Matting brite white papers

[matt_gerhardt]

Wasn't quite sure what forum to put this in...but here it goes. I'm using Moab Entrada Bright White inkjet

paper and have run into a problem with matting. All the white matt samples I have placed next to the

paper have either been too cream colored or too grey. I'm trying to get as close as possible and I'm sure

I'm not the first to run into this problem. Has anybody found a white matt board that is as white as todays

bright white fine art papers or am I s.o.l.?

[dickhilker]

One solution would be to self-matte, printing your image on a larger sheet size. There have been several ways suggested to do this, but the simplest is to make a narrow gray border around the image and then place it on a larger canvas (frame size.)That way, the unprinted paper forms the "matte" and looks very much like the real thing.

 

In PSE, Select All, Edit Stroke, (use approx. 50 pixel band) Deselect and Change Size of Canvas to the size of your frame. Select All again and repeat, making a narrower band to aid in cutting.

[bobmichaels]

Crescent has a matt board that matches Condor BW. I think it's "super white" but just compare all the Crescent samples to find it. Unforutnately, it's not completely archival though.

 

I have successfully used a less bright matt by using a 3/8" overmat (border) between the image edge and the matt board to smooth the transition.

[bill_t__new_mexico_]

I find bare white expanses of papers like Premium Luster and glossy papers to be simply overwhelming see next to any normal matte paper, when the print's white surface is visible. I sometimes increase the canvas size past the image, select only the newly added area, then fill is with something like RGB 248 246 244. That gives a sort of off-white, slightly cream color that blends well into most real mattes. You can texture it if you like.

 

Crescent Artic White is pretty darned white. So is the whitest Rising Museum Matte Board, especially considering that it's archival...sorry can't remember the number but it's quite dazzling. But such big super-white expanses around the print are hard on the eyes and can make a darkish print look murky.

[robert_k1]

Which mats have you tried?

 

I kind of have an opposite problem matting Epson Enhanced Matte and HWM. Using Bainbridge Alpharag 8634 White, and without a print paper border around the image, the mat sometimes looks too white. Perhaps the Moab papers are whiter. Of course, viewing conditions also play a big role here.

 

Looking at the Bainbridge samples, there is a 8655 Pure White, which looks whiter than 8634.

[jtk]

EEM yellows within months. Presumably that's why they stopped claiming it was "archival." Moab Entrada Bright White is a lot more stable, as is Moab Kayenta (I've seen no evidence of yellowing of either in a year, but of course that's not a long time).