How to Pack Your Artwork for Shipping
How to Pack Your Artwork for Shipping
Packaging your masterpiece thoroughly is key to avoid possible damage during transport. Start to organise the packaging as soon as you are given notice of your sold artwork.
Gather all the material you’ll need. Always be certain that your painting is totally dry before packing it—sometimes paint can appear dry when it’s not. Since drying time depends on such factors as the type and brand of paint, the drying mediums used (if any), the paint colors, etc., you must research the correct drying time for the specific supplies you’ve used.
Our insurance will NOT cover damage to paintings as a result of shipping before the paint was completely dry.
Many artists apply fixatives (dry media) or varnishes (wet media) to the finished artwork to better preserve it and prevent smudging.
Below you will find instructions for how to pack paintings:
Smaller than 120 x 120 cm
Equal or larger than 120 x 120 cm (must be shipped in a wooden crate)
Larger than 180 x 180 cm (must be shipped in a tube)
Smaller than 120 x 120 cm
You will need:
A large, flat, clean work surface
Packing tape (pack gun recommended)
Scissors or cutter
Artist tape (like masking tape but it’s acid free and easily removable)
Measuring tape
Glassine paper or acid-free archival tissue paper (a paper that is water and grease-resistant, and it’s not going to stick to the surface of your painting)
Plastic sheeting, poly wrap, or heavy plastic bag
Big bubble wrap roll
3 foam boards at least 1.5 cm thick or two-ply cardboard
Cardboard corner protectors
Cardboard box
Now, make sure your hands are clean (you can also choose to wear thin cotton gloves) and let’s start packing your art.
Step 1
Put your painting face down on the glassine, leaving enough room to wrap around the edges.
Don’t use packing tape, only artist tape here!
Tape all of the longest edges first (as when wrapping a present)
Try to tape onto the glassine itself (the less tape that actually goes onto a piece, the better)
Step 2
Place the back of your wrapped painting on a sheet of foam board (or two-ply cardboard) the same size or slightly larger than the painting.
Tape the board only onto the glassine paper with your artist tape.
Step 3
Now wrap the artwork with plastic sheeting/poly wrap or put it inside a heavy plastic bag to protect from moisture. Use tape to seal all areas where water can enter and cause damage.
Step 4
Place the surface of your painting face-down against the flat side of the bubble wrap and wrap it at least two or three times, or more if you think it’s necessary (e.g. if your painting has a textured surface). Wrap it thoroughly with tape as if you were wrapping a gift. Push down on wrap before folding the edges, to leave extra padding on the sides of the piece.
Step 5
Place cardboard corner protectors on the corners of the wrapped artwork.
Step 6
Place the wrapped artwork between 2 pieces of foam board that are at least 1.5 cm thick (or two-ply cardboard), forming a “sandwich.” Also, the borders of the foam board sheets should extend 7 - 8 cm beyond all edges of the bubble-wrapped artwork. Use packing tape to bind the foam board sandwich together. Be certain the sides are taped down firmly to ensure that the artwork doesn’t shift around within, but don’t apply too much pressure to the surface of your artwork or you could damage the canvas.
Step 7
Place the foam board-covered painting into a cardboard box with approximately 8 cm of space on all sides. Fill the empty space with enough bubble wrap to ensure that the artwork doesn’t shift during transit.
NOTE: don’t use foam peanuts to fill the spaces, if the box is damaged during transit, the peanuts will spill out of any hole in the box and your work may get damaged as well.
Step 8
Close the box using the H-taping method, that consists in using long strips of packing tap to completely close the opening flaps of the box: one long strip to close them horizontally, and two more across (or more, as needed), forming an “H”. Add more strips as you think are needed to reinforce the sealing of the box.
Step 9
Attach the packing label (s) to the large side of the box, and put clear tape over them so they don’t get removed during transport. Using a thick black marker, write “FRAGILE” in large capital letters, or use ready-made “FRAGILE” labels.
Source: Widewalls
Equal or larger than 120 x 120 cm
You will need:
A large, flat, clean work surface
Packing tape (pack gun recommended)
Scissors or cutter
Artist tape (like masking tape but it’s acid free and easily removable)
Measuring tape
Glassine paper or acid-free archival tissue paper (a paper that is water and grease-resistant, and it’s not going to stick to the surface of your painting)
Plastic sheeting, poly wrap, or heavy plastic bag
Big bubble wrap roll
Cardboard corner protectors
Wooden crate
Now, make sure your hands are clean (you can also choose to wear thin cotton gloves) and let’s start packing your art.
Step 1
Put your painting face down on the glassine, leaving enough room to wrap around the edges.
Don’t use packing tape, only artist tape here!
Tape all of the longest edges first (as when wrapping a present)
Try to tape onto the glassine itself (the less tape that actually goes onto a piece, the better)
Step 2
Place the back of your wrapped painting on a sheet of foam board (or two-ply cardboard) the same size or slightly larger than the painting.
Tape the board only onto the glassine paper with your artist tape.
Step 3
Now wrap the artwork with plastic sheeting/poly wrap or put it inside a heavy plastic bag to protect from moisture. Use tape to seal all areas where water can enter and cause damage.
