I think it depends what you are using it for.
I would go w/rollin pin for fondant, gumpaste or candy clay. And mats for BC frostings and such, although you can use the masts for fondant, gumpaste and cc too. the mats are just harder for me to use w/fondant if the size is much bigger than the mat (which usually is).
hope that makes sense and helps.
Kat
I agree with Kat. When I have used the mats on fondant, it was harder to get the impression that I wanted; whereas the rolling pin was much easier. The only disadvantage for m is that the design will be on the top of the cake too, if you use fondant.
I've used both.
Geraldine Randlesome sells impression mats instead of pins. She recommends that you spray the back of the mat with a Pam type spray and then wipe 99% of it off. Roll the fondant out to very near the final thickness. Make sure that the fondant moves very freely on the place where you're rolling it or you won't be able to get it back up later. Press the mat into the fondant and then roll over it, 1/3 at a time until the design comes up level with the cut-outs of the mat. You can then apply luster dust or petal dust to just the raised portions. Pick up the fondant while it's still attached to the mat and lay it over the cake. Gently peel the mat from the fondant and apply to the cake as usual. You get very minimal distortion of the pattern this way.
With rollers, since you have to pick up the already patterned fondant, you risk a lot of distortion on very large pieces. Also, with deeply patterned pins, they sometimes grip the fondant so strongly that it's hard to roll in one even motion.
I'm leaning toward the rollers for most things for several reasons--ease of storage and cleaning (the mats are huge and messy when oil coated) and permanence--the finer detailed mats have bits and pieces that can be bent and even torn off if not careful.
HTH
Rae
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