... Imagine the one without a mat to be a window.
Without Mat
With Mat
Courtesy of Americanframes.com - I like 'em a lot. :)
Message edited by author 2006-07-12 14:44:19. |
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07/12/2006 02:44:52 PM · #12 |
| I would actually make the mat wider or the frame thinner. Its too much the same size - maybe its just my taste, no clue... |
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07/12/2006 02:48:03 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by wee_ag:
Just to have something to look at - Here's one of the images with and without a mat... Imagine the one without a mat to be a window.
Without Mat
With Mat
Courtesy of Americanframes.com - I like 'em a lot. :) |
I don't like the white mat for that photo. I also agree with dahkota, the mat is to small or the photo is to big or the frame.
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07/12/2006 02:59:03 PM · #14 |
| I have a fletcher 2100 that I use to mat my work with and usually offset the photos vertically. To me if it is framed and matted correctly it enhances the photo. A matte or frame should never draw attention away from the photo. |
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07/12/2006 03:09:35 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by NstiG8tr:
Originally posted by wee_ag:
Just to have something to look at - Here's one of the images with and without a mat... Imagine the one without a mat to be a window.
Without Mat
With Mat
Courtesy of Americanframes.com - I like 'em a lot. :) |
I don't like the white mat for that photo. I also agree with dahkota, the mat is to small or the photo is to big or the frame. |
Ok, here's a different color mat - I can't make it any wider though. Americanframe.com only has one width apparently.
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07/12/2006 03:13:29 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by wee_ag:
Originally posted by NstiG8tr:
Originally posted by wee_ag:
Just to have something to look at - Here's one of the images with and without a mat... Imagine the one without a mat to be a window.
Without Mat
With Mat
Courtesy of Americanframes.com - I like 'em a lot. :) |
I don't like the white mat for that photo. I also agree with dahkota, the mat is to small or the photo is to big or the frame. |
Ok, here's a different color mat - I can't make it any wider though. Americanframe.com only has one width apparently.
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Getting a bigger frame= a bigger mat. What size is the photo and the frame?
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07/12/2006 03:40:20 PM · #17 |
The image is 24x16. The mat and frame are automatically sized accordingly.
Message edited by author 2006-07-12 15:40:33. |
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07/12/2006 04:15:40 PM · #18 |
Off center openings are considered more "up-to-date".
An example:
Dick Blick Pre-Cut Mats. |
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07/12/2006 06:30:09 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by maryba:
Off center openings are considered more "up-to-date".
An example:
Dick Blick Pre-Cut Mats. |
In general, mats are usually cut with equal spaces top and sides and a little more space bottom. These "float" better in the frame. The example you showed is pretty extreme, though.
R.
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07/12/2006 07:14:35 PM · #20 |
A mat is very important. A frame around a photograph is a border that declares: inside here is the art, outside is where the world starts. Drawing a frame is the necessary and sufficient thing required to create a piece of art. No frame - no art.
There are exceptions, of course, as some art may pretend to blend with the real world around it, but in those cases you would have no question - to mat or not.
Edit: changed matts to mats. :)
Message edited by author 2006-07-12 19:31:36. |
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07/12/2006 07:22:55 PM · #21 |
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07/12/2006 07:31:11 PM · #22 |
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07/12/2006 07:33:35 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by TooCool:
Matt! |
Lol, fixed. Some English words get mixed up in my head: mat/matt/matte. |
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07/12/2006 07:35:22 PM · #24 |
If you don't want to mat the print, have it dry mounted and use spacers between the glass and the print. Your local framing shop can do this for you. It will cost slightly more than just matting the print but you can have the same unmatted effect without letting the print come in contact with the glass.
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07/12/2006 09:15:26 PM · #25 |
| So does anyone like the 'no mat' look besides me? |
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