Double Mat Suggestion,,, help.

[handicap18]

Ok, so I have this picture:

I had it enlarged to 12x18 and it looks great. I'm going to frame it and put it on one of the walls in the house. Thing is, I'm not really great when it comes to mat's and which colors. 99% of the pics hanging on our walls have just plain ol white mats. I think this pic deserves more.

I'm going to put it in a 16x22 in frame so that will leave about 2" for the mat, if I need to go 17x23 in that is fine, no biggie. I have the stuff to make my own mat and can get the mats at a local A.C. Moore for like $4 for a HUGE sheet (otherwise to have it done, at least a double, would like $40-$50).

What are some suggestion on which color mats I should be looking at.

Thanks

 

[Disney*Dreamer]

I think plain black, but that is because I like simplicity. Beautiful pic!

 

[Steve's Girl]

I'm not a big help since most of my photos have all white mats as well. But, you could try taking it to a local craft store and trying different mat combinations. At least for me, that really helps. Once I see different combos I quickly decide what I like and don't like.

Beautiful photo!

 

[boBQuincy]

Go for an 18 x 24 frame and make the mat the deep gray/blue of the water. The mat should be of a different shade than any of the image border to differentiate it (not a rule, just a guideline, like in the Pirate's Code).

 

[Furgus]

Try this out. It has helped me decide which Mats to choose.

MAToMATic

EDIT-Well I used to use it, doesn't seem to be working right now. I can't upload my own images, and I even resized them. Anyone else having any luck?

 

[handicap18]

I like the idea of the deep grey/blue Bob. I may combine that with a light orange/yellow. I don't know if I want to go that big on the frame, thats 3" all around.

Now that I think about it, thats not all that much, especially if I do a double. I might be able to get the frame less expensive that way and also the same frame as the others I have, just now bigger.

FUrgus, that is a great site, but I can't get my uploaded image to show either. I even made the pic 400k in size and it still wont show. But I did play around with some mat colors.

Thanks.

 

[Furgus]

I sent the matomatic people and email asking if they could help me in uploading files. Guess we will see what they say. I would def go with the 18X24 frame. I just got one of my pics from my vacation printed, by boB (wife is thinking about the R1800 now, ,but I have to be extra nice to her for a little while ) and it looks great in that size frame with a single mat, did not even think about doing a double one.....

 

[jann1033]

you could also go for the skinny part/beveled edge white ...saw that done with a double gray mat( so it looked like white pin stripes on the edge of both mats and was it really nice with a black simple frame but didn't detract from the photo.

 

[Furgus]

Response for the Mat-O-Matic people.

’m sorry to hear you’re having issues using the Mat-O-Matic, unfortunately our IT guy is on vacation this week. I would maybe try a smaller image (it can be under 200k) or a different one to see if the program is working. Perhaps it may be more of a browser issue than an image issue.



Thanks,



Zoe Fredrickson

Customer Service

1-800-663-7501

Ext. 234

 

[geetey]

I just tried the website (thanks for the link, Furgus!) and it worked for me. I like how you can even set the wall color, select a frame, etc...

Nice picture, Kyle!

 

[sk8belle]

I like the idea of the deep grey/blue Bob. I may combine that with a light orange/yellow. I don't know if I want to go that big on the frame, thats 3" all around.

I was going to suggest the light yellow option, although I like Jann's suggestion of a white bevel with a grey or blue mat, too.

 

[Furgus]

I just tried the website (thanks for the link, Furgus!) and it worked for me. I like how you can even set the wall color, select a frame, etc...

Nice picture, Kyle!

You were able to upload your own picture?

 

[geetey]

Furgus, yes I was. It was just a small jpg I had saved on the computer (not a big file in my Photoshop file). Will it work for you now?

I can try with a different picture, if you like.

 

[Furgus]

I tried it again last night and it didn't work. The file size was around 300K. Maybe I will try a smaller image tonight.

 

[Gary D]

White mat with a simple black metal frame or a black wood frame. I'm a photographer and used to work in a frame shop also. I would have the photo mounted on a acid-free white mat board and then have the mat cut so there is a half inch of the bottom white board showing around the photo. Use the space at the bottom to sign you name or title the photo. Simple, classy look. I used to always tell customers, "what are you trying to sell, a photograph or the frame?" Frame shops will usually try and sell you on double or triple mats and some god awful gold painted wood frame. Why? because the mark up at frame shops is anywhere between 300-800%. A good source for mats and frames is
lightimpressionsdirect.com. I get all my stuff there and save a bunch. Just my 2cents.

 

[tinksdad]

White mat with a simple black metal frame or a black wood frame. I'm a photographer and used to work in a frame shop also. I would have the photo mounted on a acid-free white mat board and then have the mat cut so there is a half inch of the bottom white board showing around the photo. Use the space at the bottom to sign you name or title the photo. Simple, classy look. I used to always tell customers, "what are you trying to sell, a photograph or the frame?" Frame shops will usually try and sell you on double or triple mats and some god awful gold painted wood frame. Why? because the mark up at frame shops is anywhere between 300-800%. A good source for mats and frames is
lightimpressionsdirect.com. I get all my stuff there and save a bunch. Just my 2cents.

Great advice!!

 

[geetey]

I tried it again last night and it didn't work. The file size was around 300K. Maybe I will try a smaller image tonight.

I checked and the first photo was just 48k. LOL I said it was small. I tried again this morning and it took a looooooong time but loaded a file size of 460K. Hopefully the site will work for everyone today.

I like that idea, GaryD, especially the part about leaving a space for the title or signature.

 

[handicap18]

Thanks for everything guys. I tried that MatoMatic site again and am still getting nothing, even with a 75k sized file. Oh well.

We had a friend over this weekend and she is real good with stuff like this (who knew, not me,,, anyway) and we played around with all kinds of colors. We used just about anything and everything we could to try different color combinations.

What I ended up with was an orange based red for the inner mat and an oak colored brown for the outer mat. I had to order the brown so its not completely finished yet. I do have it on the wall in the 18x24" frame but with just the red. Even with just that it looks great. We went with the brown because it really seems to highlight the light yellows and also the wall its going on is a light tan (I think the color is called beach sand).

When its completely finished I'll take a picture of it hanging up so you guys can see the final product if interested.

I really thought I'd go with the bluish/greyish for the base mat, but it didn't look quite right when we put the colors together.

GaryD I like your suggestions of going basic. Thats pretty much how I ended up going for the most part. I use basic black frames for all my pictures. I'm really not a fancy type guy when it comes to just about anything. I like the idea of the space to sign, but its only going on a wall in the house. I'll keep that idea though, for anything that may come up in the future.

Thanks again to everyone for contributing your suggestions.

 

[Gary D]

Be sure and not hang the photo so that it doesn't get a lot of daylight. If that orange mat starts to fade, it can get pretty ugly. Granted, it would take quite a few years, but it will happen. I used to re-mat stuff and when i removed the old mats, the section underneath was twice as dark and colorful. No one noticed when it took years for that to gradually happen!

 

[handicap18]

Be sure and not hang the photo so that it doesn't get a lot of daylight. If that orange mat starts to fade, it can get pretty ugly. Granted, it would take quite a few years, but it will happen. I used to re-mat stuff and when i removed the old mats, the section underneath was twice as dark and colorful. No one noticed when it took years for that to gradually happen!

Excellent point.

I haven't gotten around to getting the "good" glass for my pics yet. One of these days I will. The spot for this particular picture is in the hall, so its a nice spot. There is a window in the room at the end of the hall, but nothing direct and the ceiling light is only on for a few hours late in the day.