Packaging materials for shipping

I did a portrait project for my church that has been on display there for the past month and now they are going to be loaning it to other churches and organizations. Some of these folks are not terribly close, and we are looking for some way to pack everything for shipping. The prints are framed, with glass, not plexi, and are in 16x20 frames. We would want something that can be reused a lot, since we are going to be shipping these around quite a bit.

I really have no idea what is out there or what kind of cost we might be looking at. Does anyone know of someone who makes this kind of packaging?

I would look at www.uline.com or make my own.

A friend made boxes out of thin plywood and lined them with cell foam that he cut on his home saw with a dado in order to cut slots for the framed images. His boxes had handles on the outside with lids on hinges. I belive they cost him about $75 a piece to make them to hold aorund 10 16x20's.

Best of luck,

On this thread (there was a url link here which no longer exists)
I mentioned the plate boxes because they are very hard cardboard with a box in a box. There should be room for a sheet of bubble pack on the glass. Maybe 3-4 of these then these in another box w/packing might work.

If think it would be worth switching to plexi, will be so much easier to ship. just a couple layers of bubble wrap and stick in a box.

danschmidt said:

If think it would be worth switching to plexi, will be so much easier to ship. just a couple layers of bubble wrap and stick in a box.

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I would agree. There is too much chance of breaking the glass, and then the broken glass damaging the photo.

Paul,

When I ship larger ground screens, I make a crate out of 1x4 wood, and a piece of luan on each side stapled, then put a 2" piece of builders foam on one side and a 1.5 piece on the other side and encase the screen in cardboard, one side of the crate is luan 1/4" that is glued and stapled, and the other side is 1/4" luan that is screwed so they can remove it, I have shipped all the way up to 20x30 inch screens this way, with very few problems and the crates are reusable..they are a little more weight to ship, but help ensure your pictures will arrive at the next destination. My system is actually very simular to the way many museums ship pictures to each other. My largest crates run me about $20 in time and materials, and of course you could make our of 1 x 6, 1 x 8 depending on how many pictures you wish to ship in each crate. And do insure them for there worth, because even the most secure shipping crate can get damaged. I would not recommending switching to plexi, unless you are willing to spend the high dollars required to get good quality museum quality plexi for framing, and it ain't cheap..

Dave

Home depot for the plex. Museum quality? Let the museum pay for it.

Parsifal said:

Home depot for the plex. Museum quality? Let the museum pay for it.

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Ya why not, I don't care what my work looks like, let the buyer worry about making it look good!

WOW! Where do you people come from?

LOL

Dave

Parsifal said:

Home depot for the plex. Museum quality? Let the museum pay for it.

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I can't even imagine putting generic plastic on my prints. What is the likelihood of there being pvc or some other damaging plasticizer in the stuff just waiting to ruin the prints? Plexi might be a decent idea, it is certainly something I will suggest to the folks who are paying, but it should help a lot with weight and certainly limit the potential for damage. The cost might be an issue, however

Paul,

I can get the correct plexi through the same supplier that makes our glass for us, just in case, I would be happy to pass on to you for what ever I pay for it.

Dave