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On another topic markw wrote: ...the cutting characteristics for some boards can be very different - for instance the artcare Alphamount will not cut cleanly on my CMC unless i have a fairly new blade in the head - on almost any other board I would get clean cuts for ages.
We standardised on Daler Conservation around 12 years ago and have always been happy with the blade life when cutting this board. However, because of recent colour changes in this line, I have been looking at alternatives - but Mark has just reminded me that I should consider blade life.
I hate having the work flow interrupted by blade changes, and, all other things being equal, would prefer a board that cuts cleanly for a long time on a single blade.
On another topic markw wrote: ...the cutting characteristics for some boards can be very different - for instance the artcare Alphamount will not cut cleanly on my CMC unless i have a fairly new blade in the head - on almost any other board I would get clean cuts for ages.
Alphamat cuts very well with my CMC blades (I can get about 60 to 80 mats from a blade) and has always cut well on my Speedmat too. I have not tried cutting Alphamount in any matcutter as it is designed as a backing not a mat/mount!
Most of the Artcare boards cut without problems and I can get very good blade life from them - But, one or two are awful - with the front edge of the board cutting very poorly. This problem is obviously resolved by replacing the blade and in reality is only a problem when the blade is getting towards the end of its time - but would have quite a few cuts left on another board.
Sadly CMCs have such specialised blades that you can only use blades made by the CMC manufacturer.
Despite the problem with a few boards I still rate Artcare as the best board available apart from a couple of niggles:
The boards are wrapped in thin polythene bags - they are impossible to store or handle without damaging the bags - then the boards.
Too many boards in the smaller US size - this can cause major fit of temper when I cant quite get the number of mounts required out of the piddly small board - I try and only stock standard uk size boards.
markw wrote:
The boards are wrapped in thin polythene bags - they are impossible to store or handle without damaging the bags - then the boards.
Mark,
I have no idea what you are doing that causes damage to the mats. I store all my Alphamat in a rack standing on edge, without the plastic bag and have never experienced any damage to them.
What size are "standard UK size boards"?
I never worry about how much I can get out of each sheet as my pricing covers the cost of the entire sheet if only a 10 x 8 mat is used from it. It's rare to cut tmats that small anyway.
Osgood
Standard size 815mm x 1200mm
smaller US size Artcare as sold in UK - 810mm 1010mm.
I price as you do - minimum mount size covers cost of board - but you have to take into account that for every additional mount cut - your profit has increased.
Not having a CMC, but instead an original Keencut Ultimat (not the Ultimat Gold), I have tried various blades and boards. So far I think I have found a reasonable combination, I would still say there is much room for improvement and a few questions un-anwered regarding the factors which affect board cutting qualities.
Blades
In my experience the Keencut blades they cut very well and I use them more than anything else, but you have to clean them before using to avoid leaving a grey coloured mark on the bevel when inserting the blade at the start of the cut.
In my experience the Fletcher blades don't leave the same grey mark, but don't last anything like as long and from time to time I find the tip of the corner missing after a few cuts on the odd blade, but not always.
I have tried Personna, but they seem to lose their edge as soon as you start using them.
Boards.
I have a micrometer in my workshop and I find that not all boards are the thickness you expect. I tend to wonder if some boards which appear to cut better than others are only so because they are thinner and may in fact have similar density and blade wearing qualities as a material as the thicker boards.
My stock includes some of most makes for historical reasons, but I mainly use Bainbridge which I think is excellent and I am currently upgrading as I reorder from Whitecore to Artcare, both of which cut very well. Cresent seems very similar and is particularly useful for matching thread colours in embroided items.
I also stock some Daler Whitecore which also cut reasonably well, but can cause slight hooks if the blade is not absolutely new. The Daler flannels and pale speckles are particularly useful and look fantastic with V-grooves. I find Colourmount is very similar in cutting qualities to Daler. I use a few their lighter neutral colours, mostly in the Simons Key value range for mounting stuff to flog to the tourists, where price is important.
I don't find Arqadia boards easy to cut. They are clearly denser than most and always seem to need a new blade each mount, but to give them their due - the alfa-cellulose boards are the business for wash-linning and decorating, perhaps even more so than the Bainbridge Vellum boards.
If I honest my main concerns are with the quality of the blades far more than the mount board and easier more foolproof ways of cleaning the Keencut blades before use. BTW has anyone every tried the C & H blades to see if they are any better?
Cheers,
Mark
i get about twice the blade life on slater harrison white core/conservation board as i do on arquadia white core/conservation board, in Wizard CMC, if this is any help.
Slaters also seems very easy and soft to cut by hand, and a lot less paper-cuts from sharp bevels lol.
I love slaters board, and just wish they would ditch standard/neutral ph board altogether. imho its lovely board to work with but neutral ph has had its day as far as customers are concerned and we'd sell a lot more slaters if our customers hadn't become educated and assume that Arquadi is the benchmark for conservation (which i guess was a very shrewd mnarketing move of theirs by ditching neutral boards. Nice one.)
Arquadia board is great as well, but the slightly smaller sheet sizes make more of a cost/waste difference than you ralise with a CMC.
i get about twice the blade life on slater harrison white core/conservation board as i do on arquadia white core/conservation board, in Wizard CMC, if this is any help.
Slaters also seems very easy and soft to cut by hand, and a lot less paper-cuts from sharp bevels lol.
I love slaters board, and just wish they would ditch standard/neutral ph board altogether. imho its lovely board to work with but neutral ph has had its day as far as customers are concerned and we'd sell a lot more slaters if our customers hadn't become educated and assume that Arquadi is the benchmark for conservation (which i guess was a very shrewd mnarketing move of theirs by ditching neutral boards. Nice one.)
Arquadia board is great as well, but the slightly smaller sheet sizes make more of a cost/waste difference than you ralise with a CMC.
