Safe Art Transportation Starts with an Expert Pack-out

Prism Specialties

November 10th, 2021

The Expertise Required in Pack-out, Transportation, and Storage of Art Whether it’s damaged or in perfect condition, art needs to be transported safely and securely to preserve the piece and protect it during transit. Works of art can be a wide range of items from a painting to a photograph or even taxidermy. Keep reading […]

Art Restoration

The Expertise Required in Pack-out, Transportation, and Storage of Art

Whether it’s damaged or in perfect condition, art needs to be transported safely and securely to preserve the piece and protect it during transit. Works of art can be a wide range of items from a painting to a photograph or even taxidermy.

Keep reading to learn tips for performing safe packing, transportation, shipping, and storage of art.

Protect Art From Being Damaged

Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of opportunity for error in transporting art. When individuals or collectors do it themselves, we see some common mistakes that can compromise the integrity of the pieces they’re trying to protect. Follow these tips when preparing art for shipping.

For collections of photos, keep packed pictures on their side, not flat. Photographs will absorb pressure easier on an edge than when flat.
Art on paper is a little trickier. Take two pieces of cardboard or foam board and place your artwork inside for protection. Larger pieces may be wrapped in plastic and taped to a slab of Masonite fiberboard to prevent bending, with a two-to-three-inch margin around the sides. This board also provides structure inside the box and prevents shifting during transport.
Curious about how to pack framed art with glass for shipping? When possible, remove the glass from the frame and secure its corners inside the box using foam inserts.
Larger pieces like framed paintings or sculptures necessitate wooden crates or heavy-duty shipping boxes. There are cardboard boxes specifically designed for transporting art and most include additional levels of structural integrity.
Transporting taxidermy requires a wooden crate or carton for anything larger than a fox or lamb to keep it from being crushed by packages placed on top of or next to it. Small items can go in properly reinforced cardboard boxes, but trophy deer heads may need the extra protection of plywood.
High-value art demands specific packaging materials. Packaging selection should be based on the unique risks that face the object, such as abrasion or exposure to moisture. This is especially important for larger pieces that may be easier to drop, or items that might otherwise shift during transit.

How to Properly Ship Art

Once art is safely packaged, it can be shipped to its next destination. Choose a trustworthy art shipping company with a strong reputation for providing good security and on-time delivery. The company should offer insurance coverage and tracking capabilities to provide on-demand progress updates.

Basic Advice For Storing Art

Works of art should never be kept in basements, attics, sheds, or garages. Without total control over these environments, there is too much risk for humidity, moisture, insects, or other potential disasters to damage the pieces. Most art can safely be kept in an extra bedroom or another part of the home that is heated and cooled like the rest of the house.

Whenever possible, long-term art storage should be handled by professionals.

Trust the Experts to Restore Your Art

In addition to art restoration, we provide expert art pack-out, safe art transportation, and storage for personal and commercial art collections or families and businesses dealing with the aftermath of a disaster caused by water, fire or vandalism.

Our art-handling experts carefully wrap each item to ensure that it will not be damaged during transport or storage. We promise to deliver outstanding service performed by the best experts in the industry. We offer short-term and long-term art storage services because we understand the restoration process can be long and unpredictable.

Call Prism Specialties at 888-826-9429 to learn more or request service online.