Many of us put artwork or posters into the mail systems of the world, which can be a "bit" harrowing, Malcolm Currie and Lynnette Cook have some advice on how to protect your works. Malcolm says, "My tip is to put the tube in a fitting box. You can cut up another cardboard box and tape the corners. The outer box is merely a shell rather than load bearing. I think what happens is that a plain tube rolls off surfaces then something heavy like a motorized cart runs over it or it gets jammed in the machinery. Rolling tubes are easier get lost too; United mislaid my giant glossy color poster paper for a technical conference a few years back. There's no compensation for the embarrassing space." Lynnette followed that up with, "Malcolm is absolutely right, I have had wretched luck with mailing tubes. (I think there is a tendency for workers to throw them). What I do is bubble wrap my picture (usually an 16x 20 painting with a frame) with about 2 inches of extra padding in the corners, then wrap it in a piece of fake fur that I buy on sale in the summer when my local Joann's is cleaning out (old blankets cut to size work great, too), then either masking tape it or secure it with tubule ligature (you used to be able to get it at Edmonds Scientific) or masking tape. Then I set it in a U-shaped shell of cardboard cut from a shipping box too battered to use as an outer shipping container, and then put the whole thing in a slightly larger box after lining the bottom with foam, wadded paper, or whatever is around.(I get the boxes from Mailboxes R Us or the equivalent, they are about $7.00 each; I don't remember the exact dimensions but it's something like 28x33x5). After the inner "box" is in I stuff plastic shopping bags in all the corners. Some of my shipping choices are guided by the fact I have to have everything re-usable for the person on the other end to repack it, so it can't be too high-tech, too heavy or too complicated, and it has to be as cheap as possible while still getting the job done. I always send it US Mail Priority unless it's going to St. Louis, because their postal sorter is evil. There I use FedEx. UPS going through Philly is the antichrist, too--I have had stuff more than casually broken by them, it looked as though a truck had fallen on the package. I always insure the packages and I keep the frame receipts with the shipping receipt--occasionally a frame has separated in shipping and my local PO will give me cash compensation on the spot if I have a receipt. All post offices are not created equal, I have lived places where the local clerks would get tense about oversized boxes. If your local branch seems hostile look for another one that is more easy going, it also pays to shop around at the independent shipping outlets--they are pricier but they can often be very helpful in giving you the info on the best prices and shippers for where you are shipping, plus they have an infinite supply of bubble wrap."