Como embalar uma pintura para enviar por transportadora?

O método que Alexandre Coxo usa é uma caixa de cartão canelado duplo construída à medida da pintura. Dentro, estruturas de cartão seguram a pintura, que vai envolta em papel vegetal e espuma, sem fita-cola. Por fora, a caixa é selada com fita-cola e marcada com o stencil «Frágil».

Porque não usar uma empresa especializada em transporte de arte?

Empresas como a Museumpak, a Packsend ou a Convelio são as mais rápidas e experientes a embalar e proteger obras de arte, mas o preço não é acessível para um jovem artista. Fazer a embalagem por conta própria resolve o custo e a segurança.

O que determina o custo do envio de uma pintura?

O peso e o tamanho da embalagem. Por isso a caixa deve ser, ao mesmo tempo, resistente e leve. Uma solução testada de cartão reforçado com MDF e esferovite foi abandonada por ser complicada, demorada e cara.

Como se abre a embalagem de uma pintura de Alexandre Coxo?

Corta-se a fita-cola que sela a caixa, levanta-se a tampa e afasta-se a espuma para tirar a pintura. Não há camadas de papel bolha nem película aderente para cortar, nem o risco de danificar a pintura ao tirar fita-cola.

É possível pedir uma embalagem para oferta?

Sim, a pedido do cliente. Numa pintura destinada a presente de Natal, por exemplo, a caixa levou um laço de fita de cetim; a fotografia está na página «Encomendas».

Packing Paintings for Shipping by Courier

The Challenge, the Experience and What I Do Now

by Alexandre Coxo, 4 March 2020

In short

Couriers do not guarantee careful handling of packages, or charge a lot for that guarantee, and specialist art shippers are expensive for a young artist.
Alexandre Coxo's first shipment, in 2014, went badly: a heavy object pierced the box and scratched the painting.
As shipping costs depend on weight and size, the goal became a box that is both strong and light.
Today each painting travels in a made-to-measure double-wall corrugated cardboard box, held by cardboard structures and wrapped in tracing paper and foam, with no tape inside.
To open it, just cut the outer tape, lift the lid and move the foam aside.

The Challenge

Artists need to take part in exhibitions and competitions and to send their work to clients far from their studio. That is why delivering a painting by hand is increasingly rare.

The best way to make sure paintings reach their destination on time is to hire a shipping service. However, the companies that offer this kind of service do not fully guarantee how carefully packages are handled during the journey, or charge very high prices for that guarantee.

I learned to get around these limitations by making my own custom packaging for each painting I ship.

After trying several construction methods, and a few accidents, I arrived at a process I feel comfortable and confident with.

Detail of the back of a canvas with cardboard protection

Painting protected with bubble wrap and cardboard corner guards

Cardboard box with Alexandre Coxo's name and a fragile label

The Experience

The first time I packed and shipped a painting I hired a well-known company. The shipment was going to the painting competition of the 9th Salão das Artes Biennial in Vidigueira in 2014. I was still a student then and made a very simple package. The result was not pretty: a heavy object fell, pierced the box and scratched the painting.

After researching how companies deal with this kind of problem and watching quite a few videos of how other artists do it, I started doing the maths and looking for couriers and suppliers of boxes and other materials.

I discovered that there is a huge range on offer, with boxes of every size and colour, customisable, reinforced or made from a single sheet of cardboard. Although each company has different solutions, quotes are always on request because no company has a ready-made solution for packing a painting of the size I need.

I must admit I was surprised to find companies specialising in packing and shipping artworks, such as Museumpak, Packsend or Convelio. They certainly offer the fastest and most experienced way of packing a painting and keeping it safe on the journey, and they also provide a good customer experience. The only downside is the price, which is out of reach for a young artist.

My paintings are not very standard in size. This rules out the best value-for-money packing solution: buying ready-made boxes in bulk is not an option for me.

Having found that doing the packing myself was the best way to avoid the extra costs charged by couriers and other companies, I set off to find suppliers of the materials I needed. As weight and size determine the shipping cost, I focused on finding a way to build a box that was both strong and light.

The most complex solution I developed involved building a cardboard box reinforced with MDF, inside which the painting was surrounded by polystyrene. After a few attempts I gave up... it is complicated, time-consuming and ends up being expensive, and cutting polystyrene makes a mess of the whole house!

What I Do Now

The first times I packed paintings, I was sending them to competitions. On the one hand, those experiences let me test various ways of packing; on the other, they cost me selections for awards.

The good news is that I can now guarantee a good experience for those who receive my paintings, both because the piece arrives in good condition and because opening the box is a pleasant moment.

The size of the painting slightly changes how the box is built and therefore how it is opened. After cutting the tape that seals the box, just lift the lid and move the foam aside to take out the painting.

It is as simple as I have described, with no endless layers of bubble wrap to unroll, no cling film to cut and no risk of damaging the painting when trying to remove tape.

My paintings are now packed in a made-to-measure double-wall corrugated cardboard box. Inside, cardboard structures hold the painting, which is wrapped in tracing paper and foam, all without tape. Finally, on the outside, the box is sealed with tape and marked with a "Fragile" stencil.

With this method I solved my two problems, the cost and the safety of the painting during the journey, and also solved another problem I had not expected to: the customer's experience when opening the package.

Cardboard box marked fragile, with a packed painting

On the "Commissions" page, I show a photo of a package I made at a client's request. That painting was a Christmas present, so I added a satin ribbon bow. You can see the image by clicking here.

Would you like to know more? If you have any questions or are curious about anything, send me a message using the form below. I will do my best to help and to reply as quickly as possible!

You can also follow me on social media, where I will share more about this!

Frequently asked questions

How do you pack a painting for shipping by courier?

Alexandre Coxo uses a double-wall corrugated cardboard box made to fit the painting. Inside, cardboard structures hold the painting, which is wrapped in tracing paper and foam, with no tape. On the outside, the box is sealed with tape and marked with a «Fragile» stencil.

Why not use a company specialising in art shipping?

Companies such as Museumpak, Packsend or Convelio are the fastest and most experienced at packing and protecting artworks, but their prices are out of reach for a young artist. Packing it yourself solves both cost and safety.

What determines the cost of shipping a painting?

The weight and size of the package. So the box must be both strong and light. A tested solution using cardboard reinforced with MDF and polystyrene was abandoned because it was complicated, slow and expensive.

How do you open the packaging of a painting by Alexandre Coxo?

Cut the tape that seals the box, lift the lid and move the foam aside to take out the painting. There are no layers of bubble wrap or cling film to cut, and no risk of damaging the painting when removing tape.

Can I ask for gift packaging?

Yes, at the customer's request. For a painting meant as a Christmas present, for example, the box was finished with a satin ribbon bow; the photo is on the «Commissions» page.