Samples & Consultation
A full production run is a real commitment. There are two ways to reduce the risk before you make it: look at the packaging, and talk the specification through with someone who has done it before. This page explains what each one gives you and what is involved in asking.
No charge to discuss a project, and no obligation to order.
Why Samples Come Up At All
Custom packaging is manufactured after you approve it. Nobody holds it in a warehouse waiting for you to order, which is what makes a custom product possible in the first place and also what makes a wrong decision expensive.
So the useful question is not "can I get a sample", it is "what do I still not know, and what is the cheapest way to find it out?" Sometimes the answer is a digital mockup that comes free with every order. Sometimes it is a physical sample. Often it is a short conversation with a specialist who can tell you that the thing you are worried about is not actually a risk for your project.
Digital Mockup vs Physical Sample
These are two different things that answer two different questions. Confusing them is the most common reason a buyer is disappointed by one of them, so it is worth ten seconds of your attention.
A digital mockup is a picture. It is your artwork placed on the packaging you selected, and it is prepared for your order specifically. It answers a design question: does the logo sit where I want it, is the spelling right, is the color what I expected. It is free on every custom order and it comes before production.
A physical sample is an object. It answers a question a picture cannot: how does this material actually feel in the hand, how does the lid close, does the board hold up when it is loaded, is the cup wall the weight I was expecting. A photograph of a cup cannot tell you whether it feels cheap, and that is exactly the thing buyers worry about.
Neither one replaces the other, and most projects do not need both. A project where you have used this material before probably needs neither beyond the free mockup.
Digital mockup
- What it is
- A prepared image of your artwork on the product
- The question it answers
- Is the design right?
- What it shows
- Placement, proportion, layout and intended color
- What it cannot show
- How the material feels, weighs or performs
- Availability
- Included free on every custom order
- When it happens
- Before production, and you approve it
Physical sample
- What it is
- An actual piece of the packaging in your hand
- The question it answers
- Is this the right material and format?
- What it shows
- Feel, weight, stiffness, closure, finish, real color
- What it cannot show
- Nothing about your artwork, unless it is printed on it
- Availability
- Available for all products
- When it happens
- After artwork approval, before a full run
- Approximate timing
- 2-3 weeks after artwork approval
- Approximate cost
- $150-$250 depending on the product and configuration
- If you order
- The sample fee is credited toward your production order
A custom physical sample is produced against your approved artwork, so it comes after the free digital mockup rather than before it.
When a Physical Sample Is Worth Asking For
There is no rule that says every project needs one. These are the situations where the object genuinely tells you something the picture cannot.
You are choosing between materials
Sugarcane against a lined paper container, a double-wall cup against a ripple-wall. Side by side in your hand, the difference is obvious in a way a spec sheet never is.
The size is a real decision
Whether a 16 oz is enough for your regular or your customers expect more. Holding the actual vessel settles a question that dimensions in millimetres do not.
Your product is heavy, hot or wet
Stiffness and structural strength are the things buyers most often get wrong from a photograph. A sample is how you find out before you have ten thousand of them.
A closure has to actually work
Lids and closures are the part of a packaging order most likely to disappoint. Compatibility is confirmed for your exact product, and feeling it close is the proof.
You are switching supplier
If you are replacing packaging you already use, a sample is the fastest way to check that the new product matches the standard you are used to.
Brand color is critical to you
A physical piece lets you check a color in daylight, on the counter, under your own lighting, rather than through a screen.
When you probably do not need one
If you already buy this material from another supplier, if you are reordering a product you have used before, or if the only thing changing is your artwork, the free digital mockup is usually the whole answer. A sample would confirm what you already know. Tell a specialist your situation and we will say honestly whether one is worth it rather than selling you one.
What We Need to Request a Sample
You do not need everything on this list to submit. These are the details that let us come back with a useful answer rather than a question.
- 1
Which product and which size
The more specific you are, the more useful the answer. If you are undecided between two formats, say both and we will tell you which to look at first.
- 2
What you are putting in it
Contents change the recommendation. A container for hot curry and one for cold salad are not the same product, and telling us up front stops us recommending the wrong one.
- 3
What you are trying to find out
The single most useful line in the request. Whether you want to judge stiffness, closure, color or size changes which sample we send and what we tell you about it.
- 4
Your delivery address
Sample shipping is quoted against where it is going. Give us the address or at least the ZIP so we can confirm cost.
- 5
Your artwork situation, briefly
Whether you have print-ready files, just a logo, or nothing yet. It tells us whether the sample and the mockup can move at the same time.
- 6
Your rough quantity and timing
Not a commitment. It tells us whether your project is close enough that the sample and the production quote should be worked together.
How a Custom Physical Sample Works
What it costs, how long it takes, and what it tells you that the mockup cannot. Worth reading before you ask, so nothing about the sequence is a surprise.
It comes after the artwork, not before
A custom sample is manufactured to your design, so there has to be a design to manufacture. The sequence is artwork approval first, then the sample is produced for you. This is why the sample sits after the free digital mockup rather than standing in for it.
It takes about 2-3 weeks
Approximate, and it is measured from artwork approval rather than from the day you ask. Treat that as a planning figure rather than a delivery date. Transit is separate and depends on where it is going.
It costs about $150-$250
The exact figure depends on the product, and it is confirmed with you before anything is ordered. The part worth knowing is that the fee is credited toward your production order when you go ahead, so on a project you are proceeding with anyway, it comes off the order rather than adding to it.
