Being an art kid, I learned how to cut mats in high school. When I went on to Art School for college I had a head start on everyone that was just learning. If you're afraid to do it yourself, find an art student who knows how and give 'em $20 :) I bought a mat cutter early on although all you really need is a razor blade and a straight edge.

This is teh reason there are no photographs on the wall in my home. I refuse to pay the insane asking prices for mats and framing.

I just need to throw in my two cents regarding a blade or a mat cutter: a Mat cutter is rather affordable. Here's a Logan Compact mat cutter from Blick: http://www.dickblick.com/products/logan-301s-compact-mat-cutter/ This is the very same one I own and have been using for all my photography for a few years.

Please make the small investment of a mat cutter--do not use a razor blade and a ruler. Those blades are SO SHARP and a small slip or jerk and you are going to cut yourself very very badly. I agree with Annnaa0382 about paying someone to show you how to do it. I learned in 30 minutes from a teacher at my photo school--find someone in your area who can teach you how to do it and either pay them or buy 'em a beer. You won't be sorry!

Don't forget the all-important "keep your fingers tucked out of the way"! Also, instead of a self-healing mat, you may use a piece of Masonite (pretty cheap at the lumber yard, and you can get it in small pieces) or, as I recently had to do on vacation, a flattened cardboard box. And don't beat yourself up if you don't bevel. It's more fun to have art on the walls than no art on the walls, and, if you cut your own mats, "ain't nobody" going to notice that your mats aren't bevelled. If they do, tell them they can't come back. Have fun!

I did custom framing for many years and it is an art. Mats and frames can make or break a fabulous piece of art not to mention colors and styles of frames and mats. I agree, prices are insane but the cost of acid free mats, backing board, conservation glass, nice wood frames, etc. is all very expensive and if your art work is an odd size it's impossible to buy pre made frames. Besides cutting mats youself you won't get a bevel cut and it would be very difficult to get double or triple mats.
If your not picky their are plenty of pre-made
frames and pre-cut mats to choose from. However, I can tell the difference between DIY and a custom job and some things are just worth it. You have to decide if your art worth preserving or are you just framing fun stuff and will change it out periodically.

I had access to a mat cutter when I was framing a couple of years ago, amazing stuff... especially when you had to do multiple layers :)
I would suggest to buy the mat cutter being sold at art supply stores, it will save you a headache. They are easy to use and will give you that clean bevel, if that's what you're looking for... it took me a couple of tries to do it well enough since it was nothing like the one I worked with on a daily basis, that baby was mounted to the table and 60" long... always giving me perfectly measured cuts *sigh* I need that job again lol

I have to second TXAnnie's comments. Custom-framing is expensive because it's custom -- it's like taking your artwork to the tailor. If it's a reputable shop, then all the materials used are archival, and the people doing the work are highly trained and experienced. Sure, it's not appropriate for every single thing you may want to frame, but there are valid reasons for the prices, and it's worth it for the right artwork or artifact.

I may be somewhat anal-retentive, but I would definitely notice if the mat isn't beveled, or the cuts aren't completely straight, or the mat and frame aren't proportionate to the artwork.

I think that VisuaLingual brings up an important point -- the proportion of the mat to the artwork. I would suggest using standard mat sizes as a reference point for cutting your own.

I learned in college how to cut mats (and make my own frames) because, as an artist, I knew it would save me a ton of money - easily thousands at this point without exaggeration. At the very least, I would recommend getting a Dexter handheld mat cutter. Freehanding with a razor blade as the picture shows is dangerous and won't give you a nice cut - you want to go through the mat in one, even pass at a set angle. You only cut a few mats with one blade before replacing so that it is always as sharp as possible, otherwise the cut edge will begin to have little burrs. And at the corners, you go past the actual drawn corner a little bit (you're cutting from the back side) so that the mitered edges will meet. You can rub down any extra bit of cut with the back of your fingernail and it will pretty much disappear.

Another trick - if you are printing out your own images, print them to fit into a pre-cut mat. But, buy it first and measure the opening because it's usually smaller than what it says so it will overlap the image and not show borders.

