With over 30 years of experience, Elkat Inc. knows that every great project starts with great materials. That's why we provide the highest quality of materials and service to our customers. With such a wide range of matboard products out there, we know it can be confusing to choose the right one for your art. The Elkat team is always ready to talk to you one-on-one and provide their expertise and guidance to help you choose the right product to fit your needs. We've also provided a few tips and explanations below to help you understand the mats we use and how we cut them.
Feel free to place an order with us at any time using our online order form.
Catalogs
Since we are a wholesale mat company, we do not have our own catalog. If you are interested in what mat styles and colors we provide, download the Berkshire Mat catalog (PDF) or browse the selection of Crescent matboards online.
Want to know more about pricing and mat sizes available? Visit our Pricing & Sizes page.
How Mats Are Cut
Did you ever wonder what process your mats go through to get to you? Here's how the good folks at Elkat do it...
Almost every mat board is shipped to our facility in a 32" x 40" size board, even though we can accommodate cuts up to 40" x 60" boards.
- We sort out your colors and sizes, then shear down the outside of the boards accordingly.
- All mats are sorted by size, color, tops and bottoms (if you ordered doubles) and then labeled with your specific window opening.
- We input your mats and the opening sizes into our system* and cut the window using our Spirit mat cutters.
- Each mat is inspected to make sure they meet our highest standard of quality. They are then wrapped in non-stain Kraft paper and boxed up for shipping. All mats are boxed up carefully and securely to ensure they arrive at your doorstep in pristine condition.
Types of Mats Available
Elkat Inc. offers a wide variety of mat boards. To help you choose which product would be best for your project, here's a quick overview of our products.
Crescent Decorative & Berkshire Standard
Decorative mat board with light cream core. Provides an unrivaled range of colors and textures while affording additional protection for traditional, non-conservation framing.
- Components: decorative facing paper, light cream pulp core and backing paper, surface, core and backing paper buffered with calcium carbonate to alkaline reserve of 3-5%.
- Recommended For: Non-conservation decorative framing and general presentations, open-end reproductions, posters, decorative art
Crescent White Core SRM & Berkshire White Core
- Non-conservation white core mat boards provide the aesthetic and design benefits of a bright white bevel
- Components: decorative facing paper, stay-white core and backing paper, surface, core and backing paper buffered with calcium carbonate to alkaline reserve of 3-5%
- Recommended For: Non-conservation decorative framing and general presentations, open-end reproductions, posters, decorative art
Crescent Select
- Crescent Select mat boards are made of alpha-cellulose (wood pulp) fibers that have been chemically treated to eliminate the acids and lignins that can degrade mats and artwork over time. Alpha-cellulose boards are suiteable for minimum levels of conservation framing and as an alternative to non-conservation matting.
- Components: conservation grade surface papers for optimum bleed and fade resistance, facing papers meet minimum standards for fade and bleed as set by Fine Art Care and Treatment Standards (FACTS) and the Fine Art Trade Guilde (FATG), 100% virgin alpha-cellulose surface, core and backing papers, pH 8.5-9.5, buffered with calcium carbonate to an alkaline reserve of 3-5%
- Recommended For: Fine art prints, limited editions, valuable documents, photography
Crescent Rag Mat
- Cotton rag mats are the only mounting and matting board guaranteed safe next to any artwork. The quality of cotton rag mat is simply unsurpassed and is the nature choice when the highest levels of protection are required. Naturally acide and lignin free. Cotton rag mats are processed without harsh chemicals or additives and are a renewable natural resource.
- Components: 100% cotton fiber, acid-free and speck-free. pH 7.0-7.5, thickness available in 2-ply, 4-ply, 6-ply, or 8-ply.
- Recommended For: interleaving in storage, additional protection for non-conservation framing, fine art prints, limited editions, valuable documents, photographs