Hi!
I am going to be participating in my first fair in June. I am looking for the best place to purchase photography mat kits, bags\mats\backing all in one kit. I am checking out clearbags.com. Has anyone used them? Anywhere else I should try? I am trying to go as economical as possible but also don't want to buy garbage. Thank you very much!
Pery :)
Replies
Interesting to hear some people prefer phone and some do not. I set Frame Destination up as an internet company and we prefer orders coming in over the internet especially if they are custom to help reduce human error. The website will calculate the frame size so you can quickly tell if the matboard borders or opening size are incorrect. After the order is placed our customer gets an email confirmation with the order details and the order is stored in their order history online. We are also able to transfer the order from the website to our production system electronically so we do not have to worry about human error in the process either.
By the way, in addition to mats, we also sell clearbags and unless you are buying pretty large qty we tend to have lower prices. You will want to check shipping though. We ship out of Dallas and you might live closer to one of the clearbags warehouses. We also ship 10 packs of clearbags in case you have a large size you do not need 100.
Just took a look at Matcutters.com Laughable. They only take phone orders. 21st Century my friends. Get with it. :(
Absolutely not true. You can order precut mats, or custom sizes without calling MatCutter.com. They've had an online system for about three years now. You may be thinking of Dixie Matting, who works much better over the phone.
For the precut mats, click here.
For custom cut, click here.
The only caveat with custom cut is that you have to order at least 30 of one design. In ten years I've never had a problem with MatCutter.com.
That said, I used enjoy my phone conversations with Bing and Nancy, who run the joint. You don't have to communicate via email. You can design your mats using their interactive systems now, and it's pretty efficient. You do want to allow about 2 1/2 weeks lead time for custom cut mats.
You may be thinking of Dixie Matting.
Frame Destination and Redimat are the only two national distributors that I know of that will cut and ship large mats, AFAIK. Dealing with Mark and his company is also very quick and efficient.
Both companies have outstanding customer-focused service.
I always prefer to order mats by phone because my mats are always non standard openings in standard outer mats. The only way to know that the order is to be processed properly is to talk to the person writing the order.
Besides, communicating by phone is much faster than going back and forth by e-mail.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
I use Golden State Art. They have some packages with free shipping.
I would avoid using Matshop.com I just tried to place a small order. They charge a small order fee of $10, plus their shipping charges for orders under $100 are ridic. They have a link that says Free Shipping, but they don't tell you that the minimum order for free shipping is $100. (as of 5/1/13)
I've had great service from Bing at MatCutter.com as well as Mark's company, FrameDestination.com. You cannot go wrong with either company. Redimats is also good, but for me, the shipping takes a bit longer as they are on the West Coast. You do have to allow some lead time for custom cut mats during the busy seasons, especially before the holidays.
Clearbags is a great source for bags, clear plastic boxes and ties. They also sell some matting supplies, but their main business is packaging. I have bought backing board and pre-cut foam core from them in the past.
And as Larry points out, sourcing things separately will save you some money. It's really easy to wreck a clear bag, and if you only have one per mat, then you may be short at the end of your stock. They're inexpensive. Buy extras. You'll want them eventually. Matted images that don't sell need to be rebagged periodically.
I use Golden State Art in San Francisco.
I like goldenstateart.com.
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