Shipping a Canvas Rolled, from the VanArtHub custom framing guides

Canvas, Stretching & Care · The process

Shipping a Canvas Rolled

How to roll, tube and send a painting so it arrives able to be stretched, written for artists who ship their own work.

A painting ships rolled with the painted surface facing outward, around the widest tube you can reasonably send, with acid-free tissue against the paint and four to five centimetres of unpainted margin left on every side. VanArtHub stretches rolled canvases at 1242 Davie Street in Vancouver, and most of the damage we see arrived in the parcel rather than after it.

Paint faces out

It looks wrong and it is correct. Rolling paint inward compresses the paint layer against itself, which is what causes flaking. Rolled outward, the paint layer goes into slight tension instead, which it tolerates far better. Every roll should be paint out.

The wider the tube, the better

A narrow tube forces a tight curve, and a tight curve is where cracking starts on anything with body to the paint. Use the widest tube you can send. If the paint has real relief, do not roll it at all: impasto does not bend, and it should ship flat between rigid boards even though that costs more.

What touches the paint

Acid-free tissue or glassine, then the canvas, then an outer wrap. Never bubble wrap directly against the painted surface. The bubbles print into the paint, especially if the parcel gets warm in transit, and the pattern does not come out.

Leave the margin, and say so

Four to five centimetres of unpainted border on all four sides. That margin is what wraps the bars and takes the staples at the far end. A canvas trimmed close to the image cannot be stretched conventionally, and that gets discovered by the buyer, after it has arrived, when nothing can be done about it. Write the margin dimensions on the outside of the tube.

Tell the recipient what to do

Include a note: leave the tube sealed until it reaches room temperature, then unroll flat, painted side up, and let it relax under gentle weight on the margins for a day or two. Cold paint is brittle, and unrolling a cold canvas is the most common way these paintings are damaged.

Related

See stretching a rolled canvas for the receiving end, and the stretching calculator to work out the margin before you cut anything.

1. Leave it sealed until it is at room temperature 2. Unroll flat painted side out, weights at the edges 3. Then stretch onto bars cut to the piece
A painting shipped in a tube is rolled with the painted surface facing outward, so the paint layer is stretched rather than compressed. Let the tube reach room temperature before opening it, because cold paint is brittle and unrolling it is what causes the fine cracking that shows up later along the direction of the roll.

Common questions

How should a painting be rolled for shipping?

Painted side facing outward, around a wide tube rather than a narrow one. Rolling paint inward compresses the paint layer against itself and causes flaking. Rolled outward it goes into slight tension instead, which it tolerates far better. The wider the tube, the gentler the curve.

What should go between the canvas and the tube?

Acid-free tissue or glassine against the painted surface, then the canvas, then an outer wrap. Never bubble wrap directly against paint: the bubbles print into the surface, especially if the parcel gets warm in transit.

How much unpainted margin should I leave when shipping?

Four to five centimetres on every side, and say so to whoever is stretching it. That margin is what wraps the bars and takes the staples. A canvas trimmed close to the image cannot be stretched conventionally, and that is discovered at the far end when it is too late.

How wide should the tube be?

As wide as you can reasonably send. A narrow tube forces a tight curve, and a tight curve is where cracking starts on anything with body to the paint. If the paint is thick, use the widest tube available or consider shipping flat.

Should a very thickly painted canvas be rolled at all?

Often not. Impasto does not bend, and rolling it cracks it. Anything with significant relief should ship flat between rigid boards, even though that costs more. Ask before rolling if you are unsure.

What should the recipient do when it arrives?

Leave the tube sealed until it reaches room temperature, then unroll flat and let it relax under gentle weight on the margins for a day or two. Unrolling a cold canvas is the single most common way these paintings get damaged. See stretching a rolled canvas.

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