Framing and matting

[Lordstan]

Chuck,
Thanks. I love saving money on the framing to have it to spend on more stuff.

Randall,
Great job on the Hill. I might have to splurge on a circular mat cutter one day to try something like that.

Craig,

Does the mat cutter cut multiple different size cut outs in one matt?

The mat cutter I pictured cuts only straight lines. You have to measure how far in from the edge you want to cut and then scribe all 4 sides with a pencil. There is a guide rule to help with the measurement. You then use the blade to cut the square or rectangle out.
Here is the instruction video from the Logan company that makes the mat cutter I have. This explains what I was trying to describe much better. They have more advanced cutters as well. *Each cutter comes with an instructional DVD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=vxyj7YldV3c*

There are other videos on the site as well.
http://www.logangraphic.com/videos/

Cutting multiple openings is a little trickier. lf you want more than one opening, you have to measure where you want each hole and what size you want each one. It does take a little math, patience, and practice to get it right. I started with a bunch of single opening mats to get the hang of it first, before trying my first multiple opening mat.


Are all of these covered with glass and if so what kind (UV protection)?

Most of the are in glass. A few have plastic faces. While you can buy UV protective glass, I didn't. The reason for this is that, after much research, I chose to spend the extra money and install all LED lighting in the room. LED lights have no UV and give off very little heat. Also, I only have a very small window in this room, so there won't be very much ambient light coming in. If there had been incandescent, florescent, or halogen lights instead, I probably would've sprung for UV rated glass for all the framed items.

Can the artist tape be removed from items (prints, etc.) safely? Don't some people use those little edge holders so nothing adheres to the item?

There are many different ways to hold the pics/prints in place. The sales person at the Dick Blick store, who helped me, is a certified framer. She was the one who suggested the tape instead of the corner mounts. I think either way is fine. I had no sig problem removing tape when I had to adjust my projects. When removing the key is going very SLOWLY.

And finally, is there some kind of reference article/book/web site for those of us just starting this kind of thing?

I think there are books about it, but I didn't use any. I watched some videos on the manufacturer's website and a couple on you tube.

This video is a good general overview of matting and framing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=eBBJVOyIfbs

I also examined the matting in the frames I purchased to see how they were put together. Some of the larger frames I purchased had more elaborated mats, which gave me some ideas.

Hope that helps.

Mark

[Frozen in Time]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

Chuck,
Thanks. I love saving money on the framing to have it to spend on more stuff.

Randall,
Great job on the Hill. I might have to splurge on a circular mat cutter one day to try something like that.

Craig,

Does the mat cutter cut multiple different size cut outs in one matt?

The mat cutter I pictured cuts only straight lines. You have to measure how far in from the edge you want to cut and then scribe all 4 sides with a pencil. There is a guide rule to help with the measurement. You then use the blade to cut the square or rectangle out.
Here is the instruction video from the Logan company that makes the mat cutter I have. This explains what I was trying to describe much better. They have more advanced cutters as well. *Each cutter comes with an instructional DVD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=vxyj7YldV3c*

There are other videos on the site as well.
http://www.logangraphic.com/videos/

Cutting multiple openings is a little trickier. lf you want more than one opening, you have to measure where you want each hole and what size you want each one. It does take a little math, patience, and practice to get it right. I started with a bunch of single opening mats to get the hang of it first, before trying my first multiple opening mat.


Are all of these covered with glass and if so what kind (UV protection)?

Most of the are in glass. A few have plastic faces. While you can buy UV protective glass, I didn't. The reason for this is that, after much research, I chose to spend the extra money and install all LED lighting in the room. LED lights have no UV and give off very little heat. Also, I only have a very small window in this room, so there won't be very much ambient light coming in. If there had been incandescent, florescent, or halogen lights instead, I probably would've sprung for UV rated glass for all the framed items.

Can the artist tape be removed from items (prints, etc.) safely? Don't some people use those little edge holders so nothing adheres to the item?

There are many different ways to hold the pics/prints in place. The sales person at the Dick Blick store, who helped me, is a certified framer. She was the one who suggested the tape instead of the corner mounts. I think either way is fine. I had no sig problem removing tape when I had to adjust my projects. When removing the key is going very SLOWLY.

