One artwork in each crate – If you want your paintings to have the best chance for longevity, put each painting into its own packing crate. This eliminates the opportunity for surface contact, assuring a greater chance that the artwork will arrive without impairment. Of course, this is also the most expensive means of packing and transport, but may be a necessary compromise to ensure the artworks are unable to damage each other.
 

Consolidating artworks – Careful planning and packing will increase the possibility of consolidating multiple artworks into less crates. The major things to be aware of in consolidating artworks is:

• Preventing the crate from becoming too heavy. Artworks are by nature delicate. Too heavy = rougher handling = greater risk of shock, movements and therefore damage.

• Ensure sizes of artworks being consolidated are similar. Void spaces in the crate will enable artworks to shift, rub against or damage each other. Stick to similar sizes in the one crate wherever possible.

• Contact us today, and we will advise the safest and most cost effective crating option.
   

Slot Crate – The best shipping method is one where nothing is allowed to touch the surface of the work. This way only the very top and bottom 3cm of the artwork will make contact with a slippery polyethylene foam. It means no further packing techniques are required by the packer, other than to slide the artwork into the crate. A light glassine paper covering can be helpful against any dust, but wrapping materials are usually avoided with travelling exhibition crates because of the frequency of wrapping and unwrapping . This can be used for one artwork in its own crate, or where there are multiple artworks consolidated in one crate. Other than oil paintings, this can be useful for mixed media artworks with heavily textured surfaces.
 

Travelling Frame – Variations in this method are used when no aspect of the face of the artwork can come into contact with anything. The artwork is therefore suspended inside the crate. This can be through the use of mending plates, which are screwed into the rear of the canvas frame, or if the artwork has Oz Clips, mounting internal bolt holes inside the crate. For more ideas on how such items can be suspended, see what we commonly do for antique and gilt mirrors.