Most people at their homes have some sort of artwork, mirrors or photographs. People do not worry about these items as much and their packing is left to the last. However, that should not be the case as these items are extremely fragile and should be handled and cared for properly.
Out of these three, packing artwork is the most difficult and is something that most have not done before. While professional removalists are trained to do so, it takes time, which is why hiring a professional to do so would come out to be a lot more expensive. Here we are going to take a look at how you need to pack artwork, so as to not damage the frame or tear the canvas.
Take inventory
While you always have all of your collection displayed in your home, it is very important that you take inventory of all artwork before packing. While taking inventory you should inspect all pieces and photograph all of them. So when a removalist is moving the pieces, you have a list of all the artwork to tally, and also you have proof as to prove that the pieces were in good condition before being packaged if they are damaged and you need to claim insurance.
Separation and packing
Framed and unframed artwork needs to be packaged differently so as to protect them against any sort of damage.
All the unframed artwork should be laid flat individually and the front should be covered with a layer of wax paper or glassine paper. You can then roll them and put them in a round carry-on storage box for rolls of paper. If you do not want the piece to be curled, you can put them in a layer of cardboard, then in a layer of foam board, and then cover it with bubble wrap. All of the packaging layers should be sealed using packaging tape. If you want them to be more secure, then you can also place them inside a cardboard box after packing.
Now for framed artwork, you need to put wax paper or glassine paper at the front. After which, you are required to wrap the whole frame with packing paper and secure the edges of the frame with styrofoam corner protectors. After putting the corner protectors, you need to wrap the whole painting with bubble wrap. All of the packed artwork should then be placed in separate cardboard or wooden boxes.
If the framed artwork has a glass protector, then you can also look to place a styrofoam sheet in the front to protect the glass from breakages. Then you use the styrofoam corner protectors and then wrap the painting in bubble wrap.
Moving
Now that you have packed all of the artwork, all you need to do is to move the pieces into their new home. For this, all of the safely packaged artwork should be securely loaded onto the truck. It should then be individually packed in moving blankets and then be strapped and secured to the truck’s body with heavy-duty straps and ratchets. The removalists should ensure that nothing stresses the packaging or else the artwork could be damaged.