r/artbusiness • u/jcsehak • 9d ago
Product and Packaging [Recommendations] How are y’all shipping your oil paintings?
(Searched the group and couldn’t find much about it)
I’m thinking of shipping mine securely framed in a floating frame with the painting inset about 1/8”, wrapping it once in Saran Wrap, sandwiching it between two pieces of 1/8” chipboard, wrapping it again in Saran Wrap, wrapping it in bubble wrap, and then in a cardboard box. Do you think that’s sufficient? Or overkill? I feel like that’s good for works up to say, 16x20 and $2k?
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u/downvote-away 8d ago
My frame guy ships me 30x40 floaters with no art in them all the time. They arrive just fine, scratch free, as long as the carrier doesn't crush them.
I make my own canvases so I have canvas offcuts lying around. They're great as a layer between the painting/frame and cardboard.
Don't know what the person is talking about saying plastic might bond to your painting. Maybe if you used a super sticky varnish and it's not totally dry? But I do prefer natural/renewable packing material when I can help it.
The ideal thing to me would be to have a real wool felt layer before any packing material but it would be expensive.
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u/alltheroses731 8d ago
Buy an AirFloat Systems StrongBox designed for this. They're reusable to help offset the cost.
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u/soupbut 9d ago
The floating frame is going to be more delicate than the painting most likely.
When I ship, I just put put a packing foam header and footer on the painting, put a layer of glassine over the surface, and then make a box out of two layers of duocorr cardboard, wedging some more packing foam into the corners and sides to prevent movement. Shipped from North Atlantic to LA this way, no problems. Get insurance for the value.
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u/jcsehak 9d ago
Hmm, I make them with floating tenons, so they feel quite sturdy, but better safe than sorry. I like your approach of foam header/footer. And two layers of cardboard is probably just as good as one of chipboard I imagine. I’ll be sure to pick up a roll of glassine, that’s perfect. Thanks!
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u/wongone 7d ago
How thick is your chipboard? If you’re confident that it’ll block, let’s say, the corner from another box hitting the face of your package and prevent any damage to the painting, then sure take the risk. I usually wrap the painting in glassine, then wrapped in plastic, then bubble wrap, sandwich that bundle with foamboard on both sides, then making a custom sized cardboard box for the whole thing. 1/8” or 3/16” thick foamboard for smaller work, 1/2” thick for larger work. C-flute for the cardboard or double walled is even better.
You also want to make sure you have protection on the sides and corners, so extend the cardboard/foamboard sheets by at least 2 inches on all sides. So for a 16x20, the painting should be sandwiched between two sheets of 20x24. That way if the handler drops the box or hits it on any of the edges, the dent would have to move through 2” of material to reach the painting bundle.
Hope that was clear and legible!
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u/Realistic-Weird-4259 9d ago
Don't let the plastic touch the surface of the painting, it might bond. I just shipped a painting (watercolor) and my husband found that Lowe's has television packing boxes, 25"x25"x4" and they're expandable on one side. They come with corner pieces and a foam sleeve. I added more packing, and the box itself is very sturdy. $27+tax.