While modern manufacturing techniques have allowed for the purifying of wood fibres into alpha cellulose (the highest form of fibre purity), matboards made of cotton still remain the choice for many framers of fine art. Fine art prints on cotton papers have remained vibrant and intact for centuries proving cotton’s benefits. For this reason many museums and framers feel that cotton is not only a time-honoured tradition, but provides the comfort and assurance that matted artwork will be preserved for future generations.
Double-thick matboards have become a popular design trend in the framing industry. The deep bevel of a double-thick board reveals and extra thick core and lends a dramatic effect to almost any piece. Hampton Photo Arts now offers Peterboro double-thick mats in both whitecore and conservation quality with many in oversize. Like those used in museums or galleries for exclusive presentations, these double thick boards will offer artwork that distinctive gallery effect and impact.
Unique free flowing organic designs are intended to give the look of a hand-embellished matboard. It is silk screened in gentle patterns that reflect current trends in faux finishing. This range has been created to reflect the subtle textures and colors of the world we live in.
Silk screened on our fully buffered White Core matboard
Peterboro Conservation is truly Hampton Photo Arts flagship product and represents the best value in conservation matboards.
SOME KEY FACTS ABOUT PETERBORO CONSERVATION
1. The Core The use of high grade Alpha Cellulose as the main ingredient in the conservation core. Alpha Cellulose can be distilled from cotton or wood, the higher the Alpha Cellulose content the higher the purity of the board. The Peterboro Company specify that the Peterboro Conservation core must have more than 90% Alpha Cellulose, industry specifications call for no less then 84 %.
The attractive changes in color and texture, characteristic of suede, add a new dimension to matting. Whether it is used in shadowboxes, photos, art or precious heirlooms, suede will always add a touch of elegance.
This board is a high quality designer suede with a dense, luxurious flock mounted on an extra thick bright conservation core. Colors and the soft embossing that creates the look and feel of brushed suede are even throughout the matboard and perfectly consistent from run to run.
Peterboro Black Core Custom Mats are designed with a deep, rich, black core. At times when a white bevel is distracting, Peterboro Black Core can allow the viewer's eye to focus on the art and not the bright bevel. Black Core mats may also be used to give an extra element of design without the use of a second mat and are especially effective when v-grooves are used.
Peterboro Black Core Mats are made with a buffered surface paper, a black core with a proprietary retention chemistry to minimize rub off. Dark Grey, non transferring conservation grade backing paper is used to provide a seamless visual appearance.
These custom mats are ideally suited to Black and White Photography, Prints, Awards, Memorabilia or any other art that is enhanced by a dark accent line.
Peterboro Black Core mats come in 22 colors and are available at Hampton Photo Arts.
Peterboro Custom White Core Mats are a high quality mat designed for those who want the impact of a bright white bevel that will not discolor but do not require the qualities or price of conservation matboard. With a range of over 145 colors available at Hampton Photo Arts. Peterboro Custom White Core Mats will help you meet all your designing challenges.
What makes Peterboro White Core Custom Mats different?
It has a unique construction with each component buffered to a pH of 8.2 +/-0.5% and containing a minimum 3% reserve of calcium carbonate to provide years of stability.
The Surface Paper is made of the same high quality papers found on the Peterboro Conservation Mats. The surface paper is buffered and lignin free. It has a high strength quality to minimize surface tearing during cutting.
The core is pure white and has been buffered against acids to ensure bright white bevels and v groves for years to come.
The backing paper is buffered acid free with a tensile profile that keeps the board flat.
The Peterboro White Core Mat line has one of the highest specifications in the market. The result is a superior custom mat that will stand the test of time, resisting the effects of acid degradation and remaining bright.
Peterboro custom mats are buffered acid free with a pulp based cream core. They are available at Hampton Photo Arts in over 120 colors, textures and designer finishes and comes in both standard and giant size formats.
What makes Peterboro custom mats different?
Over 75 % of the Peterboro matboards use our conservation grade surface paper which guards against color bleed and fading.
