How to Measure and Cut Your Own Matboard

Written by Mark Rogers

Since art is all about visual appeal, presentation is obviously key. Framing your art using mat board is a great way to draw the viewer’s eye directly into the artwork while giving the entire framed piece a sense of depth, professionalism and personal pizzazz. Practically speaking, frame mat board keeps your art from directly contacting the glass — a big faux pas in the professional art world.

Mat boards are offered in a wide variety of colors, styles, and textures, allowing you to add your own creative elements to finished piece. Many frame suppliers (including Frame Destination) offer mat board with the window opening already cut and ready to go in the frame. However, if you want to completely customize your framing project to your own exact specifications, it’s not terribly difficult to cut your own mat board — and it can be inexpensive.

What Tools and Materials Do You Need to Cut Mat Board?

Measuring and cutting your own mat board doesn’t necessarily mean you have to break the bank when purchasing the materials. You may already have some of them on hand at home.

Materials needed to frame artwork with your own mat board include:

An uncut mat board in your choice of color and texture
The piece of art you’re planning to frame
A picture frame

Tools you’ll need:

Pencil
Straight-edge ruler
Straight, sharp blade. “X-Acto” knife usually works best; you can find them at any office supply or craft store. You'll use this to cut the outer edges of the mat board to fit within the frame.
A mat cutter. Rather than an X-Acto knife, you’ll need this special tool to create beveled edges on the interior window of your mat. There are basic handheld mat cutters and tabletop models, which include guide rails and other features that make cutting mats easier. You can even find high-end electronic and automatic models, though they are spendy.
Protective cutting surface. To protect your table or countertop from cut lines, you’ll want some kind of protective surface. This can be a piece of cardboard, a large cutting board, or a specialized protective “cutting mat” which often features gridlines to make tracing and cutting straight lines easier.
Archival tape

How to Measure Your Mat Board

Once you have your tools and materials ready to go, it’s time to get started! Measuring your mat board for the frame is pretty simple — no architecture or engineering degree required.

Step 1: Measure the width and height of the glass or acrylic inside the frame. This is the size of mat board you need to cut. If the frame does not have any glass or acrylic, then measure the inside of the frame where the glass would go and subtract 1/8”. For example, if the inside of the frame is 16” x 20”, cut the mat to 15 7/8” x 19 7/8” so it will easily fit inside the frame without binding.

Step 2: Measure the size of the artwork and the size of the mat. The window for the artwork will need to be smaller than the artwork; this allows the mat to overlap the edges of the artwork and help hold it down. To make the opening smaller, subtract ½” from the size of the artwork. Example: If the artwork is 8” x 12”, the opening should be 7½” x 11½”. If the artwork is going to be centered in the mat, you can calculate the borders by subtracting the width of the artwork opening from the width of the mat, and then divide that number in half. This number will tell you how much space will be left on each side of the piece for the mat borders.

For example, say your artwork measures 8” x 12” for an opening of 7½” x 11½”:

12” – 7½" = 4½”

and …

4½” ÷ 2” = 2¼”

Therefore, you would leave 2¼” of mat on each side of the art.

For pieces that are not perfectly centered, measure and calculate all sides.

How to Cut Your Mat Board

Once you’ve done the appropriate measurements, trace lines indicating where you’ll need to cut directly on the mat board based on the measurements you have just taken. After the lines are traced, continue with the following steps:

Step 1: Take your straight-edge ruler and place it along the first cutting line you traced.

Step 2: Using your mat cutter, cut along the straight edge, being careful to stay on the line you traced so that it remains even. It’s important to press down firmly on the mat cutter to ensure you get a clean cut.

Step 3: Repeat “Step Two” on all of the cut lines you’ve traced and pop out the center of the mat board.

Step 4: Place the mat board on top of your artwork, making sure the piece is evenly centered in the middle.

Step 5: Using archival tape, which is specially made to ensure it will not damage the piece, secure the artwork to the mat board.

Step 6: Place the entire piece inside the frame and replace the backing.

The final step to this process is to hang your masterpiece on a wall and enjoy your hard work and creativity. Not everyone can afford to have all of their pieces professionally framed, and cutting your own mat board is a fun way to add some oomph to your artwork without going broke—leaving more money in your pocket for art supplies to use on the next great piece you’ve been planning. And, of course, now that you’ve seen how easy (and fun) it is, you can use mat board in those pieces as well!

Choosing a Mat Cutter for Framing

A mat cutter allows you to create professional-looking mats that add depth, dimension, and style to your framed art. With various options available in the market, choosing the right mat cutter can seem daunting. However, we put together this buyers guide on choosing a mat cutter for framing.

Main considerations when choosing a mat cutter for framing are first determining your needs, assessing the quality and budget, as well as the different types.

Last updated March 22, 2023