Auto and photo matting question

[w7imel]

I recently purchased a check and a photo and would like to have them matted in size 11x14 for ease of frame selection my question is this, How hard is it to learn to matte something or am I better off just leaving it to someone with experience. And about what would something like this cost? Thanks

[Klrdds]

I personally think it depends upon the value of the autograph in monetary terms as well as its meaning to you personally. I would not pay to frame it professionally if the cost exceeds those 2 things. However , when I frame an item that meets those things I always let a professional do it. I may help with lay out but never with actual framing or materials. Always acid free materials and UV resistant or archival glass with a good hanger.

[w7imel]

its nothing crazy I have a charlie root check (20 bucks) and a really neat 8x10 of charlie (7 bucks) just thought it might make a neat piece to display in my rec room if it wasnt to expensive to do. Dont need to spend a fortune on it

[midmo]

To give you an idea of price of a professional shop, I just dropped off a vintage team photo that I think was 14x22 to get nicely matted and framed w/ UV glass and whatnot. They quoted me $130 (which I'm ok with on this one).

For something like what you're framing you'll probably want to do it yourself. I've used a cheap matte cutter (or exacto knife and a ruler) to modify mattes of Target/Wal-Mart frames and they come out looking pretty good. Or get a cheap frame and see if a frame shop will cut a custom matte for a small fee.

[Lordstan]

Michael,
Framing and matting can be as easy or as hard as you wish to make it. You don't need a frame shop to do anything. You can buy acid free archival mat board, UV glass, and other conservation grade supplies at many places including both brick and mortar stores like "Dick Blick" as well as online stores. Don't get me wrong. Most frame shops do good work and it is easier for them to do fancy and intricate frame jobs, but most straight forward jobs can be done at home easily.
Here are a few example of ones I did at home. After them is a link to a thread I started about this very subject.

These three are 14x18 in size. Mats are full archival grade as is tape and backing board. I don't use UV glass as all the lights in my mancave are LED. I had them installed specifically due the fact that they emit virtually no UV radiation.
Costs for each:
Frame $25. Matboard and supplies $10.




Link to thread
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=168495

Hope this helps,
Mark

[jgmp123]

Hey Michael,
For a low priced item I would recommend just having matting cut at a local shop ($15-$20)...for a higher priced item, I would let the framer do it. They are the expert and will provide museum quality glass, acid fee matte, etc. Plus the quality is second to none if you have a good framer.

I paid my local framer $68 for the pieces I have posted and that includes everything. I drop it off and tell her how I want it. Then $68 later I pick up a beautiful piece.