What makes the best picture framing mount cutter?

The best picture framing mount cutter should cut every type and thickness of mountboard with precise accuracy. It must provide consistent results on large or small mounts and enable you to work quickly and efficiently with minimum wastage. The cutting process should require the slightest physical effort, and the cutter must be simple and instinctive to use.

Keencut’s first ever products were for the picture framer. We began trading in 1982 when our founder invented a new type of oval and circle cutter for the picture framing industry. The product’s success led Keencut to produce a completely new design of straight-line mount cutters. Our pioneering designs, use of technology, and high build quality transformed equipment in the picture framing industry. Within a few years, Keencut was the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of picture framing mount cutters.

We have used our experience to help you choose the best mount cutter for your picture framing service.

The best mount cutter should provide 10 things:

Precision guaranteed accuracy
Totally stable clamping
The versatility to cut a wide variety of materials
Fast and safe production of perfect mounts
Simple, intuitive operation
Base machine, squaring arm, margin guide and lift & hold included as standard
Durable, reliable performance with little maintenance
Calibrated and ready to use out of the box
Longevity with a strong return on investment
The ability to undertake basic and sophisticated framing techniques

What you need to know

It sounds obvious, but the best mount cutter should create the perfect mount every time. Repeatable precision is vital. The professional picture framer needs quick and precise mount cutting. You need robust and exact mountboard placement to be confident of cutting boards accurately with 90° corners. There should also be no sideways movement of the cutting head and check that this can be achieved without the need for constant adjustment.

Accurate cuts and corners depend upon precise calibration. A one-piece aluminium base and solid steel lifting arms give a robust foundation on which to work. The ruler guides and micro-adjustments must be precisely calibrated, and tasks such as eliminating over or undercuts should be fast and simple.

The cutter should easily switch from cutting thin mountboard to thick, and, irrespective of the depth, the blade should move smoothly with minimum user effort. You also need to be safe. Check how easy it is to change the blades or alter blade depth on your mount cutter. The cutting tool should also be comfortable in your hand to avoid undue strain on your wrist and fingers when cutting the thickest, toughest conservation board.

Check that you can have both hands free for cutting, one to operate the start of cut gauge and the other to drive the cutting head. You should not have to hold down a side handle to clamp the board in place when you cut. You should also be able to have both hands free for adjusting the board.

As the picture framer’s key tool, the mount cutter must be robust. Reliability and durability are essential. We pride ourselves that Keencut mount cutters are still in daily use after 10 and even 20 years.

What the Ultimat Futura brings to the table

We have used all our experience to develop the Keencut Ultimat Futura as the benchmark for picture framing mount cutters. It has become the popular choice for framing professionals around the world and is proven in busy commercial workshops.

With the Ultimat Futura’s guaranteed accuracy, ruler guides and micro-adjustment stops, the picture framer will achieve perfect precision. Its unequalled blade control and micro-stop calibration create a faultless mount bevel and exact corners. The smooth sliding action requires minimum effort – you do not need extra elbow power or a steady hand to cut your mount. The switchable, magnetic blade holders make changing the blades for different depths of cut a simple and fast process.

The instant clip-on/clip-off right squaring arm with repetition stop is provided to accurately size all mountboards from 90cm (36”) down to 4cm (1.5”), and optional board supports are available to clip onto the base to hold large boards flat and square.

The Ultimat Futura’s unique roller lift and hold system frees your hands so that you can precisely position the mountboard. All sizes of mountboard are clamped firmly but without damage to ensure the stability required for accurate cutting. The smooth self-adjusting bearings mean that it is easier to cut and more robust than other mount cutters on the market. There is no necessity for repeated adjustments and hardly any maintenance required. It’s also calibrated ready straight out of the box and is provided with a 5-year guarantee.

You can read about all the features of the Ultimat Futura here, and if you have any questions for our experts about mount cutters, please send an email to [email protected].