Digital BW, The Print

Before I start, let me mention I am biased since although I subscribe
to this forum, I am the owner of Frame Destination. Thanks Phil and
Steve for your recommendations. As an amateur digital photographer
that pre-ordered the Epson 2200 after reading reviews about it in the
UK I discovered the lack of 3:2 ratio frames. I decided to open FDI to
help other photographers.

Even though I own a Picture Frame company I have never personally hand
cut a mat. Before my company was large enough to buy it own
computerized mat cutters we bought pre-cut mats in bulk directly from
the manufacturers. We did so for two reasons. Consistent quality and
labor savings we needed to sell at the prices that our reselling
customers required.  

Regardless of whether or not you want to cut your own you can keep
costs down by trying to keep your size/type/color choices to a
minimum. This will allow you to buy in higher quantities. Most
wholesalers like my company offer significant qty discounts even at
low quantities such 4-6. If you cut your own you need to buy mat by
the box and if you keep the colors down you will better be able to
take advantage of scrap and drops. You should also consider your
sizes. For instance if you go with 11x14 matted to 16x20 you can get 4
out of one sheet of 32x40 and you can get some 8x10’s out of the drops. 

Spending more on the equipment will help your quality and your labor.
Higher end equipment will stay in alignment better and hold the
material better. Production stops can help save considerable time and
keep your cuts square. If you plan on cutting a significant number
each month you can consider renting a Wizard CMC. I think they are now
going for under $200 a month and will cut a mat nearly perfect in just
a few seconds.

You can also buy precut from companies like mine. If you are only
buying one or two mats at time and you are always changing your size
then it can make more sense to cut yourself if you have the time and
skill. If you can buy in say quantities of 25 at time then you spend a
lot of time but don’t really save a huge amount of money. If you make
mistakes in your cutting then you quickly get to the point where you
are losing money doing it yourself. If we cut your mats wrong then
that is our problem.

Feel free to contact me directly with any other questions.

Cheers,
Mark 
Frame Destination, Inc.
http://www.framedestination.com/

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Michael"
<michael3442@...> wrote:
>
> I'm curious to learn how you guys handle the considerable chore of 
> matting your prints; more specifically, arriving at matts with windows. 
> Do you opt for matts with pre-cut windows (and therefore print for the 
> pre-cut size), cut your own windows (and therefore print for the image, 
> not the matt), have them cut locally, or custom cut from an online 
> supplier? I've got this issue coming up pretty soon and it feels like 
> an enormous undertaking; your various perspectives and tips will be 
> appreciated.
> 
> -Michael K
>