Package a large art print with me!!! 🖼️👉📦

Here’s how I prep large art prints for shipping internationally:

PREP 🧼
Get a cardboard tube or triangle that’s at least 2 inches longer than the artwork. Prep the certificate of authenticity, a brochure with unpacking/flattening & care instructions, business cards, a thank you note, & anything else I want to include with the print - keep contents as minimal as poss so as not to cause damage. Clean a big flat area to work in. Clean hands, sign the prints & take good pics.

ROLL 📜
Protect the print between newsprint/kraftpaper underneath & glassine on top. Roll the print with the image facing out. Make the roll a slightly smaller diameter than the tube so that you don’t need to pinch the edges of the print to remove it. Secure the roll by taping an extra piece of paper around it - this is the only area that needs to be cut so make sure collectors know this. Add the certificate of authenticity etc. around the roll. Weigh the print so you know the pre-packaged weight of the item for shipping.

PACKAGE 📦
Put the print in a plastic bag, fold over the ends to create a watertight seal & tape in place (lmk your ideas for how to skip the plastic)! Place the roll into the tube & tape up an end. Taping the caps isn’t necessary but makes it less likely to get opened in transit. Add fragile stickers & weigh/measure the package. Add extra packing material in the ends so the print can’t move. Tubes can get an extra surcharge so depending on the size it can be more cost effective to put the tube inside a tight fitting corrugated cardboard box.

SHIP 📩
Set up the package with a shipping provider following their directions, I used FedEx. Use the ground option - it’s slower but there is less handling/potential for damage + it’s more environmental. Print 3 shipping labels (SL) & 4 copies of the commercial invoice (CI, a document that accompanies shipment that u sign & date). Add an extra copy of the CI & SL inside the tube & seal/tape the end shut. Affix 3 copies of the CI & 2 copies of the SL to the tube using plastic pouches -FedEx sends them for free but no less than 500 at a time 😅. Then post it & wait for the package to get to its new home! 🤞