Shipping paintings

Packing materials suitable for paintings and artwork

Make a list of the packing materials you will require for safe shipping painting overseas. You can search for packing materials for framved art online in order to know the required packing materials. If you are not sure of the packing materials you will require, there is no cause for alarm. We are there to help you out. Call on us and we will provide you with all the packing materials you need at affordable prices.

Note that the type, nature and quantity of packing material you will need depends to a certain extent on the type of painting you have or on its value. Some of the wrapping materials you will need for the packing of a painting are Blue painters tape, Kraft paper, Acid-free tissue paper, bubble wrap, pressure sensitive packing tape, telescoping box, packing peanuts and kraft paper. Packing boxes are available in different strengths. If you are shipping large paintings to USA, you should make use of double walled box. If you are moving tall painting, then you should make use of a telescope box. Using a custom wooden crate for paintings is an option for people whose paintings are too large than standard box sizes cannot be used. Hire our removal services to USA and get full advice on how to send painting overseas.

Preparing paintings for international transport

Painting is not something that you can handle amidst clutter or in a congested space. It is necessary that you set up clean workspace free of any clutter. Remove any other items from your workspace. Your workspace can be bare floor covered with rug for cushioning effect. You can also use the top of a table such as a dining table or the quilt on the floor of your garage. Whatever platform you are choosing as your workspace, it should be spacious enough to accommodate your painting and allow you enough space to move the painting about. If you are using the top of your table as the workspace, you have to pad it by covering it with blanket. You should also do the same thing if you will be using a floor. Don't work on a bare floor. The floor should be carpeted or rugged. This is because your framed art can mistakenly fall on the ground when you are packing it and if it falls on a bare floor, it can easily damage. You should alwas organise tidy workspace, regardless of the type of goods to be packed, be it shipping household goods to USA or sending framed art.

The first thing to do is to note the condition of your painting. Paintings are highly valuable and so people normally make claims if there is any damage during shipping. However, it can also be hard to prove the condition of your canvas if you want to make claims. So, before you pack your item, you have to inspect your painting in order to know its conditions. After doing a thorough physical inspection, you have to take photos to serve as your evidence. Make sure that you get clear and closer shots especially where details are required. You should highlight the sellable condition, pre-existing damage, every stage of the packing, all sides of the canvas to be shipped overseas, the exterior of the finished boy and the outside of the box's stickers and labels. These aspects of the painting will go a long way to indicate the condition of the painting.

How to pack paintings for shipping

If sheets of glass are used to protect your painting, you have to first remove it before you pack your painting for international removals to New York or San Diego. In some cases, you will not be able to remove the glasses. In this case, protect the glass from splintering as a result of breakage that may occur during transportation by placing pieces of tape across the glass. Tape round the entire glass by tape stripping vertically and horizontally. In this way, the print will be protected from any damage by the glass should it break during transportation. When taping the glass, you should ensure that no part of the frame has any contact with the tape. The tape can damage the beauty of the frame by leaving some daint on it.

If the painting is not protected with any glass sheets, you should skip the above immediate step and move on to the next step. Use acid free tissue paper to wrap the painting. This is very important because chemicals which can react with the paint are used in making some packing material. So, if you use tissue paper that is not acid free, you prevent any form of chemical reaction occurring between the chemicals and the canvas because the acid free tissue paper will protect the painting. The  bubble wrap can create impression on the painting depending on its type. This is some people advise that you use the other side of the bubble wrap when you are wrapping so that there will be no chances of the bubble wrap creating an impression on the painting. You are not supposed to allow any material made from plastic material to come in contact with the painting so that no damage will occur on it.

The next thing that you should do is to wrap the painting with kraft paper in brown color. The aim of using this type of paper is to prevent not just the painting but the frame and mat from coming in contact with the packing peanuts that will be added to the moving box for cushioning effect.

When you have completely wrapped framed art in kraft paper, you should now use bubble wrap. Considering the point made above about the possibility of the bubble wrap making impression on the painting, the wrapping of the painting with kraft paper or tissue paper before wrapping with bubble wrap will remove that possibility. The size of bubble paper to be used is 1/2 large wrap. If you want to use 3/16 inch wrapper, then you have to wrap round for many times so that you will obtain many layers. There are two main reasons why the bubble wrap is used in wrapping the painting. First, it offers cushioning effect on the glass so that it will not break while in transit and it also wraps the painting to protect it from element of weather and dust. The second reason while you should wrap with bubble wrap is to providing cushioning effect between the painting and the box's edges.

