Hello, I have just begun taking orders for prints and will be shipping them to cusomers. Can anyone give any advice as to preferred methods of packing and shipping. I have planned to pack some matted and some not, but all with a foam core sheet. I would say the USPS is probably the cheapest, but reliable? Also, do most of you pack and mail from home rather than go to the post office or UPS store if that is your preferred shipper?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you,
Mary Lou
Replies
I ship my prints rolled in a tube. I put tissue paper around them and put them in the tube. Yazoo Mills has some great tubes and they ship free and fast. I go to USPS.com and print labels. Be sure to print a scan sheet if you are shipping more than one. Then I just put them in my extra large mailbox for the mail person to pick up.
thanks Alison, my issue is that I have two customers that already have asked for no tube.
thank you,
Mary Lou
I have mailed prints around the world, but usually do so flat. I have several sources where I salvage large cardboard and use that for packaging. I cut it with my utility knife and mat cutter and make a nice package at least five cardboard layers thick. I've never had a claim for damage from anyone, and I've shipped 30x40 inch packages for bigger things.
I imagine mailing tubes will be much easier and less expensive to ship, especially for international orders. I just prefer to send shrinkwrapped flat art. I certainly hope people will get their art framed, of course. But having it flat offers immediate gratification to them since they can see it and even display it thaot way immediately. Rolled art can be damaged very easily by customers and they'll even feel uneasy about looking at it at all. That might press them to get rolled art framed quickly, though.
I usually send my stuff via FedEx Ground or Home Delivery since for bigger items it's usually the cheapest. It's also very reliable. Overseas is Global Priority through US Mail.
Thank you Barrie, can you suggest an economical home way with shrink wrap? I think that is done with a blow dryier or ? ( I could be way behind the times on this!)
Thanks,
Mary Lou
Getting archival bags from http://clearbags.com is much easier than shrink wrapping.
Larry Berman
thanks Larry, I have those, and will use them if I can't swing the cost of shrink wrap system. Mary Lou
where are you located? I have a shrink wrapping system that I no longer use.
Hi Michael,
I'm in Cincinnati, OH.
A shrink packager is the main tool, then to shrink you use a heat gun which is much hotter than a blow drier. I have a Clearmount system. Connie, the owner of Artfairinsiders, was selling a shrink wrapper earlier this year. She was trying for a long time to sell it, so she may not have it anymore.
Here's the Clearmount website.
Others like to use polybags that don't have to be shrinked. They cost more per bag than a shrinkwrapper does, but there's no equipment necessary for polybags.
Can they be rolled? If so, shipping tubes are the obvious choice for mailing. Roll the art in a plastic bag and insert it into a sturdy mailing tube. Yazoo Mills is the manufacturer I use. Using the plastic bag enables the customer to remove the art without damaging it.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100