How To Select the Right Size for Your Mat Board
1. Measure the piece of art that you wish to mat.
Keep in mind that you might want to crop sections of the work
2. Find your mat board's inner dimensions.
The inner dimensions or window of the mat board should be 1/2 to 1/4 inches less than the dimensions of your piece of art.
This provides a surface to which the work can be taped or glued. Our standard sizes all have windows that are 1/4" less the size of the intended print size.
For instance, an 11 x 14 photo will have a mat board opening that measures 10-1/2 x 13-1/2 inches as in this example. If you need other sizing options, you can easily create just about any custom sized picture mat by using the custom feature found on any of the bulk mat board pages found on the main menu under MAT BOARDS
3. Choose your mat board's outer dimensions.
REDIMAT offers a wide selection of standard outside dimensions for our precut mat board sizes. The outside dimensions is
the measurement of the outer most edge of the mat board and is the size of picture frame you would need if framing it or
the size of the matching Clear Bag. In this example the outside dimensions is 16x20
Besides our many common mat board frames sizes we also cut custom picture matting from 4x6 inches up to 32x40 inches and any window size between. While creating a custom window size can give you just the right look for your art we recomend maintaining a standard outer dimension frame size if you are reselling your matted prints. The allows your customers to easily find a frame that will fit without the cost of a custom frame shop. What ever your preference, we got you covered.
4. Choose the quality of mat board.
Different pieces of art require different grades of mat board. An inexpensive snapshot will benefit from standard economy mat board (paper) while an important family heirloom deserves nothing less than museum-grade mat board 100% Cotton RagMat board Please see our guide to understanding the different types of mat board.
Economy
Affordable paper mat boards come in an exciting range of decorative colors and styles.
Choose From:
Cream
Core
White
Core
Black
Core
Double
Thick Gallery Board
White
Core Suedes
Conservation
An elegant, refined 100% virgin alpha-cellulose mat board offering archival protection at a much discounted price.
Choose From:
Crescent
Select
Alphamat
Select
Solids
8ply
Select Solids
Select
UltiBlack
Museum RagMat
Superior 100% cotton mat board offering quality and unsurpassed protection.
Choose From:
Museum
RagMat
UnBuffered
Museum RagMat
Alpharag
8ply
Museum RagMat
5. Choose a backing board.
Backing boards or mounting boards go behind the piece of art to offer support to the picture mat board and the art as well as giving a finished look by covering over any tape or other hinging used to mount the print. REDIMAT offers an extensive variety of sizes in foam core (archival acid-free or standard craft grade), museum grade rag and economy acid-free boards. Also, available in solid black mounting boards, and black foam boards. Redimat recommends using foam core boards for larger prints over 20x24 for more support.
6. Make sure you have the right supplies.
REDIMAT sells acid-free, archival adhesives for matting as well as archival crystal Clear Bags for protecting and displaying artwork. Clear Bags are the standard for packaging your matted prints for resale. Clear Bags come in a whide selection of sizes to fit most any matting project. Choose from Body Closure style (100pkg) or Tradition Style (25pkg) and 100pkg
7. How many photo mats do you want?
REDIMAT offers bulk discounts on orders with as few as six mat boards (same color, same size). From any of the bulk mat board material pages you will find a quick reference pricing guide. Buy more and save.
8. Have your Visa/Mastercard/American Express and order information handy.
Order online
Or call us at: (707) 584-9600
Toll Free: (877) 883-1011
Fax: (707) 584-9601
Email us sales@redimat.com
Quick reference guide to selecting the right size mat board for your pictures and art.
We offer our all of our mat board products in the most popular picture and frames sizes including several harder to find square picture sizes. The chart below is a guide to matching your artwork with the perfect matting.
- Frame size is the same as the outside dimensions of the picture matting.
- The mat size lists the outer dimensions and the the exact window size to fit a given print size.
- Fits artwork is the size of the printed area of your photos or art.
Be sure to check out our full line of bulk pre cut matting from our Economy, Convervation and Museum RagMat or discounted Matboard Show Kit offerings. You can also easily create custom mat sizes in any material.
If your needing 32x40 mat board we have full uncut sheets available in any of our mat board materials and colors. Blanks (boards with no windows) can be cut to just about any size you need and you will save on shipping costs. For example, if all you need is 16x20 mats the cost of shipping is much less than 32x40 would be.
You might also want to consider these other matting options:
Double Mat
In double matting, two mats are used where the window opening for the top mat is slightly larger than the bottom mat window. The difference between them is called the reveal. Our standard size double mats have a reveal that is 1/4" all around but with any custom matting the reveal can be larger or smaller
Price is twice that of the single mat board pricing found on any mat board material page. To order double mats on the bulk mat board pages you select your size, your bottom mat color and then select double mat and the color you want the top mat to be.
Triple Mat
Triple matting uses three mats to accent your art or photography.
Price is three times that of the single mat board pricing.
Bottom Weighted
With bottom weighting, the border is wider on the bottom than the top, which can look quite nice.
Price is the single mat board pricing.
Oval Windows
Price is the single mat board pricing.
Circle Windows
Price is the single mat board pricing.
Add V Grooves
A V-Groove is an optional thin line that is cut into just the the surface of the mat board typically about 1/2" from the window cutout but can be added almost anywhere on the mat board surface to add accent and focus to your artwork. In the examples below you can see the a White Core mat with a Smooth Black surface paper with both a v-grove added and one without.
Mat Board with V-Groove
Mat Board without V-Groove
Multiple Opening (Collage Picture Mats)
Besides our standard single window opening mats Redimat can also cut just about any mat with multiple window openings. These are sometimes referred to as collage photo mats. Below are just three examples. All of our standard desings are also available for order as a complete framed set in our most popular black picture frame. Collage matting can be cut from any of our mat board materials. Please contact us with any questions and for pricing and volume discounts.
Fancy Non-Standard Mat Board Corners
Looking to stand out with something eye catching with your matted art or photography? Ask us about these special decorative pre-cut mat window corners. They can be added to just about any mat board window size or material.
