How To Print On Mat Board

I went with a 2 inch visible border around the art using an uncut blank mat board as the backing.

How to print on mat board.

For this image i decided not to use a mat. Seafoam blue was my accent color in the surrounding prints so i knew that was the color i wanted to use on the mat. Many a large mat are double the cost of a piece of uncut mat board yowzers and with that said i do collect photography prints and frames and have spent plenty a dime on professionally made or store bought mats but all too regularly find myself dealing with two issues. When you display your print with a mat the mat takes up a lot of space within the frame so give yourself several inches or centimeters of wiggle room to work with.

Use double sided taped on the mounting board and lay the mat window right on top creating a permanent seal. Tape the mat board and backing board together. It should be able to close like a book. I then spray painted my mat giving it about 2 coats.

Close the mat board on top of the backing board. Ine up your mat window and backing board and tape across both to create a hinge like a book. It is better to do that now and waste a board then to be dissatisfied with the results when your print is framed. It typically comes in white and artists often waste the rectangle of extra mat board that s cut out when making a frame.

Rather than throwing away the excess mat board artists can recycle it into a canvas for a small painting. Image sizes are normally expressed as width by height width x height. Cut a piece of linen hanging tape of 4 shorter than the short side of your mat board. Calculate the outside dimension of your matboard.

Get a frame that s larger than your print. Look for a frame that s a size or so larger than the print you have on hand. For instance if your print is 11 by 14 in 28 by 36 cm you may want to get a 16 by 20 in 41 by 51 cm. If you are not satisfied cut another board.

I simply dismantled my frame and placed the mat on some plastic aka a target bag. You might notice in the process picture that mid spray it gave the mat an ombre effect. This makes a sandwich of backing board and photo mat window with your art work in between. Mounting lay your freshly cut window mat face down on your work surface and lay the board that will support the photo face up against it along a short edge.