cutting mats for loooong panoramic photos

[Norman H]

I make super long, large images. Sometimes 8 feet+ wide and 2 feet high. I'll soon be ready to show. The problem is framing.

I'm somewhat handy with with a woodshop and have all the right tools for making frames. Making an oversize frame is essentially the same as making a normal sized one, for me. The wood part is no issue. And I'll have the glass/plastic cut. But the mat ... that's the problem.

From my prelim investigation, devices that cut oversized mats ( say, 8 feet wide) are very hard to find and expensive. And the mat stock is likewise quite pricey, especially if you have to have some freakish length shipped (I've yet to find a place in Southern California that carries it, so thus far, shipping seems to be the only option).

Have any of you ever met these challenges. Is there some archival method that works great that does NOT require a mat?

Thanks!

[Harold_4074]

There is always the Dexter Mat Cutter; very inexpensive and the only other things you'll need are a surface to cut on and a straightedge a few inches longer than the mat. Oh, yeah---and a lot of blades; at eight feet per cut, they won't last long. A few woodworking clamps and the nerves of a diamond cutter, and you're all set.

I'm frankly intrigued by the idea of an eight foot-plus piece of mat board. Where does stuff like this come from, if not special order from the factory?

[Greg Miller]

I have framed 4' wide panoramas. Obtaining mat board longer than 60" and cutting a decent window is pretty tough and expensive. Getting glass that big and handling it without cracking (not to mention managing dust during assembly) is also difficult.

I can't help with alternative methods but would be interested to hear if you find anything. I have some 8' prints sitting around waiting for a good display method.

www.GregMillerPhotography.com

[Jon Shiu]

A straightedge and hand cutter would work fine. The logan push type cutter works well. My local small town framing shop stocks large sheets of mat board, so I'm surprised that you can't get it in Southern Cal. Just call a few framing shops.

Good luck

[Steve H]

Interesting. I wonder if the place where you got your glass cut would also be able to cut the mat for you ? They obviously have rigs set up for straight cuts (Im sure they could cut on a 45' oblique as well). Beyond that, I agree with Mr. Levie that the Dexter Mat Cutter would be your best (read: inexpensive to get the job done) bet.

[Mark Sampson]

I hope you decide to use plexi. An 8-to-10 foot piece of glass is both fragile and dangerous.

[David Richhart]

I have seen vintage prints and paintings framed with a mat covered with linen cloth. Perhaps an archival cloth, covering an archival pieced-together mat, would enhance your photographs.

[robert_4927]

By all means plexi. Unless you want to hang them with 1/4" cable with the assistance of a crane.

[Harold_4074]

The combination of plexiglas and a cloth-covered mat sounds really good. Since the principal function of the mat is to keep the artwork out of contact with the glazing, and it sounds like you are planning to use a wooden frame (with all of the archival issues of wood, finishes, etc.) the large dimensions and consequent susceptibility to bowing of the glazing might justify a rather thick mat, such as 1/4 inch plywood or masonite.

I know that this is slightly heretical, but I suspect that you aren't planning to dry-mount the print, and probably nothing less than some other sort of adhesive is going to keep it flat. If the print is mounted with spray adhesive (onto a board larger than eight feet wide...wow!) you could "float" it inside the opening of a thick mat covered with linen or some such and end up with something like a very shallow Riker mount. The print would be out of contact with anything other than its mount, and the atmosphere trapped behind the glazing probably wouldn't be any worse for it than in any other wooden-frame situation. If you leave the print exposed (no glazing) then a wood-based mat covered with cloth (but not in direct contact with the print surface) would be basically no different than the room atmosphere in which is was displayed.

One thing that does give me pause is the potential difficulty of simply handling a frame or mat with the proportions you mention---unless you clamp it to a full sheet of something, it is hard to imaging not twisting, racking, or otherwise distorting it.

[Bruce Watson]

Due to the size, I suspect that you are printing these digitally and not optically. If that's true, then you could think in the digital box instead of the darkroom-print box.

You could, for example, print to canvas with an inkjet printer. Coat the print with a suitable UV coating to get the look you like and to protect the print. Then stretch the print over stretcher bars just like an oil painting. Frame the stretched print in a simple and elegant floater frame. No matting, no glazing.

I done this five times in the last few months. My prints aren't as long as yours - my biggest was about 93 x 150 cm. But they are stunning, if I can say that about my own work. This technique works very well, and the resulting assembly is not nearly as heavy as a conventional matted and glazed frame. IOW, it's easier to hang too.

This technique gets you out of the hard-to-find matting market, and the how-do-I-ship-it market as well. Plus, it's less expensive.

Just a thought.