Whether the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is sending its collections around the world on a traveling exhibition or lending them to another museum across the country, no chances are taken with damage. ETHAFOAM brand polyethylene plastic foam is used in nearly every packing case in a multitude of applications. Mr. T. S. "Blues" Farley, Packing Supervisor for the Museum, provides further background.

"We handle four or five major exhibitions annually which travel throughout the United States and quite often to other parts of the world. These exhibitions can involve anywhere from 150 artifacts to as many as 400. We also maintain a regular schedule of sending approximately 1,000 pieces to other museums as loans. And because this is priceless artwork which could never be replaced if damaged or destroyed, we protect it with ETHAFOAM... period."

Mr. Farley goes on to explain, however, there was a time when ETHAFOAM plastic foam wasn't used at all by the Museum. "When I started here eight years ago as a rigger (handler and installer of artwork), paintings, sculptures, and other items were being packed in paper, straw, bubble wrap, urethane foams, and other inadequate materials. That, of course, resulted in some occasional damage which meant insurance claims, restoration costs, and perhaps loss of artistic value for a piece. I began to take an interest in packing about then because I realized mishandling wasn't the cause of the problem as much as it was the poor performance of those materials."

"When I became the Packing Supervisor, my first act was to eliminate all the old disciplines in packing—the trials and errors—and start completely over from scratch. My objective was to provide better protection through a combination of better packing materials and better packing designs."

After investigating numerous materials, Farley settled on ETHAFOAM polyethylene foam because it best satisfied the three major criteria he had set. "First, tests indicated ETHAFOAM would provide the necessary cushioning to absorb shocks and vibrations which would cause physical damage. Second, it's chemically inert. That's extremely important to us because we can't use any packaging material that might react with the various papers, metals, and paints used in artworks. Also, it remains relatively unaffected by variations in temperature and humidity. Remember, we ship our packages all over the world. And third, it's reusable. Every piece of artwork must be returned in its original crate and packing materials."

"Rarely do we package two pieces that are identical," says Farley. "We've shipped everything from a delicate porcelain goose egg to a cast iron stove to a 2,500-pound bronze statue. ETHAFOAM gives us another big advantage: we can easily cut or form the plastic foam into virtually any shape imaginable using either a bandsaw or knife. We can even bond and laminate pieces of ETHAFOAM together just using a heat gun, which eliminates problems of destructive and toxic fumes from adhesives. That's another dimension of the foam's versatility."

Mr. Farley points out that whenever the Museum ships artwork, he can't always be there to supervise repacking operations. "Yet we have to be absolutely certain each piece is repacked properly. Otherwise, we risk damage. So we have to design packages that are so simple, they can only go together one way, the correct way. In other words, we have to maintain control. Unlike paper and straw, ETHAFOAM gives us that control, even though we may be thousands of miles away."

Farley adds that this has led to innovative packaging concepts. He developed a unique system for complicated packages where pieces of ETHAFOAM plastic foam are coded with drawings or pictures. "When we realized we could draw or mark on ETHAFOAM, we began to take advantage of that benefit. For instance, we recently drew pictures of segments of a caterpillar on the individual pieces of the foam. So when the package is assembled properly, the caterpillar is assembled properly. If a foam piece is put in wrong or out of sequence, it's very noticeable. This method works. Everybody seems to want to put packages back together right."

Mr. Farley concludes by saying, "I prefer ETHAFOAM for shock and vibration control over all other plastic foams we've examined because it doesn't change significantly from piece to piece. Its properties essentially remain the same. That's important to us because it means we can rely on ETHAFOAM for consistent protection. My shipping material specifications call for ETHAFOAM or equal. We haven't found an equal yet."

The close-up view shows how blocks of ETHAFOAM line the interior walls of the crate to protect against shocks and vibrations. ETHAFOAM is used inside to protect each individual piece.

Although ETHAFOAM plastic foam is the mainstay packaging material for the Museum, Farley reports some use of PELASPAN-PAC brand plastic loose fill for packing small boxes in crates. "We tested over twenty different kinds of plastic loose fill and found PELASPAN-PAC to settle out less than the others. The peanut-shaped strands 'lock' together and help hold the box in position inside the container. That means better protection."

"Rarely do we package two pieces that are identical," says Farley. "We've shipped everything from a delicate porcelain goose egg to a cast iron stove to a 2,500-pound bronze statue. ETHAFOAM gives us another big advantage: we can easily cut or form the plastic foam into virtually any shape imaginable using either a bandsaw or knife. We can even bond and laminate pieces of ETHAFOAM together just using a heat gun, which eliminates problems of destructive and toxic fumes from adhesives. That's another dimension of the foam's versatility."

Mr. Farley points out that whenever the Museum ships artwork, he can't always be there to supervise repacking operations. "Yet we have to be absolutely certain each piece is repacked properly. Otherwise, we risk damage. So we have to design packages that are so simple, they can only go together one way, the correct way. In other words, we have to maintain control. Unlike paper and straw, ETHAFOAM gives us that control, even though we may be thousands of miles away."

Farley adds that this has led to innovative packaging concepts. He developed a unique system for complicated packages where pieces of ETHAFOAM plastic foam are coded with drawings or pictures. "When we realized we could draw or mark on ETHAFOAM, we began to take advantage of that benefit. For instance, we recently drew pictures of segments of a caterpillar on the individual pieces of the foam. So when the package is assembled properly, the caterpillar is assembled properly. If a foam piece is put in wrong or out of sequence, it's very noticeable. This method works. Everybody seems to want to put packages back together right."

Mr. Farley concludes by saying, "I prefer ETHAFOAM for shock and vibration control over all other plastic foams we've examined because it doesn't change significantly from piece to piece. Its properties essentially remain the same. That's important to us because it means we can rely on ETHAFOAM for consistent protection. My shipping material specifications call for ETHAFOAM or equal. We haven't found an equal yet."

The close-up view shows how blocks of ETHAFOAM line the interior walls of the crate to protect against shocks and vibrations. ETHAFOAM is used inside to protect each individual piece.

Although ETHAFOAM plastic foam is the mainstay packaging material for the Museum, Farley reports some use of PELASPAN-PAC brand plastic loose fill for packing small boxes in crates. "We tested over twenty different kinds of plastic loose fill and found PELASPAN-PAC to settle out less than the others. The peanut-shaped strands 'lock' together and help hold the box in position inside the container. That means better protection."