Working with people to create designs, I sometimes connect with customers that do not seem to understand why our products are priced the way they are.  This tells me that some people do not understand the value of what we are offering.  Here’s a quick example to think about.  When you go  to a store and look for a calendar, you may be able to buy one for as little as one dollar.  The reason you can do this is because the manufacturer of that calendar has mass produced the product hoping to sell enough copies of the same thing to recover the cost of their investment, and make a profit from the work.  This principle is at work for many kinds of different products.  A person creates a single product line, then replicates sales to customers as many times as possible.  What makes our work special is that we provide a single unique custom product design for each of our customers.  You do not have to search forever through endless templates to plug your photos into, nor a generic calendar designed to add your photos.   With our digital matting, calendars, awards, plaques, greetings, and other designs, we start with your naked photos, then build the product we will sell to you from scratch.  In general, this is done for $3 per image, which is about the same price you pay to print a copy of your picture in a discount store.  We think that giving you a truly custom design may turn out to be crazy on our part, but for now, we are offering this exceptional value to give you a chance to see what a difference our service can make in giving you greater enjoyment from your digital pictures and the way you display them. 

Most of the postings on this site are made up from my own photos as a way to give you an idea of some product possibilities rather than providing a strict template for how your work will be completed.  As we move forward, we may find that our approach needs to change, and shift our focus toward mass sales of replicated designs.  So, what is so special about our work?  The answer is the truly unique approach we use in custom designs from your photos.  You are invited to give this special service a try.  I think you will be glad you did.

Matte watch offers a variety of items made from your photos and mine, including digital matting, inspirational and humorous plaques, awards, custom promotional, commemorative photo treatments, digital greeting cards, and digital calendars designed for your digital picture frame, computer wallpapers, or for you to create graphical prints and wall hangings.  The question is why?  My answer is that I have found a lot of enjoyment in the creative effort, and if I make a few bucks doing it, that is all right as well.  I offer you the variety because you should have a way to make your photos come alive, and allow them to please you beyond the original memories they invoke.  You may ask, “If I buy one of your photo treatments, can I resell them for myself?”  If you purchase one of my personal photo treatment images, I hold the copyright on those, so I would ask that you only purchase them for your enjoyment.  If you purchase images made from your photos, you can do as you wish in selling or republishing them, as long as you do not claim copyrights to the matting design enhancements, thus using only the image as a whole in going forward with your own plans.  Whew!  Now, on with my next personal offering.

 In the next series, I have created an idea for a multi purpose template design which can be used in a variety of ways that my next few articles will demonstrate.  Though this will have a limited scope, it may work well for a variety of picture types.  The following creation makes a nice matted image for display.

Digital Photo Matting

This matted photo of flowers is an eye popper.

While thinking about inspirational themes, I quickly came upon a subject for the photo plaque presented below.  In an indirect way, the idea provides some solace for those who are experiencing difficulties in their lives, and may seem to be alone in their anguish.  This message reminds me that during such times, we are not the first to experience what we are going through, and others have struggled through similar circumstances to emerge victorious.  Struggles diminish us, but also strengthen our resolve to see them pass.  For a higher resolution look at the image, click on the picture.

Inspirational Plaques

Keep your encouragement close with inspirations from Matte Watch.

People take pictures to preserve the memories of important occasions, precious moments, events, places, family, friends, and a host of other reasons.  Some images are lost in obscurity over time, some are classic, and others become lasting impressions of times gone by.  No matter how good or bad a picture turns out to be, it is kept for reasons often forgotten.  When your photo is important enough to become a keepsake, it is also important enough to commemorate.  Depending on the subject of the pictures, the emotion, memory, and details about the shots can range from elaborate and deep, to simple identifiers to preserve reminders of when and where they were taken.  For my own part, if there is not enough meaning to remember a photo, there is not enough reason to keep it.  For the photos that mean the most, I have a number of ways to help you commemorate and showcase the personal thoughts associated with them, in a fashion that gives them the valued treatments they deserve.

The first example shows one technique for providing a photo commemorative.  With a rich combination of matting techniques and prose, the photo is elevated to a level that tells the viewer that this is an important image.  Do you want to take all your photos to this level?  I think not, but everyone has a few special memories that deserve to be preserved at this level of attention.

Photo, prose, matting tell the complete story of your images.

The next commemorative example is a step down from the first.  Certainly, the matting treatment gives the picture a boost over plain display, but the added description which identifies the date, location, and subject of the shot help to enhance and identify the purpose behind it.

Showcase even simple compositions with meaningful commemorations

The third commemoration provides a matted photo with a simple label to remind the owner when and where the photo was taken, notated directly on the digital matting.  This is a nice alternative to scratching out a hand written note on the back of a nice print.

