Printing on 17x22 Paper – Matting, Image Size, and Border Spacing?

[Kenneth Schaefer]

Hi everyone,

I’m getting ready to start printing my photographs at home using the Epson P900, and I’m planning to use 17x22 Epson paper. I’d like to mount the prints in a mat and then frame them, aiming for a more professional presentation than what I’ve done in the past.

This time around, I’m hoping to do a proper mat sandwich (window mat on top, backing board behind), but I have a few questions and would really appreciate any advice:

• What size image would you typically print on 17x22 paper?
• How much white space or border do you usually leave around the image, especially for signing?
• What size mat and frame would you pair with a print on 17x22 paper?

In the past, I’ve either mounted directly onto poster board or used pre-cut mats with off-the-shelf frames, but I’m looking to do things more thoughtfully this time. I’d love to hear what others have done or recommend.

Thanks in advance!

--

KJ Chromatic

Explore KJ Chromatic’s 63 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[Chris R-UK]

Hi everyone,

I’m getting ready to start printing my photographs at home using the Epson P900, and I’m planning to use 17x22 Epson paper. I’d like to mount the prints in a mat and then frame them, aiming for a more professional presentation than what I’ve done in the past.

This time around, I’m hoping to do a proper mat sandwich (window mat on top, backing board behind), but I have a few questions and would really appreciate any advice:

• What size image would you typically print on 17x22 paper?
• How much white space or border do you usually leave around the image, especially for signing?
• What size mat and frame would you pair with a print on 17x22 paper?

In the past, I’ve either mounted directly onto poster board or used pre-cut mats with off-the-shelf frames, but I’m looking to do things more thoughtfully this time. I’d love to hear what others have done or recommend.

Thanks in advance!

15 or so years ago I used to do a lot of printing, mainly for entries into my camera club competitions. I used 13" wide printers so I mainly printed on A3 paper, 11.67"x16.5". I probably made 10-15 prints per year and mounted them on 16"x20" mattes which is the standard size for UK competitions. I cut my own mattes.

So my experience is limited but I will attempt to answer your questions. You will probably get better answers on the Printers and Printing forum.

Your three questions are not independent - they are related: frame/matte size = print size + paper border + matte border. Or, the other way round if you are using standard frames: print size = frame size - matte borders - paper borders.

First of all, three questions for you to think about:

1. Are you going to use standard size frames or get them custom made?
2. Are you going to use precut mattes or cut your own?
3. Are you going to use the aspect ratio of the image or are you going to crop the image to a standard aspect ratio of the cut matte?

Personally, I used to plan for have 2-3 in of matte border and at least half an inch of paper border around the print. That meant that for a 16"x20" matte I needed a print of around 10"x14" and a matte interior cut to about 11"x15". However, I always cropped the image to the aspect ratio that I felt best suited the composition, so I almost always had different sized top/bottom and side matte borders. So, if I wanted a 4x3 aspect ratio for the image in landscape orientation, my image size would be 10"x15" and my matte interior 11"x16" with reduced size top borders. That is why I cut my own mattes - I wanted to vary the aspect ratio depending on the composition.

Other club competition entrants used different methods. Some had very wide borders, some printed square images with very different matte border sizes and, for panorama type images, some positioned the image offset to the top of the frame with a small top border and a much wider bottom border.

I suggest that for 17"x22" paper you start by trying 1" print borders and 4"-5" matte borders and see how it goes. Maybe you could look at prints/sketches/paintings that you already have around the house of a size similar to your 17"x22" paper size, and see how wide the borders are. Alternatively, go to a local art or photography exhibition and see what border sizes you think work best. It is all very subjective and your mounting style may well change over time.

 

[davidedric]

Hi,

I'm in the UK, so can't give you any useful direct links. However, when I wanted to do the same I found a two day course which covered in some depth matting and framing. It included course notes which covered questions like how much border, do you want to balance top and bottom borders, and so on.

I bought my own kit and I've been matting and framing since. I don't do huge prints, up to A3 in metric sizes, about 12 by 16 inches. I generally do double matted mounts because I think they look nicer.

Maybe you can find something equivalent in your neck of the woods. I found an actual hands on course so much better than a YouTube video!

 

[lacogada]

Examples based on your paper size.

1st image has a total size of 28 x 23 with a 4:3 ratio.
Image size is 21 x 16 using your 22 x 17 sheet.

2nd image has a total size of 21 x 15 with a 7:5 ratio.
Image size is 16 x 10 getting two prints from one 22 x 17 sheet.