Photoshop Frames and Mats

Choosing a Shutterfreaks Virtual Frame or Mat Action for Photoshop

by Adrienne Cleveland

Having trouble deciding which actions to buy? We can help.

The Easiest Way to Mat and Frame your Images to a Specific Size for Printing

EZ Print Mats and Frames You tell the action what size you want the matted and framed image to be, and that's the size you get. In addition, we provide you with the ability to change/tweak your mat, background, and frame colors after creating them. Our Chameleon Technology preserves the mat and frame layers, so you can change the colors at any time in the future. If you don't need to control the exact size of your finished image, you may prefer AC's Big Frames, which run faster, because they require no input from you other than choosing your colors.

Frames and Mats
Action Set	Features (an "X" means the action supports a feature)
	Frames	Mats with Gray Cores	Mats with Colored Cores	Use on high-resolution images (for printing)	Create web-sized images by downsizing framed/matted images	Use on images that are already web-sized	Completely Automated	Create asymmetrical mats	Completely control mat or frame size	Chameleon Technology
Chameleon Mats and Frames You are in complete control of mat and frame size and appearance. Chameleon Technology	X	X	X	Yes, but our EZ Print Mats and Frames are better for printing.		X (fast)	To allow you maximum control of the appearance of your mats and frames, the actions stop for your input.	X	X	X
EZPrint Mats and Frames Frames and mats for printing, with "Chameleon Technology". If you need to print to exact size, these are the actions you want. You are in complete control of mat and frame size and appearance.	X	X	X	X	X (slower)		To allow you maximum control of the appearance of your mats and frames, the actions stop for your input.		X	X
Woodgrain Frames Woodgrain frames with mitered corners and "Chameleon Technology." You are in complete control of frame size and appearance.	X			X		X (fast)	To allow you maximum control of the appearance of your frames, the actions stop for your input.		X	X
AC's Big Frames Frames and mats for high-resolution images.	X	X		X	X (slower)		X		The U-Crop mats in this set let you specify the size when you run the action. The other actions offer a choice of preset widths that can be altered by editing the action.
AC's Flexible Frames Frames and mats for web-sized images. These actions do not work well on high-resolution images.	X	X				X (fast)	X		These actions offer a choice of preset widths that can be altered by editing the actions.
Freestyle Mats and Frames If you want to create oval mats and frames, or if you want to mat collages, these are the actions you want	X		X	X	X (slower)	X (fast)		X	X
Luminous Frames	X	Simple (non-chiseled) mats only		X		X (fast)			X
Mats Only
Action Set	Features
	Frames	Mats with Gray Cores	Mats with Colored Cores	Use on high-resolution images (for printing)	Create web-sized images by downsizing matted images	Use on images that are already web-sized	Completely automated	Create asymmetrical mats	Completely control mat size	Chameleon Technology
Rick's Photo Mattes Rick's Photo Mattes actions are unique. They create normal, lightened, or darkened transparent mats in any shape you want. No frame actions are included.		Transparent cores		X	X (slower)	X (fast)	Yes, after making a manual selection to define the shape of the mat.	X	Yes, up to the size of the image itself.
AC's Big Special Chiseled Mats AC's Big Special Chiseled Mats create cores with colors similar to the actual mat color, or you can choose your own core color. No frame actions are included.		X	X	X	X (slower)		X	X	X
AC's Special Chiseled Mats AC's Special Chiseled Mats create cores with colors similar to the actual mat color, or you can choose your own core color. These actions work well on web-sized images, but not on high-resolution images. No frame actions are included.		X	X			X (fast)	X	X	X
AC's U-Size Mats This is a very flexible mat action set, putting you in complete control of the size and appearance of your mats, and the position of your image. The trade-off is that the actions ask for your input, rather than being completely automated.		X	X	X	X (slower)	X (fast)		X	X

Chameleon Technology

Actions using Chameleon Technology leave all mat and frame layers intact, and provide "Tweak" actions that enable you to change colors after matting or framing.

If you save your image file with all layers intact, you can change colors the next time you open the file.

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