Mat any photo. Caption optional.
Eight board colours, a real 45° bevel showing the white core, a weighted bottom margin, an optional second board and a handwritten label. The photo stays full-resolution; the mat is cut around it. Nothing uploads. For real frames, grab a proper printer.
Add a paper mat and border to a photo
Cut a bevelled paper mat around a photo for printing, framing or a scrapbook page — the photo keeps its full resolution and the mat is added around it.
What you can change
- Board colour
- Margin
- Bevelled edge
- Weighted bottom
- Second board
- Inner reveal
- Handwritten label
How it works
- 01Drop in a photo, or open one of the samples.
- 02Choose a board colour and margin, then switch on the 45° bevel, the weighted bottom margin, a second board, or a handwritten label.
- 03Download it at full resolution. Nothing is uploaded — the work happens in this browser tab.
Cutting the mat board…
Add a paper mat and border to a photo
Cut a bevelled paper mat around a photo for printing, framing or a scrapbook page — the photo keeps its full resolution and the mat is added around it.
What you can change
- Board colour
- Margin
- Bevelled edge
- Weighted bottom
- Second board
- Inner reveal
- Handwritten label
How it works
- 01Drop in a photo, or open one of the samples.
- 02Choose a board colour and margin, then switch on the 45° bevel, the weighted bottom margin, a second board, or a handwritten label.
- 03Download it at full resolution. Nothing is uploaded — the work happens in this browser tab.
Cutting the mat board…
Six places a frame turns a photo into a piece
- 01 for prints
A matted print ready for an Ikea Ribba
Standard frame matting costs $8 a pop. Cut the mat digitally — cream board, bevelled edge, no label — and the photo prints with the mat already in. Slap into a 4×6 Ribba; it looks like you went to the framer.
- 02 for journals
A kraft-mat photo glued onto a scrapbook page
Kraft board with a clay second reveal around a B&W portrait reads as 'edited spread' instead of 'photo dump'. Add a Caveat caption underneath and you've got a finished scrapbook element to glue onto a journal page.
- 03 for editorial
A magazine-style cream mat with a serif caption
Editorial layouts use generous mats and small captions. Cream mat at 18%, no border, Instrument Serif caption with the photographer's name. The single image suddenly reads as a magazine spread, not an Instagram post.
- 04 for prints to mail
A bordered photo to send with a thank-you note
Mailing a thank-you with a printed photo? A 12% board plus a second reveal plus a handwritten label ('Hawaii, March') turns a snapshot into a piece. Costs the same to print, lands very differently.
- 05 for ig
A square mat that fits IG without cropping
Vertical or horizontal phone photos crop badly to IG square. Run them through this with a wide mat and the photo plus mat reads square — IG no longer crops the subject. Slow scroll, pause-worthy, every face stays in frame.
- 06 for gallery
A consistent mat across a wall of prints
Wall arrangements only work when the photos share a frame language. Same mat color, same width, same caption font across all photos. Print at the same size, hang as a grid. Reads as a curated wall, not a sentimental dumping ground.
Frequently asked
Does the photo upload anywhere? +
No. The mat composites on a canvas in your browser. Your photo never touches our servers — we don't run an image pipeline at all.
How wide should the mat be? +
Editorial print convention is 8-12% of the photo's longest side for portrait/gallery work; up to 25% for that 'lots of breathing room' magazine feel. For scrapbook elements where the photo is dominant, 5-8% reads as 'border', not 'mat'.
Why does the output dimension change with mat width? +
We add the mat to the source dimensions rather than cropping into the photo. So a 4000×3000 photo with a 10% mat becomes ~4400×3400 — the photo stays full-resolution, the mat is added around it. Pure addition, no quality loss.
What does the bevelled edge do? +
A framer cuts the window at 45°, which exposes the white core of the board as a thin bright line around the picture. We draw that bevel with a different light value on each of its four faces, plus the shadow the board throws onto the print. It is the detail that separates a cut mat from a coloured border.
Why is the bottom margin deeper than the top? +
That is called weighting, and conservation framers do it on purpose: with equal margins a picture reads as though it is sliding out of the frame. We add about 30% to the bottom. Turn it off if you want a mathematically even mat.
Can I add captions to the side or top? +
Not in v1 — caption goes underneath the photo. For top or side captions, run the result through Add Text to Photo afterward — drop a caption layer wherever you need it.
How do I match a real mat color? +
Real mat boards are typically off-white, cream, or a few neutral tones (paper, kraft, ink, navy). The eight presets here cover the common ones. For an exact match to a real board, sample its color with the Color Palette tool from a photo of the board, then paste the hex into Custom.
now what?
A few moves after the mat
next →
Add Text to Photo
Add a handwritten caption beneath the mat.
Open
next →
Drop Shadow
Float the matted piece over paper for a portfolio.
Open
next →
Vintage Postcard
Mail the matted print as a postcard.
Open
next →
Polaroid Maker
Try the same photo as a Polaroid instead.
Open
next →
Film Grain
Age the photo before matting.
Open
next →
Social Banner
Crop wide for a banner with the matted feel.
OpenThe rest of this shelf
Photo Strip Maker
Four photos, B&W mode, handwritten caption.
Open
Diptych Maker
Two photos, side-by-side or stacked.
Open
Shape Crop
Circle, heart, star, arch — pick a cookie cutter.
Open
Pinterest Pin Maker
Drop a photo, type a title, pick a layout. 1000×1500 native.
Open
Background Remover
Cut the background out of any photo in one click.
Open
Background Replace
Drop your subject onto paper, gradient, or your own backdrop photo.
OpenPrint and frame the proper way.
Digital mats are the rehearsal. For wall display, print on archival paper, frame in glass, mount with a real mat board. Costs more, lasts longer, looks like a piece.