You’ve placed your deposit and have just received your Plum Print shipping kit. The tubs and bins of your child’s creative clutter or treasured family memories that have been tucked away in the closet all year (or longer) can finally be liberated! You now have the easiest solution for preserving these precious memories and freeing up space in your home right at your fingertips.

You’re ready to start packing up your kit, but may have some questions on how to do so, such as what types of items you can send, if they need to be a certain size, or how to organize the items you want included in your custom book.

Here at Plum Print, we accept and work with materials of all kinds, shapes and sizes! Our team digitizes and designs thousands and thousands of various pieces every week, including:

• Precious artwork 
• School work
• Sports trophies
• 3D sculptures
• Shoe-box dioramas
• Life-sized drawings
• Photos
• Treasured letters
• Ticket stubs
• Handwritten recipes
  and more!

Our goal is to make sure your precious memories are digitized and designed exactly as you envision them in your custom book. This is made possible with your help by carefully and efficiently packing your materials in your kit and prepping them for shipment. Simply use these tips to make sure your packing experience goes smoothly and your materials arrive to us safely!

Packing Tip #1:

Read & Fill Out Your Submission Form

Every Plum Print shipping kit includes a form for you to fill out with your specifications for your custom book, as well as where to look for our pricing information in detail. Thoroughly reading the form is the easiest way to get started with packing your box, as you can use the questions asked to help guide you in selecting, organizing, and preparing your materials. 

If you have additional instructions beyond what is asked on the form, please write or type out a note for us with your requests and include it with your materials when sending back your kit.

Once you've read all of the important information for your order and have familiarized yourself with our pricing, you're ready to get started! 

Packing Tip #2:

Consider the Kind of Pieces You Want to Send

You are welcome to pack and ship as many precious memories that will fit in your kit. While we happily encourage you to fill your box entirely, please carefully consider what you would like included in your book. Our books contain a minimum of 20 pages and hold a maximum of 350 pieces. If you send more than 350 pieces, we will create at least two volumes to hold all of your materials.  

Some of the pieces you may want to include in your book might be too big to fit inside of your kit. In this case, you can mail those pieces directly to us separately or you can use the prepaid shipping label included with your kit on a larger box of your choosing to ship all of your materials to us at once! 

If you’d like to include photos from your phone or computer in your book, contact our team before or after shipping your materials and we will happily arrange a method for you to submit them to us digitally.

Out of an abundance of caution for our team and your precious materials, please do not send in perishable items, such as pumpkins, or hazardous materials, such as medical tests. You are welcome to photograph and upload these images to us instead. 

Packing Tip #3:

Consolidate, Organize & Label Your Pieces

We are unique in that our process is entirely custom. This includes the organization of your precious memories within your custom book. If you want your pieces arranged in a certain order, whether it is chronological, alphabetical, by grade level, or other grouping, we ask that you number or label your pieces in the order you want them to appear in your book. 

If you are sending in materials for separate books or children in your kit, please clearly separate and label each set of materials, so that our team knows which items go to each book or child. 

Additionally, if you want our team to skip or omit any pieces, please write “skip” or draw an X on the piece. You can number or label your pieces however you wish, but our team recommends writing on the backs lightly in pencil or using secure, well-adhered sticky notes. 

It is important to remember that every piece of art, photograph, recipe, and beyond that you include in your kit will be included in your book, unless specified by you otherwise. Consolidating and organizing your pieces carefully before sending your kit back to us will ensure that your custom book is created the way you want it to be—less stress and more fun for you and for us!

Packing Tip #4:

Customize Your Way

The level of customization that we offer at Plum Print is nearly endless, with unique design options for both the exterior and interior of your book. If you’d like a specific piece to appear on the front or back cover of your book, please label the piece or pieces lightly in pencil or with a sticky note. 

Most of our book options offer an optional title page (first opening page) in your book, free of charge! You will have the opportunity to upload your title page photos, blurb, and book title after we’ve digitized your materials, but you can also opt to include these items with your kit. Just be sure to label them as “title page” and write or type out your blurb and book title.

If you would like to add text or captions to any of your pieces, we ask that you write them on the backs of the pieces lightly in pencil or write them on a sticky note. You can also type them out for us and we’ll be sure to put them in your book. This also goes for chapter headings, if you would like to add them. 

Packing Tip #5:

Carefully Wrap and Secure Your Pieces

In order to capture the perfect image of your precious tangible memories, it is ideal that they arrive at our studios as true to their original quality and form as possible. If you are sending fragile pieces, such as ceramics, glass, or trophies, consider taking additional measures to protect them during transit, such as wrapping them in bubble wrap or paper. 

When packing up your pieces into your kit, we suggest using the provided bag to keep all of your materials safe and secure. Our team also recommends padding the interior of your box or pak with tissue paper or newspaper to fill any unused space for added protection. 

When you’re ready to ship off your materials to us, be sure to seal the edges of your kit with the included light purple “fragile” stickers or with well adhered packing tape. Once your kit is packed, simply drop it off at your nearest FedEx and Plum Print will take it from there! 

We love seeing all of the wonderful artwork and memories you choose to share with us. By using the above tips, you can rest easy knowing that your materials will arrive safely to our studios and make it perfectly into your custom book!