Shipping matted/frammed prints

So I bought a domain name and am putting together a site. On thing I will be doing shortly is selling prints through my site to help finance my college education (not to mention the site). I have all the billing and pricing worked out, but I'm still not sure about the shipping. How exactly does one go about shipping things matted or framed to 16x20" or so? What is the procedure for packing these things properly? Thanks in advance.

First, ship with acrylic not glass .... cheaper and lighter and wont

break. Second put a sheet of foamcore on each side of the

framed matted work. That should do it.

 

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You should also consdier if you really want to ship framed and

matted or just matted. You can make a decent profit on the

frames but if you rae talking a 20 x 24 or larger frame for a 16 x

20 print ... and 20 x 24 is the smallest size you want to use ... you

rae talking substantial postage that willd drive the total cost and

thus buyer resistance up. Just a thought.�

David: I agree with Ted...It is difficult and expensive to ship

framed prints. I would try matted prints first and see if they don't

sell. Even with acrylic instead of glass, it will be difficult to get

them to the customer in good condition. I have shipped only a couple

of framed prints and that cured me.

 

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To answer your question, if you want to ship framed prints you need

to find a supplier of boxes expecially made for shipping them. The

problem with that is you may have to buy the boxes in big lots, as

they are set up to supply commercial operations of larger size. As a

start, go down to your local frame or gallery shops and see what they

are using. You might get one of the shops to order for you or split

an order with you. I really think you will sell as many prints and

make more profit by selling matted prints. If you get many orders, as

I hope you will, you will sooner or later have to do your own framing

or the cost of having to do them commercially will exceed the

national debt.

 

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Good luck with your venture. Give us the address of your web site

when it's up and running.

I suppose I should have been a little more specific. The photographs

will be 8x10" mounted to 16x20" and chances are they will all be sans

frame. I'll post the URL of my site once I get a little more done

with it. It's actually up now, but I wan't to get a few more things

done/tweaked before I really start distributing the address. If

anyone really wants to take a look at it, email me off the list and

I'll happily send you in the right direction.

Light Impressions sells boxes that are suitable for shipping

framed prints. The picture shows some guy standing on top of it.

I used to work in a studio where all matted prints were

sandwiched between plexiglass for shipping. Probably overkill,

but they arrived unharmed every time.

I second using acrylic on the prints. But, if you ship the framed

bubble wrap & the round pipe insulation on the frame edges will

protect them very well, with a piece of fome cor over the front of

the photos. Cut the pipe wrap to size & slip it over the frame edges

after putting the fome cor over the glass (and back if you want) and

then bubble wrap the package. Keeps the weight to a minimum and

absorbs bumps very well.

If you order unassembled frames from American Frame, they ship them in a box that is probably appropriate for you to

re-use. The aluminum frames come in sections but the mats, backing and acrylic come with styrofoam sheeting on

either side. I've always imagined that the packaging could be turned around to ship finished frames. Protecting the

corners is always a necessity, though.

David,

 

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I ship unframed prints all over the country and have a cheap and

effective way of doing it. I buy 2'x4' sheets of Dow Extruded Foam

Insulation. (It's the stuff used to wrap houses in before siding is put

on them). I cut it to whatever size, then cut additional pieces of LUAN

underlayment board which sells in 4'x8' sheets, and can be cut with a

sharp utility knife.I then sandwich the prints between the foamboard

and use the Luan as the top. Some tape to hold it all together will

work, but I have a strapping machine which brings everything tightly

together...All these items are at Home Depot.

 

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good luck,

 

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Andy Baugnet

I'm a painter and photographer, and routinely ship large works

on paper using a spectacularly intelligent system called "Print

Pads," and sold by Masterpak in New York

(www.masterpak-usa.com). Masterpak's description: "Provides

a "container within a container" with multiple layers of protection.

The inner sleeve is constructed of 350 lb. corrugated material

with corrugation running horizontally. The outer sleeve is

constructed of 275 lb. corrugated material running vertically.

Each Print Pad is equipped with four adjustable 90 degree

angled corners allowing for custom fitting. Optional Puncture

Guard hard plastic liners are available to provide extra safety for

expensive artwork. Each Print Pad can hold 4-8 unmatted prints,

depending on the thickness of the paper." These are idea for

relatively thin items, such as a matted print, and come in 17x22",

24x34", and 32x45". If you need to ship something framed, they

offer a product called a "StrongBox," which I have used to ship

48x60" paintings to Europe without encountering any difficulty.

Masterpak's description: "Each STRONGBOX comes with three

layers of foam protection in either 350 lb. or 500 lb. corrugated

cardboard. STRONGBOXES are also available with

Puncture-Guard hard plastic liners ensuring extra safety for

expensive art work. Framed art work is safely encased in three

layers of protection. One layer is sandwiched between two layers

of convoluted (egg carton) foam. Customize the middle foam

layer by removing perforated squares to form an opening that

snugly encases the art work. Multiple layers provide superior

shock absorption." The StrongBoxes protect so well that I've

stopped having crates made for small and medium size works.

Highly recommended.

Just for those interested, my site can be found at <a

href="http://www.luxfragilis.com">www.luxfragilis.com</a>. It won't

be completed until January in all probability, but the essentials are

there now. I know one picture for sure won't load properly in

landscape/nature section of the site, but I'm working on that at the

moment so it should be resolved before too long.