Guides
Part of Restoration is actually three different jobs wearing one name
Packing a photograph for restoration takes five careful steps
Preparing an original to leave the house: sending a family item to a studio is the riskiest hour of its life. What to check before it travels, how to pack it.
What to take away
- The standard for travel is stricter than the standard for display. Something safe on a wall may not be safe in a van.
- Cold is a transit hazard. Material is more vulnerable at low temperatures and should not travel in an unheated vehicle in winter.
- Tell the carrier what is unusual about the object, including size, weight, and handling needs. That information changes the vehicle and the handling.
- Ask whether the studio can work from a scan or file. If yes, the original never leaves the house and the riskiest part of the process disappears. A typical scan spec is 600 ppi at full item size, saved as TIFF, with the whole item plus a small border.
- Photograph everything before it goes, and again the moment it comes back.
Check whether it should travel at all
The Canadian Conservation Institute's note on considerations prior to travel is written about paintings and the reasoning holds for any framed or layered family item. Objects in transit face handling, shock, vibration, and fluctuations in relative humidity and temperature, and it notes that damage can develop gradually and may not be apparent straight away.
Travel suitability depends on materials, construction, and past and present condition.
The example is exact: a canvas strong enough to hang at home may be too weak to travel, especially to several places, which means extra handling.
It also flags a hazard households get wrong. An item is more vulnerable in cool temperatures and should not travel in an unheated vehicle in cold weather. A courier van in January is an unheated vehicle. Choose an art courier with climate-controlled vehicles rather than a general parcel service where the piece may sit in an unheated van.
Before anything leaves, inspect for instability, review any earlier condition record, and where you find a problem, ask a conservator rather than deciding yourself.
Packing, in five steps
The Canadian Conservation Institute's note on five steps to safe shipment sets out a sequence for packing fragile objects. The sequence below adapts it for a photograph, whether framed, loose, or mounted on an album page.
Packaging temperature protection
30 min to several hours
Typical packaging protection against sudden temperature change
15C to 25C
Standard specification where temperature-controlled transport is needed
Five steps to safe shipment
- Answer what makes the object special
- Tell the carrier about anything unusual
- Control temperature15C to 25C
- Consolidate loose paint before shipping
- Seek conservation advice in advance
- Ask what makes the photograph special or a cause for concern. Write the answer down. For a framed print, that might be loose glass; for a mounted album page, flaking emulsion.
- Tell the carrier about anything unusual. Name the size, weight, and whether the piece needs climate-controlled transport. Choose a dedicated art courier over a general parcel service when the frame has glass or the album page is fragile.
- Pack in orderglassine or tissue against the surface, then foam or bubble cushioning at corners and edges, then a rigid box. For a glass-covered frame, tape the glass with low-tack tape in a cross. For a loose print or album page, place it in a rigid box with corner protection.
- Control temperature. Typical packaging gives thirty minutes to several hours of protection against sudden temperature change. Where temperature-controlled transport is needed, the standard specification is reliable control between 15C and 25C.
- Mark orientation arrows, write fragile, and instruct the carrier not to open in transit. Photograph the packed box before it goes.
Decide what actually needs to go
Ask the studio directly: can you work from a file, and if so what do you need.
Reserve shipping for work that must happen on the object itself. In practice that means physical treatment, plus formats you cannot capture at home.
A household checklist
| Before | Detail |
|---|---|
| Condition record | Photographs and a written description, dated |
| Stability check | Nothing flaking, lifting or loose |
| Enclosure | Item enclosed, then cushioned, then boxed |
| Labeling | Fragile, orientation, and do not open markings |
| Carrier briefing | Size, weight, and what is unusual |
| Agreement | Who unpacks, when, and who reports damage |
A typical domestic art courier move for a small framed photograph runs in the low hundreds of dollars. A general parcel service is tens of dollars. Cost depends on distance, size, weight, and insured value.
Keep the packing materials. The item has to come home in something, and the box that worked once will work again.
Our guide to what photograph restoration actually means covers the treatment options, and the notes on the bench where accidents happen cover the packing and unpacking surface.
