Make the measurements
make sense.
Start with what you have: a sheet, a frame or a detail you cannot afford to hide. Each guide answers a different decision.
Choose your starting point.
If you have the artwork, measure the actual sheet first. If you already have a frame, identify the component space before using its size. If the signature sits in the white margin, check visibility before settling on coverage.
Ready to ask for a cut? Keep exact window and board outside dimensions separate. Double layers and preservation materials add questions that a single rectangle cannot answer.
- Measure physical paper
- Choose coverage & protect details
- Plan exact window & outside board
- Confirm physical fit and supplier interpretation
Three measurements answer three different questions. Record them separately before choosing a frame.
The answer depends on what you are measuring and how the supplier defines the order size.
A paper margin can contain information you want to see. Treat it as part of the layout.
Start with the space for the components, then test the window and borders.
Centered and bottom-weighted layouts are design choices, not universal correctness rules.
Turn your measurements into a note a supplier can confirm without guessing what “size” means.
The smaller opening controls visibility; the reveal describes the strip of the lower mat that you see.
A useful size plan also identifies what the layers are for—and what their labels cannot prove.
Three ways to test a plan.
Planner reconciles paper, window and board. Visibility check tests a protected rectangle. Compare board sizes tests a set of outside dimensions against your own border preference. None is an inventory search, cutting approval or preservation assessment.