Shipping artwork shouldn’t be difficult or expensive. It should be safe and secure, meaning the artwork you send arrives in just as good a condition as when you packaged it up and handed it over to a courier. To make sure this is the case, you’ll need to pack your artwork properly and choose a reliable courier.
Supplies
To start, you’ll need some basic supplies including scissors, sellotape, packing tape, protective foam sheets, corner protectors, a plastic bag and cardboard (triple-ply).
Packaging your artwork
1. Take apart the frame and remove the glass, wrapping it in protective foam sheets or some other type of insulation to stop it getting broken in transit
2. Use corner protectors on the frame if you have one; they aren’t needed for canvases.
3. Wrap the frame or canvas in a plastic bag and seal with sellotape to protect the picture from damp and dust.
4. Cut protective foam sheets to the correct size to cover your artwork, one on the front and one on the back and held together with packing tape. You can also use bubble wrap if you can’t find foam boards.
5. Surround the package with cardboard (or place in a suitable cardboard box) and seal with more packing tape. If the box is too big for the artwork, consider using some type of additional packaging such as packing chips or bubble wrap. If you are reusing a box or cardboard, make sure that no barcodes or addresses are showing (unless they are ones you need for shipping) to avoid confusion.
Finding a courier
As well as making sure your artwork is correctly packaged, you need to make sure that the company you choose to ship it is the best one for the job and won’t let you down. Ask for recommendations if you don’t have a regular company or search online, looking for local firms such as man and van Slough, who can be found at https://www.uk-tdl.com/man-and-van-slough.html.
Documentation
Depending on the courier you use, you’ll need to make sure you have the correct shipping labels with the information needed to make sure your artwork is delivered when and where you need it to be. And, if the artwork is being sent abroad, you might need customs documents, which your courier can help you complete.
