Reminded of why I cut my own mats

I have had prints stacked up waiting for me to find time to mat them. One of the images ended up in the hands of my one year old. That image is no more. This got me off my butt and I realized I was not going to find the time to cut the mats any time soon. So, I went to a conference this week and took the images with me. I found a Jerry's art-a-Rama in Tempe so took them there to be measured and have the mats cut. By the way, Jerry's is having a really good frame sale.

The price has gone up. I used to pay 2-3 dollars for a window to be cut by hand. I paid 8 at Jerry's.. I called a few places and realized that 8 dollars per window was normal. WOW! Prices went up as the process got easier. Now everyone has the computer controlled cutters that do a bang up job with very little effort. I guess they have to pay for the machine.

I am not complaining because I would not have found the time to cut the mats so i think the product was worth the price. It just reminded me why I learned how to do this in the first place.

I've been cutting my own mats for 25+ years...seems like I have always had more time than money, even when I haven't had much time (being Mr. Mom for triplet boys!)

Lately I have been cutting 8-ply windows...a 16x20 board costs $10. I certainly do not want to mess up a sheet! Cutting 8-ply is about the only upper-body work-out I get these days.

Back in my student days, I would cut mats for other students and professors. For ten mats (about 1 hr's worth of work) I would charge perhaps a four-pack of Guiness Stout, or a six pack of some other good beer (no Coors, Bud, etc!). This was 20+ years ago, so the mircro-brewery trend hadn't really started yet and good beer was expensive and hard to find up here in the NW corner of California.

Vaughn

Vaughn said:

I've been cutting my own mats for 25+ years...seems like I have always had more time than money, even when I haven't had much time (being Mr. Mom for triplet boys!)

Lately I have been cutting 8-ply windows...a 16x20 board costs $10. I certainly do not want to mess up a sheet! Cutting 8-ply is about the only upper-body work-out I get these days.

Back in my student days, I would cut mats for other students and professors. For ten mats (about 1 hr's worth of work) I would charge perhaps a four-pack of Guiness Stout, or a six pack of some other good beer (no Coors, Bud, etc!). This was 20+ years ago, so the mircro-brewery trend hadn't really started yet and good beer was expensive and hard to find up here in the NW corner of California.

Vaughn

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Ironic, as some of the best beer I've had was in Eureka.

Terence said:

Ironic, as some of the best beer I've had was in Eureka.

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That was 20+ years ago -- now the tough part is deciding which brewery to go to!

Vaughn

Back on topic...

if you like the look of 8-ply mats, then cutting your own is almost a requirement. Many frame shops won't do it, and if they do, they charge an arm and a leg for the service (I've heard $20 per window, if you supply the mat board, and they get to keep the leftovers). Back a few years ago, I was prepping for a big show, and had to frame a dozen pieces, all 20x24" outside dimensions. I found a really good deal on a Logan mat cutter on Ebay (new in box, at essentially wholesale cost), and snapped it up. Between that and the order I placed with American Frame, I saved enough on that job to pay for the cutter there and then. Shopping the framing job out would have run me at least $100 a frame, maybe $150. The materials (mat board, frames, glass, foamcore, hardware) cost me $550, and the cutter was another $350. So, I spent $900 for the show, instead of the $1200-1800 it would have cost to have it done professionally. I can burn through a lot of my own personal time for $900.

TheFlyingCamera said:

Back on topic...

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Spoilsport...good beer is always on topic.

I use to keep the holes when I cut mats semi-professionally, unless the person specifically asked for them back. My services averaged a buck a hole when paid in cash -- the holes sometimes made the job worthwhile.

Vaughn

For two shows I had about 70 prints to mat and mount, and it took all day with a Logan hand cutter and a home-made jig. I torture myself thus because I'm cheap. The whole job with archival material cost somewhat over $400, which is close to a week's retirement pay. Of course the holes eventually get used. Sixty years ago donut holes were also treasured. I was a cheap kid, too.

mark said:

One of the images ended up in the hands of my one year old. That image is no more.

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Everyone's a critic

That one year old will some day be able to cut matts for you. My son was home from college over break and wanted to earn some beer money. I paid him $8 bucks an hour to cut matts for me. He was happy and so was I.

With the exception of the printing (off of a Chromira machine normally), and making the frame (Custom made directly from the supplier/maker), I do all of my framing from mat cutting, glass cutting, assembly, etc. The only other exception is when I prepare photos that are 30" X 37 1/2" framed normally in 40" X 48" mats and frames. In these instances, I work with a friend who is a custom framer. It takes two of us to assemble such large pieces and I pay my friend for his time.

Rich

TheFlyingcamera

"if you like the look of 8-ply mats, then cutting your own is almost a requirement. Many frame shops won't do it, and if they do, they charge an arm and a leg for the service (I've heard $20 per window, if you supply the mat board, and they get to keep the leftovers). Back a few years ago, I was prepping for a big show, and had to frame a dozen pieces, all 20x24" outside dimensions. I found a really good deal on a Logan mat cutter on Ebay (new in box, at essentially wholesale cost), and snapped it up. Between that and the order I placed with American Frame, I saved enough on that job to pay for the cutter there and then. Shopping the framing job out would have run me at least $100 a frame, maybe $150. The materials (mat board, frames, glass, foamcore, hardware) cost me $550, and the cutter was another $350. So, I spent $900 for the show, instead of the $1200-1800 it would have cost to have it done professionally. I can burn through a lot of my own personal time for $900."

Nice said. I would like to add getting a mat in photo store you never know what you get. In such stores word "archival" can get so many strange meanins when you talk to a girl that in her life never made anything more than epson print for wedding album, or transfer whole "card" to DVD. When I recalculate how much is a board 32x40 in of archival mat it looks they do not make money on mats. I do not think so and it is my problem. When something is $10 in store manufactures usualy get around $2. I just do not beleive anything to that rats in so many stores whose life revolves around manipulations. If you yourself value your own work cut mats yourself. The story applicable at least here in Toronto.
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