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Author Topic: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?  (Read 4618 times)

aaronchan

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Dear all,

I've tried different ways to prevent print got damage inside the mailing tube.
For example:
1. I have ordered a bunch of custom made super heavy duty tubes to prevent it breaks up into 2 parts during the shipment;
2. I use a lot of tissue papers to wrap the print to prevent the surface of the print will get scratched;
3. I use foam wrap for each side of the rolled print to prevent the damage of the edges of itself.

But even tho I've done all of them, I still got calls from my clients about their prints was damaged during the shipment.
Do you guys have any tips to protect the prints from the careless express services?

Thanks
Aaron

Alan Goldhammer

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2012, 08:31:29 am »

I've used Uline tubes and not had any report that the tube was damaged during shipping.  I cover the face of the print with acid free paper prior to rolling and make sure that the print is rolled only tight enough to fit into the tube.  I use bubble wrap in the bottom and top of the tube to cushion the print.  I'm not a big shipper of prints, maybe 30-40 per year but have not received any comments about damaged prints.  I use the US Postal Service priority mail service exclusively.

alan
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John Caldwell

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2012, 09:11:31 am »

Alan, what acid-free paper do you use? Do you feel there is some risk of print surface abrasion in rolling a print with such a paper, or does the inter-leaved paper reduce the risk of that abrasion?

Thank you,

John Caldwell
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DeanChriss

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2012, 01:13:42 pm »

... Do you feel there is some risk of print surface abrasion in rolling a print with such a paper, or does the inter-leaved paper reduce the risk of that abrasion? ...

I'm not speaking for Alan but I saw this and thought I'd add my 2 cents. There's definitely a risk of abrasion (I've seen it) when a print is rolled up as-is. Some papers are much more susceptible than others. There is special paper made for the purpose of interleaving (not necessarily rolling) and using it when prints are rolled does reduce the risk. The paper is thin, feels quite soft, and you can make out the image through it. Use Google to search for "interleaving paper" and you'll find countless suppliers. Plain bond paper with a very smooth finish seems to work as well. Paper with a "tooth", such as those made for drawing and many inkjet papers seem less desirable. Basically you want something smooth and flexible.
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John Caldwell

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2012, 02:00:33 pm »

Thanks, Dean. I've seen interleaving materials between pages of fine art books and such but hadn't considered it here. I'm apprehensive about and upcoming project: 44' roll media prints are being made at one location, but being transported to a second location for mounting and laminating. I've been in a quandary about how to handle the prints for the transport process. Most prints will be 44" x 64" or so. In specific I'm wondering:

1) Transport rolled or flat?
2) If rolled, use interleaving material?
3) Transport in a tube, or just leave rolled with a moderately large radius so as to lessen the forces between adjacent surfaces?

I mean no disrespect and apologize if I've hijacked the thread. I hope these points are relevant to, Aaron's the OP's, inquiry.

John Caldwell
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DeanChriss

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2012, 02:33:28 pm »

Thanks, Dean. I've seen interleaving materials between pages of fine art books and such but hadn't considered it here. I'm apprehensive about and upcoming project: 44' roll media prints are being made at one location, but being transported to a second location for mounting and laminating. I've been in a quandary about how to handle the prints for the transport process. Most prints will be 44" x 64" or so. In specific I'm wondering:

1) Transport rolled or flat?
2) If rolled, use interleaving material?
3) Transport in a tube, or just leave rolled with a moderately large radius so as to lessen the forces between adjacent surfaces?

I mean no disrespect and apologize if I've hijacked the thread. I hope these points are relevant to, Aaron's the OP's, inquiry.

