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Picture matting help


Shanester

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Anyone experienced at matting or double matting items for framing? I'd like to double matte a commission I have and since its Wolverine, I thought I might like to add some minor customizations to the top matte. Specifically some half diamonds like the stripes Wolverine has on each side of his mid section when wearing the old yellow & blue spandex. Any input would be welcomed. I may give in and pay a frame shop, but I have never been 100% satisfied with framer jobs.

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Mat cutting is difficult to do well in general, which is why you probably haven't been satisfied with (I'm guessing) what you've gotten from big box framing stores, who hire teenagers who don't give a shit. It either takes specialized automated equipment operated by said flunkies, or specialized hand-cutting tools requiring a lot of practice and skill. For customized cuts like what you're describing, you're probably going to have to pay a lot, because there's not a great automated way to do it; that will most likely have to be manually cut.

My advice would be to go to a small mom-and-pop framing shop with an old guy who appears to take pride in his craft, and prepare to pay for quality.

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Yup, that really is the best way to get what you are looking for. You might find a shop that has a laser cutter but most likely they will only be able to do custom pre-designed shapes and they will not likely give the effect you are looking for.

In my experience Mom & Pop frame shops tend to be way cheaper then any of the big box or franchise operations.

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Don't go the Michael's (or other big box store) route, I've had bad experience with them and haven't heard one person say good things about custom framing jobs there. As other's have said, find a smaller store, you'll see a huge difference in skill level. Also grab a thin easy to cut mat from an old frame (yard sale frame, cheap one at store, something) and draw/cut out what you're wanting. That'll give you an idea how the end product may look, let you tweak it if needed and also give the person cutting an idea what you're looking for in the finished product (soooo much easier than trying to explain it in words).

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A woman I worked with does custom framing. She does really spectacular work, from choosing the best colors to unique cuts, and charges a decent price. Just remember; you get what you pay for. If it's a frame-worthy commission, the matte is worth it.

(Just update us when it's done! I'm curious to see it.)

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That is really nice, Shane!

BTW, regarding laser cutting, you probably don't want to go that route because in order to cut through typical thickness mat, they'd have to crank up the intensity of the laser to a degree that would leave a lot of burning on the mat. Any laser cutting will leave some evidence of burning, which looks especially bad on beveled cuts that expose the white center of mat board.

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