How do you organize mat cutout pieces?

[ahohen1]

;) After i cut a mat, if the size of the fallout is smaller than 21 x 26 i cut it to a standard size. MY standard sizes are 8 x 10, 8 1/2 x 11, 9 x 12, 10 x 13, 11 x 14, 12 x 15, 12 x 16, 13 x 17, 14 x 18, 15 x 19, 16 x 20, 17 x 21, 18 x 24, 19 x 24, 19 x 25, 20 x 24, 20 x 25. I then write the mat number on it and slide it in it's place on a storage counter near my mat cutter. If i need, for example, a matboard 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 i look there first for a 10 x 13 mat. If none, then an 11 x 14, then a 12 x 15, then, etc. However, when i cut a new sheet, if the remaining piece of a sheet is wider than 19", i leave as is an put it in another place. By organizing in this fashion, it is very easy to find what i am looking for.
I have seen a couple of shops that just throw it in a box... they have a box full and dread looking for a color. :smiley:

How do you organize mat cutout pieces?

[Cliff Wilson]

All mats go in the same racks. No smaller than 11" on the shortest side gets saved.

All mats are in numerical order with the number in the upper left hand corner on the back. Each number is stored smallest to largest. I don't cut the "leftovers" smaller, but store them as they are left.

When I need a piece say 13 1/2" on the short side, I look to the number and hold a yardstick up against the boards. Take the one next size bigger.

All in one place, no time spent cutting and very little time spent looking.

[FrameMakers]

I don't trim them to standard sizes. They are all kept in numerical order in the top 2 rows. The full sheets are in the bottom row. We don't save anything under 12" on the short side. If they are under they go in a box for schools, and when we have time we cut them in to 8x10 readymats with 4x6 or 5x7 openings.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/columbusframer/IMG_1911.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/columbusframer/DSCN0002.jpg
If you add a measuring tape to the side you dont need to use a ruler. These are just brown tape and sharpie marker.

PS this is a real photo, not gussied up for show. (like you couldn't tell that from the photo) :)

[Bill Henry-]

I simply “square” up the fallout regardless of size by cutting about 3/16” from each of the beveled edges, pencil in the color number, and return it to the bin from which it came. I don’t worry about cutting them to a “standard” size ‘cause IMO there ain’t no such thing when you’re looking for a 13 x 21 blank for your next project.

[Paul N]

What Bill said.

[danny boy]

Ditto. Ditto. Ditto.

[Richard Darling]

I don't even take the time to square the beveled edges. Seems like a waste, because I'm only going to have to cut the mat to size later anyway. Of course, thumbing through all the knife-sharp edges to find the piece I'm looking for can be a little dicey.

[RoboFramer]

I'm one of the 'just throw them in a box'!

I'm not an organised person.

I have two tote boxes, one for neutrals, one for the rest, if they fit in it, they go in it, when it gets full they are sorted into approx sizes and sold in clear bags in 10s. If they are thin and long they get put on a shelf under the mat cutter and used for slip mats and making fillets (etc) flush, if they are smaller than A4 (about 8x12") they get ditched.

For smaller frames, the mat colour I want is never there - ever!

They are used mostly for needlework lacing and the odd mad ready-made day.

[artfolio]

I sort my Rag and Whitecore matts in separate bins in alphabetical order. I never did understand why people use numbers, apart from ordering. Like the rest of you, I only keep pieces larger that 300 x 300 and give my scraps to the local school.

One thing I find useful is to keep my fallouts from A4 certificates by the Wizard. They are all the same size and ideal for calibrating the machine and/or experimenting with various templates..

[MacGyver]

Cliff said it best: "All in one place, no time spent cutting and very little time spent looking". I have blunt cuts in my fingers to show for it. :D

[EllenAtHowards]

I do the color number thing, the small-to-large thing too, but I also pencil in the whole number of the size. This either comes from the inside dimension (penciled in while the Wizard cuts... I hate to waste time!) or from the cutoff (measured on the scale of the Fletcher 2100, our trimmer upper). That saves lots more time when hunting a scrap.

But to each his (or her) own...

[FramerDave]

For those of you who organize their boards by color, how do you find the mat you need when working on orders? Every POS I know of lists the mats by number. Some also list the color, but it's whatever the manufacturer decides to call it. For instance, what color is seawall? Would you look in grey, blue, green...?

IMHO it's a waste of time to trim leftovers down to standard sizes. How often do you need a standard size in custom framing? And it would chap my butt to find I came up 1/2" short in the board I need because I had trimmed it to a standard size.

[Jay H]

Ok, I'll be the first to be honest. I take the fallout and stuff it in my mat bin. I know where it goes by where I have have room the cram it. On tuesday, when I place my order, I sit in the floor with my order form and a specifier and filter through the mess of fallouts. Occationally I get to scratch out a mat on my orderform.

[Rick Granick]

I bring the mat samples to the back room with the artwork when preparing to store it. I take the sample to the areas where stock or leftover/fallouts are stored and see if we have a match big enough. If not, it goes right on the order sheet. If we have it, I cut it to size and store it along with the artwork, or in a special storage area if it's too big to go with the art. Stock/leftover/fallouts are stored sorted by color within sections based on type of board (fabric, textured, solid color, black or color core).
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick

[Tom Stephenson]

In step with Bill Henry and Paul N. However, that 1/4" to 3/16" that I trim from the drops, I cut into 4 to 5 inch sticks. I cut them diaginally to create two pointed ends.

I use these guys constantly for things like spreading glue evenly when joining frames. I use them to dab paint or rub n' buff. Or a crumber after lunch.

Maximum yeild makes me feel good.

Tom...

[Elaine]

I have bins filed by number that has larger than 16x20, I cut all other down into standard 11x14, 8x10 - these are available for sale to fit my Furst Brothers standard frames and they sell for $7, $5 per blank for regular AF boards and $9 and $7 for specialty (suede, etc.) and I'll throw it on the wizard for nothing. It's for the quick,easy, cheap frame jobs. They have to choose from those blanks for that price.

I always check the bins for the mats & sizes before ordering - it has helped a lot with minimizing amount of storage space needed for matboards. If I have it, it goes in a separate bin with the customers name written on the back.

Can you say profit,profit, profit!

Customers, artists love them

Elaine

[Bogframe]

We just put the dropours and leftover back in the slot where the full sheet came from. It just makes finding a piece of whatever color easier and promotes sanity in the shop.

[Maryann]

We used to file by color, then by number. Switched over to by number only and it's much quicker to file and to find a mat. I don't normally file anything smaller than a 16 X 20. If it's smaller, it goes into a pile to be cut into a ready made size.

When we do our order on Tuesday morning, I just check the rack by number. It is not unusual to have 75% of the mats that I need already in stock, rarely do I order more than half on my list. Our system has saved us a fortune......when I pull a mat, it's found money that falls straight to the bottom line. If you don't have some kind of a system, you're throwing money away.

[Gumbo Girl]

Least favorite chore, try and do what Rick does, in the moment...if time...

They're sorted by number now, with smaller than 16 x 20 in a sep. bin. I used to cut down to standard sizes, and will still do that if I'm adding to the sell as is bin, but like FDave said, it makes me cuh-razy to find I'm a smidge short on a pc. I need!

I've seen the "save every little scrap" mentality, and the ruthless, "taking up too much valuable space, trash it" attitude in diff. shops. Storing/sorting scrap mat really comes down to what you're willing to manage, and what you're willing to part with. ($$,time)

Sorting by color, as FDave said, becomes tricky and time consuming when pulling materials for a job. For me, anyway.