Article #5: How to Cut Oversize Matboard in a 40" Mat Cutter

There are two separate issues when matting oversize artwork, cutting a large enough window to display the art, and cutting the full size sheet to the size you want. Both can be dealt with on a 40½" mat cutter.

Let’s take the example of your 36”x44”. You will have to cut this out of a 40”x60” sheet. Remove the mat guide and place the 40"x60" sheet on the cutting board so that the 60" dimension lies on the horizontal axis as you stand at the end of the cutter. Move the edge of the board along the squaring arm to the 16" increment and using the 90º cutter, trim away 16” from the 60” dimension, leaving 44". Now you have a 44"x40". Since you cannot place the 44" dimension in the mat cutter, trim the second dimension outside the cutter with a straight edge and utility knife. Trim 4" from the 40" dimension. To insure a clean cut, go slowly and score the mat board in subsequent passes. The resulting sheet will be 36"x44".

To cut a window in this sheet, replace the mat guide and remove the squaring arm. As you cut, pull the mat board through the mat cutter, top to bottom.

Operate the cutter standing at the side. Begin with the mat board under the guide rail and firmly up against the mat guide. Allow the excess mat board to hang out the bottom end of the mat cutter (where the squaring arm was). Cut until the cutting head reaches the end of the guide rail. Then shift the mat board forward, moving it along the guide rail. The cutting head will move back up the guide rail toward the center of the mat cutter so you can finish your cut.

The only drawback here is that you can only have borders of 5½” or less, but if you’re willing to accept that, you can cut a window in any size mat board.

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