In the process of creating new packaging concepts the visualisation of the ideas is an important task for design agencies and the development and marketing departments of brand owners. At first managers of the company have to be convinced of the idea. Furthermore the concepts should be consumer tested, to find out if and why a consumer would buy that product or not.

The earlier you get a response, the earlier you are able to launch a new product on the market successfully. But in order to get these answers, you need samples or mock-ups looking like the final product. This can be achieved by either using physical packaging samples or virtual mock-ups of different qualities.

For many types of packaging like thermoformed, injection- or blow moulded packs, tin and glass packaging and even for high cultivated foil and carton packaging, physical samples - produced with the right material and printing method - are very expensive in an early phase of development. But they are partly necessary for providing the “right" look and haptic experience.

This paper discusses new ways and quality levels of virtual (computer animated) and physical mock-ups and shows the cost relation as well as advantages and disadvantages of each type during the different phases of development.