Talk to me about mounts, choosing colours, etc

sirch

sirch

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I usually print to standard sizes and buy off-the-shelf mounts in white or off-white but I've got a non standard sized print I want to mount and I think I want a dark mount, I'll leave a white border from the print paper inside the mount. How do you go about choosing mount colours? Is there a convention for mounting in coloured mounts, where do you buy from, do I need a mount cutter, is there anything else I need to know?
 
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Firstly, in the past I have bought custom cut mounts from iCanframe in Swindon (used to be called Picture Lizard. Quality of cut and overall service was excellent.

Now, coloured mounts......never used them but IMO the received wisdom is choose a colour to compliment the picture (tones & shades?)

There are coloured mounts with white cores i.e. when used there will be a visible white 'thin border' around the print.

HTH :)
 
One thing I looked for when mounting prints for display or competition was to get on with a complimentary colour. That way they don't clash and fight each other for attention. If all else fails a mid gray is a good substitute. That would apply for colour, but B&W, I like either plain black or white or pale cream for sepia. Very traditional I know, but leopard and spots come to mind.
 
The problem with choosing online is that it's dependent on colour calibration - esp if you're going for a specific hue. Both your monitor and theirs when they uploaded the pics. If you're really particular about which shade of beige you want, I'd go to a physical shop. If it's just "red vs green" then online is probably ok. I have started just using black mountboard because I really like how it looks. I did leave a thin white piece of the paper as a border, but I've started now just using the sliver of white you can see when you cut black mountboard (example framed pics in this thread)

I did do a tutorial on here as to how to cut your own mount. You could easily just use a stanley knife but a mount cutter would be best. (My tutorial) I actually find it fun, and cut a lot of my own mounts for frames found in charity shops which are often quite cheap. However if it's just a one-off, perhaps a bespoke service would be better.
 
Just got back into mount cutting, thought we needed some new pictures to hang about the place to change it up a bit.
In the past I bought my board and bits from a place called Paper Spectrum, reasonably priced and good quality.
No idea if they are still about, will be needing some more supplies soon myself so this is a very opportune thread.

I agree with Ian, it is good fun, my only tip is make sure you're not tight with the blades.
Sharp well adjusted blade in the bevel cutter makes all the difference, usual rule applies, measure twice and cut once.

This is a very good video if you are starting out, I have the same model mount cutter he is using.

The mount cutters which are just a long ruler with a guide rail for the bevel cutter are ok.
Those with a size gauge and paper clamp are much nicer and easier to use, glad I upgraded.
 
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For those of us in the UK, the large outlet shop trading under the name of 'The Range' have an artists department where they have a lot of mounting cards up to A1 at very reasonable prices. At least £1.50 less than Daler Board but it is very good quality and if you cut it with a mat cutter the internal colour is white not a dull grey like a number of others.

Looking at their website they have 180 shops within the UK and by searching with your post code you can find the nearest to you.
 
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darkroom12 said:
For those of us in the UK, the large shop trading under the name of 'The Range' have an artists department where they have a lot of mounting cards up to A1 at very reasonable prices. At least £1.50 less than Daler Board but it is very good quality and if you cut it with a mat cutter the internal colour is white not a dull grey like a number of others.

Looking at their website they have 180 shops within the UK and by searching with your post code you can find the nearest to you.
Click to expand...

I was wondering if their board was any good, think I had decided it probably wouldn't be, so thank you.
 
tijuana taxi said:
I was wondering if their board was any good, think I had decided it probably wouldn't be, so thank you.
Click to expand...

If you want to pre mount a large print onto a supporting board before mounting it on a mat mount, they also have a cheaper board that is perfect for the purpose.
 
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