Skip Navigation Website Accessibility
220 S. Wabash Ave. Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 431-9588

Packing and Shipping Services


Yes, we ship picture frames.

Having said that, here are the conditions under which we offer this service:

(1) The items being shipped should, in general, be frame jobs that we have completed in our shop. Since we do not make a living as Art Shippers, we prefer to restrict our shipping to those sorts of items. We are not, particularly, interested in packing and shipping the 30 framed prints you just inherited, to be sent up to your summer home in Michigan. The only way that would happen is if you engaged us to perform framing services on any or all of them first, such as re-matting, re-glazing, re-framing, etc.

(2) If an item being shipped is framed with glass, we will do our utmost to protect it from damage while in transit. We cannot guarantee it, 100%, however, since we have to hand the package off to UPS or FedEx and they are very rough on packages. We have, however, developed and engineered packing procedures that have given us a 99% success rate. If the item is very valuable, may we suggest re-glazing it, first, with plexiglass? This is much lighter than glass, will not shatter or damage your art if broken and is just as clear as glass. Also, it is not a semi-conductor like glass and will prevent moisture buildup inside the framing package.There are numerous types of plexiglass that we offer and we would be glad to explain their differences and advantages of one over the others.

(3) If we are shipping a valuable framed work of art, we will ask you for the insured amount. If it exceeds the $500 standard insured amount for UPS, additional documents must be filled out by us for UPS to accept the liability. You may need to provide an appraisal of the art if it is extremely valuable, in which case we may refer you to a fully insured art shipper.

(4) Most items that we ship go in cardboard boxes, with numerous layers of packing material and suspension harnesses to isolate the art. If you need a wooden crate, we will build one for you, but it will be expensive. If it is heavy enough or large enough to require a crate, it will ship by common carrier (commercial trucking) and not by a parcel service. Rates are vastly different for this type of shipping.

Here is, typically, how we pack a framed picture for shipping:

(A) The art gets corrugated corners lined with soft foam to protect the frame finish from scuffing by the corrugated material.

(B) The art is wrapped in brown kraft paper and taped shut. If the frame finish is a shiny lacquer or is touchy and easily scuffed (or we have glazed the frame with museum glass), we may wrap it in foam first before paper wrapping.

(C) The wrapped frame is, then, encapsulated in a hard skin of corrugated cardboard. In other words, a tight box is built around it.

(D) The box is covered in bubble wrap to add cushion to it all.

(E) A two piece, corrugated harness is made that suspends the art in the middle, so as to create a crush zone all around the edges of the frame. The harness is sized to slide snugly into a box of appropriate size. If there is any additional air space on the face sides of the frame, more corrugated or stiff foam sheets are inserted to fill the space before taping it shut thoroughly.

This is a tried and true packing system we have used for years. It really works!

(5) The cost for packing and shipping is not included in your framing cost. Both are, usually, quoted as a separate items.

If you require shipping services, please mention this at the time that you place your order with us for framing. It will, in some cases, influence what we suggest in the way of framing and glazing choices. We can, also, send your frame by messenger in the metro-Chicago area. We will pack it the same way as above, but it will arrive the same day that it is sent with a lot less risk.

If you still have questions about shipping framed art and would like to consult with us before doing so, please feel free to call us at 312-431-9588 or email us at: info@flaxartandframe.com. If you are emailing from a Gmail account, send your inquiries to: flaxartandframe@comcast.net