Why size decides the shipping method

The answer to how are Hepworth prints packaged and shipped is not one method but two. Prints at or below roughly A3 travel flat, sandwiched between stiff boards inside a protective envelope. The board stops anything pressing through the front and keeps corners square. Flat shipping is the safer format for paper, and it is used whenever the parcel stays small enough to handle without flexing.

Above that size, flat parcels become the problem. A large sheet inside a rigid envelope acts like a sail, and any knock across its face transfers straight to the print. So bigger editions are rolled, printed side inward, around a core and slipped into a tube with padding at both ends. A tube spreads impact across its curve, which is why couriers treat it more gently than a flat box.

The same logic applies across reproduction formats. A framed piece travels as a finished object with its own protection, while an unframed canvas edition is usually stretched after arrival rather than shipped under glass. If you are weighing formats before ordering, the choice between framed and unstretched is covered in more detail in how to choose a framed poster or canvas.

Unpacking without creasing the sheet

Most damage happens at the kitchen table, not in transit. Open a flat parcel on a clean, dry surface, lift the boards away rather than sliding the print out, and hold the paper by its edges. Fingers carry oils that show on matte paper within weeks. If the print has an interleaving tissue, leave it on until framing.

A rolled print needs patience. Lay the tube flat, remove the end padding, and let the print ease out on its own. Unroll it printed side up on a table, then weight the four corners with clean, flat objects and give it a day to settle. Rolling it the opposite way to speed things up is the single most common way buyers crease a new print.

Storage follows the same rules. Keep paper prints flat, away from direct sunlight and damp walls, ideally in the folder they arrived in until framed. Canvas editions tolerate more, but still want a dry room and a wall that does not sit above a radiator. Once you are ready to hang, the practical choices are set out in choosing the right print size.

What to do if a print arrives damaged

It happens, and the honest answer is that no packaging removes the risk entirely. Tubes get crushed, envelopes get bent at the corner, and a print that arrives creased is disappointing at any price. The useful move is to document it immediately. Photograph the packaging and the print before you remove anything, because carriers routinely ask for both when a claim is filed.

Do not attempt to flatten a crease with heat or heavy pressure. A light curl will usually settle on its own within a few days under corner weights. A hard crease in the printed area is permanent on most papers, and no home method reverses it. At that point the remedy is a replacement or refund rather than repair, and the terms for that are set out in the refund policy.

If anything about the condition is unclear, ask before framing. Framing a flawed print locks the problem in, and framers are rarely able to rework a mounted sheet without cost. A short message with two photographs settles most questions in a single reply.