TIGHT FOIL

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a thermoforming film packaging with a packaging body consisting of a tray and a cover film, wherein the cover film closes the tray and the tray is formed from a thermoforming film.

[0002] EP 1 584 569 A1 and US2015 / 136637 A1 disclose known thermoforming film packaging.

[0003] Such thermoformed film packaging is typically used for packaging food, medical devices, or the like. The packaged products are protected by the tray formed from a thermoformed film and can be presented to the user in an attractive manner. After opening the thermoformed film packaging, the products can be removed.

[0004] The tray and the cover film form a packaging body designed to ensure a reliable closure, allowing the end consumer to easily open the tear-off packaging. This is typically achieved by a detachable closure seam that connects the tray and the cover film to each other and securely closes the packaging body. To open the thermoformed film packaging, an unconnected section usually remains at a corner of the cover film, located outside the closure seam. This section can be grasped by the end consumer and from which the cover film can be removed from the tray by loosening the closure seam. Such detachable seams are also referred to as peelable seams.In contrast, non-peelable seams can no longer be opened, so that with such a designed thermoforming film packaging, the products packaged therein can only be removed by destroying the cover film in particular.

[0005] In generic thermoforming film packaging, the thermoforming film is significantly stiffer than the cover film, so that the tray of the thermoforming film packaging a certain degree of stability, with the cover film lying flat or essentially flat on the tray and having only a two-dimensional structure. The material used for the cover film is usually a laminated composite with an inner film made of polyethylene (PE) and at least one outer film made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The inner film made of polyethylene has very good sealing properties, so that the cover film can be heat-sealed to the tray via the inner film. Heat-sealing creates a bond without the need for an additional adhesive layer, with the material of both the tray and the cover film melting slightly, forming a material-to-material bond between the two layers.

[0006] In such a laminated composite, a printing layer can also be provided, which is preferably arranged between the inner and outer films, so that the latter is protected both internally and externally by the adjacent layers, thus ensuring a high-quality appearance over a long period of time. To ensure that the printing layer remains visible from the outside, at least the outer film is transparent. The printing layer can be printed on both the inner and outer films. If necessary, the film to be printed can first be subjected to a corona treatment, which improves the adhesion of the printing layer. In addition to the inner and outer films, further film layers can also be present.

[0007] Such thermoformed film packaging is characterized by a particularly high-quality appearance and good functional properties. However, due to the variety of different materials, plastic recycling is only possible to a very limited extent, as separating the materials and thus pure material recycling is hardly possible. Material recycling is understood to mean recycling within a main plastic class, or preferably within a transparent polymer class. Against this background, conventional thermoformed packaging, as disposable items, is usually no longer easily recyclable after use and is usually incinerated, so that at least thermal recycling is still possible.

[0008] With a single-material recycling approach, however, the plastic waste can be recycled together. However, the printing ink often used on the cover film also impairs or even prevents single-material recycling, as no transparent recyclate can be formed. For this reason, the goal is always to keep the majority of packaging single-material and, in particular, to limit printing to a small area. At the same time, however, visually appealing packaging should be created, especially for advertising purposes, so printing cannot be completely dispensed with. In particular, the end consumer must be provided with information about the packaged product, including any ingredients and expiration dates.

[0009] Against this background, the present invention is based on the object of improving the application and design possibilities of generic thermoforming film packaging and, in particular, of improving recyclability.

[0010] The subject matter of the invention and the solution to the problem is therefore a thermoforming film packaging according to patent claim 1, as well as methods for its production according to independent claims 20 and 21.

[0011] Starting with a thermoforming film packaging of the type described above, a printed material section is arranged on the packaging body and is attached to the packaging body only at part of a peripheral edge with a fastening seam. The term "fastening seam" refers to

[0012] Heat-sealed or adhesive seams.

[0013] The surrounding edge refers to a section of the printed material section. Since the fastening is only made along the surrounding edge, there are areas between the edges that rest unattached on the packaging body. These unattached sections lie flat on the packaging body and do not provide any functional space, for example, for accommodating any objects. Rather, the fastening seam should extend over only a small portion of the surface of the printed material section, so that the printed material section can be removed as completely and easily as possible.

[0014] The fastening seam preferably extends over a portion of less than 20%, particularly preferably less than 15%, of the surface of the unprinted material section. Thus, the invention differs from label solutions in which labels made of, for example, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are attached to the packaging body via an adhesive surface arranged over the entire surface of the back of the label.

