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Home > Photography Techniques > Displaying your pictures > Framing your prints > Matting

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Matting

A mat can enhance your picture's appearance

Professional framers like Brian Friesen use a special cutting machine for mats, but you don't need one for occasional at-home framing.
Professional framers like Brian Friesen use a special cutting machine for mats, but you don't need one for occasional at-home framing.

Mats are important aids to use in drawing out color from your photograph and enhancing its atmosphere. If you want the outcome of your framed work to be calming, choose softer tones for the mat to downplay the photo and give a soothing effect. If you want the photograph to arouse or stimulate, choose a lively color that will stand out and bring life to the picture.

Whatever color you use, make sure it actually appears in the photo, unless of course, your photo is black and white. You can use a lighter or darker version of the color. As a rule of thumb, your best bet in choosing a color mat is usually to choose one that is slightly darker in tone than that of the photograph you are framing.

When you use more than two mats, the exposed widths can, but do not need to be, the same size, but each mat’s width should differ from the width of the frame to avoid a staircase effect. Most framers also cut or use mats with the bottom border a bit wider than the sides and top, called a “weighted bottom”. If you want to make your photo look narrow (which can add a unique oriental atmosphere), cut the side borders narrower than the top and bottom. You can make a picture look wider by cutting the sides wider than the top or bottom.


DIFFERENT STYLES FOR CUTTING MATS:

Museum matting - The photograph is placed in the upper area, leaving a very large lower margin.

Weighted bottom mat - Equal borders on top and sides, extra width on bottom.

Oriental mat - Narrow sides - one third or less than the width of the top and bottom

Roman/Gothic mat – arched design, evoking a sense of tradition and romance. Very nice for wedding photos. To maintain visual balance, a bit less matting is used on the top than on the sides and bottom.

Spandrel mat – an oval or circle within a rectangle or square. This style adds grace and elegance to a photo.

Decorated mats – any hand cuts or lines added to a mat to provide atmosphere and a sense of detail. It is usually best to keep all decorative elements within the first third of the mat border next to the window opening.

Extra care must be taken with the final cut that creates the mat to ensure it is even.
Extra care must be taken with the final cut that creates the mat to ensure it is even.

Separate the inner portion carefully. If it sticks, don't pull to avoid a ragged edge. Use an artist's knife to ensure a clean line.
Separate the inner portion carefully. If it sticks, don't pull to avoid a ragged edge. Use an artist's knife to ensure a clean line.

Besides the color and style of a mat, there are different methods and designs that will enhance the framed project. If your photo contains a lot of detail, it might warrant a double matting treatment. Double matting can give a picture more base and depth that helps bring out the subject you are trying to emphasize in a busy picture.

CUTTING YOUR OWN MATS

Do-it-yourself framers may want to experiment with cutting mats themselves. The basic tools are a cutting tool, a ruler and a pencil, although relatively low-cost mat cutters can be purchased for occasional use, and more rugged professional cutters are also available for heavy duty usage.


You will need a surface to cut on that cannot be damaged by a blade, or one that can be damaged, but you don’t mind.

Although mat cutting isn’t difficult, it does require some skill and will therefore require practice before you start to achieve the results you want.

KEEP THESE TIPS IN MIND:

-Plan your project thoroughly from beginning to end
-Visualize the borders
-Measure twice, but cut once

HERE’S A SIMPLE STEP-BY-STEP METHOD FOR MAT CUTTING:

1. Cut the mat board to fit the frame – always mark your lines on the back of the mat.

2. To draw the window shape on the mat, measure from the outside edges of the frame-sized mat and mark the border widths.

Always mark cutting lines on the back of the mat.
Always mark cutting lines on the back of the mat.

Mats come in an enormous variety of colors, materials and textures, but don't assume that they are square-cut. Frequently, they are not. Always take your own measurements and custom-cut mats to suit the job.
Mats come in an enormous variety of colors, materials and textures, but don't assume that they are square-cut. Frequently, they are not. Always take your own measurements and custom-cut mats to suit the job.

3. Mark the size and shape of the window, and always cross your lines at the borders to show you the exact place to start and stop your cuts.

4. Always use a sharp knife. Grip it firmly. Hold the blade edge straight along the side of the ruler. Although this won’t allow for a beveled edge, it is a good start. If you want to achieve a beveled edge (a perfect 45-degree, angular cut that exposes 1/6 inch of core color all around a mat window), you can purchase a hand-held beveled cutter that is a step up from the utility knife/ruler method.

5. Perfect corners are possible with practice. The trick is to work the knife into, rather than away from the corners. Don’t worry if you don’t cut the corners through on the first attempt. This is actually better than over-cutting them.