RagMat

The digital RagMat Specifier is an easy way to view Crescent’s wide array of RagMat colors. This feature allows you to browse the current RagMat Collections and gives you the opportunity to see which matboard color and product is best for your customer.

Cotton RagMat is Time-tested.

For centuries, cotton rag paper, prized for strength, purity and stability, has been the choice of artists, composers, writers and printers. Today it is specified for currency, stock certificates and government documents.

Cotton rag matboard was designed specifically for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in the late 1920s. Today, virtually all museums and libraries rely on cotton rag matboard, often referred to as museum board.

Crescent’s entire line of cotton RagMat, the industry’s most trusted brand of cotton rag matboard, is still produced following the time-honored practice of making paper from cotton fiber. It’s a Crescent tradition that continues to stand the test of time.

Cotton RagMat is Pure

Cotton is nature’s purest form of cellulose. It is inherently free of lignin, acid and other non-cellulose contaminants found in wood pulp. Cotton fiber pulp is reliable, sturdy and far superior to bleached, chemically processed wood pulp used to produce other conservation boards.

Cotton has a natural, lasting brightness that does not require the high level of bleaching agents typically used to whiten chemically processed wood pulp boards.

Cotton RagMat is Natural

Cotton fiber is naturally free of lignin and acids. It contains no alum and no harsh chemicals. RagMat Museum Solids, RagMat Solids and RagMat meet all of the stringent standards of conservation professionals.

A simple product and a simple process: cotton, water, a calcium carbonate buffer (the only additive approved by the Library of Congress), and hydrogen peroxide to even out the natural color… that’s the recipe for our RagMat products.

Cotton RagMat is Strong

The long flat fibers of natural cotton pulp intertwine, creating a strong, resilient matboard, more durable than bleached chemical wood pulp fiber. Less processing of pure cotton cellulose results in a stronger product and less damage to the environment.

RagMat Museum Solids, RagMat Solids, and the core and backing of RagMat are all made from 100% virgin cotton linter pulp. This assures unequaled cleanliness and purity.

Cotton RagMat is Colorful

Only the finest pigments are used to create the colors of our RagMat products. All of these colorants are designed to meet the highest levels of conservation standards. They are bleed resistant so that no color leaches onto the artwork. They provide maximum fade resistance, meeting the most stringent requirements for light-fastness. They are designed for consistency, avoiding color shifts within a production run.

Although Crescent RagMat products are subjected to strenuous laboratory testing subsequent to manufacture, they have naturally met the toughest test of all: time. RagMat’s properties faithfully adhere to the requirements on conservators in museums and libraries throughout the world.