Cutting, Matting, and Framing... what to do!?!

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How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...

New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying around.

My D30, 3 new lenses, and S9000 have pretty much saturated my wife-imposed spending limits and now I'm stuck trying to find an inexpensive way to cut, matte, and frame my prints.

The framed prints will be half for my own use, half to sell cheaply to family and friends, with the possibility of selling prints to others in the future.

So... what to do?

1) Do everything through our local Michael's? (probably way too expensive)

2) Try to wheel and deal and convince the local photo studio down the street to let me use their equipment cheaply? (I have no relationship with them at all right now - but I'm not a shy person)

3) Do everything through a web vendor such as pictureframes.com (any others you'd recommend?)

4) Buy a rotary trimmer, a mat cutter, matting board, and do everything except the actual frame myself? (expensive in short run)
5) Some combination of the above?

Right now, I'm thinking of getting some 18x24 frames I like at Michael's for $17 each, and buying custom mats from pictureframes.com with a 12x18 window for $10 each. I guess I wouldn't need to trim the print if it's going to be matted anyway? But then I'd still like to have a trimmer for 8x10's, 5x7's, etc. Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive trimmer that handle's 19" paper?

Any and all advice to the issues above highly recommended. I would love to see this turn into a popular and educational thread... I have a feeling I'm not the only one with the above questions. ;-)
  • Mike Leuzinger
 
How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...

New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several
beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying
around.

My D30, 3 new lenses, and S9000 have pretty much saturated my
wife-imposed spending limits and now I'm stuck trying to find an
inexpensive way to cut, matte, and frame my prints.

The framed prints will be half for my own use, half to sell cheaply
to family and friends, with the possibility of selling prints to
others in the future.

So... what to do?

1) Do everything through our local Michael's? (probably way too
expensive)
2) Try to wheel and deal and convince the local photo studio down
the street to let me use their equipment cheaply? (I have no
relationship with them at all right now - but I'm not a shy person)
3) Do everything through a web vendor such as pictureframes.com
(any others you'd recommend?)
4) Buy a rotary trimmer, a mat cutter, matting board, and do
everything except the actual frame myself? (expensive in short run)
5) Some combination of the above?

Right now, I'm thinking of getting some 18x24 frames I like at
Michael's for $17 each, and buying custom mats from
pictureframes.com with a 12x18 window for $10 each. I guess I
wouldn't need to trim the print if it's going to be matted anyway?
But then I'd still like to have a trimmer for 8x10's, 5x7's, etc.
Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive trimmer that handle's
19" paper?

Any and all advice to the issues above highly recommended. I would
love to see this turn into a popular and educational thread... I
have a feeling I'm not the only one with the above questions. ;-)
  • Mike Leuzinger
-- I can help you on the trimmer question. I have a Bidex RT-200 trimmer, and it's very nice. It's the 12 inch size but I know they have larger ones that go up to 60". I only paid about 30 bucks for mine at Office Depot, and it does a nice job of trimming. The blade and cutting mat are replacable, and you can buy different blades for different edge cuts (wavy, etc.). I think the trimmer is made by the same company that makes the Bogen products (tripods, heads, etc.)

Bill
Bowbridge
 
I have an Epson 1280 printer and print most of my prints at 12.76 x 18.76 inches. The best place I've found for black frames are from Ikea for $19.95. They are approximately 20 x 30 inches and include a mat, glass, and wire to hang the frame. Unfortunately the mat window is too big to fit a 13x19 photo so you will have to toss it and make your own or buy some custom cut mats. A custom cut mat costs about $10 - $15 but blank 30x40 acid free mats cost $3-$4 each so I bought an Altos mat cutter for $75 (Logan is popular too) and cut 2 mats from each 30x40 blank. Look on the internet for mat supplies or buying custom mats. If you go the do it yourself route you will need to buy your blank mats in a box of 10, so you'll have 20 mats available.

BTW - I've never cut mats before but the mat cutter included a video on how to do it. It is very simple.

-Donald-
How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...

New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several
beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying
around.

My D30, 3 new lenses, and S9000 have pretty much saturated my
wife-imposed spending limits and now I'm stuck trying to find an
inexpensive way to cut, matte, and frame my prints.

The framed prints will be half for my own use, half to sell cheaply
to family and friends, with the possibility of selling prints to
others in the future.

So... what to do?

1) Do everything through our local Michael's? (probably way too
expensive)
2) Try to wheel and deal and convince the local photo studio down
the street to let me use their equipment cheaply? (I have no
relationship with them at all right now - but I'm not a shy person)
3) Do everything through a web vendor such as pictureframes.com
(any others you'd recommend?)
4) Buy a rotary trimmer, a mat cutter, matting board, and do
everything except the actual frame myself? (expensive in short run)
5) Some combination of the above?

