Window mats are an essential part of picture mounting supplies, along with frames, hardware, and glazing (glass or acrylic). A window mat is a piece of mat board with a beveled window cut out of it to showcase the artwork. It is usually hinged to a backing mat board or foamboard that the artwork can be attached to.
Archival vs. Non-Archival Framing Materials
An archival window mat highlights and protects artwork within a frame or in a portfolio. It highlights the artwork by creating space around it, focusing the viewers attention on the art. It protects it by separating the art from the glazing within a frame and from handling within a portfolio box.
If you are framing artwork or a document that you care about and want to last, then you should use archival framing supplies. If you take it to a frame shop, make sure to request that they use archival framing materials and protocols. It should be reversible. Do your research when selecting a framer. Talk to them about archival framing to get an idea if they are knowledgable about it.
Below is an example of what can happen over time when something is matted with non-archival materials. While this example is extreme because the backing board was literally a piece of wood, it still happens when you use mat board and foamboard that are not archival.
DIY Archival Matting
All the boards we sell are archival. They are acid-free, lignin-free, buffered, and pass the P.A.T.
To frame something archivally, the artwork should not be touching the glazing (glazing can be either glass or plastic but it should have a UV-filtering coating for added protection against light damage). To separate the artwork from the glazing many people use an archival window mat. Another option, if you don’t want to use a mat, is to use plastic picture frame spacers which we do not carry.
When photos and other paper-based art are framed directly in contact with glass or acrylic glazing, they are vulnerable to mold growth, image transfer, and adhesion to the glazing. Glossy prints can suffer from newton rings. Paper expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity. Properly mounting it with a window mat allows it to breath and flex.
Choosing the Right Board
Choose the color and ply of the mat you want. We offer black (not pictured in the sample below) and several shades from white to cream. Bright White is our biggest seller. Popular colors come in 2-ply (1/32″), 4-ply (1/16″), and 8-ply (1/8″) thicknesses, whereas some board only comes in 4-ply. We sell a Board and Paper Sample Pack ($5, includes shipping) that has 4 x 5″ examples of all the Mat Board colors, the different plies, Acid-Free Foamboard, and all of our Archival Papers.
We have two different types of archival mat board. Our most popular is the 100% Cotton Museum Board. It has stood the test of time and is trusted by museums and artists worldwide. The other option is Conservation Board, which is made from 100% archival purified wood fiber and is less expensive than Museum Board but still safe to use. Our board is a solid color all the way through and we do not use optical brighteners.
Window Mat Options
We sell some popular sizes as pre-cut window mats in our Presentation Kits and in packs of five as Pre-Cut Exhibition Mats. If these don’t work for your needs we have an easy-to-use Custom Mat Ordering page. If you are not sure which color mat board will look best with your artwork you can order a Board and Paper Sample Pack. Here’s a video showing different mat board colors that we offer.
Check out How to Order Custom Mats if you are ready to give it a try and need some pointers.
Presentation Kits
Presentation Kits include everything you need to mat and package your artwork. The Presentation Kit is a popular way to package artwork for sale or for portfolios. Having your work matted and neatly packaged and protected is a great selling point. The customer can buy a standard size frame and then pop the matted work easily into the frame to hang.
The Presentation Kits come in exterior mat sizes from 8 x 10 up to 22 x 28. A kit includes a 4-ply bright white window mat, acid-free foamboard backing, Tyvek tape for hinging the window mat to the foamboard, four clear mounting corners to attach the print to the backing board, and a resealable crystal clear bag to protect it during handling and transport.
You can put these in a Portfolio Box for transporting and showing your work to curators and at portfolio reviews.
Pre-Cut Exhibition Mats
Pre-Cut Exhibition Mats are 4-ply bright white window mats that come hinged with archival linen tape to 2-ply bright white backing board. They are sold in a variety of popular sizes from 8 x 10 to 30 x 40 and come in packages of five. This is a good option if you want multiple mats in standard sizes because it’s discounted from the custom ones and it’s simple to add to your cart. Being a stock item it is likely to have a faster turnaround time.
All you need to do is attach your prints or artwork to the backing board using an archival and reversible solution. The two options we recommend are using Mounting Corners (you can add Clear Mounting Strips for extra support if the prints are larger than 20 x 24″) or using one of the Filmoplast P series tapes to create t-hinges.
These mats are perfect for framing a lot of prints for an exhibition or creating a matted portfolio. Our Museum Drop Front Boxes are a beautiful presentation and storage option. You can opt to interleave your prints with Archival Thin Paper or one of the other archival papers.
We hope you’ve found this information helpful. Please contact us via phone or email if you have questions or comments.