[0015] The printed material section allows the printing to be arranged entirely on the additional material section, which then contains all essential information, e.g., about the packaging contents, the ingredients of the packaged products, expiration dates, promotional information, etc. Thus, it is not absolutely necessary for the packaging body to also be printed, allowing the packaging body to be easily and largely recycled.

[0016] A comparable solution is known, for example, from EP 3 594 144 A1, but in contrast to the above invention, an additional printed material section is provided on a film packaging which, in contrast to a thermoformed film packaging, does not provide for the individual front walls to be separated from one another. The packaging body described therein thus already forms a structural unit in which the material section is preferably firmly or non-peelably connected to the front walls, so that perforation holes are provided for removing this material section. In contrast, in a thermoformed film packaging, as already explained at the outset, a peelable connection is preferably provided between the cover film and the tray, so that the printed material section, when arranged on the cover film, is arranged on a component of the packaging body which is removed from the tray anyway during opening.Accordingly, the invention consciously accepts that if the individual fastening seams and closing seams are not designed carefully, the thermoforming film packaging may be accidentally torn open, in order to, in turn, make recycling of the packaging much easier.

[0017] Since the fastening seam does not run along the entire circumferential edge, the material section can also be easily gripped behind, allowing the material section to be easily removed from the packaging body. For this purpose, the fastening seam is preferably designed in such a way that it can be separated relatively easily. Such a peelable fastening can, for example, be adjusted using precisely selected parameters. On the one hand, the material section is attached to the packaging body so firmly that unintentional separation is prevented as far as possible, and on the other hand, the material section can be separated without great effort by specifically gripping behind it. This can be made possible, for example, by the type of fastening but also by the number of fastening points.Accordingly, it is provided that the fastening seam can be formed either continuously or discontinuously from several fastening points.

[0018] Alternatively, the material section can also be attached to the packaging body with a non-detachable or non-peelable fastening seam, in which case the printed material section preferably has a material weakening adjacent to the fastening seam, e.g. in the form of perforations, so that the material section can then also be removed to a large extent.

[0019] According to a preferred embodiment, the fastening seam extends over a portion between 5 and 80%, preferably between 10 and 60%, particularly preferably between 15 and 50% of the peripheral edge. Accordingly, the edge has an unconnected portion between 20 and 95%, preferably between 40 and 90%, particularly preferably between 50 and 85%, wherein the printed material portion can be gripped behind and removed via the unconnected portion of the peripheral edge.

[0020] A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the printed material section is arranged on the cover film, wherein the material section only covers the cover film to a proportion of between 30 and 80%, preferably between 40 and 70%. It is of course also within the scope of the invention for the printed material section to rest on the tray or on the side walls of the tray, but an arrangement on the cover film can result in a much more appealing appearance, as the material section then lies flat and the printed information is more visible. In addition, thermoformed film packaging is usually stacked on top of one another on a shelf with the cover film facing upwards, meaning the printed material section is immediately visible from the outside and the information printed on it can be read.If the printed material section is nevertheless arranged on the deep-drawing film of the tray, the specified values ​​refer to a projected area of ​​the tray, which usually corresponds to the area of ​​the cover film.

[0021] A design with a cover film or thermoforming film that is not fully covered is particularly useful if, according to a further development, the cover film and / or the thermoforming film are designed to be transparent. In this case, it is ensured that, despite the use of an additional printed material section, it is still possible to see into the thermoforming film packaging. This means, for example, that the end consumer can immediately recognize what type of packaged product is involved and is not solely dependent on the information on the printed material section. Although, according to a preferred design, both the tray and the cover film are transparent, it is generally sufficient if only the cover film or the thermoforming film is transparent. Furthermore, the printed material section outside of the printing can also be transparent.

[0022] According to an alternative embodiment, the printed material section is also arranged on the cover film and covers it completely, with the printed material section having a print that only covers between 30 and 80%, preferably between 40 and 70%, of the material section. Such an embodiment is also particularly useful if at least the cover film and the printed material section are transparent, although with regard to the printed material section, this only applies to the non-printed sections. Thus, even with a full-surface arrangement, visibility into the thermoforming film packaging is still possible.

[0023] According to a preferred development of the invention, the thermoforming film and / or the cover film are heat-sealable on the outside of the packaging, so that the fastening seam can be designed as a heat-sealable seam, preferably as a detachable heat-sealable seam. However, the thermoforming film and the cover film are preferably heat-sealable at least on the inside of the packaging, whereby the tray and the cover film can then be connected to one another via a closure seam running along a circumferential side edge of the packaging body, wherein the closure seam is also designed as a heat-sealable seam.