And finally, is there some kind of reference article/book/web site for those of us just starting this kind of thing?

I think there are books about it, but I didn't use any. I watched some videos on the manufacturer's website and a couple on you tube.

This video is a good general overview of matting and framing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=eBBJVOyIfbs

I also examined the matting in the frames I purchased to see how they were put together. Some of the larger frames I purchased had more elaborated mats, which gave me some ideas.

Hope that helps.

Mark

Mark,

Thank you very much for answering all my questions and for providing the various links. Seems time consuming but if the results are anything like yours certainly worth it.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

Craig

[Lordstan]

Craig,
It's not that time consuming once you've answered a few key questions.
1)Where is the items going to hang and what is the purpose? What I mean is this. Is the item the focal point of the display? If not, are you going for uniformity with your items? Are you trying to conserve space to hang more items? If you aren't doing a custom frame, what frames can you find that will fit the item. Are you framing things together? Also will you be framing originals or not?
These and similar questions must be answered regardless of whether you're doing it yourself or going to a frame shop.

Once you know these things it just a matter of cutting some mat board, taping the items in, and putting it all in a frame.

Have fun. LMK if you have any other questions.

Best,
Mark

[Lordstan]

I had framed the next 4 previously. They were in cheap $5 Walmart wood frames of either a reddish brown or natural color. I took them out of the frames and painted them with black glossy spray paint. I also changed them from single mats to double mats.
Paige

Berra-Williams

Dimaggio

Hubbell


Diamggio Cronin


All Star pic


The next three frames were purchased as is at Ollie's Outlet for $30 each. No matting work needed. The first 2 pics are the original. The third original was a little too small, so I scanned it and made the print a little bigger.




Koufax wire photo


16x20 Ny Rangers Greats. Pic taken at Leetch's number retirement ceremony.


11x14 Sporting news original cover that was glued to backing board years ago and then signed by Dimaggio and Williams.


The last two are 2 of my favs. These were the flyers from 2 of the shows my father and his partner ran in the mid 80's. I got them signed. Gwynn was one of the nicest human beings I have had the pleasure to meet. He told us at the time that this was his first show appearance! Check out the auto prices!

My dad has since passed and these remind me of the great times we had together. Please no calling my mom's phone number.

[perezfan]

That's some really nice work. I especially like the way you treated the Gehrigs, with the silver inner fillet. Very attractive, and looks professional.

One further suggestion... If you don't want to apply tape directly to the piece, you can slip the photo into a protective mylar sleeve, and tape the mylar (rather than the piece itself) to the mat.

This has worked well for me with several items. Great thread!

[steve B]

I've mostly done my own framing for a long time. Ever since a framing shop wrecked a poster while dry mounting it

This is a group of items from a cyclist who was the uruguayan national champion in a particular race in the 1920's. Poster, photo, racing license and a few medals. I use acid free photo corners to hold the paper items to the back mat and than layers of mat to make enough room for the medals. Those are hung from the very back layer by fishing line sewn through the mat.

Assemble it yourself frame kit to get the custom size, and UV blocking coated glass. The Glass was the most expensive part $25 .

Steve B

[Runscott]

I really like the way you used the navy blue matting to set off the black and white Gehrig photos - huge improvement.

Great information in this thread - thanks to all for sharing.

[mcgwirecom]

Wow Mark, your room is EXACTLY the same as the one I did about 20 years ago in my last house. These are some pictures of when I first got it done. It ended up with a lot more stuff on the walls. But the layout is exactly like yours.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by steve B

I've mostly done my own framing for a long time. Ever since a framing shop wrecked a poster while dry mounting it

This is a group of items from a cyclist who was the uruguayan national champion in a particular race in the 1920's. Poster, photo, racing license and a few medals. I use acid free photo corners to hold the paper items to the back mat and than layers of mat to make enough room for the medals. Those are hung from the very back layer by fishing line sewn through the mat.

Assemble it yourself frame kit to get the custom size, and UV blocking coated glass. The Glass was the most expensive part $25 .

Steve B

Steve, do you get your UV glass locally or do you get it over the internet? Seems like the price is going up here locally and I'm going to start looking to have it shipped. Any recommendations?