Mat Size vs. Mount Size

[Drew Wiley]

Think I misinterpreted what Bernice was implying. My apologies, Bernice. I was interrupted by the door. My order of AN glass for my 8x10 cold light enlarger just arrived from ScanTech, and I couldn't wait to check it out, so rushed it to the darkroom. A different variety than I've seen before; looks like a high quality product.

[Vaughn]

Drymounted print edges mounted like mine are usually safe -- they are below the level of the window. One still has to be careful with corners of other mats and such -- and with normal care, one should not flake off a little bit of the emulsion on the cut edge of a silver gelatin print, But I have demonstrated the possibilities of that for myself a few times. But it is amazing what a little spot tone can do -- just have to be more careful because the paper will absorb the Spot toner quickly without the emulsion there...and it seems it is more noticible in the deep blacks...easier to spot at least.

[Merg Ross]

Please don't claim you know what museums like or don't like, as if everybody that works in one has the same opinion as one another. Their job is to conserve what the artist did, not substitute their own decisions about mounting and borders...... I trim the white borders off every single one of my silver prints before drymounting them, and precisely where I want the final edges to be, and not according to any rote formula.

Thanks, Drew. I have never had a museum voice concern regarding drymounted prints. They were purchasing exactly what they saw, drymounted silver gelatin prints on 4/ply board. I have not sold a print presented differently, from my first sale to George Eastman House in 1959 to the present day. It is simply the way my work looks best, always drymounted.

[Doremus Scudder]

Trimmed to the image ...usually slicing off 1/64" of the image. Although occasionally the easel (or board) would not be square or something, and I'd need to trim a little more off the print to make the sides parallel. It is not a time-saving way to mount, and of course, not reversable, not preferred by museums, but looks so dang good. I printed with about a 1/2 inch border to make handling the paper easier.

Hopefully this image is easy enough to see -- I sign the mat the print is dry-mounted to. I use the same 4-ply for front and back.

What Vaughn, Drew, Merg and others here do is exactly what I do. Print borders are important to me, so are trimmed to exactly where I want them. IM-HO, the bottom mat board, to which the print is dry mounted, is part of the art work and is carefully chosen for color and texture. I don't want someone else choosing that for me. Window mats are hinged on with archival linen tape, which can be removed and the window mat replaced if necessary (with a matching board, of course!).

Best,

Doremus

[Vaughn]

Unfortunately, the mat board I used for years is no longer made. Natural White was the color I used from Light Impressions back in the good old days (4-ply and 8-ply). Just slightly warm off-white without be yellowish at all. Cut nicely, too.

[Drew Wiley]

I'd have to look through my samples, Vaughn, to see if there's a match. I once used a lot of that Natural White for color prints, but not for black and white. I do have a leftover stack of 15-1/2 x 18" 4-ply pieces if that would be of any use to you.

[Vaughn]

They would be, Drew. Let me know what you have and we'll work something out. I used Bright White for B&W silver gelatin prints, but prefer the old Natural White for my warmer alt process prints. I felt my warm highlights were having to compete with the cool brightness of the white board, instead of working together.

[Merg Ross]

They would be, Drew. Let me know what you have and we'll work something out. I used Bright White for B&W silver gelatin prints, but prefer the old Natural White for my warmer alt process prints. I felt my warm highlights were having to compete with the cool brightness of the white board, instead of working together.

Makes perfect sense. Sounds like you were using the Westminster Natural White from Light Impressions. They once sent me some in error and told me to keep it. I used it for my portraits, which were printed on warmer paper than the majority of my black & white work. For that I use 14x17 Bright White. I took a look at my samples, and the Warm White board from Archival Methods is close to the LI Bright White.

[Drew Wiley]

Looks like at least 60 pieces in the stack, Vaughn. Just PM me. I don't know if I have any full 32x40 sheets left or not, or large random scraps. Those are in a different pile in big flat file drawers mixed in with other misc leftovers, which would take some time to sort through.

[neil poulsen]

I noticed something interesting with a couple of Ansel Adams Special Edition prints that I purchased decades ago. The under-mat was sized to 13.5" x 16.5". A standard size over-mat that John Sexton uses is 14" x 17", and I'm going to assume that this was the over-mat size anticipated for Special Edition prints.

The Special Edition prints are sold without over-mats. After I created a 14"x17" over-mat, the difference in dimensions allowed a latitude of 1/4" in any direction to perfectly fit the print in the appropriate location in the over-mat opening. The 13.5"x16.5" under-mat size is also large enough to hold the print in place between the backing board (used behind the print) and the over-mat.

Once a print has been mounted on an under-mat, it's tricky to subsequently cut an over-mat of the same size and have it align "perfectly" with the print. Under sizing the under-mat by a half inch in each dimension resolves this potential difficulty.

I've taken to displaying unframed prints without an over-mat. It's less expensive, and sometimes, a loose over-mat can damage print edges. So, I now under-size my print mats as described above, or at the very least, I trim the under-mat by a half-inch in each dimension just prior to framing.