Artwork & Antique Packing & Shipping

ART & ANTIQUES

Need to send art or artwork? Pak Mail Anderson Mill in Austin has been offering our services to artists, galleries, museums and auction houses since 2003. We provide personal service to our clients including custom packaging, crating and shipping these items with special care. We know that family heirlooms and works of art are precious and deserve the most attention for the safest delivery. We spare no packing material or technique because we understand what packages endure during the shipping process.

Our packaging technique for framed or unframed art and artwork involves several steps. Any item containing glass, such as framed art and pictures, receives a layer of glass mask to protect the print, photograph or artwork that lay underneath and layer of scratch preventative called furniture wrap is applied. Furniture wrap is a combination of thick tissue paper and wrap designed to prevent abrasion and scratching. It is used primarily for fine wood and critical finish surfaces. Next is a layer of styro-board that is sized and applied using stretch-wrap around the piece to withstand any mishandling event that might occur. The piece is surrounded with a double-walled corrugated container or a crate. We have in-stock picture boxes for the most common artwork sizes but we are prepared to build any size double-walled corrugated container or crate necessary. Lastly, the space left between the carefully wrapped artwork and container is filled using packing peanuts. Nothing should be loose when finally packed for shipment.

Our packaging is exceptional for protecting against damage. But in the unlikely event of damage or loss, Pak Mail has value coverage available to its customers to cover the value of the artwork. We have the support of our Pak Mail corporate value coverage in addition to any coverage the shipping service may offer. A few things we ask our customers to do before shipping highly valuable pieces:

• Keep purchase receipts or appraisals as evidence of value.
• If there is no evidence indicating value, seek to have it documented in some fashion such as a quotation for similar item, publication or appraisal.
• Take several pictures of the item to document its condition.