A passepartout (also called a mat or a border) does two things to your artwork. It prints the artwork one size smaller than the size you ordered. On most sizes it also recrops the artwork, because the opening in the mat is a different shape from the outer size. This article explains both.

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The size you choose is the size of the print the frame holds. With a passepartout it is the outer size of the mat, and the print inside the mat is one size smaller.

For example, a 50x70 cm frame with a passepartout takes a 50x70 cm mat with a 40x50 cm opening, so the print inside measures 40x50 cm. The frame is built around the mat, so the finished piece measures a little more than 50x70 cm on the wall. Frames up to 50x70 cm, including A4 to A2, add 1.5 cm on each side. A1 and above add 2 cm.

Here is the full list. The last column tells you whether the shape of the print differs from the shape you ordered.

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The border is not the same width on every side. It is whatever is left over once the smaller print sits centred inside the size you ordered. So a portrait size normally has a wider border at the top and bottom than at the sides.

The border width cannot be changed. It follows from the size you order, so there is no setting for a thinner or a wider mat.

If you want a narrow border, for example one centimetre of white around your artwork, do not use the passepartout option. Add that border to your artwork file yourself in your image editor, then order the print without a passepartout. You control the width exactly.

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Your artwork is cropped to fill the shape it is printed at. Without a passepartout, that shape is the size you ordered. With a passepartout, it is the shape of the mat opening instead.

On most sizes those two shapes are different, so the artwork is recropped. It is not the same picture made smaller.

For example, 40x50 cm is a 5:4 shape. Its mat opening is 30x40 cm, which is a 4:3 shape. The artwork is cropped to 4:3, so a slightly different part of it is printed.

Two groups of sizes avoid this completely, because the print inside has exactly the same shape as the size you ordered:

18x24 in also keeps its shape, because its mat opening is 12x16 in.

Tip: if you want a passepartout to change nothing but the size, choose an A size, a square size or 18x24 in.

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A recrop is not automatically a loss. Depending on the shape of your artwork, a passepartout can show more of it than the same size without one.

Take a tall poster drawn on A proportions, which is a very common artwork shape:

So the advice "remove the passepartout to avoid cropping" is not always correct. It depends on your artwork. Check the preview before you order.

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When you set up a product, the preview and the mockups show the crop that will actually be printed, including the mat opening. What you see is what the buyer receives.

On the order page, when the printed shape differs from the size ordered, the preview carries a note such as "Preview shows the 50 x 40 cm print area". That is the real print area, not an error.

For five sizes (A4, A5, 50x50 cm, 100x100 cm and 100x140 cm) the border in the setup preview is drawn on a standard poster shape rather than on your exact size. The printed file always follows the table above.

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You choose the colour of the passepartout when you set up your product. Eleven colours are available: white, black, grey, Freja (a warm off-white), red, orange, yellow, green, teal, light blue and lilac.

Selecting "No border" means the print fills the frame with no mat at all, and the artwork is printed at the full size you ordered.

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You can order a passepartout on an unframed fine art paper print. It works differently from the framed version: the border is printed into the print file instead of being a separate piece of cardboard.

A real passepartout is a cut sheet of cardboard that sits inside the frame and holds the print in place. On its own it cannot be shipped safely or mounted by the customer, so we can only supply a physical passepartout when a frame is included.

When you order a passepartout without a frame, you receive:

The visible artwork is the same size and the same crop either way, and the border has the same width and colour. The only difference is that the border is part of the print rather than a separate piece of cardboard that can be lifted off.

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A passepartout is available on fine art paper prints only. Canvas prints are stretched over a wooden frame, so there is nowhere for a mat to sit.

It cannot be offered on Etsy listings, because Etsy allows only two options per listing and those are already used by size and frame. See "Why passepartout aren't available on Etsy listings".

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If you are unsure which file to upload for your chosen size and passepartout combination, contact us through the contact form. We are happy to check it for you.