OUR SPECIALTY SHIPPING METHOD

How we ship art and you can too!

Welcome to the procedure we have found to be easy and inexpensive to use for shipping flat art here in the USA. If you are outside the US, you may have similar materials at your home building and craft/art stores. Here is what you are going to need.

Box cutter or knife similar to one shown in picture. I recommend the kind that have the break-off blades. As you cut the foam, the blade will dull. You will get more for your money if you break off a section every once in awhile instead of tossing a whole blade. Also, if the blade is dull, it will tear the foam and I always want as smooth as possible surface.
Straight edge. A ruler or some form of marking the cutting line and then guiding the knife blade straight. I happen to have a metal 4' measure. I recommend either a wood ruler with a metal edge or similar. You will be guiding the sharp blade along the tool so it is easy to cut into it.
Marker of some kind. Anything works from a pencil to a pen or thin magic marker.
Double-sided tape. You want the thin type. Some are cushioned or plastic and you do not want that. I use a tape that is 2" wide. I buy it either on Amazon or some office supply stores. Plug: I use "Best 2" Ultra-Thin Permanent Double-Sided Tape for Arts" by AJ Sign World on Amazon. It is 164feet/$15.60
Packing tape. Here is a plug for Scotch Sure Start Packing Tape. It is like the tape you can buy at the store but better. It does not rip and drive you craze trying to pick at it with your nails and ripping it more. If you buy a 6-pack through Amazon, it is about a dollar a roll. (last time I bought it) (The US postal service sells something similar at their counter if you only want one roll and not order from the big A.)
Foamular insulating sheeting from Home Depot or other similar stores. This comes in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets. It also comes in 1/2", 1" and 2" thicknesses. (some places may have a 1 1/2") If you are like me, getting a 4x8 home is kind of hard. I even have a SUV. So I take my box knife and when I get it out to the car, I measure the opening and then cut it to fit that opening. Yep, some is wasted but can't be helped. You might use it on your next shipment anyway.
Thin white foam craft board. I have found them at Michaels, Walmart and Dollar Tree Stores. Appox. 20" x 30" May vary a little from place to place. Dollar Tree and Walmart have the best price but they have a tendency to be out of stock a lot. I used the white foam board on this example here. It works fine to use on the art's top and bottom on artwork that is 24x36 and smaller. If it is larger, I recommend using the Foamular all around, sides, top and bottom.
Sometimes toothpicks and/or foam glue.
Labeling supplies.

STEP 1

Not shown here: I cut the 1" purple sides and ends for the frame longer than necessary.
I then placed the artwork on the white board and used one purple plank to measure the amount to place the artwork. I then placed the doublesided tape and the corners and midway. I left the top nonstick on at this point.
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STEP 2

I removed to non-stick and place two edges of the purple planks. You can see that they are overly long. I find it best to do this instead of trying to measureing and finding out it is a bit long or short. Be careful cutting on the white board so as to not cut into it. You can see here that the artwork sets down and there is a 1/2" or so up to the top of the purple plank. This is important to have some clearance.
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STEP 3

I carefully cut the purple planks to size and add the third side. I had place the double sided tape first and removed the the non-stick to secure the piece when I layed it down.
Not shown. I add either bubble wrap or scrap foam to the back side of the artwork. Pretty much the whole back. The reason is that the white board is kind of flimsy and so there is little support if you push down on the white board when you finish this project. If you had some scrap foam to the back, then it gives good support. And the weight gain is very minimal.
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STEP 4

I cut one let of the planks and added the 4th after putting down double sidded tape. This is the reason to have a sharp blade so as to make clean cuts easily. You now have a "boxed" artwork.
I am now going to add some protection and cushioning. On this art I used parchment paper over the paint surface and then bubble wrap on top of that. I have also used tissue paper and bubble wrap. Brown or white paper can protect it also. I normally use small bubble bubble wrap but had some scrap that I used on this.
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STEP 5

The box is formed. I trimed the white base and you see a scrap piece of formular underneath that I used to protect the wood counter. I have put double sided tape down but have left the non-stick on until I am ready. I added a business card on the top and at the last minute I actually added a piece of tape to the bubble wrap and the purple planks to insure nothing shifted. I might be anal but I always want things to arrive perfest. I was just a short piece of tape on each of the four sides.
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STEP 6

I removed the non-stick and squared the second white foam board on it. I taped two sides and flipped it and then cut the white board right along the purple plank. (sharp blade comes in handy again)
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STEP 7

Plug for the tape. This works great. If you only want one roll, go to your local post office.
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STEP 8

I realize this photo might be a little confusing but I will try to explain.
I am taking the tape from the very corner top down and lap it and inch or two over the bottom. I then will go 90 degrees on that same corner and do the same. My objective is to really secure that corner. Do that on all four corners.
I added (on the photo) two black lines. They stand for toothpicks. I have sometimes pushed them into the foam to secure the framework. This is up to you. I don't do it very often. You could also use foam glue to squirt into that gap you see. But be careful. If the glue runs, it could seep into the painting itself. I have never done glue.
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STEP 9

I have used tape on all four corners and numerous places around the sides for the package. I print out an address label with my computer and then ship via USPS 90% of the time.
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