How To Send A Drawing In The Mail

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Whether you're selling your ain work, assisting a gallery, dealing with an estate or relocating, there are times when shipping art is an unavoidable procedure. Even experienced artists often detect themselves intimidated by the prospect of mailing valuable, unique artwork. Non to worry — a few simple steps will assist you ship your artwork safely, professionally and confidently.^[i]

one
Buy supplies. A few defended supplies will help the process of transporting your artwork go much more than smoothly — especially if you plan on aircraft art frequently. You'll demand:
- Glassine or acrid-gratuitous paper
- Bubble wrap (lots of it)
- Insulated cream or thick cardboard
- Packing tape (high-quality if possible)
- Tape gun
- Artist record
- Cardboard corner protectors
2

Decide an appropriate box size. A practiced rule of thumb is to take nearly two inches of clearance on each side of your artwork. That means adding 4 inches (10cm) for each dimension to get an ideal box size. So if a painting is 16" x 16" 10 ane", an ideal box size would be 20" x 20" x v".^[2]

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3
Buy a box. You can get boxes from shipping companies, or stores similar Staples, Wal-Mart or Dwelling house Depot. You'll desire to utilise a box that'southward pretty close to the platonic size you determined, so don't count on finding a free one lying around.
- Make sure you have at to the lowest degree 1 inch of clearance on all sides. You ultimately desire your package to exist quite snug, and then don't round up likewise much.
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ane

Use broad artist record on framed artwork. Apply record in a star pattern to the frame'south glass. This will ensure that even if your glass breaks during transit, it won't harm the artwork itself.^[three] Four strips covering the length of the piece is usually sufficient. Employ a few more strips for larger pieces — the smaller your uncovered patches of glass are, the improve. Don't worry near this step if your artwork is unframed.
2
Encompass the front with glassine. Cut a sheet of glassine slightly larger than your artwork, such that you lot'll have enough extra on each side to fold over the border (2 inches is typically sufficient). Gently lay your work confront down on the canvass. Fold the glassine up over each border and secure it to the back of your painting with artist tape. Endeavor to tape to the glassine itself rather than the piece, like to souvenir wrapping.^[4]
- For larger pieces, you may have to utilize multiple sheets of glassine. Ensure the entire front of your piece is covered snugly by at least one canvass of glassine.
- Don't worry most covering the back side.
- If yous don't have glassine, whatever acid-free tissue paper should do. In a pinch, y'all can use a garbage purse.^[5]
iii
Sandwich your piece in foam or paper-thin. Cutting 2 sheets of insulated foam or two-ply cardboard slightly larger than your artwork. An inch of actress room on each side is plenty. Sandwich your artwork between these 2 sheets.^{[half dozen]} Record the bottom and sides of the cardboard together so that the foam stays put.
- Information technology'southward possible to skip this step, but it's a good idea if you desire extra protection — specially with framed artwork.
4
Utilize bubble wrap generously. Comprehend your entire piece with ii layers of chimera wrap at the minimum. Use packing tape to secure the wrap. Bubble wrap is your main means of keeping your artwork safe, so be generous. If there is actress wrap on the sides of your artwork, fold information technology over and tape along the edges to provide extra protection.^[7]
- A large curl of chimera wrap makes this procedure much easier. Consider investing in i if you plan to ship artwork frequently.
- Go on the size of your box in heed when deciding how much chimera wrap to use. A snug fit is ideal.
v

Box it. Slide your wrapped artwork into your box. If bachelor, use cardboard corner protectors for added protection. Fill up empty infinite with additional chimera wrap, making sure to eliminate whatever extra infinite in your box.^[eight] You want to ensure that your work won't be billowy around within of your box. When in doubt, add more than chimera wrap.
6

Tape your box. Use high-quality tape and a taping gun if possible. Cover all the seams of your box entirely. If desired, use tape effectually the length and width of your package to add more rigidity. Retrieve of record as your first line of defense force — endeavor not to exit any snags that could potentially tear.^[9]

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1

Double-check the address. Providing an wrong address or using incorrect postage will atomic number 82 to the bundle being returned. This ways extra shipping, increasing the chances for the slice to be damaged. Save yourself some hassle by double-checking everything
ii

Add alert labels. Shipping companies accept dissimilar protocols on how to characterization packages as fragile. It'south a good thought to supplement with your own. Label packages equally "Glass" encourages better handling — mail handlers will be more worried about the item potentially breaking.^[10] Use large, hands noticeable type.^[xi]
3
Decide on a shipping visitor. In that location's no articulate answer on which shipping company is kindest with fragile packages.^[12] You're better off prioritizing cost and convenience when deciding which aircraft company to go with.
- If you're using the US Postal Service, Priority Post costs slightly more than but is much faster than Bundle Post.^[13] You can also consider their flat-charge per unit boxes when their sizes are appropriate.
4

Buy shipping insurance. This is usually a no-brainer for valuable artwork. No matter how careful you are, accidents do happen. Aircraft insurance is almost ever a worthwhile investment.

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If you sell artwork, remember to consider shipping costs when pricing items. Business relationship for all your supplies, the price of postage, insurance, and the time spent packaging.
Don't be discouraged if your first few shipments seem time-consuming. Packaging fragile artwork will go second nature in time.^[xiv]

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Avert touching the painting's surface with bare hands. Use gloves if yous want to be actress conscientious.^[xv]
Avoid packing peanuts. They're more difficult to work with and prone to spilling out of boxes.^[16]

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Commodity Summary X

To post artwork, first find an accordingly sized box. If your artwork has a glass frame, apply at to the lowest degree four strips of tape in a star pattern to avert it breaking and encompass the front and sides with acrid-free paper. Next, sandwich it between foam or cardboard and wrap it generously in bubble wrap. Then, slide your wrapped artwork into your box, and record information technology shut. Finally, add a large, clear alarm label to the box to show that information technology'south fragile and has glass inside. For more tips, such equally how to discover the correct sized box, read on!

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