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Sizing Images for Virtual Framing and Printing

by Adrienne Cleveland (all rights reserved)

If you need your virtually-framed and/or matted images to be an exact size for printing, such as 8 x 10 inches, we can help.

  1. The Easy Way

    1. Crop your processed, unframed image to the correct size: for example, 8 x 10.
    2. Add your matte and/or frame.
    3. Resize your image to be close to 8 x 10. Your image won't be in an exact 8 x 10 ratio: it might be 8 x 9.774 or 8.185 x 10. This may be close enough, depending on your situation. If you need it to be exactly 8 x 10, you can uncheck the "Constrain Proportions" box in your "Image Size" window when you resize, and then set the width and height to exactly 8 x 10. This will alter the proportions of your image slightly, but may not be noticeable, depending on the image.

  2. The Exact Way, Method 1

    If you want to mat an image to a particular size, we have some mat actions that will let you do that easily:
    • AC's U-Size Mats (for Photoshop or Elements)
    • The "ExtraWide" actions in AC's Big Special Chiseled Mats for Photoshop.
    • ChiseledU-CropMat (from AC's Big Frames for Photoshop)
    • ChiseledU-CropMatTextured (from AC's Big Frames for Photoshop)

    Mat Only

    To use one of these actions, size your image as you like, of course making it smaller than you want the final, matted image to be. When you run one of the actions, it will stop for you to input the size you want your matted image to be.

    Mat and Frame

    If you want to both mat *and* frame your image, and you need to control both the size of the unmatted image and the matted, framed image:
    1. Size the image the way you want it. Write down the dimensions of the image.
    2. Temporarily frame the unmatted image with the frame you intend to use.
    3. Now write down the new dimensions of the image. The difference between the old size and the new size is the width and height of the frame itself. This tells you how much smaller your mat should be than the final matted and framed image.
    4. Now remove the frame.
    5. Mat the image, making it the size you want the framed, matted image to be, minus the size that will be taken up by the frame (calculated in step 3 above).
    6. Add the frame.

  3. The Exact Way, Method 2

    If you need your image to be an exact size, such as 8 x 10, and you don't want to distort it at all, and you don't have one of the actions listed in Method 1, there is math involved. However, we have a calculator and step by step instructions to help you.