Shipping framed prints?

Looking for advice on shipping framed prints.

Where do you guys take them? I need to ship about a dozen framed prints, anywhere from 12x18 to 24x36, and I'm not sure on the best way to proceed.

Advice is greatly appreciated
Kevin

I've done this a couple times ...

One of the reasons I use FrameDestination.com for framing supplies: I can reuse the great packing materials/boxes they use for delivery. Saves a lot of money over the long run.

Considering the high value, you may want to visit a UPS store and have them do the packing. At least where I live, they almost insist that they do the packing for high value items. Not the cheapest option, but probably the safest.

I wouldn't pack anymore than a few per box - maybe 24x36 in their own box.

I have shipped frames w/ the USPS, Fed Ex and UPS...and my best advice is...don't do it! I'm still trying to get an insurance claim with Fed Ex from November..They claim it wasn't packaged properly...BUT THEY PACKED IT! Unbelievable.
UPS was successfull 1 out of 3 times I tried them. I tried USPS once and they blew it too.

I know this is absolutely no help to you, but I just got off the phone with Fed EX, again.

You can do it yourself. I use extra heavy duty cartons from U-Line and double pack them. Put your framed print in an appropriately sized box with a good bit of foam padding. Seal it up in a plastic bag and put it in a larger overpack box. Fill the gaps with that spray-in foam packing material. Let it set up, seal the box, and you are good to go. Don't leave out the "seal it in a plastic bag" step. The chemicals in your foam spray may not be very friendly for your print.

This isn't looking too good...

I was planning to have a local pack n ship place take care of it. I'm really not the one shipping the prints, I'm delivering them to a local business, and they are sending them out to a remote office, I was just trying to help them find the best way to ship.

Thanks for the replies.
Kevin

Hey Kevin, I shipped two 24X36 framed pieces through UPS and had them do the packaging. Both ended up at the customers home with cracked glass. UPS did pay me for both pieces and they had to reship another two, which they added more packing and they both arrived fine. Just a bit of hassle for the customer, because they had to make time to be home when UPS came to pickup the damaged goods. I don't ship any large pieces with glass anymore.

I had a long conversation about this issue with a vendor at Boise's "Arts in the Park" this past autumn. She had bad experiences with UPS and FedEx. She settled on a local package shipping company that's operated by a disability center. The personal relationship makes all the difference, she said. And you can feel good about providing work for persons with disabilities. She has had a couple of claims (she ships hundred of framed prints) and they've always been dealt with promptly and professionally.

By contrast, UPS actually lost my 300mm f2.8 when I had to ship it in for service. Took them three weeks to find it. Fortunately, Olympus loaned me a substitute.

I've had good luck with UPS, but I do stand there and watch them pack. Don't know weather that helps or not but they always put in a lot of packing material.

Kevin, a real simple comment on this for me and my experiences -- is if you ship pieces with glass ........just roll the dice!

I've shipped a fair bit of artwork.

First off, I'd recommend that you ship the work with acrylic glazing rather than glass if doing typical framing. This saves weight and reduces the risk of breakage. It saves you money because you can afford to ship via ground and you'll save from the lower weight. If glass breaks in shipping it will also damage the print.

Sturdy flat boxes are the first big hurdle in shipping flat artwork.

You'll want a wrap to protect the frame and glazing. I keep the thin soft foam sheets they use to wrap electronics these days as it won't scratch shiny plastics. Then you'll want to bubble wrap the frame. Then I fill the remaining space in the flat box with shipping peanuts.

So far I haven't lost any artwork with this packing strategy.

I have to say I'm a little nervous on this one. I will have to go over to the pack and ship place and see how they feel about shipping framed art. It does sound like a 50/50 chance with glass...

Thanks again for all the info.

Hey Kevin,
Roll the dice is a pretty accurate term here.
Before the airlines cracked down, we had a lot of clients hand carry, but now we recommend people buy just the print that we can roll and ship in a tube. They can have it framed at a frame shop at thier destination. We provide a close up shot and detailed discription of our gallery framing if they want it to be matched. We avoid shipping framed peices whenever possible.
Hope this helps.
Neil

I just shipped a 36x24 mounted print (wood laminate, no glass) at the UPS store. In addition to shipping/insurance/signature, they only charged me $7 for packing. That's amazingly cheap considering the box was 40x36, however they do charge more for glass. I don't do anything with glass though, and even with a conventionally framed print you can avoid glass by having your lab coat it with a laminate.

Like with most things, the best thing to do is source the materials and do it yourself. I get my stuff from http://www.uline.com/. Whatever you do, do not ship GLASS for any reason. Acrylic glazing only, or no glazing at all. Unless, of course, you have absolutely nothing to do with your time but reship, file claims, chase down your money.....

Yikes...

These prints are all framed with glass already ( except for a few canvas prints), that is what this customer wanted. I'm not sure what I should have them do at this point. They have a shipping department at the company, we could make up our own pallet and ship that way, not sure if it would help though. I never thought about how hard it would be to ship these with glass on them... Hmm