Checking the quality of your mat board.
- At May 08, 2014
- By steve
- In Conversation
- 0
Last time I told you I would let you know how to check the quality of the mat board you have chosen. All of our mat boards are conservation quality, but if you find yourself somewhere else and you are wondering if what the salesperson is selling you, is really a quality product then this is one way to check. The simplest way is to flip it over and it should have what it is made from listed on the back.
This is the back of a conservation mat board, and it lists all of its qualities.
●The first bullet tells you that your red board that you picked is very resistant to becoming a light pink after you hang it in the living room.
●The second bullet tells you that it’s made from 100% cotton, which is naturally acid free, which is great for your art. It’s also a renewable product, unlike paper pulp from a tree which has to be cut down to harvest.
●The third bullet tells you acid-free & lignin-free. Lignin (contained in paper made from trees) produces acid as it ages. When you have acid in contact with your art work it will “burn” it over time and discolor it, and maybe destroy it. This is very important to understand, so we will talk more about this in the future!
●The forth bullet tells you that it is buffered, which means if your artwork has harmful products (like acid, or chemicals) in it this mat board will try to absorb it and keep it away from your artwork. It’s kinda like a mini air purifier inside you’re framing.
●The last bullet tells you it meets the standards of the Fine Arts Trade Guild. This is a group of really smart people that get together and scientifically test products to see what is best for your art work. I go to classes taught by them, that teach me to be a better framer and protect your art work. They also make sure the products professional framers use live up to their claims.
If you flip a sample over and it is blank, it may not be the best product for your artwork. Some mat boards (paper mats) may even say “this product is not designed for valued art work”. These are good warnings to listen to. I have heard sales clerks tell clients “the mat board doesn’t really matter, just take the cheaper one and save the few dollars“. If you run into a sales person that obviously doesn’t know their craft, and you can’t get the reassurance that your prized artwork will be well cared for, maybe its time to get a new framer.
Steve