Labels on matted photos provide succinct history

In the final example, the photo itself is altered to reflect a thought or mood for the scene, coupled with another matte label.  All these treatments work well for a digital picture frame display, or as a computer screen wallpaper. 

Special effects, matting and labels convey mood, impression and intent for special photos

Share your memories with friends and family by commemorating the occasions you want to remember.  What can I do to help you give your pictures the kind of appreciation they deserve?

My first design for this week provides a bright mixture of colors and textured accents to get you in the mood for the fall season.  I decided to use this design as my own screen wallpaper for the month.  With enough space to add events and company logos, this would be a good basic promotional calendar design for just about any business to capture the attention of customers who are ready to see something memorable from your business.

Calendars make great desktop accents.

The second offering of the week is a brightly colored calendar cube design that has enough punch to satisfy any calendar buying enthusiast.  I like to use this kind of design in my digital picture frame to add dimension and flair to any room in the house.  This calendar page is tempting to keep on hand after the month has passed.  It is also good for posting event information in a simulated metallic etching, all at no extra cost per image.

Who says calendars have to be boring? Not me...

If you like green marble texture, the third calendar for this week will appeal to your senses along with the embedded matted photo accent which further enriches the image.  This composition might go well with marble counter tops or other marble design accents around the house.  Using virtual materials makes it easy and affordable to look rich on a working person’s salary.

Virtual elegance can be yours now.

The last calendar for the month uses metallic accents to enrich the fall photo theme, through a blend of textured copper and brass coloring in a simple, yet elegant design.  This type of calendar design also lends well to promotional calendar purposes, adding snap and value to events, advertising, and company logo impressions.  All these digital designs carry the added value of being produced once, then replicated as many times as needed for no extra cost or effort.  Just get a page and send it to all your customers or friends via email or by loading them directly into a digital picture frame.  By spreading the electronic images, there are no mailing or printing costs to make a big hit.  Where else can you get designs like these for so little?

Beef up your promotional reach for less than a song...

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This month, a new presentation idea was created that we thought was worth sharing with our audience.  Spinning off from our digital awards ideas, a new category of digital design led to the creation of decorative plaques.  The humorous design that follows was the most interesting we have seen so far, but there is plenty of room for growth along the lines of this method for using digital photography, matting and other digital design techniques.

This decorative design draws attention in more ways than one.

A lot of humorous ideas have been showcased on the site, because we have a penchant for comedy.  In addition to the lighthearted material, this digital method can also be used to produce encouraging results like inspirational themes, sentimental compositions, and other depth pieces with a broad range of personal appeal.

Because of the rich, subtle colors in these designs, our work is best viewed in a digital picture frame or screen wallpaper format, but can also be printed and framed conventionally as well.  When people ask about producing hard copies of the work, it is important to remember that printing most digital photos can result in stepping down in resolution values and variations in color due to the capabilities of the printing equipment.  Often, the differences are not enough to discourage printing the end results.

If you would like us to design some material for you to own or resell, send us an email and open a dialog with us for bringing your ideas and digital creations to life. At this price and quality, our offer to matte your photos, create calendar pages, or other digital creations cannot last forever.  Can we design an original for you today?

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This week in creating and presenting digital awards, a contractor reported using one of our award designs to make a tongue-in-cheek presentation to a co-worker at a client site. Leaving out the names of those who pulled off this act, the idea was to present a very nice looking Certificate of Merit for maintaining focus despite changing project directives and ongoing customer whimsy.

The crafted award was presented to the recipient via email, and everyone got a good laugh about the humorous and elaborate looking presentation.  Later on, the same person later received a legitimate award from her manager in recognition for ten years service with the company.  In a side conversation, the contractor whispered, “Let me know if that award is as good as the one you got earlier…”  More laughs followed and the honored employee responded, “OK, I will…that one was awesome!”

If your organization is looking for ways to boost recognition, or just lighten the load with a few laughs, you might want to consider the benefit of creating your memorable moments from digital designs.  Rich looking designs add attention getting details that are expensive to produce in real materials.  Another example of a valuable virtual award comes from a former member of Toastmasters International.  While attending meetings and honing their speaking skills, the person suggested that the local club should trade in the plastic trophy they passed around each week, and award an inexpensive “virtual” award that could be produced and presented with the winning weekly speaker’s name and the date written on the plaque.  This provided a way to recognize top speakers and give them something they could keep to commemorate their performances.

People appreciate receiving the level of recognition an award presentation represents, even if it is done for no other reason than to create a few laughs.  Digital techniques make it possible to offer recognition more often and regularly than waiting for a ten year work anniversary to roll around.  Who do you want to recognize with your own award presentations?  Consider letting us help you get it done right.

Comical or genuine; awards get attention.