I was taught to use a new x-acto blade for each cut. Might seem excessive, but works best. Mat's not cheap, it's worth 4 blades. Those 'used' blades can be re-used for other less critical projects as long as the tip wasn't snapped.

I 100% agree with cw600. I magde alot of money in college, because people didn't know how to cut mat board, and I actually excelled at it. The thing that made it easy was I used a new blade on every board, I cut the corners free hand, and I always did the math 3x ahead of cuts

People NEVER use a wide enough mat.

And framing is an art unto itself.

I'll add to my previous comment by saying that there are too many of us that don't do things because they might not turn out perfectly. I, too, learned to cut mats for my artwork when I was in college, and now I own a wonderful mat cutter. I did, however, cut a large mat this summer, on vacation, on my hands and knees, w/a box of 100 razor blades beside me, a huge, metal ruler that I *did* invest in (metal ruler is right up there with "keep your fingers tucked out of the way!"), and a flattened cardboard box as a cutting mat. I spent way too much of my life procrastinating because of my perfectionism. Fortunately for me, I married a man who loves to say, "Good enough for who it's for," which used to give me a stomach ache but, eventually, helped me to relax. I get far more done now, and the more I do, the more "perfect" I get (well, not really). If you're going to display art in a gallery, you might go for perfection, but if you're going to display art in your home, don't hinder yourself. Practice and enjoy. Most of us don't have a throng of art critics (or mat critics) come through our homes. If we *do* have friends that are that critical, we need to find friends who know that there are more important things in life than perfect mats.

I've cut my share of boards in the past and its best to use an aluminum scale with cork back or non slip as your straight edge. I second Dexter handheld cutter, i've had mine for two decades.

The type of board you use can make cutting a lot easier I highly recommend using Strathmore Museum Mounting Board it has color all the way through and very clean on the cut especially nice when doing a beveled edge cut. Also, they hold up better over time.

Great post! Very informative!

I've used these guys a bunch of times and been very happy with the results and customer service (and price!)

http://www.matdesigners.com/
Affiliated with:

http://www.frameusa.com/

Even with the small order fee, it's the best deal I've found.

I agree with Patrick that framing itself is an art. And if you have something really special, then going custom is worthwhile.

I do a lot of framing, and this post has inspired me to think about learning how to cut my own mats. But until then, here's my less expensive "semi" custom approach:

I buy ready-made, standard sized frames, then have a mat cut to fit the art and frame. Most of my pieces are small to medium in size, so a custom mat usually will run $30 or less.

You just need to make sure you replace all of the non-archival surfaces in the standard frame with archival equivalents (such as the backing).

If I get the frame on sale, I can usually get a pretty decent mat/frame ensemble for less than $50.

I do what arroyo suggested and buy off the shelf frames and have custom mats cut for the pieces i'm framing. I find that i can have the mats cuts for less than $25 in most cases and can choose from a huge variety of colors and then just put it all together in a standard frame and save tons of money over all custom framing. I'm just too scared to try cutting my own mats and i always end up being very happy with the results and the price point doing it the other way.

smellofsawdust, I like your style!

That picture is an ER visit waiting to happen. Buy a mat cutter with safety features to protect fingers. One with stops is even better. Change blades frequently. Double check all measurements. And yes to the Strathmore museum board and metal square or metal T ruler.

Sure, framing is an "art," but it always shocks me when I see the price of framing cost nearly as much (or more) than many a talented painter could demand for a painting the same size.

Sorry, but I think one takes a few more years of training than the other!

Anyway, if you do want to frame your own stuff, make sure you don't cheap out on the materials. Acid-free archival care for your artwork is important.

I agree that some art is worth the cost of custom framining. I am not convinced, however, that a clerk at Michael's will do an appreciably better job than I can at home. I use a carpenter's square, a box cutter (with sharper blades, but not new for every cut), and an old piece of mat board for a pad. I've framed dozens of prints (usually from the 75% off section of Art.com or old calendars) that way and I think they look fine.