Right now, I'm thinking of getting some 18x24 frames I like at
Michael's for $17 each, and buying custom mats from
pictureframes.com with a 12x18 window for $10 each. I guess I
wouldn't need to trim the print if it's going to be matted anyway?
But then I'd still like to have a trimmer for 8x10's, 5x7's, etc.
Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive trimmer that handle's
19" paper?

Any and all advice to the issues above highly recommended. I would
love to see this turn into a popular and educational thread... I
have a feeling I'm not the only one with the above questions. ;-)
  • Mike Leuzinger
 
Mike;

I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
 
My wife bought me an Altos 4501 Mat cutter for Christmas. It comes with a tuitorial video. Buying 32"x40" 1/8 foanm board and mats, and cutting my own mats, I've gotten some great results. By the way, Target has 11x14 and 16x20 black frames at reasonable prices - about $10 & $14...Bob
Mike;
I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still
looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby
Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I
have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make
frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the
relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at
reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you
have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
--
Robert Jones
 
Is anyone else worried about using non-UV opaque glass?

Anyone know of a good source for frames that include it? how about the Target ones, do they?
Mike;
I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still
looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby
Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I
have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make
frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the
relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at
reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you
have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
--
Robert Jones
 
Tom

As far as I am aware, any glass cuts out 99% of UV.
Anyone know of a good source for frames that include it? how about
the Target ones, do they?
Mike;
I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still
looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby
Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I
have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make
frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the
relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at
reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you
have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
--
Robert Jones
 
Carbonated plastics do a great job of blocking UV light ... most plastic eyeglass lenses are some sort of polycarbonate. SOME glass stops UV, but plain window glass transmits quite a bit of UVA. Look for glass that specifically states that it blocks UV.
As far as I am aware, any glass cuts out 99% of UV.
Anyone know of a good source for frames that include it? how about
the Target ones, do they?
Mike;
I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still
looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby
Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I
have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make
frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the
relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at
reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you
have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
--
Robert Jones
 
2 good sources for matting and framing supplies are
graphik dimensions (www.pictureframes.com) and
light impressions (www.lightimpressionsdirect.com)
How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...

New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several
beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying
around.

My D30, 3 new lenses, and S9000 have pretty much saturated my
wife-imposed spending limits and now I'm stuck trying to find an
inexpensive way to cut, matte, and frame my prints.

The framed prints will be half for my own use, half to sell cheaply
to family and friends, with the possibility of selling prints to
others in the future.

So... what to do?

1) Do everything through our local Michael's? (probably way too
expensive)
2) Try to wheel and deal and convince the local photo studio down
the street to let me use their equipment cheaply? (I have no
relationship with them at all right now - but I'm not a shy person)
3) Do everything through a web vendor such as pictureframes.com
(any others you'd recommend?)
4) Buy a rotary trimmer, a mat cutter, matting board, and do
everything except the actual frame myself? (expensive in short run)
5) Some combination of the above?

Right now, I'm thinking of getting some 18x24 frames I like at
Michael's for $17 each, and buying custom mats from
pictureframes.com with a 12x18 window for $10 each. I guess I
wouldn't need to trim the print if it's going to be matted anyway?
But then I'd still like to have a trimmer for 8x10's, 5x7's, etc.
Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive trimmer that handle's
19" paper?

Any and all advice to the issues above highly recommended. I would
love to see this turn into a popular and educational thread... I
have a feeling I'm not the only one with the above questions. ;-)
  • Mike Leuzinger
 
Mike;
I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still
looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby
Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I
have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make
frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the
relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at
reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you
have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
Hmm... hand-held cutter and metal straight edge... that sounds like a cheap and effective idea. Any recommendations on where to buy? Would OfficeDepot/OfficeMax have these, or what would be a good place online?

Thanks everyone for their suggestions... feel free to keep them coming. ;-)

Mike
 
The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.
Hmm... hand-held cutter and metal straight edge... that sounds like
a cheap and effective idea. Any recommendations on where to buy?
Would OfficeDepot/OfficeMax have these, or what would be a good
place online?

Thanks everyone for their suggestions... feel free to keep them
coming. ;-)
I use a steel rule, cutting board and a scalpel. Works a treat.

KRs
Chris
 
Hmm... hand-held cutter and metal straight edge... that sounds like
a cheap and effective idea. Any recommendations on where to buy?
Would OfficeDepot/OfficeMax have these, or what would be a good
place online?

Thanks everyone for their suggestions... feel free to keep them
coming. ;-)
I intend to make a cutting board with a 1/4" high guide permanently affixed on one side, and then have steel rules cut to the width of height and width of the print sizes I want to cut, so I'll just slide the paper and rule up against the cutting board guide.. This will give some consistentcy to the prints, and any good sheet metal shop should be able to turn the rules out.
 
