How to Pack Sold Artwork and Print Its Shipping Label

Overview

Preparing shipping products is the fulfilment step that turns a paid order into a parcel ready for drop-off — orders fulfilled through the platform’s shipping come with a ready-made postage label you only need to print and attach.

• Who it’s for — artists and galleries shipping sold work to buyers.
• Where it starts — the Invoices page, where a ready-to-ship order shows Order Status as Paid together with a Shipping label button on its card.
• What the first click does — buys the postage from the carrier for the rate chosen on the invoice and opens the label as a PDF; there is no confirmation step, so the charge happens at that moment and is not reversible.
• What the invoice tells you next — a Next step banner spelling out the routine: print the label, attach it securely to the outside of the package, and drop it with the carrier shown.
• What you end up with — a printed label fixed to the package and the parcel ready for drop-off.

Before you start

• An artist or gallery seller account. Invoices live under Sales in the seller dashboard.
• A paid, shippable invoice. Look for Order Status showing Paid plus a Shipping label button on the card, as described in How to Manage Invoices. Not every paid invoice qualifies — invoice-only orders, pickup or seller-shipped orders, and shipments whose rate is still being confirmed (TBC) show View without a label button.
• Fulfilment supplies ready. A printer and PDF reader for the one-page label, the package itself, and tape or a pouch to fix the label securely to the outside.
• Awareness of the effects. The first click purchases the postage and opens the PDF immediately, with no confirmation dialog — make sure the package is ready before you click. Always verify the return address, delivery address, ship date, weight, and tracking barcode on the printout, and note the carrier and drop-off location shown on the label.

Steps

1. Sign in to Cohart

Sign in with your email address and password, or use Google or Apple.

2. Open the Sales menu in the sidebar

After signing in, you land on the Inventory page. In the left sidebar, click Sales to expand it.

The Sales menu contains Invoices, Sales Record, Shipping, Transactions, and Testimonials.

3. Go to Invoices

Click Invoices in the expanded Sales menu. The Invoices page lists every invoice with its Items, Total Order, Created On, Order Status, Sent to, and Last sent details.

To bill a buyer from scratch instead, click Create a new invoice in the top-right corner. To open a single invoice, click View on its card.

4. Find the paid invoice and its Shipping label button

Look for the sold order you want to ship. A ready-to-ship invoice shows Order Status as Paid and offers a Shipping label button on its card, next to View.

5. Click Shipping label to download the label (PDF)

Click Shipping label on the paid invoice card. The first click buys the postage for the rate stored on the invoice and opens the label as a PDF file — no confirmation dialog appears. Clicking again re-opens the same label.

The same Shipping label action is also available per sale on the Sales Record page, which additionally offers Track order per sale.

6. Follow the Next step packaging and drop-off instructions

Paid shipping orders show a Next step: banner on the invoice: “Download and print your label, attach it securely to the outside of your package, and then drop it off at your nearest [carrier] location.” The banner inserts the carrier of the rate selected at checkout.

Print the downloaded PDF, attach it securely to the outside of your package, and drop the package off with that carrier (the carrier name is printed on the banner and the label).

7. Sign the piece and choose the right packaging materials

Before you close up the package, sign and date the artwork if you haven’t already. Then pick materials for the format you chose under Artwork Shipping Options when you listed the piece — In a box, In a crate, or Rolled in a tube: a quality tube, box, or crate, cushioning material, and packing tape. Paying more for good materials costs far less than a damaged artwork — your local post office carries some supplies, or you can buy in bulk from a supplier like U-Line.

If you’re using bubble wrap, place the bubbles facing outward, away from the artwork’s surface. Direct contact can dent paintings and other pieces, and against some mediums it can trap moisture and lead to mold.

8. Pack the artwork for its format

How you wrap and cushion the piece depends on the format you picked:

• Rolled canvas — find a tube 6 in (or 6 cm) longer than the canvas’s shortest side. Lay the canvas flat, cut acid-free paper or glassine 1–2 in larger than the canvas on each side, and lay it over the painted surface. Roll the canvas and glassine together into a tube from the short side, wrap it in bubble wrap, and cap both ends with extra bubble-wrap squares secured with rubber bands. Wrap two 3 in+ cardboard strips around the wrapped ends and tape them down, then wrap the whole roll in a plastic sheet or bag taped airtight for moisture protection — you can slip a thank-you card or certificate of authenticity inside the plastic. Fit the roll into the shipping tube with padding at both ends for a snug fit, then tape the tube caps closed.
• Framed or stretched artwork — prefer plexi over glass to reduce the risk of the artwork arriving damaged; glass can break in transit and further damage the piece. Choose a box or crate 3 in larger than the artwork on every side. Lay the artwork flat, wrap it in acid-free paper or glassine on all sides, then wrap it in 2 layers of bubble wrap or foam sheets with no gaps. Add 4 extra bubble-wrap corner protectors taped to each corner, then wrap the whole piece in a plastic sheet or bag taped airtight, with an optional thank-you card or certificate of authenticity inside. Place it in the box or crate with padding filling any gaps so the artwork doesn’t touch the sides or top, then seal the box or nail the crate shut.
• Sculptures or objects — use a box or crate with at least 3 in of clearance on every side. Wrap the top half twice in bubble wrap taped to itself, then cap it with an overlapping piece of bubble wrap taped only to the wrap, not the piece. Repeat for the bottom half, overlapping at the middle. Fill the box about 1/3 full with loose packaging material (shredded or crumpled paper, or eco-friendly packing peanuts), nestle the wrapped object in the middle, then fill the remaining space snugly and seal the box or crate.

9. Use a crate for oversized, fragile, or custom orders

For work that’s delicate, fragile, framed, heavy, or larger than 39 in in length, use a wooden crate instead of a box — it protects better against standard handling during transit. Buy a ready-made crate (for example from U-Line) or have one custom-built by a crater for sizes that don’t fit standard boxes.

For bespoke or oversized pieces where the final shipping cost isn’t known upfront, either send a custom invoice once you have the crating quote finalized (the buyer selects Pick up / Ship by seller at checkout instead of Ship by Cohart), or let the buyer complete checkout with Invoice Only or Pick up / Ship by seller and follow up with a separate shipping invoice once crating is finalized. Flag this in the artwork description — for example, “Final shipping will be quoted based on crating requirements” — so buyers know what to expect.

10. Print the downloaded label

Open the downloaded PDF. It is a one-page carrier label (postage paid via Shippo) — USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL, whichever service the buyer’s selected rate used.

Check that the label shows your return address, the buyer’s delivery address, the ship date and weight, and the tracking barcode. Print it as-is — the file is an image with no selectable text. Then attach it securely to the outside of your package. Also mark the package Fragile and This side up so the carrier handles it with care, and tape over the label itself so it doesn’t get torn off in transit. Drop the package off with the carrier shown on the label.

Tips

• You land on Inventory, not the sales pages, after signing in. Use the sidebar to open Sales, then Invoices.
• Each invoice card also has a … (more options) menu next to View.

Troubleshooting

• No Shipping label button on the invoice card, only View, or open invoices show Resend, View, and Edit → only paid invoices can be shipped → confirm Order Status shows Paid before looking for the label.
• Login form is covered or the sidebar does not appear after signing in → cookie banner overlap or slow loading with a spinner → dismiss the banner with Reject all if needed, then wait for the content to finish loading before clicking.