Portfolio choices

I'm starting to plan putting together a (hopefully) good quality portfolio with which to visit various outlets and galleries to peddle my wares.

What size should I print (bearing in mind much of my work is square) ... i am thinking of printing square on rectangular paper with equal size borders on three edges and one thicker one (at the bottom).

Also, I generally use fibre paper, but have no dry mounting press or tacking iron etc - generally I get it flat as possible then use corners and the mat board to push flat, but Should I be matting portfolio prints? this will make the portfolio case even bigger (and more expensive!). If not, would using RC to keep things flat be acceptable? After all this is about me showing off my taking and printing skills, not what materials I use ... isnt it?

the next question is - i shoot a mixture of toycamera pictures and conventional stuff. Should I be making two portfolios to keep the two methods seperate, or mixing it up as a good representation of my work?

And how about toning? keep all toning the same, or have a mixture of tones/ effects/ looks?

I realise that there are no hard and fast rules about these questions but any tips or advice regarding this would be gratefully received. I really have no clue as to what a gallery would expect.

TIA

My impression, Leon, is that styles of presentation vary with geography, as well as market. What may work in one market may garner chuckles in another. So, you may want to explore what the expectations are among the galleries in your region.

Here, individually matted 11x14 prints in a presentation case might work well for galleries, while a bound book of 11x14s would be better for submission to art directors, for example. In both cases, the contents are best selected and changed to suit the specific recipient. Folks who work the commercial markets might have 5 or 6 portfolios in circulation at any given point in time. That's impressive to me, considering the cost of production.

If you don't have a dry-mount press, spray adhesive would be sufficient to put these together. While the prints should be your best work, they should be considered "disposable" (a difficult psychological barrier). So, proper archival mounting isn't an issue.

thanks for the reply Ralph - some food for thought there