How to Make Custom Cardboard Boxes to Post Framed Artwork for Couriers (I do this for Saatchi Art Sales)

How to Make Custom Cardboard Boxes to Post Framed Artwork for Couriers (I do this for Saatchi Art Sales)

Here is a short video I filmed that shows how I keep your paintings safe when I post them to you. The main reason I decided to film this was for the benefit of other artists, so that you can see how to create custom cardboard boxes to safely ship framed artwork and avoid damage. Have you ever wondered where you can get cardboard boxes that fit your paintings? Well, you don’t need to buy any – I show you here how to make your own custom cardboard boxes to post artwork. It should cost you nearly nothing – it’s practically free once you have a few supplies in place, although you will need foam boards for the inner protection for each painting you are shipping.

Some of the supplies you will need:

  • Cardboard box opened up (preferably two or three ply)
  • Extra cardboard box to pack glass
  • Foam board
  • No residue masking tape to protect the glass (I like this one)
  • Acid free tissue paper
  • Shredded paper, card, newspaper, tissue paper, spare bubble wrap, pellets, polystyrene – anything that isn’t dyed for packing out the boxes
  • Bubble wrap
  • Parcel tape
  • Duck tape
  • A ruler
  • Stanley knife and cutting mat
  • Pen
  • Red sharpie
  • Super sticky labels

I have been selling online for a few years and have used this method for Artfinder and Saatchi Art. For unframed papers, I use tube rolls as this is significantly cheaper to ship and gives the art buyer a good discount on postage and delivery costs. One of the perks of buying unframed and unmounted! Otherwise, all mounted art is delivered flat using these custom cardboard boxes. I add extra protection for framed works or canvases (for which I use the box within a box method). So here’s how to make custom cardboard boxes to post artwork. Enjoy!

If you can’t watch this here, click here to open in Youtube.