Step 4
Place the surface of your painting face-down against the flat side of the bubble wrap and wrap it at least three times, or more if you think it’s necessary (e.g. if your painting has a textured surface). Wrap it thoroughly with tape as if you were wrapping a gift. Push down on wrap before folding the edges, to leave extra padding on the sides of the piece.
Step 5
Place cardboard corner protectors on the corners of the wrapped artwork.
Step 6
Place your wrapped artwork inside your fine art shipping crate.
Step 7
Attach the packing label (s) to the large side of the box, and put clear tape over them so they don’t get removed during transport.
Useful Tips
Choosing the right size of your crate:
The size of your crate must match that of your pre-wrapped artwork (wrapped according to the instructions given for your particular work). Take note of the height, width and depth of the wrapped piece. Once the artwork is inside the crate, there shouldn’t be any room for movement.
Important indications to place on the crate:
.Usually fine art shipping crates already include a big “FRAGILE” label on them; if yours doesn’t, make sure to mark it clearly.
Also, make sure it’s clearly indicated which panel is the removable lid. If it’s not already there, write “UNSCREW THIS SIDE ONLY” so the collector knows which panel to remove. If needed, feel free to write on the crate any instructions (using a black marker pen) that you think are necessary and will help the collector to easily remove the lid
Larger than 180 X 180 CM
These paintings must be taken off its stretch bars; rolled, and shipped in a heavy duty mailing tube large enough to hold your artwork. Make absolutely certain that your painting is completely dry before attempting to roll it.
You will need:
A large, flat, clean work surface
Glassine paper or acid-free archival tissue paper (a paper that is water and grease-resistant, and it’s not going to stick to the surface of your painting)
Heavy-duty mailing tube with plastic end caps large enough to hold your artwork
Diameter: at least 20 cm wide. If your artwork is very long, it will be thicker when rolled; so aim for a tube from 10 to 15 cm wider than your rolled painting
Length: at least 10 cm longer than the shortest side of your artwork
A second tube of smaller diameter for inner support
Bubble wrap
Artist tape
Scissors or cutter
Now, make sure your hands are clean (you can also choose to wear thin cotton gloves) and let’s start packing your art!
Step 1
Sandwich your artwork between two layers of glassine paper or acid-free archival tissue paper, cut to be at least 5 cm larger than your artwork on all sides.
NOTE: If you are shipping artworks on paper, then place your piece with the image side face-up on your archival paper so that the image is facing you and the back of the paper is against the surface. This includes: drawings, prints and watercolors. By placing these face-up on the paper, you will be rolling them “face in”, protecting the image.
Works on fabric-based materials (canvas, linen, etc.) should be placed face-down on the glassine paper: the painted part should be directly touching the glassine. This is because the materials are on top of the works, and run a huge risk of cracking/breaking if rolled facing inward. By rolling them “face out”, if the works crack in transit, the process of unrolling the work will help close the cracks, as opposed to worsening them.
Step 2
Now roll the paper covered artwork carefully. Start by taking the ends of your work and pulling them over creating a soft arch. Do not roll tightly, as this can damage the artwork, and never fold the edges of your work to begin your roll! The artwork should be rolled evenly, with no folds down the inside or outside of the roll. If you start to see folding, stop rolling, release your work, and roll more loosely.
Here, you’ll have to exercise your own judgment by feeling the resistance of your materials. Light materials with light media can be rolled more tightly than thick media on thick grounds. For example, an acrylic wash on linen can be rolled more tightly than impasto on canvas.
Step 3
Tape the roll closed with artist tape, folding over one end of the tape to create a tab for easy removal
Step 4
Lay out your bubble wrap with the bubbles facing out (this will create extra friction within the tube to keep the work in place) and make sure you have enough bubble wrap to fill the space between the tube’s inner walls and your work. We suggest to not cut the bubble wrap until the end of this step. .
Photo by Martin Bailey Now place your rolled artwork on top of the bubble wrap and begin rolling. You should leave a few centimetres bubble wrap at the top and bottom of the roll.
Keep an eye on your tube while you roll, making sure that you will be able to fit everything inside. Once you have enough wrapping around your roll to fit snugly in the tube, you can cut the bubble wrap.
Tape along the lengthwise edge of the bubble wrap sealing the whole package closed. Lastly, fold those extra centimetres bubble wrap you left at the top and bottom of the roll and tape them closed to create extra cushioning on the edges of your roll.
Step 5
Place your roll inside the mailing tube, it should be easy to slide it in. The roll should be snug enough that it doesn’t move when you shake the package, but shouldn’t be too snug that you can’t slide an open hand in to remove the work.
Remember that if you have trouble getting it in the tube, it will be troublesome to get it out too, and that can damage the artwork.
Fill extra space at the ends with extra bubble wrap.
Step 6
Place the end caps on and seal them shut with packing tape by creating a “star” and a “circle”. For the star: cross the tape over the top and edges in an asterisk formation. For the circle: wrap the tape around the sides so that the “star” tape won’t peel up easily.
NOTE: Do not use tape alone to seal your tube, alway use a cap!
Step 7
Attach the shipping label to the package and put clear tape over it, so it doesn’t get removed during shipment. Clearly mark the tube as “FRAGILE”.
Comments
Post a Comment