There are some framed arts that come with very fragile frames. Such painting may require experts to handle them. However, if you prefer to pack them by yourself, you should try to eliminate any pressure on the frame. The best way to achieve that is to suspend the painting inside the box or crate.

Now that you painting wrapped, the next thing that you should do is to place it between two sheets of cardboard for enhanced protection and stability during overseas transport. The cardboard sheets to be used should be wider and longer than the painting's frame. Create an interior box or housing for the painting by folding the edges of the cardboard. This will also offer more protection to the canvas. You should follow the above tips if you shipping any delicate or valuable items, be it shipping musical instruments or sending artwork.

Boxing the painting

For insurance eligibility, you have to use the right box with the right thickness. There are different types of boxes to be used for packing paintints. However, it is advisable that you first make use of telescopic box that has double wall. It is meant for the shipping of items that are awkwardly shaped. Besides the bubble wrap which may add about an inch cushioning effect, you should also add at least two inches or more extra padding. 

Assembling of the box is the next thing that you should do here. First telescope your box before doing any taping. Close the lids and make sure that the outside of the box is pushed out by 1/4 inches. By so doing, the box will not slide into position. You should also ensure that the height of the boxes are six inches longer than the height of the painting. Now tape the middle of the box first using a packing tape. Tape the bottom now.

The box is now assembled. Before putting the painting inside it, you have to spread packing peanuts on the bottom so that it will be about 3 inches thick. If you don't have packing peanuts, you can make use of the foam corners, foam sheets, bubble wrap, hexacomb, cardboard corners, air pockets and the likes. Newspapers are not good option and so, you should not use them if you don't want to violate your insurance.

Now, put the painting at the the centre of the box so that gaps will be left right round the box. Fill the gaps with packing peanuts and shake it lightly so that they packing peanuts will press down. Add more to fill up the spaces created. Shake lightly again and keep filling the space left until no space is left when you shake lightly. Leave about 3 inches space on top and then fill it with peanuts. Close the lid of the boy and seal the seams with pressure sensitive packing tapes with wideness of about 2 inches. Note that paintings that weigh below 40 pounds are to be put in single wall box. But if the painting weighs more than 40 pounds, you should make use of wood crate or double-walled box. Add enough packing peanut so that the painting will not have any space to move.

Sending paintings and framed canvas artwork

Now that you have packed your painting thoroughly well, the next thing that you should do is to decide what's the best way to send painting to the USA. Finding the right shipping company is where the bulk of the task lies in this stage. There are a lot of them but what makes the difference is the quality of the services they offer. Some companies are more reliable and reputable in their dealings with their clients. So, look for such a company and hire it to handle this type of shipping from UK to USA.

When choosing international mover, you should take the weight of your parcel into consideration. This is because it will determine the carrier that will handle it. For example, if your painting is not more than 70 lbs., it can be handled by such carriers as FedEx, USPS, UPS, DHL, UPS and others. But if it is heavier than 70 lbs., then these small parcel carriers cannot handle such a move. You should look for other carriers that can handle heavy paintints transport to USA. To be able to estimate your expenses you should always compare at least a few different freight forwarders and compare their shiping costs.

There are different means of shipping an artwork to USA. It can be shipped through airfreight, or sea. The speed rate of each of these shipping means is not the same. Using airplane for shipment is faster but more expensive than the other. You can use any means but what is important is making sure that you get your item within the best possible timeframe. This is because the chances of your painting damaging become higher the longer the shipping time is. So, it is advisable that you use express shipping services for your painting.

There are some freights that ship only artworks. Using such services is better because the freight has all the necessary facilities that will protect the artwork no matter how long the shipping takes. However, such services are not very much affordable. But, it is better to use it than using an affordable service and at the end getting a damaged artwork.
If you need other type of moving services, or want to find out how to transport a car to USA, you can get in touch with us - our support team is here to answer all you questions.

Buying insurance

The importance of getting the right painting insurance coverage cannot be overemphasized. Just as a business requires insurance, so does any person sending framed art to USA requires one. So, check the various insurance packages for shipping canvas overseas and choose the best that meets your shipping needs. Your shipper can help you in this regard. There are some firms that offer insurance services as well. Note that they do not offer the insurance services themselves. They get these services and then give them to the insurance companies the have dealings with them and get their commission. So, it is not obligatory to buy from the shipper you want to hire. Buy from any reliable source that is willing to cover your painting at a fair price.