John Caldwell

Oh... I thought you were shipping these. If you are taking them yourself and have the space to keep them flat, that's the route I'd take. I've transported large prints (though not this large) by placing them on a sheet of foam core, putting a sheet of interleaving paper on top, then another print, etc. Lastly, put another piece of foam core on top and tape the edges tightly together at intervals that aren't too far apart. I use that easy-to-remove blue masking tape. Another trick is to notice that foam core is usually bowed toward one surface. place the "bows" outward from one another with the prints in between. That removes pressure away from the print borders. Foam core comes up to 4'x8', but may be hard to obtain locally in that size. [edit] I should have mentioned that the foam core should be only slightly larger than the prints so there's virtually no room for them to slide around. That's also why you want to clamp everything together around the edges. If the prints are borderless I'd go lighter on the clamping and tighter on the space around the edges.

My second choice would be rolling in a large diameter with interleaving paper and no tube. Wrap a sheet of paper around the whole coil and tape it together to keep the whole thing from uncoiling.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2012, 02:56:52 pm by DeanChriss »
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John Caldwell

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2012, 02:54:24 pm »

Good idea here, Dean. Hadn't considered the foam core "rigid jacket" idea.

Thank you.

John Caldwell
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2012, 03:44:43 pm »

Alan, what acid-free paper do you use? Do you feel there is some risk of print surface abrasion in rolling a print with such a paper, or does the inter-leaved paper reduce the risk of that abrasion?

Thank you,

John Caldwell
I get archival paper from Archival Methods.  Maximum size that I have shipped is 17x22.

Alan
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Pat O'Connor

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2012, 06:38:49 pm »

When posting flat isn't an option I use the box-tube-holders in which my roll paper comes. Roll the print around the tube that's left after finishing a roll (using some sort of interleaving paper). Wrap this with the plastic bag the original roll comes in (as a moisture barrier) . tape this down to stop unravelling/movement and then place the tube inside the box secured with the plastic roll holders that held it in place when it was shipped to you. 100% success rate so far. (the most important aspect of this technique is wrapping a print around the outside of a sturdy tube which in turn is protected within another sturdy enclosure)
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darlingm

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2012, 08:42:08 pm »

Aaron - Do you ship them by USPS, UPS, or FedEx?  What service level?

EDIT: Feel free to send a private message if you don't want to say publicly.
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David Sutton

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2012, 10:23:47 pm »

I have been uneasy about shipping prints rolled up. I put them between two sheets of foamcore with interleaving tissue as Dean suggests. I get a large sheet of cardboard with a corrugated inner layer from a local supplier and using a craft knife make up a sort of “envelope” for the foamcore and secure it with gaff tape (completely encircling the envelope, but leaving enough space for the address label). If I have some thin scrap plywood lying around I may also make up small triangles to tape to each corner of the foamcore in case it is dropped on an edge. I've sent 17x 25” prints from New Zealand to an island off the coast of the UK and they've arrived fine.
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aaronchan

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2012, 03:24:18 am »

Dear all,

I actually live in china and I use the most reliable express arrives in china call SF express. They are actually pretty good in speed and time. They can do same day shipping within china which I think is pretty amazing. But I guess that's the reason where a lots of vibration and pressure comes from to damage the edge of the prints.

Aaron

Brian Gilkes

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Re: How do you prevent damage when you need to ship out your prints?
« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2012, 05:33:23 pm »

I use a version of Pat's method.
Usually I have on hand plenty of 17", 24", 36" and 44" boxes the paper came in and a few 60".
I take a box same width or preferably a bit wider than print/s. The core is wrapped in archical paper. Prints are rolled , one at a time , with interleaving paper onto the core. Prints are rolled with curl as they were on roll, i.e. coated surface out. When rolling up is complete one or more straps of scrap paper are taped around roll to secure. Roll is slipped into plastic tube , plastic ends are pushed into core ends and whole caboodle is placed into an appropriate sized original box which is taped up.
Boxes that are too long can be cut down and reformed at the cut off end.  Prints shouls be allowed to dry and harden for a couple of days before packing. I also use a spray print shield.
Small prints are interleaved and bpacked in foamcore or archivally boxed.
Cheers,
Brian
Pharos Editions
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