Mat Styles

Our mats are all acid-free and completely archival. We bevel cut each corner with extreme precision. In the Designer, we offer the following mat style options for your artwork depending on your chosen art type. Please note: not all mat styles are possible for all art types.

• No mat keeps the appearance of your framing clean and simple.
• We recommend this style when framing posters, oversized photography prints or personal photos, and art prints that contain a lot of white space around the edges. 
• Acrylic spacers or a shadowbox spacer can be added to keep art from touching the acrylic. 

• A single mat keeps the eye focused on your art. 
• This is the most common mat style because of its classic look and ability to make small works of art or photographs appear larger on your wall. 
• We recommend this style when framing personal photos, small to medium size art prints and originals, and important documents like ketubahs and diplomas. 
• When you select Single Mat in the Designer, you have the option to customize your Mat Size (from ½ inch to 5 inches) and your Mat Material.

• Two-layered mats. ¼" of the lower mat peeks out, creating a border around the art. 
• The overall effect of this style is similar to Single Mat, with the added accent of a second mat peaking out. 
• We recommend this style for framing important documents like diplomas and certificates. It looks equally great with personal photos and small to medium-sized art prints and originals. 
• 99% of the time, we’d recommend layering a white mat over a black mat. You can customize your Top Mat and Bottom Mat in the Designer.

• Art appears to float over the mat, and a spacer prevents the image from touching the acrylic. 
• Floating your art above a mat is an affordable way to take your custom frame job to the next level and give whatever you are framing that extra special feeling. By elevating the art above a mat, a slight shadow is created around your art, creating a sophisticated, gallery look. 
• We then use a Shadowbox or Acrylic spacer in between your art and the plexiglass in order to protect the surface of your art. 
• We recommend this style when framing original paintings, drawings, and sketches—specifically those with a deckled, wavy edge to the paper—as well as artifacts like hand-written letters. 
• We offer 4-ply mats in various shades of white and black to float your artwork on, along with Linen. After you select Floated as your Mat Style in the Designer, you can customize your Mounting Method depending on your selected Art Type. See more info on mounting methods here!

• Art is hand-stitched onto a linen mat. For any textiles, flags, or scarves. 
• A framing specialist will hand sew your piece to a linen mat or linen-covered strainer (for Max Plexibox orders). Single stitches are placed along the edges, and your piece will be steamed before we begin to sew. 
• Please note: All textiles will retain their natural flow and with gravity may still expand over time.

• Art appears to float inside the mat window over an uncut bottom mat. 
• Your art will be mounted directly to the mat, and a mat with a slightly larger opening will be placed on top. This will leave a 1/8" - 1/4" reveal around your floated piece. Best of both worlds!
• This option is a great alternative if you are looking to float your artwork within a Metal Moulding.

• A single mat with multiple openings for the publication title and article. We can frame newspaper or magazine articles you send in or print online articles, and the design of your frame depends on the formatting of the article. Our designers will create a mock-up of your Frame and Mat for your approval before we put your order into production. You can learn more here, on the blog.