Many art owners and dealers imagine a solid wooden box when they think about custom art crates. That’s partly true, as crates for fine art are made of wood or plywood to guarantee added protection to precious objects throughout the transportation process. However, building a crate is not only about making a wooden box; it’s a separate area of fine art handling, which needs to be carefully planned and executed for your positive shipping experience.
So, what are custom art crates, and when do you need one? Here is a brief breakdown of industry standards for crating fine art objects for transportation.
Why Do People Love Using Custom Art Crates?
The first thing to understand is that custom art crates indeed represent the highest standard of fine art objects’ protection in transit. That’s why they are often marketed as a sure way of avoiding troubles and emergencies in the transportation process. This makes people wishing to secure their precious belongings believe that crates are the only option they should use. However, crates are not always needed when transporting art.
Cases When You Definitely Need a Crate
Let’s highlight a couple of use cases for crates:
- international shipping;
- extremely valuable paintings;
- particularly delicate objects (antique and fragile items);
- oddly shaped artworks.
These are the standard situations in which a crate is worth considering. It won’t be an empty waste of money, and the added protection will be a reasonable investment. For all other cases, soft packing is often enough to ship an art piece safely even across the country (provided that you use a specialized art shuttle service). For interstate deliveries, you may also consider packing your artwork in a travel frame.
Get Your Customized Crate from Fine Art Shippers
Customized wooden crates are the maximum of what you can do for your shipped item, but, as mentioned above, it is not the only option. Crating can be different, and the museum version of a solid wooden crate is justified only in a small number of specific use cases. Regular domestic shipping can be done with lower cost and effort, with lighter crate versions and soft packing suitable for most shipped items. Fine Art Shippers provides services to accommodate any need, from custom crates to professional onsite packing, so feel free to contact our team for help and assistance.