Anyone selling prints online naturally needs to print and ship their artwork to customers. That requires attention to detail. At the very minimum board-backed envelopes should be used to prevent the print from bending.
Sellers that focus on low-cost artwork will need to keep their costs low, and the way to do that is by limiting the packaging materials.
To be able to charge premium pricing, customers expect more.
Independent art sellers online can take advantage of being a small business because of the handmade nature of their prints. Artists can let customers know they package items themselves to make sure the prints are securely shipped with the utmost care taken to ensure the products arrived undamaged.
That takes more than a thick envelope.
The packaging of art is a selling point because customers do not want their products arriving damaged such as having folds across the middle of a print, or worse – arriving with water damage. After all, a cellophane bag or wrap wasn’t included in the packaging or a similar water proof barrier used to protect the art.
The Shipping Supplies Online Print Sellers Need for Robust Shipping
An Acid-Free Wrap to Protect from Possible Water Damage
The most used shipping material for any type of product has to be bubble wrap. The problem for art sellers is that bubble-wrap isn’t acidic free. If it is needed, where prints are involved, acid-free tissue paper needs to be used first to prevent the bubble wrap coming into contact with the print. A suitable solution for print sellers is to use cellophane bags, however, not all of these are acid-free.
Polypropylene wrapping is better suited to shipping print materials as it is acid-free and reasonably priced. The more expensive option for bags is BOPP (Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene), which is acid-free, and higher-quality as it is food-grade packaging so it will be more expensive but not necessary.
Any polypropylene wrapping will provide a suitable moisture barrier.
Hard-Backed Enveloped to Prevent Folding and Creasing
The hard-backed envelope is the most affordable solution for sending paper documents with the least risk of folding or creasing. As these are made of cardboard, they are acidic, which is another reason to use a wrap around a print to protect from potential damage.
Also, mailing companies use sorting machines to sort and process mail and that is the part where the hard envelope helps prevent bending.
The All-Important Fragile Sticker for Handlers to Know to Handle with Care
When being handled manually, the fragile stickers let staff know to be that little bit more careful such as if it doesn’t fit through the letterbox, don’t force it. If there’s no answer, leave it a sorry we missed you card a rearrange another delivery or pick it up in person from a local pickup point.
The Extra that Can Fetch Premium Prices by Increasing Value
Acid-Free backing boards!
The above is a minimum most print sellers will focus on, not including the little niceties like thank-you notes. It is enough to get the print delivered, even if there is a slight risk of the envelope failing or the cellophane not holding up to unexpected levels of water saturation.
The real commercial value of acid-free backing boards is in helping the customer preserve the print. Rather than having to go out and find custom size mount boards to frame their new prints, you can use a custom-sized mount cut within the shipping package, adding extra protection against folds and bends during shipping, and it’s something the customer can use.
The packaging is something of a nuance for many people because so much of it goes to waste. By taking care with the materials used for shipping prints, or even certificates from online course providers, customers will value the entire package more. Plus, by being able to advertise that your prints ship with ready-to-frame high-quality acid-free backing board, customers can be assured they will receive an undamaged print in the post and easily update one of their favourite picture frames or use one they bought especially for their new print arriving.
To save on your materials budget, all our card stock including photo mount board and acid-free backing is available with bulk order pricing for the same size and colour of board.
Ship your prints with acid-free boards for extra protection and let your customers know they can use them for framing. It is the little extras artists do for customers that enable them to charge a surplus to increase revenue.