As a leading moving and self-storage company in Dubai, one of the most common questions we receive is how to pack artwork during relocation. Moving or relocating requires special measures when you have fragile items, particularly works of art. Following simple steps like below can help you safely pack and transport artwork during a relocation.

1. Sort Your Artwork According To Sizes

The first thing you need to do is sort your artwork according to their sizes and get appropriate boxes to pack them. Generally, small and medium-sized artwork can be packed and transported together. If you have more delicate and large artwork, it’s best to pack them individually. Most self-storage companies have specialty boxes of different sizes and purposes, like for relocation.

2. Mark Glass With An ‘X’

If your artwork has a glass covering, then use tape to create an x over the glass, fully encompassing it. If the frame is larger, you might have to add more lines of tape across the empty spaces. This is to stop the glass from totally shattering if it encounters any damages and to stop the glass from moving too much if it breaks.

3. Protect The Artwork’s Face

If your artwork is not secured with glass frames, then you need to protect its face. For this, you can wrap the artwork in several layers of kitchen plastic wrap or commercially available palette wrap. These supplies can be easily bought at self-storage or moving companies.

4. Wrap The Artwork

The next step is to wrap the artwork. The wrapping paper should be twice the size of your frame. Lay the frame glass-side down against the paper. Wrap the ends of the paper around the frame- just like you would when wrapping a gift. Once you’ve done wrapping, secure it with packing tape all the way around the frame, both lengthwise and widthwise. Then repeat the same process with the bubble wrap.

Never wrap your artwork using newspapers. While it can work as good padding, it can leave a newsprint on the artwork, so always use brown paper. If you are packing small photos and frames together, then wrap each one in packing paper before putting them together in a box. This is to make sure the glasses don’t strike each other and crack/break during the move. If you want to be extra cautious, add some cardboard corner protectors to the frames.

5. Fill Empty Space With Shredded Paper

Once you’ve wrapped your artwork, put them into the sorted boxes. If there is additional space in the box, fill them with shredded paper. This will protect the artwork from moving, breaking or ripping while moving. If you don’t have shredded paper, use old scarves and socks.

6. Seal And Label

When you’re done with all the steps listed above, seal the boxes. Label them as “fragile” and also say which way the glass is facing. While moving, don’t stack anything atop of these boxes that have your artwork in it.