Article #9: Tips for Selecting the Right Mat Cutter

Series 4000 Hand Held Mat Cutter Mat cutters are available in a wide range of shapes and sizes. From the simple loaf-shaped chrome block of a hand held mat cutter to the high tech computer controlled robotics of an automatic mat cutter, mat cutters can be found to cut shapes from rectangles and ovals, to surface V-grooves and laser etched silhouettes. They can reduce matboard and foamboard to size, and trim glass and cut acrylic. Anyway, some of them can. The question is: What do you want your mat cutter to do? And perhaps, just as importantly: What are you willing to spend?

One thing your mat cutter won’t do, however, is produce consistently superior results without your vigilance and know-how. It is a truism that a mat cutter is never automatic in the sense of, say, a coffee maker or a fax machine. It won’t just automatically give you the results you expect. You will have to guide it, finesse it. You will have to learn to play it, like an instrument. This is as true of a $40,000 computerized mat cutter as it is of a $14 hand held mat cutter. There are simply too many variables in mat cutting for the operator to be absent from the process. You will have to learn how to cut mats in order to get superior results consistently. The machine will not do this for you, no matter what the price.

Bearing this in mind, you might want to consider how much time you’re willing to spend getting good at mat cutting, because the learning curve does get progressively shorter the more you spend. But you don’t have to empty your bank account to find a comfort zone. In fact, good mat cutting becomes a manageable proposition with the purchase of a mat cutter in the $75 to $395 price range, and does not get a whole lot easier even if you spend more.

High end mat cutters, such as the Logan Framer's Edge Professional Mat Cutter, Model #650, are built to take the wear and tear of rigorous professional use, as is common in a frame shop. They have thicker, more durable cutting boards, heavier guide rails and bigger cutting heads. They are designed to cut 50+ mats a day and to stand up under continuous use. The Logan Model 650 Framer’s Edge Mat Cutter is often available at a price point comparable to the less heavy duty mat cutters, offering the best of both worlds. The Framer's Edge is also available in 48" and 60" versions. The largest matboard made is 40"x60" and for those who foresee the need to cut sizes beyond 32"x40", it is necessary to have a 60" mat cutter to cut them with speed and precision. When the the 60" version is available at an attractive price, it is worthwhile to consider it over the 40" version for this increased applicability.

On the other end of the spectrum, hand-held mat cutters are capable of cutting just about anything. With a hand held cutter you can cut a fancy window as precise and exquisite as one cut on the world’s most expensive mat cutter - but you’d better be willing to devote the time. The learning curve on hand held cutters is long, because hand held cutters are difficult to manage. At bottom, a basic principal of hand-held mat cutting is flawed. To cut properly you must push firmly against the straightedge with the cutting head. But straightedges are not designed to be pushed against. They slip. And when they do the cut is ruined. It takes practice to get the feel of a hand held mat cutter - exactly how much pressure to apply to the cutter, to the straightedge and both, to avoid slippage - and once you’ve accomplished that, you’ve got still more to contend with.

Some hand-held cutters, such as the Dexter utilize a fixed blade. That is, the blade doesn’t pivot or slide up and down. It just remains sticking out, making it difficult to penetrate the mat at a proper angle, since the blade must enter the mat ahead of the body of the cutter, and the cutter must follow at a corresponding angle or a curved bevel will result. Series 2000 Hand Held Mat Cutter

Hand held cutters with retractable blades, such as the Alto and the Logan Hand Held Mat Cutters fare better, but are handicapped by being in the role of adversary to the straightedge. Only a mat cutting system that incorporates a fixed straightedge or is designed to have the cutting head ride on the straightedge eliminates this problem. The most basic mat cutting "systems" do both of these things.

A mat cutting "system" is distinguished from a hand held mat cutter in that it provides some of the other necessities besides just the cutting head, such as a place to cut (a cutting board), a measuring system, and the straightedge itself (a guide rail). A system such as the Logan Team System combines a hand-held mat cutter with a guide rail and allows the cutting head to ride on the guide rail to eliminate the problem of the two pushing against each other. Still, the guide rail itself is not attached to anything and may slip, even though it has a rubberized base.

Systems that have the guide rail attached to a base board represent a vast improvement. The Logan Compact Mat Cutter Model 301-S is such a mat cutter. In addition, it includes a system for quick and easy measuring. For those serious about cutting mats, a 32" mat cutting system like the Compact represents the minimal investment for reliability and quality. They shorten the learning curve and make it possible for beginners to get good results in a relatively short period of time. But they are not without their shortcomings.

On the face of it, the biggest shortcoming of a 32" mat cutter appears to be its size. After all, a sheet of matboard is 32"x40". So right away one concludes that, with a 32"mat cutter, large mats can’t be cut. But this is not so. 32" mat cutters are open at either end so the matboard can shifted along the face of the cutting bed, and hang out either end, to allow for cutting a window of any size. The real shortcoming is not the size of the window that can be cut, but the size of matboard that can be accommodated for sizing.

Sizing is the reducing of a full size sheet of matboard to the perimeter size of the frame. Since 32" mat cutters cannot take a full size sheet across their baseboards to be halved, these cutters have a distinct disadvantage when it comes to sizing.

The next grade of mat cutters purport to solve this problem. Mat cutters such as the Logan Intermediate Mat Cutter Model 450 provide a full 40" base board with a fixed guide rail and a measuring system, but leave off the most important feature, the squaring arm.

When it comes to sizing, the squaring arm is key. It allows for full size sheets to be measured and sized at proper right angles without requiring the operator to mark out lines on the mat. It makes sizing speedy and accurate and completes the picture of what a full featured mat cutter should be: a bevel cutting head (for cutting windows), a straight cutting head (for sizing), a fixed guide rail, at least a 40" long cutting board, a measuring system and a squaring arm. When you have a mat cutter with these features, you have a complete mat cutting system. Simplex Plus

The Logan Model 750 Simplex is such a mat cutter. It is a fine full featured mat cutter, representing the high end of manually operated mat cutting systems and have a host of fine features, including all those listed above, plus production stops, and durability to 15+ mats per week. If one is looking to buy just one mat cutter without the need for upgrading later, the Simplex Plus or the Framer's Edge are the best bets. The Logan Simplex is also available in a 60" version. Since the largest matboard made is 40"x60",it's worthwhile to pay extra for the longer version if you foresee the need to cut mats larger than 32"x40".

Beyond the high end manual machines is a whole other range of mat cutters decidely reserved for the super high volume professional. These are the high tech computer controlled robotic mat cutters such as the Gunner, Zund, Mat Maestro and Wizard. These mat cutters can be programmed to cut almost any size, shape and design, but start at $10,000 and climb precipitously in price.

In choosing a mat cutter, the wise shopper weighs the advantages of each against budget and need and makes an informed choice. Good mat cutting begins with a good tool - and one that’s right for you.

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