Smart Practices for Art Shipping
You are an artist who frequents various galleries and needs efficient and safe ways for shipping artwork across town, the country, or the world. Thus, here are a few guidelines we suggest and work with on a regular basis for our artist customers.
First, never ship glass. As an alternative, bring it to us and we will extract it for you. Better yet, let us exchange it for a conservation grade acrylic product. It looks just like glass. It’s even the same thickness, but it won’t crack or shatter. That’s saying a lot when you consider the abuse that often comes from shipping. As a bonus, conservation grade acrylic weighs less than glass. Sometimes that can work in your favor by reducing shipping costs that are based on overall package weight.
Next for shipping artwork, there are options for shipping items that are stretched on canvas. We have several customers that bring theirs in for us to un-stretch (remove the canvas from the frame). Then we roll the canvas and place it in a shipping tube, which saves big money on shipping, especially for larger items. We can even have it shipped to another framing service provider for your client. The provider will professionally re-stretch the canvas.
In fact, shipping business to business (e.g., from one gallery to another) is usually much cheaper than shipping to residential addresses. And especially with regard to large pieces of canvas, the cost to un-stretch, ship, and re-stretch will likely not exceed the cost of shipping the whole piece stretched and mounted. The idea is to preserve your work by the safest means possible. That’s why we make these recommendations. Additionally, you can bring us some blank canvas and we will stretch it onto the old stretcher frame for you to reuse.
Shipping Artwork the Easy Way
One final alternative for artists who frequently have works that need to travel a lot is to use a fantastic resource called Genie Canvas. Our friends there make collapsible stretcher bars. We have used them and are very happy with the product, its sheer genius, and how affordable it is. Check out this video to see how they do it. It makes shipping artwork insanely easy!
Remember that if you are in the Middle Tennessee area, we offer a Professional Art Packaging & Shipping Service and are happy to work with your needs. Give us a call for more information and scheduling at 615-815-6015.
The Costs of Shipping Artwork
We offer art packaging and art shipping services. Following are common shipping container sizes and their prices. Shipping rates are based on averages and are subject to vary. We also offer custom crate building for museums and priceless items.
- 24” x 5” x 18” box = $12.11 (Shipping cost usually $13.80)
- 24” Tube = $4.81 (Shipping cost usually $8.40)
- 36” Tube = $7.96 (Shipping cost usually $8.40)
- 44” x 6” x 35” box = $40.91 (Shipping cost based on weight and destination)
- 48” x 6” x 72” adjustable box = $61.95 (Shipping cost based on weight and destination)
- 36” x 5” x 24” box = $18.84 (Shipping cost based on weight and destination)
- 12” x 9” x 2” box = $3.27 (Shipping cost usually $3.27)
- 16” x 12” x 4” box = $6.26 (Shipping cost based on weight and destination)
- 16” x 14” x 10” box = $9.14 (Shipping cost based on weight and destination)
- 12” Tube = $3.41 (Shipping cost usually $7.99)
- Small (9” x 12”) stay-flat mailer = $3.17 (Shipping cost usually $7.99)
- Large (13” x 15”) stay-flat mailer = $3.83 (Shipping cost usually $8.40)
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