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Meet Mat

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Protecting and Designing Your Artwork with Mats
Ever wonder why our designers start the design process with matting choices?   Although the perfect frame is the obvious way to enhance your art work, the importance of mats in the frame design package is often underestimated. Matting is quite important to the overall success of the frame design as well as the long term health of the art. Here’s the how and why mats are important:
  • Mats lift the glazing off the surface of paper art to protect the art from the harmful effects of condensation by creating a barrier between the art and the glazing.
  • Mats create visual breathing space so the art doesn’t appear too tight for the frame or “jammed in.” Mats offer visual relief or “white space” for the art between both the frame and the environment in which it hangs.
Mats offer a huge range of possibilities when used creatively. They can be used to crop into an image so as to focus on areas of interest, cover up extraneous items, or give importance to the piece by increasing its overall size. Mats can unite different but related items. Several prints or related images, such as family photos, can be placed in the same frame by means of a multiple opening mat.
Mats are available in many colors and/or textures to enhance the overall finished presentation. Fabric-wrapped mats are finer than paper mats and add wonderful texture and richness to the finished piece.