Peterboro custom mats are pulp based mats and are intended for decorative purposes only. While they are buffered and neutralized at the time of manufacture, they will not remain this way and should not be considered acid free.
Printing on canvas is incredibly versatile and a great way to create a ready-to-hang image or artwork. Every canvas that we print is protected with a UV coated acrylic finish to guard the print from dust, moisture and fading. Do you want your canvas stretched on bars or non-stretched? Framed or unframed? Customize the work to make it truly your own.
Nowadays just about anyone can take a good quality photographs with a digital camera. Or take a few hundred pictures and the chances are few will be good, and even one or two outstanding.
Here are a few tips, tricks and techniques on how to make art print poster ready photographs and print ready digital files. Don’t get overwhelmed, there is a lot of information here, but a lot of it is just intuitive. Well, a bit of patience will always help.
First thing – Photo Size
If you taking a digital photo of you family or friend the largest size you would print is usually 5 by 7 inches, maybe 8 by 10 at the most. Even small size digital photographs (2MB or less) are ‘good enough’ to create a decent print. But if you want to create prints that are 16 by 20, 20 by 24 inches or larger you need more pixels (in pixels 20 by 24 inches photo is actually about 40 times larger than 3 by 4 inches photo assuming they have the same resolution).
Watercolor is an easy, fun medium for creating art. Color theory, composition and design can be explored freely with watercolor paint, paper, and brushes. Several techniques may be used with watercolors for varying effects including painting wet on wet, wet on dry, layering washes, and more.
Watercolor paper comes in cold press, hot press, and rough. Rough paper has the most texture, and its hills and valleys can result in interesting effects when paint is added. Hot press is the smoothest and has the finest texture. Cold press has a moderate amount of texture and is the paper most commonly chosen by watercolor artists.
Watercolor paper comes in several weights ranging from 90 lb. to 300 lb. based on the pounds per ream of paper. Most artists prefer to use at least 140 lb. paper. Papers vary somewhat between manufacturers, so sampling different papers is advisable. Paper can be purchased in pads, in blocks or in large sheets. The large sheets are usually the most economical and can be torn into whatever size is desired.
Custom Framing 
While modern manufacturing techniques have allowed for the purifying of wood fibres into alpha cellulose (the highest form of fibre purity), matboards made of cotton still remain the choice for many framers of fine art. Fine art prints on cotton papers have remained vibrant and intact for centuries proving cotton’s benefits. For this reason many museums and framers feel that cotton is not only a time-honoured tradition, but provides the comfort and assurance that matted artwork will be preserved for future generations.
Double-thick matboards have become a popular design trend in the framing industry. The deep bevel of a double-thick board reveals and extra thick core and lends a dramatic effect to almost any piece. Hampton Photo Arts now offers Peterboro double-thick mats in both 
Unique free flowing organic designs are intended to give the look of a hand-embellished matboard. It is silk screened in gentle patterns that reflect current trends in faux finishing. This range has been created to reflect the subtle textures and colors of the world we live in.
Peterboro Conservation is truly Hampton Photo Arts flagship product and represents the best value in conservation matboards. 
The attractive changes in color and texture, characteristic of suede, add a new dimension to matting. Whether it is used in shadowboxes, photos, art or precious heirlooms, suede will always add a touch of elegance. 
Peterboro Black Core Custom Mats are designed with a deep, rich, black core. At times when a white bevel is distracting, Peterboro Black Core can allow the viewer's eye to focus on the art and not the bright bevel. Black Core mats may also be used to give an extra element of design without the use of a second mat and are especially effective when v-grooves are used.
Peterboro Custom White Core Mats are a high quality mat designed for those who want the impact of a bright white bevel that will not discolor but do not require the qualities or price of conservation matboard. With a range of over 145 colors available at Hampton Photo Arts. 
Peterboro custom mats are buffered acid free with a pulp based cream core. They are available at Hampton Photo Arts in over 120 colors, textures and designer finishes and comes in both standard and giant size formats.