Museum Quality Conservation Matboard | RagMat Museum by Crescent Cardboard

Museums and Galleries

Cotton RagMat Museum matboard is the natural choice when the highest levels of protection are required. For over 1500 years cotton has been both the courier and curator of history. Priceless documents such as the Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare’s first folio, and the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights exist today because they were printed or penned on cotton paper. The time-honored practice of making matboard with cotton paper is still employed by Crescent today. It is rich in tradition, requiring time, skill and great attention to detail.

The quality of cotton RagMat is simply unsurpassed, it is preferred by preservationists and museums worldwide and has been trusted by artists and historians for centuries and now it is available only to the art and framing professional. Trust cotton when preserving valuable art originals, limited edition prints or any artwork that demands the best matting available.

Crescent’s RagMat Museum matboards are 100% cotton, acid-free and lignin-free. Solid color throughout. Special surface sizing for French Matting and art media.

RagMat Museum products meet all of the stringent standards of the Library of Congress, Fine Art Trade Guild, PPFA and other respected governing authorities. Each RagMat Museum board features 100% cotton construction ensuring that only the safest materials come in contact with the artwork.

The time-honored practice of making paper from cotton fiber is still employed by Crescent today to produce its RagMat® Museum Boards. It’s a Crescent tradition that continues to stand the test of time.

Fine Art Trade Guild

RagMat Museum Solids (Unbuffered)
Museum matting and mounting board 100% cotton, acid-free and lignin-free. Solid color throughout. For photographs and textiles requiring a low alkaline environment.

RagMat Cotton Mounting Boards
When mounting and matting valuable artwork, it is important to complete the conservation package by protecting the artwork on both sides. That is why Crescent offers the most complete collection of 100% cotton mounting boards in the industry. Available in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, and in the most useable colors, Crescent RagMat cotton mounting boards are versatile enough to satisfy any conservation mounting need.

For over 115 years, Crescent has produced the highest quality artist substrates and 100% cotton museum quality matting and mounting boards. Each RagMat Museum board is specifically designed for the display and protection of artwork. Trust Crescent’s Museum quality products when matting and presenting valuable art originals or items of historical importance.

RagMat

Furnish:
RagMat Museum is made of 100% virgin cotton-cellulose fiber, which meets the most stringent standards for stability and permanence. Tests conducted in accordance with TAPPI Method T-236 om-85 indicate the board to be completely free of groundwood and lignin.

Purity:
Board will be free of metal particles, waxes, residual bleach, peroxide, or other impurities that could lead to the degradation of the board or adjunct artwork. Reducible Sulphur less than 0.0008 % (TAPPI T 406). Item and Copper content less than 150 ppm and 6 ppm respectively (TAPPI T 266).

pH Value:
All buffered RagMat Museum boards will have
an alkaline pH between 7.5 – 9.0.
All unbuffered RagMat Museum boards will have
a neutral pH between 7.0 – 7.5

(TAPPI Method T-509 om-88 cold extraction on slurried pulp.)

Fade Resistance:
Fade resistance established using a Xenon Fadometer in accordance with ASTM D3424. RagMat Museum colors will exhibit less than 1.0 DE color shift when measured with a spectrophotometer.

Bleed Resistance:
No visible bleed after 48-hour submersion using method Tappi T475

Compatibility with Photographs:
All RagMat Museum Boards must pass the Photographic Activity Test (PAT ISO 14523-1999 / ANSO/APM IT9.16-1994). Certifications available upon request.

Sizing & Adhesives:
Inert, water-based alkaline adhesives are only used to adhere Ragmat Museum components. Only alkaline sizing – never alum – is used on the surface

RagMat Museum adheres to the following:
1. Fine Art Trade Guild Museum Board Standard
2. PPFA Class 1 Standard: