The exclusive UK deal follows FFEI's appointment of Color Confidence as its first pan-European distributor, which was announced at Drupa.

Speaking at the time, FFEI managing director Andy Cook said that Color Confidence’s large reseller network was an important part of the new partnership.

"This isn’t the kind of product you sell over the web," he added. "We needed someone with the right network and the right technical skills to be able to go out and show the software to clients."

RealVue 3D Packager, which is a plug-in tool for Adobe Illustrator, is being pitched at graphic designers, creative studios and brand owners as a low-cost alternative to market leader EskoArtwork’s suite of software tools.

One of the advantages of the software, according to FFEI software business manager Nick Gilmore, is that anyone with experience of Adobe’s Creative Suite can pick it up in under two hours.

"This gives designers the ability to see the final product as they design the artwork," said Gilmore. "They can work in Illustrator on the flat design and simultaneously see the finished product in 3D."

Simon Prais, technical director at Color Confidence, said: "The RealVue 3D packager is a product that can be used from design all the way through to prepress. Its ease of use is a key factor - it doesn’t require specialist training, just familiarity with Adobe Illustrator.

"You can send it to clients who can interact with it and get the real feel of the packaging. From our experience it took less than 30 minutes from the point of installing the software to visualise a package design, including constructing a die-line and creating the flat artwork.

"The feedback that we have received so far is that this product has stretched the boundaries, both with the features that are available but also with its ease of use."

The software can be used to simulate reflections, embossing and other material and print effects while artwork and print finish effects can be applied to both sides of the material.

Other features include the ability to see folding sequences while notes for client signoff can be added to any surface of the design.

Pricing for the RealVue 3D Packager starts at £3,500 for the first site licence.