How I Decided to Package My Prints
One of the early decisions I had to make when setting up my shop was how I wanted to package and ship my prints. It sounds like a small, boring logistical detail, but it ended up being one of those choices that affects almost everything: cost, customer experience, stress levels, and how confident I feel hitting the "ship" button.
I went back and forth on this more than I expected. There are a few obvious ways people ship art, and none of them are inherently wrong. But each one comes with tradeoffs, and I had to figure out which tradeoffs I could live with.
Shipping in Rolls
Rolling prints is probably the most common approach. It's what a lot of artists do, and for good reason. Tubes are familiar, prints are well protected, and it feels like the default solution.
But the more I looked into it, the more little issues started to bother me.
First, shipping tubes are classified as irregularly shaped packages. This is a specific designation by USPS that requires an extra fee. More importantly it also often means extra handling. I read quite a few anecdotes about shipping tubes getting lost or delivered months late because they couldn't move cleanly through automated sorting machines.
I also kept coming back to the customer experience. A rolled print arrives tightly curled, and the first thing the customer has to do is fight with it a bit before they can actually enjoy it. That didn't feel great to me.
Long Rectangular Tubes
The next option I considered was using long rectangular tubes or boxes. These avoid the irregular shape fee and can move through sorting machines more easily, which solves one of my biggest concerns with traditional tubes.
Still, I had reservations. Putting a rolled print into a square tube felt like it could introduce awkward bends in the paper. And again, the core issue remained: the customer still has to unroll and flatten the print before they can enjoy it.
Shipping Flat
In the end, I decided to ship my prints flat.
This option is slightly more expensive. Shipping costs are about $2 higher per order, and it requires more protective materials. I was also initially worried that such a large flat surface would be more prone to bending or damage.
The print goes into a clear plastic sleeve with a backing board. That sleeved print is then sandwiched between two slightly larger pieces of cardboard. All of that goes into a rigid mailer.
Why Shipping Flat Won Out
The deciding factor for me was the customer experience.
With flat shipping, the print arrives ready to be enjoyed. There's no flattening period, no wrestling with curled paper, no waiting. The customer opens the package and sees the print as it's meant to be seen.
That felt worth the extra couple of dollars.
This whole decision ended up being less about optimization and more about values. I wanted shipping to feel intentional and respectful of the work, both for me and for whoever ends up with the print on their wall.
Like most things in this process, there probably isn't a single right answer. But for now, shipping flat feels like the right choice for me.