inexpensive places for good, uncut, mat boards?

Having purchased mat boards at my local Aaron Brothers and paid to have them cut up-till-now, I realize that it's time to buy my own mat cutter and start doing it myself.

I am going to buy a Logan 450 cutter, since, at $150, it will pay for itself in no time. (On the rare occasions I will sell a large print, I can always send those mat boards out for cutting to some local pro shop, I figure.)

But I'd now like to get a good supply of blank mats, to keep on hand. 16x20 (for 11x14 prints), 24x30 (for 16x20 prints) and 30x40, for larger prints. Acid-free, of course. I see a few places on-line, but I'm hoping to get from you guys some first-hand experiences. Obviously, the less expensive the better (assuming quality is equivalent, which should be easy, since I'm not asking for any cuts--merely the mats). The only colors I will need are white, off-white, and a cream color (if that factors into your recommendations).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
-josh
--
http://www.pbase.com/santamonica

Assuming you're in the USA, I usually get mine from M&M Distributors,
http://www.mmdistributors.com/category-s/4.htm
Or United Manufactures
http://www.unitedmfrs.com/Bainbridge_Mat_Boards.cfm

Both require a "full box" order of 25 1/16" sheets of any mix colors.

You can substitute Foam Board, or any other 32" X 40" board to fill the box, if you choose ( One 3/16" foam core is equal to three 1/16" mat boards.

Leigh

http://www.crscrk.com

--Josh, when I used to cut my mattes I used http://www.dickblick.com
Tom W(ret)
...a bad picture is like a missed putt, it's never your fault.

Thanks all. After lots of research, I ended up with RediMat. Museum-quality, 4-ply, for a bit under $13 USD for 32x40 inches. By far, the least expensive option for these archival-level mats. I used them before, years ago, and remember being very happy with my service. I haven't received the mats in the mail yet, but I'll leave an update, if the quality is unexpectedly poor.

--
http://www.pbase.com/santamonica

santamonica812 said:

Thanks all. After lots of research, I ended up with RediMat. Museum-quality, 4-ply, for a bit under $13 USD for 32x40 inches.

Click to expand...

http://www.redimat.com/products/museum.html

What is the shipping cost for 32x40 "Blanks", I presume you are in Calif, as are RediMat (Santa Rosa).

Mark
Ojai, CA

Mark, I'll let you know, when I find out. I made my order on the phone, and the guy did not have an estimate. He suggested that if I wanted an estimate, I could go on their website, and make a "test" order of my number of mats in the 32x40 size. As you proceed to checkout, you'll get the shipping cost. (Obviously, you would not go through with the actual purchase, here.)

In my one experience with RediMat, their shipping rates were very reasonable, and reflected the actual costs.

But I'll definitely give an update, once I get [a] a receipt or a web-based summary of charges.
--
http://www.pbase.com/santamonica

FWIW, I've been using http://www.framingsupplies.com/ for a few years now. Crescent Rag Mat at $9.63 for 32x40, $11.96 for Museum solids.

Shipping was ~$25 for 10 4-ply mat boards and 6 1/8" foam, shipped to Massachusetts a couple years back.

I second the M&M Distributors suggestion. Don't buy from the "archival" catalog outfits, particularly University Products, unless you are fond of sado-masochistic relationships.

My last order attempt (this month) with University Products was my last, period: they waited nine days to tell me they didn't really have the matt board I ordered, then they told me the shipping would be more than double their original quote, IF and when they ever got the board in stock. After I canceled the order and gave them plenty of reason why, they couldn't even be bothered to apologize.

M&M's shipping was nearly half of UPs first quote, less than a third of what they finally wanted. The exact same board from M&M was cheaper too.

Here's hoping lots of people read this, including someone from University Products.

--

People who utter the phrase 'I have a good eye' should be beaten to death with their
cameras... being careful to leave a corpse with one good eye! ;-)