Acid Free

Paper material with a pH of around 7 are considered  acid-free. Therefore these materials are less likely to harm the artwork over time. Material with pH below 6.5 or above a pH of 8.5 are not considered acid-free.

 Adhesive Transfer Tape (ATG tape)

Used in mounting artwork, backing boards and similar materials where two adhesive surfaces are needed. (Mats to mats, dust cover to frame, etc.

 Backing Board

Backing material which is used to support the artwork.

 Bevel Edge

The inside edge of a mat board that is cut at a 45-degree angle.

 Digital Camera

A camera that captures the photo on an electronic imaging sensor that takes the place of film.

 Double Mat

Technique where the artwork is matted using two separate mat boards, one on top of the other. The amount of the bottom mat you see is determined by the reveal.

 Download, downloading

The process of moving computer data from one location to another. Though the term is normally used to describe the transfer, or downloading, of data from the Internet, it is also used to describe the transfer of photos from a camera memory card to the computer. Example: I downloaded photos to my computer.

Dust Cover

 Paper which is placed on the back of wood frames to protect artwork from dust. Usually made from Kraft paper.

 File

A computer document.

 Foam Core

Stiff, lightweight material used as a backing (mounting) board to give rigidity to the image. Foam makes up the center of the board with a layer of paper on its surfaces.

 JPEG

A standard for compressing image data developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group, hence the name JPEG. JPEG is not a file format, it's a compression method that is used within a file format, such as the EXIF-JPEG format common to digital cameras. It is referred to as a lossy format, which means some quality is lost in achieving JPEG's high compression rates. Usually, if a high-quality, low-compression JPEG setting is chosen on a digital camera, the loss of quality is not detectable to the eye.

 Mat Board

A colored paperboard material used to create a transition from the picture to the frame.  A full sheet of mat board is 32”x40”.

 Mat Opening

The opening cut in a mat in which the image can be viewed.

 Media

Material that information is written to and stored on. Digital photography storage media includes Compact Flash cards and CDs.

 Megabyte (MB)

A measurement of data storage equal to 1024 kilobytes (KB).

 Megapixel

Equal to one million pixels.

 Pixel

Picture Element: digital photographs are comprised of thousands or millions of them; they are the building blocks of a digital photo.

 Profile

The curves and design of a frame. A frame's profile includes the height, width and rabbet. It also comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.

 Rabbet

The inner lip of a frame in which the glass, mats, artwork and backing board are held.

 Rabbet Height

The inside wall of a moulding that is measured from the base of the moulding to the inner underside of the rabbet. This height measurement varies depending on the style of the moulding.

 Rabbet Width

The measurement of the lip which measures from the inside of the rabbet to the outside wall of the lip.