What is a Mat Cutter?
A mat cutter is a tool specifically designed for cutting the cardboard mat, or matting, used to mount art pieces. For artists, a mat cutter is a vital tool in the studio, allowing them to mount and frame work much more cheaply than a professional framing company. People who want to mount work that they have purchased may also find a mat cutter useful, since it allows the user to create a customized mounting mat. A mat is a high density paper product which comes in archival and normal varieties. Pictures can either be mounted on top of the mat, or a window can be cut into the mat to showcase the picture. For fine art and originals, archival mat should be used to ensure that the art is not damaged. There are also a range of mat colors available, and it sometimes helps to bring the mat to the art store to pick out the best color. As a general rule, mat comes in large sheets which must be cut down to size with the assistance of a mat cutter. A number of different mat cutter designs are ava