..for $3-4?

All I have found are 3 times that....
BTW - I've never cut mats before but the mat cutter included a
video on how to do it. It is very simple.

-Donald-
How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...

New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several
beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying
around.

My D30, 3 new lenses, and S9000 have pretty much saturated my
wife-imposed spending limits and now I'm stuck trying to find an
inexpensive way to cut, matte, and frame my prints.

The framed prints will be half for my own use, half to sell cheaply
to family and friends, with the possibility of selling prints to
others in the future.

So... what to do?

1) Do everything through our local Michael's? (probably way too
expensive)
2) Try to wheel and deal and convince the local photo studio down
the street to let me use their equipment cheaply? (I have no
relationship with them at all right now - but I'm not a shy person)
3) Do everything through a web vendor such as pictureframes.com
(any others you'd recommend?)
4) Buy a rotary trimmer, a mat cutter, matting board, and do
everything except the actual frame myself? (expensive in short run)
5) Some combination of the above?

Right now, I'm thinking of getting some 18x24 frames I like at
Michael's for $17 each, and buying custom mats from
pictureframes.com with a 12x18 window for $10 each. I guess I
wouldn't need to trim the print if it's going to be matted anyway?
But then I'd still like to have a trimmer for 8x10's, 5x7's, etc.
Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive trimmer that handle's
19" paper?

Any and all advice to the issues above highly recommended. I would
love to see this turn into a popular and educational thread... I
have a feeling I'm not the only one with the above questions. ;-)
  • Mike Leuzinger
 
Is there a simple way of determining whether glass already in a frame cuts UV short of putting a print behind it and sticking it in the sun?

Thanks,
Phil
As far as I am aware, any glass cuts out 99% of UV.
Anyone know of a good source for frames that include it? how about
the Target ones, do they?
Mike;
I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still
looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby
Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I
have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make
frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the
relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at
reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you
have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
--
Robert Jones
 
My ex-wife is one of the cheapest people on the planet....
  • Frames: Michaels/Hobby Lobby wood or metal kits (buy when they are on sale at 30% off - every couple months)
  • Mats: (Hobby Lobby/Michaels standard (not premium priced mats) again on sale. They will typically cut them for little or no money to get your outer dimensions.
  • Foam core backing - she always had Michaels or Hobby lobby mount the pictures on foam core. You will need to check on the process because from the S9000 you won't want it to be a heat process but rather a cold process.
  • Logan compact mat cutter (she did up to 36" on the little cutter vs. the more expensive +42" mat cutters).
  • Glass: She used a glass supply company that does windshields, mirrors, tabletops etc. and told them she has a framing business and they gave her a big discount on glass. We never did buy a wall-mounted glass cutter but we looked at them. $$$$.
How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...

New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several
beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying
around.

My D30, 3 new lenses, and S9000 have pretty much saturated my
wife-imposed spending limits and now I'm stuck trying to find an
inexpensive way to cut, matte, and frame my prints.

The framed prints will be half for my own use, half to sell cheaply
to family and friends, with the possibility of selling prints to
others in the future.

So... what to do?

1) Do everything through our local Michael's? (probably way too
expensive)
2) Try to wheel and deal and convince the local photo studio down
the street to let me use their equipment cheaply? (I have no
relationship with them at all right now - but I'm not a shy person)
3) Do everything through a web vendor such as pictureframes.com
(any others you'd recommend?)
4) Buy a rotary trimmer, a mat cutter, matting board, and do
everything except the actual frame myself? (expensive in short run)
5) Some combination of the above?

Right now, I'm thinking of getting some 18x24 frames I like at
Michael's for $17 each, and buying custom mats from
pictureframes.com with a 12x18 window for $10 each. I guess I
wouldn't need to trim the print if it's going to be matted anyway?
But then I'd still like to have a trimmer for 8x10's, 5x7's, etc.
Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive trimmer that handle's
19" paper?

Any and all advice to the issues above highly recommended. I would
love to see this turn into a popular and educational thread... I
have a feeling I'm not the only one with the above questions. ;-)
  • Mike Leuzinger
 
Yup ... put a black light on one side and a flourescent material on the other ... compare to same without the glass.
Thanks,
Phil
As far as I am aware, any glass cuts out 99% of UV.
Anyone know of a good source for frames that include it? how about
the Target ones, do they?
Mike;
I, for one, am in the same position that you are. I am still
looking at various options ( completed frames at Michaels, Hobby
Lobby, etc) and thinking about doing all or part of it myself. I
have a few wood working tools ( mitre saw, etc) and could make
frames if it makes sense. Quite often, it isn't worth it with the
relatively low prices on ready-mades (IF you find them at
reasonable prices). Mouldings are expensive in themselves, then you
have to find glass or other clear cover.

Any suggestions will be carefully read.

The least expensive way to trim prints, that I have seen, is with
a hand held rotary cutter along with a metal straight edge.

Dale53
--
Robert Jones
 
I did mentionin a previous post that having tried craft knives (x-actos etc), I have found that I get much better results with the straight edge method using a rotary blade cutter - it's handheld, costs about $10 and is actually much easier to use than the scalpel type knife. Also, I print a lot on Canon PPP and this paper tends to flake on the edges. The rotary cutter prevents this and makes a perfect cut. You can get them at any craft shop (Michaels etc).
Hmm... hand-held cutter and metal straight edge... that sounds like
a cheap and effective idea. Any recommendations on where to buy?
Would OfficeDepot/OfficeMax have these, or what would be a good
place online?

Thanks everyone for their suggestions... feel free to keep them
coming. ;-)
I intend to make a cutting board with a 1/4" high guide permanently
affixed on one side, and then have steel rules cut to the width of
height and width of the print sizes I want to cut, so I'll just
slide the paper and rule up against the cutting board guide.. This
will give some consistentcy to the prints, and any good sheet metal
shop should be able to turn the rules out.
 
How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...

New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several
beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying
around.

My D30, 3 new lenses, and S9000 have pretty much saturated my
wife-imposed spending limits and now I'm stuck trying to find an
inexpensive way to cut, matte, and frame my prints.

The framed prints will be half for my own use, half to sell cheaply
to family and friends, with the possibility of selling prints to
others in the future.

So... what to do?
1) Do everything through our local Michael's? (probably way too
expensive)
2) Try to wheel and deal and convince the local photo studio down
the street to let me use their equipment cheaply? (I have no
relationship with them at all right now - but I'm not a shy person)
3) Do everything through a web vendor such as pictureframes.com
(any others you'd recommend?)
4) Buy a rotary trimmer, a mat cutter, matting board, and do
everything except the actual frame myself? (expensive in short run)
5) Some combination of the above?

Right now, I'm thinking of getting some 18x24 frames I like at
Michael's for $17 each, and buying custom mats from
pictureframes.com with a 12x18 window for $10 each. I guess I
wouldn't need to trim the print if it's going to be matted anyway?
But then I'd still like to have a trimmer for 8x10's, 5x7's, etc.
Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive trimmer that handle's
19" paper?

Any and all advice to the issues above highly recommended. I would
love to see this turn into a popular and educational thread... I
have a feeling I'm not the only one with the above questions. ;-)
  • Mike Leuzinger
--Mike: Try quadroframes.com they have a clip frame with glass that comes out to about $4.00 for a 16 x 20. It says plastic, but I talked to them and they can furnish glass at the same price.
Whirligig
 
How many are/were in the same dilemma I'm in...
New owner of a larger format printer (S9000)... have several
beautiful 12x18 prints around... but they are just that.... laying
around.
Having run into this problem myself, I've explored most of the options. The best solution is to order in large quantities to get the $$$ down. Since none of us have much need for several hundred frames/mats at a time, I've considered ordering from the various vendors and putting together 12x18 "kits" with everything you need to frame your prints and reselling.

However, here's what you need:

Frame: 18x24 Nielsen Frames (these are the good quality, not cheapies sold at Michaels, Target, etc.). These are usually used by the stores doing custom framing, but they're sold as a kit you buy and put together. You buy 2 sides in one pack, so you'd need one 18" and one 24" set; it includes all hardware. $15-$20 for 2 18" and 2 24" pieces.

18x24" Mat with 12x18" opening: ~$5-10 if you get it custom made?

Backer board: use either a plain mat or a piece of foam core

Glass- Get it though an art supply house or hardware store like Home Depot. Price for plain glass should be $4-5, and goes up from there for glare reducing and UV protecting glass. Plexiglass is lighter, but more expensive and scratches easily. However, it is great for places where glass is a bad idea such as kid's rooms.

That's all you need- hinge the photo onto the mat and assemble.

Cost here is about $35 perhaps more... if I got enough interest/orders, I could order everything (except the glass- always buy that locally) and sell kits for $25-$30?

With all the options for frame colors, mat colors, etc. it may not be possible to order in quantities... everyone would have to settle for a common scheme. Just thinking outloud...

NOTE: these are aluminum frames, and I have not looked into wood frames.
 
My biggest problem with buying frames is very few places sell them in a 1 to 1.5 ratio, like 35mm film (and most digital SLR's). What's up with that. It means I have to make all my own frames.

RZ
 

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