Framing and the pocketbook

[Ed Richards]

What about cropping to fit pre-cut mats? I have bad habits left from 35mm, in that I shoot as if cropping were a sin, so most of my images are very close to 4x5 multiples - but not exactly. I have thought about being more exact in my cropping, when it does not really affect the image, so I could use pre-cut mats.

[r.e.]

I don't think that cropping is a sin but the idea of letting mat size dictate whether and where a photograph will be cropped kind of rubs me the wrong way.

A few weeks ago, I asked the framer that I've been using to frame an 8x10 contact print by a photographer who is well-known to participants on this site. When I got the photograph back, it didn't look right. I wasn't sure whether there was really something wrong or whether I was imagining things. This bugged me for several days before I finally called the framer and said that I wanted to bring the piece in the next time that I visited the big city (not such a big city, but the biggest here). Anyway, when we met, it became apparent that there really was a problem. We changed the frame colour just a bit, and more importantly changed the side and top widths of the mat border and bottom-weighted it, which she had done on most of the other pieces that I had had her frame, but not this piece. The changes made a big difference in how the photograph came across. The conclusion that I drew is that the frame has to suit the photograph, and that trying to make the photograph suit the frame just doesn't work.

[jp]

Actually you can get pretty fast and consistent with a $20 handheld Dexter and a lot of new blades... it just takes a couple of warm up cuts to get your "eye" down and you can nail the corners 98% of the time. That's how we cut mats at the old Light Impressions shop, we did shows for the Eastman House and such.

Still, 25 years later, the first thing I look at when I see a traditional matted print is the corners ;-)

I did an exhibit of 20 cibachromes prints once, and did the framing myself. I'd never done any framing before. I bought a tsquare, $20 handheld Dexter, and a package of blades to do the mattes. If you are careful it does a very good job indeed. Just as good as a nicer system, but it does have more optional opportunities to screw up in terms of hand/arm pressure or straightedge movement. I look at corners too. Lots of people's mattes are notably overcut or started with a dull blade that doesn't make it very crisp.

[PViapiano]

Handheld Dexters and Logans can do a great job with a little practice, esp with 4 ply. Get a nice straightedge and clamp it down, use fresh blades....practice, practice, practice.

I know...I said this before. ;-)

[Jack Dahlgren]

I've been using the same blade in my Dexter for a long long time. I just touch it up on a stone every once in a while. But then I'm cheap.

[r.e.]

An update on this...

I went to the person who has been doing my framing and explained that I need to bring down the cost. In an act of considerable graciousness, she referred me to a local company that deals only with wholesale framing and with artists. When I met with the owner of this company, it became clear that he runs a first class operation and that he can cut my framing costs by a huge amount. In return, he expects a reasonable amount of annual business, which is well within what I can manage. I have to do the assembly, but he will pre-cut everything on a custom basis.

I have received wildly conflicting advice on the Dexter, and I have been offered a very reasonable price on a two year old Fletcher 2200.

However, there is a very real question about whether I should just have this company cut the mats along with the frames, supply the hardware, etc. I brought in a print yesterday and walked out this morning, with everything that I need to do the assembly, at a very reasonable cost. I would have to cut an awful lot of mats to make it economically sensible for me to do it myself, and, to the extent that I use aluminum frames, I would still have to get this company, or someone else, to cut them to size.

[Doug Dolde]

My advice...buy precut mats from Frame Destination. They have Bainbridge Alphamat in both 4 ply and 8 ply at what I think are pretty reasonable prices. And they have almost every size and opening size you could want.

http://www.framedestination.com/

I've been making some wood frames out of East Indian Rosewood but I'm not sure its worth the time. I buy raw wood locally and do the cutting, mitering, shaping myself. While they look incredible, its hard to get enough for them to justify the labor. I also frame canvas prints with a simple Nielsen Standard matte black aluminum frame. In a way I like them better because they put the emphasis on the image not the frame.

http://douglasdolde.com/frames.html

[r.e.]

Doug,

That was an education. The roughly 24x31 mat that I had these people do yesterday cut to my specifications, with bottom weighting, was Bainbridge Alphamat 6 ply. It cost the same as what Frame Destination wants for 4 ply, done exactly the size I want it rather than a "standard" size, 24 hour turn around and no need for shipping.

There appear to be operations out there that supply the trade but will also supply artists. They just don't want to do walk-in retail trade, in part because it would put them into competition with the retail framers that they are supplying, which is obviously not cool. I think that it's just a matter of finding these people.

[Bob Keefer]

Frames are easy, if you do any woodworking at all. Buy precut molding and cut with a hand miter box.

Cutting mats is also easy and you don't need to spend $1,000 on a mat cutter unless you plan on using it eight hours a day or want to cut very large mats. For photo sizes up to 16x20 I've had perfectly good luck with my $80 (then) Logan mat cutter.

You save a huge amount of money.

For the small amount of framing I do (about 30 pieces a year at most) I'm very happy to do it myself. I usually set aside quiet time on a weekend morning for framing, when I need to get it done.

Like so much of photography, framing can be simple or way overthought. Stay simple.

[James Olson]

I just purchased a Logan Pro miter saw and also ordered some moulding in lengths less than 60 inches . The molding is finished and the rabet is cut . I just cut to length and with the logan saw it is very easy to cut a very good miter.
jim