The Framers Forum

is there an industry standard for the pricing of v grooves or other mount decorations ?
keith

Dont think there are any industry-wide general charges for any aspect of the job-
But we genarally charge from £1 extra for a v groove, on a smaller mount. or from 1.50 per corner decoration on the cmc for stock design.

in reality if the customer wants it they'll pay whetever your charge is within reason, if they dont want it they wont have it even if its free, so no point in offering extras too cheap

We generally charge double the cut price for a V groove (my arguement is the blade goes around the same shape twice).

For intricate or 'different' designs we charge between £1.25 and £5 depending on the difficulty rating or the amount of cuts making up a collective 'shape'.

Caz.

We add 25% to the cost of the mount or £1, whichever is greater. Not having a CMC, I think about the slight risk that something may go wrong and so I like to make sure I still come out on top. In general this pricing seems to fit customers expectations and is well received.

I push it a lot on multiple aperture mounts. The selling point being that it improves the presentation and ties all the apertures together. The hook line being that it can't be added later and must be decided on before cutting the mount. An easy way of getting extra mileage out of multi-aperture mounts.

I don't remember the last time I did a 'V' groove ........... or saw one!

I'd actually have to be asked for it, would never offer it now - used to though. Have they gone out of fashion or have I just set my own trends, and do I give one!

They are only effective on dark mounts and 90%+ of mine (Customers' choice or mine) are neutrals; on these an embossed line is more effective, or subtle than a 'V' groove IMHO. (I know there are coloured core boards)

But if I did one I'd charge the same as I would for an extra mount.

If it's just a basic exposed groove around a square aperture in a dark mount, I don't see the point much. But if you want an offset, celtic - whatever thingy, that's different. CMC please!

I do lots of vee grooves on single mats. It adds another line which helps to draw the eye inward and looks better than a single plain mat on a lot of stuff.

They give a quite subtle appearance on a light coloured mat with the shadows that are provided in the vee groove. I prefer them to embossed lines.

They are certainly not out of fashion down here! My charge is about half the cost of another mat!

I think they work well on white and off white mounts too. The effect is subtile, classy and draws the eye into the picture, while being very minimalist in so far that the mount remains uniform in colour. It's that interesting difference between how much light falls on each side of a V groove that does it for me.

Well, the question is 'how much' - and a favourite term of mine ... minefield of a question - there is no right answer to the question.

More than willing to go for it under a new thread on mount decoration though.

God I hate 'V' grooves - just so 'Hey Mum - look what Santa brought me - a friggin' mountcutter!"


(Sorry)

(NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

CMC makes V grooves so easy that they don't become an issue. The V groove can be a good method of drawing in the eye to the image - and in some circumstances works as well as a double mount.

Although easy they require a very sharp blade to give clean corners - a tired blade will not cut clean enough - so there's always a cost implication that must be covered. My pricing varies with the size of mount, but minimum charge would be £1.50.