How to pack and ship a painting

Today, many of us sell paintings on the Internet. It’s a great opportunity, but there are a few constraints, such as shipping the paintings.

I’ll show you how to make a sturdy package that’s perfect for shipping your paintings.

 

How to pack a painting, mistakes not to be made

Over the last few years, I’ve shipped several hundred paintings and made a lot of mistakes, especially when I was starting out.

Here are the mistakes you shouldn’t make when shipping your paintings:

• I was using cardboard boxes of the wrong size
• I was using cardboard that was much too thin
• I was doing my parcels wrong
• I didn’t protect my paintings very well

 

As a result, my first parcels arrived in poor condition. It could happen that my paintings arrived with holes in them…

What you need to pack a painting

I’m going to share with you my method for packing my paintings.

To do this, I use the following equipment:

• Bubble wrap
• Cardboard sheets
• A cutter
• Scissors
• My communication materials
• The painting and its certificate of authenticity
• A ruler and writing utensils

 

Step 1: Check that your painting is ready to be packed

In my case, I make sure that my painting is completely ready for shipment, the painting must be :

• Signed and countersigned
• There must be no paint defects on either the canvas or the edges.
• The finish must be perfect and the painting must have several coats of varnish.
• Keys must be in place on the chassis

Here are a few articles that may be of interest to you:

• How to paint the edges of a picture
• How to sign a painting
• How to use chassis keys

Step 2: Wrapping and protecting the painting

Your parcel will be traveling, perhaps several hundred or even thousands of kilometers.

And it has to be said, delivery drivers aren’t always very careful…

A painting is fragile: so you need to make sure your parcel is sturdy and your painting well protected.

To do this:

• Wrap your painting in one or more layers of bubble wrap
• Use an adhesive strip that’s not too sticky to hold the bubble wrap in place. This will make it easier for your buyer to open the package.

 

Step 3: Accompany your painting with a few communication tools

It’s important to show the buyer that you are a professional painter and that you take your work very seriously.

For this, I always put the following documents with the table:

• A certificate of authenticity, attesting that I am the author of the work.
• A business card
• A small brochure
• And possibly a word of thanks

Step 4: Create a custom package for your painting

At the outset, it always seems complicated to pack a painting, since there are so many different formats, and it’s rarely possible to find a ready-to-use cardboard box that will fit all painting formats.

The cardboard I use to pack my paintings

In order to be able to make parcels for any size of painting, and to have a custom-made parcel so that the painting doesn’t wander around inside. I use cardboard sheets.

Click here to discover my article on how to find free cardboard

Alternatives

If you’re on a budget, you can also buy picture, frame or flat-screen boxes. They’re suitable for certain formats, but are rather expensive (around €10).

Tailor-made parcel design

I take a sheet of cardboard, double fluted, and I proceed as follows:

• I measure the height/thickness of my painting and add a few centimeters (in my case 4cm).
• I draw all the marks I need to cut and fold my cardboard (see the video to find out more).
• I cut out unnecessary pieces of cardboard

 

Finally, use your adhesive to seal all the parts of your parcel and make it watertight (yes, you never know what might happen!).

How do I ship your painting?

In my case, I always send my paintings by Colissimo. This has several advantages:

• Send my paintings worldwide
• The price is very attractive compared to other delivery companies
• Tracking number, insurance, etc.

The only problem is that you’re limited on parcel sizes.

What about you?

Share your experience of sending us your paintings by commenting at the bottom of the page. Thanks in advance!