Chuck,
Thanks. I love saving money on the framing to have it to spend on more stuff.
Randall,
Great job on the Hill. I might have to splurge on a circular mat cutter one day to try something like that.
Craig,
Does the mat cutter cut multiple different size cut outs in one matt?
The mat cutter I pictured cuts only straight lines. You have to measure how far in from the edge you want to cut and then scribe all 4 sides with a pencil. There is a guide rule to help with the measurement. You then use the blade to cut the square or rectangle out.
Here is the instruction video from the Logan company that makes the mat cutter I have. This explains what I was trying to describe much better. They have more advanced cutters as well. *Each cutter comes with an instructional DVD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=vxyj7YldV3c*
There are other videos on the site as well.
http://www.logangraphic.com/videos/
Cutting multiple openings is a little trickier. lf you want more than one opening, you have to measure where you want each hole and what size you want each one. It does take a little math, patience, and practice to get it right. I started with a bunch of single opening mats to get the hang of it first, before trying my first multiple opening mat.
Are all of these covered with glass and if so what kind (UV protection)?
Most of the are in glass. A few have plastic faces. While you can buy UV protective glass, I didn't. The reason for this is that, after much research, I chose to spend the extra money and install all LED lighting in the room. LED lights have no UV and give off very little heat. Also, I only have a very small window in this room, so there won't be very much ambient light coming in. If there had been incandescent, florescent, or halogen lights instead, I probably would've sprung for UV rated glass for all the framed items.
Can the artist tape be removed from items (prints, etc.) safely? Don't some people use those little edge holders so nothing adheres to the item?
There are many different ways to hold the pics/prints in place. The sales person at the Dick Blick store, who helped me, is a certified framer. She was the one who suggested the tape instead of the corner mounts. I think either way is fine. I had no sig problem removing tape when I had to adjust my projects. When removing the key is going very SLOWLY.
And finally, is there some kind of reference article/book/web site for those of us just starting this kind of thing?
I think there are books about it, but I didn't use any. I watched some videos on the manufacturer's website and a couple on you tube.
This video is a good general overview of matting and framing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=eBBJVOyIfbs
I also examined the matting in the frames I purchased to see how they were put together. Some of the larger frames I purchased had more elaborated mats, which gave me some ideas.
Hope that helps.
Mark