Shipping Glass
There are 4 things you MUST remember when shipping glass:
Of course, glass won't bend - it'll break instead. To be sure this doesn't happen to your glass, you must "sandwich" it between two sheets of some rigid material. Plywood will work, but sheet Styrofoam is best. It's strong, rigid and lightweight. I recommend either 1 ½" or 2" thick. It comes in 2'x8' and 4'x8" sheets.
Styrofoam can be cut with a saw, or it can be scored and broken the same as glass. To do this, make a cut with a utility knife about ½" deep. Place the sheet on a table or counter top with the cut along the edge of the table and the cut upward. Then quickly press down and crack it off at the score. This is done exactly the same way a glazier breaks a scored sheet of window glass, or a drywall breaks a cut on a sheet of gypsium board (sheet-rock). With small pieces, you can also just crack it over your knee.
If you hit it, you'll break it. To be sure this doesn't happen you must pack it with shock absorbing material around it. The best material for absorbing shock is soft foam cushioning. The kind used for pillows or mattresses. You can buy it by the sheet, but the shops that sell foam mattresses also usually have scraps for sale. These will work just as well. Take your "sandwich" and pack it in a cardboard mirror box large enough that there is at least 3" of cushioning on all 6 sides. You don't have to fill the entire side with a sheet of soft foam. A strip every foot or so will be enough. This will be very much like the 2x4 framework used for building houses. Just so that there is something to absorb any force that hits the outside of the carton.
Newsprint (excelsior), soft Styrofoam chips, or "bubble-wrap" will also make excellent packing material. Styrofoam peanuts are useless. If you use these, they will vibrate off to one side of your package - leaving your precious glass cargo unprotected on the other side.
The Post Office and all the freight companies use mechanical conveyor belts to handle packages. It is not uncommon to have packages drop as much as 12 feet down off the end of one of these conveyors. Your package must be able to stand up to this drop.
The company you ship with will probably be happy to sell you damage insurance on your shipment. But, if you ever try to collect on it, they'll refuse. Stained glass is not covered by insurance. The ONLY insurance you have is the way you package it.
Reference: Glass Campus
How to Package Glass Safely for Shipping
If you sell or send glass or similar material breakable items, you need to take extra precautions when you package for shipping. Getting glass to friends or customers safely can be accomplished with careful packaging. Here's how.
1. Apply masking tape to your merchandise if it is an item with a panel of glass such as a mirror or a picture frame. Masking tape is easy for your customer to remove without leaving residue on the glass and will help to prevent the glass from breaking by absorbing some of the vibration. If the glass panel breaks in transit the masking tape will reduce the amount of shattering.
2. Wrap the glass in unprinted newspaper. You can usually get unprinted roll ends from any newspaper either free or very cheap. If you must use printed newspaper, put the item into a plastic bag first to prevent the newsprint from getting onto your merchandise.
3. Cover your paper-wrapped item with a layer of bubble wrap. Tape the bubble wrap closed so it stays in place.
4. Choose a box that it large enough to give you an extra two inches on all sides of your item. Fill that two inches with crumpled newspaper. For extra protection mix some styrofoam peanuts in with the crumpled newspaper.
5. Consider double-boxing the item if it is extremely fragile or extremely valuable. If you choose to double box your outer box should be large enough to allow for another two-inch layer of crumpled paper between the two boxes.
6. Use a good-quality packing tape to seal the package before shipping. You also might want to reinforce the corners of the box with the tape for extra protection from the box getting damaged in shipment which increases the chances of your glass breaking.
Reference: ehow