The sample carries your artwork
Because it is produced against your approved artwork, what arrives is your printed design on the real material. That makes it useful for judging colour on the actual stock, which a screen cannot show you accurately.
Sample shipping is quoted, not flat
Shipping a sample is a real shipment and is quoted against the destination. We do not publish a flat sample shipping rate, because the cost genuinely varies by where it is going.
It does not skip the approval step
Having a sample in your hand does not remove the artwork approval step, and it does not replace the mockup. The mockup is how you review and change the design; the sample is how you judge the material once the design is settled.
How Sample Approval Relates to Production
A sample does not approve your order, and approving a sample is not the same as approving your artwork. These are separate steps and it is worth keeping them separate in your head.
What the sample does is inform your specification. If you hold it and decide the 16 oz is too small, that decision changes what we quote and manufacture, and it is far better made now than after a run. So the practical sequence for a project where a sample makes sense is: look at the sample, settle the specification, then approve the artwork on the mockup, then pricing and payment terms, then production.
What actually gates production is the artwork approval and satisfied payment terms. Production begins only after both. That is true whether or not a sample was involved, and a sample never substitutes for it.
If you are ordering a product you have used before, or reordering something we have already made for you, your previous approved specification can be referenced and the whole path is shorter.
Talking It Through With a Specialist
A conversation is often faster than a sample, and it is always faster than guessing. There is no charge to discuss a project and no obligation to order afterwards.
This is genuinely useful in situations that a catalog cannot resolve. If you are launching a new menu item and do not know what it should be served in, if you are choosing between formats, if you are unsure whether a material suits what you are packaging, or if you are expanding to a second location and want packaging that works for both, those are conversations rather than lookups.
Choosing between formats
Two products look similar on a screen and behave differently on a counter. Tell us how the product is served and we will recommend on that basis rather than on appearance.
Sizing against a new item
A new menu item usually means a new size question. Bring the item, or a description of it, and we will work out what it needs.
Material suitability
Hot, cold, wet, greasy, heavy, frozen. What you are packaging determines what is suitable, and getting this wrong is the most expensive kind of mistake.
Building a full packaging system
If you need cups, lids, bags, napkins and labels to arrive together and match, a conversation is how that gets planned rather than assembled piece by piece.
Volume and scheduling
Large orders can be scheduled or staged rather than all arriving at once. How that works is confirmed per project, so it is worth asking early.
Switching supplier
If you are moving from another supplier, we can look at what you currently use and tell you what changes and what does not.
Project scheduling and large order logistics are confirmed per project rather than offered as a standing program. Ask early, and a specialist will tell you what is possible for yours.
What Happens After You Ask
Straightforward, and it does not commit you to anything.
- 1
We look at what you asked for
Your product, the contents, what you are trying to find out and where it is going. If the request is missing something we need, we ask rather than guess.
- 2
We confirm what is available
This is where we tell you honestly whether a sample exists for that product, what it would be, what it costs and what shipping would be. Availability genuinely varies by product, so this is a real answer rather than a formality.
- 3
You decide whether to proceed
With the cost and the shipping confirmed in front of you, you decide. Nothing is ordered on your behalf and there is no obligation at any point.
- 4
Your specification gets settled
If you go ahead, the sample does its job: it confirms the format, the size or the material, and any change that comes out of it is made before anything is manufactured.
- 5
Your artwork is approved on a mockup
Separately from the sample, your artwork is prepared and placed on the product so you can approve the design. This is the step that gates production.
- 6
Pricing, payment terms, then production
Final pricing and payment terms are confirmed for the settled specification. Production begins only after the artwork is approved and payment requirements are satisfied.
A custom sample takes approximately 2-3 weeks from artwork approval and costs approximately $150-$250 depending on the product and configuration, credited toward your production order if you proceed. Shipping and transit are quoted against your destination rather than charged at a flat rate.
Not Sure What to Ask For Yet?
That is a perfectly good starting point. Pick the family closest to your business and look at the products, or ask a specialist and they will recommend based on what you sell and how it leaves your counter.
Cups & Drinkware
Cold cups, hot cups, ice cream cups, lids, sleeves and carriers.
View ProductsBags & Bakery
SOS bags, takeout bags, bakery bags, bread bags and sandwich bags.
View ProductsPouches & Retail Food
Stand-up, flat-bottom, coffee, tea, spice and snack pouches.
View ProductsFoodservice
Greaseproof paper, deli paper, container liners and food labels.
View ProductsBottles & Jars
Glass bottles, jars and sauce bottles for retail and food brands.
View ProductsBrowse Everything
The full catalog of custom packaging, by product and by industry.
View ProductsSample and Consultation Questions
What is the difference between a digital mockup and a physical sample?+
Is a custom physical sample free?+
Can I get a sample of any product?+
Does a sample come printed with my logo?+
How long does a sample take to arrive?+
How much does sample shipping cost?+
Does approving a sample mean my order is approved?+
Do I still need a mockup if I have a sample?+
What should I tell you when I request a sample?+
Is a consultation free?+
What can a consultation help with?+
Can you store or schedule delivery of a large order?+
I already use this packaging from another supplier. Do I need a sample?+
Does a sample guarantee the final production run will match?+
See It Before You Commit to a Run
Tell us the product and what you are trying to find out. We will confirm what is available, what it costs, and how it fits into your project, with no obligation to order.
No charge to discuss a project. A custom physical sample is approximately $150-$250 depending on the product and configuration, credited toward your production order, with sample shipping quoted against your destination.