Rolled or stretched: which to order, and what it does to your freight bill
This is the decision that most changes what a painting costs to get to your door, and most buyers make it by default rather than on purpose.
What the two actually mean
Rolled means the painted canvas travels loose, rolled around a core and packed in a tube. Nothing is attached to it. The buyer, or the buyer's customer, stretches it onto a frame at the destination.
Stretched means the canvas is already mounted on a wooden stretcher frame, ready to hang. It travels as a rigid box.
Why the freight difference is so large
International freight is charged on whichever is greater: actual weight or volumetric weight. A stretched canvas is mostly air inside a box, so it prices on volume. A rolled canvas in a tube has a fraction of that volume.
| Rolled | Stretched | |
|---|---|---|
| Volume for one 60 × 80 cm piece | Very low | High — box plus protection |
| Multiple pieces per package | Yes, several per tube | Rarely |
| Damage risk in transit | Low | Corner and frame damage |
| Ready to hang | No | Yes |
| Dispatch speed | After curing | Immediate |
For volume orders the freight saving on rolled is usually decisive. For a single piece going to an end customer who expects to hang it that afternoon, it usually is not.
The part nobody mentions: curing
Paint needs time before a canvas can be rolled. Rolled too early, the paint layer cracks along the curve of the roll, and the damage often does not appear until the canvas is stretched at the far end — weeks later, in someone else's hands, with no way to prove where it happened.
Three things reduce that risk, and you are entitled to ask any supplier whether they do them:
- Cure before rolling. Ask how many days. A supplier who cannot answer is not counting.
- Interleave with glassine, not plastic film. Plastic film can bond to the paint surface in a hot container and take the surface with it when peeled.
- Roll face-out on a wide core. Face-in compresses the paint layer; face-out stretches it, which it tolerates far better. A wider core means a gentler curve. Heavy texture needs a wider core than flat work.
How to decide
- Volume into a warehouse: rolled, almost always.
- Single pieces direct to end customers: depends on your market. Many end customers enjoy choosing their own frame; some expect it ready to hang. Test both before committing.
- Hotel and contract projects: usually rolled to a local framer, who stretches and installs. Frames are cheaper and faster sourced locally than shipped.
- Heavy texture: ask specifically. Thick paint is less forgiving of rolling, and some pieces should not be rolled at all.
Questions worth asking any supplier
- How many days do you cure before rolling?
- What do you interleave with?
- What core diameter, and do you roll face-in or face-out?
- How much unpainted margin is left for stretching?
- If it arrives cracked from rolling, who pays?
The last one is the one that matters. Ask it in writing.
Questions buyers ask
Is rolled canvas lower quality than stretched?
No. It is the same painting. Rolled is a shipping format, not a product grade — most galleries receive work rolled.
How much unpainted edge do I need for stretching?
Between 5 and 8 cm on each side for a standard stretcher, more for a deep gallery wrap. Confirm before the piece is painted, not after.
Can heavy texture be rolled?
Often, with a wide core and adequate curing. Some pieces should not be. Ask for a piece-by-piece answer rather than a general one.
Who stretches it at my end?
Any framer. It is a routine job and usually costs far less than shipping a stretched piece across the world.
Xiamen Velaturo Art Co., Ltd. produces hand-painted paintings for trade clients worldwide. Twenty contracted painters, named on every commission, with documented colour review before shipping.