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Re: Matting/Framing, etc.
I've done all my matting and framing for a while now and it saves me a
fortune. One has to decide if one is handy enough to cut mats and frames and
if the time spent is worth the return.
I've felt I've been fairly handy with tools so I bought a mat cutter and
some simple but fairly expensive wood working tools (router, saw, framing
vice, etc.). I use wood frames because of the subject matter of my
photographs and most folks feel they are getting a better deal than if they
were in metal frames. It took me 7 frames and 2 days to pay for the tools.
I can buy the raw materials for a 16x20 frame for $12 including glass and my
rag board is fairly cheap a 16x20 mat cost me $2.50. These would cost me
over $100 locally if I had them made.
I use a $100 Logan mat cutter and teaching myself wasn't terribly hard. The
frames I just kind of winged it and they look pretty good. I cut different
patterns in the wood with different router bits and the like. It only takes
about 15 minutes to whip out a frame, so the time involved usually is spent
with measuring the silly mat. I'm an engineer that has a hard time with
numbers, I don't know what that says about me, but such is life. ;-)
The initial investment was painful, but when people saw my frames I sold a
bunch of them also. (maybe my frames look better than my photos. :-(
My 2¢,
G
R. Gary Hall
Infrared and lith Prints...
www.RobertHallPhotography.com