Interior Design Pictures Bedrooms
To Mat Or Not To Mat
What is a mat as it relates to a picture and why would you want to use a mat?
There are different qualities of matboard. The best choice depends on the monetary or personal value of the artwork. The more important the piece is to you, the more important it is to use the highest quality materials to protect it. For instance, if the picture is a graphic off the computer and is being used only a few times, a mat made from inexpensive posterboard would work just fine. On the other hand, if it's an expensive masterpiece, the museum quality materials will be the best choice.
Generally a mat for a picture is made from wood pulp, although museum quality mats are made from cotton or Alpha Cellulose. Wood pulp has ingredients that are acidic and will most certainly cause the disintegration of paper over a period of time. The acidity will cause yellowing and brittleness.
Acid-free matboard and papers are now available to protect artwork from acid burn. An acid-free matboard may have buffering agents added to neutralize the acidity, but it will still deteriorate over time because the acidic ingredients haven't been removed. It certainly will protect the artwork better and for a longer period of time than standard matboard. It is also more expensive.
The next level of protection from acidity is the matboard made from 100% cotton. It is called rag board or Museum Board and meets the Library of Congress requirements for museum quality.
There is also a matboard designed specifically for photographs. Colored matboard can cause damage to photos.
Whether to mat the artwork or not is a personal decision. It does add extra cost and benefits that you will have to weigh. If you decide to use a mat, take the print to a framing shop that has matboard samples and try out several. Ask questions about the quality and suitability for your purpose. You might even take along the wall color sample you painted to see how the colors work together. The mat should be a contrasting and complimentary color to the wall in order for it to have any impact.
As a general rule, the mat should blend with the picture rather than stand out as a contrast to the print ~ bright, strong mat colors have a tendency to stand out, but can work well as the undermat in a double mat situation. You want the mat to accessorize and draw the observer's eye into the picture, not become the focal point and detract from it. To accomplish this, choose a medium value color or colors from the print to try out for the mat. This will often give you several choices. A color that is too light will make the print look larger and a color that is too dark will make the print look smaller.
There are many ways to use mats creatively. Matboards come in a wide range of colors, textures and finishes. They can be cut into almost any shape that will fit into a frame. You can use multiple layers of matboard to create more depth and visual excitement. The mat can be cut with or without a beveled inner edge.
You can even cut your own mat with tools available at your local craft or art supply store. The advantage I see to having the frame shop cut the mat is that they have oodles of samples for me to try with my print.
*One word of caution about buying pre-cut mats in the packages that you find at the craft stores. Buy these only when preservation of the artwork isn't important because unless they say acid-free, these mats are probably the lowest quality you can get.
Whenever I take artwork to my local frame shop, I make sure I have plenty of time to look at several options before making my final choice. I generally use a shop that cuts the mat and glass, builds the frame and then allows me to put it all together. This saves me money and satisfies my creative needs.
So, take that print to the shop and have fun creating your wall masterpiece.
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What is a mat as it relates to a picture and why would you want to use a mat?
There are different qualities of matboard. The best choice depends on the monetary or personal value of the artwork. The more important the piece is to you, the more important it is to use the highest quality materials to protect it. For instance, if the picture is a graphic off the computer and is being used only a few times, a mat made from inexpensive posterboard would work just fine. On the other hand, if it's an expensive masterpiece, the museum quality materials will be the best choice.
Generally a mat for a picture is made from wood pulp, although museum quality mats are made from cotton or Alpha Cellulose. Wood pulp has ingredients that are acidic and will most certainly cause the disintegration of paper over a period of time. The acidity will cause yellowing and brittleness.
Acid-free matboard and papers are now available to protect artwork from acid burn. An acid-free matboard may have buffering agents added to neutralize the acidity, but it will still deteriorate over time because the acidic ingredients haven't been removed. It certainly will protect the artwork better and for a longer period of time than standard matboard. It is also more expensive.
The next level of protection from acidity is the matboard made from 100% cotton. It is called rag board or Museum Board and meets the Library of Congress requirements for museum quality.
There is also a matboard designed specifically for photographs. Colored matboard can cause damage to photos.
Whether to mat the artwork or not is a personal decision. It does add extra cost and benefits that you will have to weigh. If you decide to use a mat, take the print to a framing shop that has matboard samples and try out several. Ask questions about the quality and suitability for your purpose. You might even take along the wall color sample you painted to see how the colors work together. The mat should be a contrasting and complimentary color to the wall in order for it to have any impact.
As a general rule, the mat should blend with the picture rather than stand out as a contrast to the print ~ bright, strong mat colors have a tendency to stand out, but can work well as the undermat in a double mat situation. You want the mat to accessorize and draw the observer's eye into the picture, not become the focal point and detract from it. To accomplish this, choose a medium value color or colors from the print to try out for the mat. This will often give you several choices. A color that is too light will make the print look larger and a color that is too dark will make the print look smaller.
There are many ways to use mats creatively. Matboards come in a wide range of colors, textures and finishes. They can be cut into almost any shape that will fit into a frame. You can use multiple layers of matboard to create more depth and visual excitement. The mat can be cut with or without a beveled inner edge.
You can even cut your own mat with tools available at your local craft or art supply store. The advantage I see to having the frame shop cut the mat is that they have oodles of samples for me to try with my print.
*One word of caution about buying pre-cut mats in the packages that you find at the craft stores. Buy these only when preservation of the artwork isn't important because unless they say acid-free, these mats are probably the lowest quality you can get.
Whenever I take artwork to my local frame shop, I make sure I have plenty of time to look at several options before making my final choice. I generally use a shop that cuts the mat and glass, builds the frame and then allows me to put it all together. This saves me money and satisfies my creative needs.
So, take that print to the shop and have fun creating your wall masterpiece.
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