Proper Way To Measure A Mat

The biggest challenge customers face when ordering their matboards is getting the right size matboards to match their artwork.

Proper way to measure a mat.

First be sure you understand the two different measurements associated with a frame mat. The mat border width will be 1 2 of the difference between the frame size and the mat window size. A diagram pictured right is often a helpful way to lay out your current calculations and ensure the final calculation is correct. Mat will be cut from a 60 x 72 piece of material.

Determining the proper mat size and mat opening for a print or photograph is one of the more confusing issues facing novice framers. Use total size of the overall mat to determine which product size to order. Modular right remember drawings do not have to be drawn to scale. For a 5x8 image adding 2 inches all the way around mean that the outside mat size is 9x12 the outer mat size is also the size of the readymade frame that needs to be purchased.

Custom matting requires precise measurements the most important dimensions are the outside size and opening size. More of the edges of the artwork may be covered if desired but the very minimum is 1 8. The mat must cover at least 1 8 of the artwork on all sides in order to prevent the edges from peeking through or actually falling through the mat opening. There is the overall size of the mat which is about the size of the inside of the frame.

You will need to determine how wide of a mat you will need in order for it to fit into a standard size. A 2 to 3 border is typical for most art work but it can vary. Now that you have your mat window size and your frame size all you need to determine is width of the mat border.