How to determine mat opening size?

Mounting and framing photographs is not an easy task. At the beginning, it’s not uncommon to waste a lot of time and money before finding the right tools and being able to mat your prints in an efficient and cost effective way. However, calculating the side, top, and bottom measurements can be a pain if you are cutting a mat for a non- standard print size

To determine the size of the image you are matting. First measure the actual image size not including the white board if there any. For example, you print an 11x14 image on 12 x 16 paper. In this case the image size is 11x14. There are two common mat opening sizes: 1/8 inch overlap and 1/4 inch overlap.

1. 1/8 inch overlap.

For horizontal image, the opening size is 13 3/4 inches width and 10 3/4 inches height. For portrait image, the opening size is 10 3/4 inches width and 13 3/4 inches height. You are cutting off 1/4 inch of the image. This will allow the mat to overlap the image by 1/8 of an inch on all sides. If your image has white boarder all around, you should use this 1/8 inch overlap because it masks very little of the image. With the white boarder around, you can easily tape the photo to the mat or backing board. If no white boarder, you should go for the 1/4 inch overlap below.

2. 1/4 inch overlap.

For horizontal image, the opening size is 13 1/2 inches width and 10 1/2 inches height. For portrait image, the opening size is 10 1/2 inches width and 13 1/2 inches height. You are cutting off 1/2 inch of the image. This will allow the mat to overlap the image by 1/4 of an inch on all sides. If your image has no boarder, you should use this 1/4 inch overlap, so you have more space to move and mat the image.

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