[pure-silver] Re: logan compact mat cutter
- From: Ryuji Suzuki <rs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 14:13:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Shannon Stoney <sstoney@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [pure-silver] logan compact mat cutter
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 08:51:45 -0500
> >I agree with the others. Especially if you cut your mats to
> >specific, non-standard sizes, it is really rather easy to cut your
> >own, as long as you have a decent mat cutter. (Don't use the little
> >palm-sized one - it's just frustrating.)
>
>
> I have the Logan compact one. Is that the one you mean? Also, I
> can't find the directions for it. I lost the directions that came
> with it, and I can't find the full directions at their website.
>
> Wonder where I could get another "manual"?
Anyone who's familiar with windowing a matte board can give you a
quick demo for that cutter... I also have that cutter somewhere in my
toolbox, and I find there's nothing wrong with that cutter unless you
cut anything thicker than 6-ply matte. For smaller prints I use 4- or
6-ply and so they are fully capable of making beautiful window
cuts. But the problem is 8-ply board I use for large prints (like 20x24).
The blade is simply not long enough to penetrate the board.
The cheapest usable solution for 8-ply is Olfa MC452B, about $30,
which is usable for all thickness. With this type of cutter, a heavy
metal ruler with an anti-slip pad is an essential item.
Cutting 8-ply is significantly more difficult than thinner matte
boards, so you should practice with scrap matte board. You also
definitely don't want to do it when you are hungry, when you suffer
from allergy, etc. In my opinion, it's worth paying a framer to cut
8-ply matte board for you (you can do the rest of framing work
yourself), unless you cut more than 10 each month on average. But,
framers need a day or two of turnaround time, and they may take longer
when they are busy. To me, the largest advantage of cutting matte
board myself is that I can frame the night before the deadline!
If you cut a lot of matte boards, you might want to consider Logan
Framer's Edge or something similar. They cost $500 and more, but for
the cost of labor charged by a framer to cut 25 pieces of 8-ply in
32x40 size, for example, you can own the same tool as what they use.
Whenever I use the same frame, I have a rule to use a certain specific
matte board. I have 3 art suppy stores within 5 minute walking from my
home (all different franchises), but there are some time when ALL of
them are out of my matte board (Alpharag Artcare 8-ply white, cat no.
8660.8634.8). It's often the case that I have to go to multiple stores
when I need backing board and matte board on the same day for an
immediate deadline. This is not a very plesant walk in a windy day!
If you don't have multiple suppliers, especially if you have some
storage space, you might want to stock up and get bulk discount on
these materials. Also, a large pack of spare blades is an essential
stock item. The blade edge gets dull very fast, although it is
perfectly usable for many other purposes, like Dave said.
=============================================================================================================
To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your
account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,)
and unsubscribe from there.
Other related posts:
