Glossary → Mat opening
Mat opening.
the window cut in a mat board, smaller than the print it frames
The window cut in a mat board, which is the part of a framed print anyone actually sees. It is cut smaller than the print so the mat can hold the paper: Printify lists a 10.5 × 13.5 inch opening for an 11 × 14 inch print, and Level Frames overlaps each edge by 1/4 inch on customer artwork, or by 1/16 inch on photos it prints itself. That overlap is the part sellers forget. A design composed edge to edge for the print size loses a strip on every side behind the mat, and a border, a signature or a caption placed at the edge goes first. The fix belongs in the file, a margin at least as wide as the overlap, because once the print is under glass the only remedy is a new print or a new mat.
Where this matters: Wall decor › Framed prints