How to Pack Artwork for a Move

The professional movers who provide packing services at All My Sons Moving & Storage give tips on how to pack artwork for a move so that it makes it to your destination safely.

Calling artists and art lovers, will you be making a move? Whether you’re going local or long-distance, your favorite wall hangings, canvases, and other treasured art pieces all need to be packed with special care so that they can grace the walls of your next home in pristine shape. 

The professional packers at All My Sons Moving & Storage help pack all kinds of fragile household items, and we’ve got five important steps to packing your artwork.

Sort your artwork by size and shape. Small art pieces may be able to fit into a standard small to medium sized moving box. Large pieces of artwork will likely require individual packing.

Many retailers that sell moving supplies carry specialty boxes designed for mirrors and framed pictures.

Prior to putting the artwork away in its appropriate box, you should prepare the artwork for the journey.

• Framed Pictures and Mirrors: Getting that stunning original painting framed was a worthwhile investment, but now you have to watch out for the glass as you make your move. Use painter’s tape, which has an adhesive just strong enough to stay in place without leaving damage or residue when removed, and mark all your glass or mirror surfaces with an X. This will help keep the glass or mirror surface from shattering, and in the event that it does break then the pieces are less likely to scatter. Protect the corners of the frame with cardboard picture frame corner protectors, also readily available wherever moving supplies are typically sold.

• Canvas Art: From your own original works in acrylic to the wedding photos you had printed on canvas, your canvas art pieces make beautiful home decorations and they deserve attentive packing. You should protect the art’s face with glassine or packing paper and put corner protectors on the canvas edges. Wrap the entire canvas in packing paper or bubble wrap.

• Art Prints: Buying prints is a cost-effective option for supporting your favorite artists and getting the art that you love into your home. Place the art print against a hard cardboard surface and protect the face of the print with glassine. 

• Posters: Signed band posters and vintage film posters need not get nicked or torn on the way to your new home. Posters can be rolled into shipping tubes. Select a tube slightly wider than your poster, remove any adhesive that has held your poster to the wall, roll the poster up, and put it in the shipping tube. 

Now that your pieces are prepared for transit, grab those boxes you selected before and get ready to pack your artwork.

If you are packing smaller art pieces together in a small to medium sized moving box, always stand the artwork on its edge vertically. If your pieces do not fit into your boxes vertically, consider packing them individually.

Larger pieces going into individual boxes should always be transported vertically and set on the frame edge when loaded in the moving truck or in storage.

Once you have loaded your box with all the artwork that can comfortably fit inside, check the weight of your box to ensure that you can lift it. If you cannot lift the box, that box is overloaded and must be repacked with some heavy items taken out. Overloaded boxes are a recipe for injured movers and damaged items, so always check the weight of your boxes before you seal them.

When your box is comfortably packed, fill any extra space in your box with additional packing material like packing paper or packing peanuts. This will help keep your items from shifting during transit.

Now that your art boxes are packed, seal them and label them with a black permanent marker. You may want to mark specific pieces as fragile so that you and your movers remember to handle them with care. Consider drawing an arrow on pieces that may be sensitive to their orientation like shadow boxes.

If you are a major art lover, consider creating your own art collection inventory to go into your moving inventory so you always know where your favorite pieces are and what condition they are in.

Once you reach your destination, the artwork will likely have to wait while you unpack all of your essentials, but don’t put the artwork off forever. Once your walls are covered in the beautiful pieces that you love, the space you’re moving into will really start to feel like home.

Will you be moving soon? Skip the packing altogether with All My Son’s packing services, or call us to handle all the loading and lifting. Give us a ring at 1-866-726-1579 to reach one of our 90+ locations across the nation or use our online quote form to get started on your move.