[0024] In such a case, when sealing the thermoforming film packaging, both the fastening seam and the closure seam can be formed in a single sealing process, which in particular significantly reduces the process steps for producing the thermoforming film packaging. However, it should be noted that in such a case, the cover film, the thermoforming film, and also the printed material section are at least partially made of a sealable material, or at least the film layers adjacent to the heat-sealed seams are made of such a sealable material. Polyolefins such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) are particularly suitable in this context.However, such sealable materials generally have poor printability, so the printed surface of the material section must either be made of a different material or undergo a so-called corona treatment, which significantly increases printability. However, such corona treatment must be avoided in the area of ​​the heat-sealed seams, as while printability is increased, it simultaneously reduces sealability.

[0025] According to an alternative embodiment, the fastening seam can also be designed as an adhesive seam, so that the printed material section is then attached to the packaging body, in particular to the cover film, using an adhesive layer. This has the advantage that even non-heat-sealable materials can be attached to the packaging body. The packaging body itself is nevertheless preferably still designed to be heat-sealable, so that the closure seam can be designed as a heat-seal seam and the fastening as an adhesive seam.

[0026] With regard to the design of the closure seam, a detachable or peelable closure seam or heat-sealed seam is particularly suitable, wherein according to a particularly preferred embodiment, the closure seam has a securing section in which the closure seam is permanently formed and wherein the closure seam is detachable outside the securing section. As a result, the thermoforming film packaging can be easily opened through the detachable section, while at the same time the securing section ensures that the cover film continues to adhere to the tray even in an opened state. As a result, the entire packaging body can be recycled together, which is particularly useful when the packaging body is designed to be single-material. Thus, according to an advantageous embodiment, the fastening seam is completely detachable and the closure seam is at least partially detachable.

[0027] Preferably, the peripheral side edge runs at least partially along a peripheral side edge of the packaging body and the

[0028] The fastening seam is at least partially congruent with the closure seam. As already explained, this has the particular advantage that the closure seam and the fastening seam can be formed together as a heat-sealed seam. However, even if the fastening seam is designed as an adhesive seam, this ensures that the fastening seam is positioned at a location where the thermoforming film packaging is particularly stable.

[0029] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the packaging body has a rectangular shape, wherein the peripheral side edge is formed from two opposite first and two opposite second edge sections, wherein the fastening seam is arranged only on the first edge sections.

[0030] The first edge sections may, for example, be long or short sides of the packaging body, whereby the packaging body may also have a square shape so that all edge sections have the same length, whereby the fastening seam is always formed from two opposite sections.

[0031] The present invention can be used particularly advantageously when the thermoforming film and the cover film are made of a single material. As previously mentioned, a single material is used when the thermoforming film and the cover film are made of the same material or are materials that can be disposed of together. Material recyclability can be further improved by making the packaging body essentially unprinted. Within the context of the invention, "unprinted" means that at least more than 90%, preferably more than 95%, and particularly preferably more than 99% of the packaging body are unprinted.

[0032] Minor printing may include, for example, positioning marks for manufacturing, batch numbers, or expiration dates. However, the printed areas are kept small enough to allow for joint recycling despite the printing.

[0033] To enable the packaging body to contain certain information even without printing, the tray can have an embossing, particularly an information embossing. Such an information embossing can, for example, contain the brand name of the packaged product or other information that should remain present even after the printed material section has been removed. The embossing can be created, for example, using stamping tools or by a vacuum process, in which the still molten or at least soft material of the thermoforming film is formed during the tray formation process by introducing local vacuum zones with embossing.

[0034] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the printed material section preferably consists of a material selected from the group consisting of film, nonwoven, coated paper, and multi-layer laminate. A particularly preferred embodiment is one in which the material for the tray, the cover film, and the unprinted material section are identical, and thus the entire film packaging is made of a single material. Material recycling is then only affected by the printing of the printed material section. Such an embodiment has the advantage that the use of non-removable fastening seams is also possible, whereby, according to such an embodiment, the area in the fastening seams is unprinted. With such an embodiment, the material section along the fastening seams can then be removed, whereby material weakenings, e.g.in the form of perforation lines directly adjacent to the fastening seams. Thus, sections of the unprinted material remain attached to the packaging body, but due to their unprinted nature, they can then be recycled along with the packaging.

[0035] With regard to the use of the individual films, a configuration has proven particularly advantageous in which the deep-drawing film has a thickness between 50 and 500 µm, in particular between 100 and 350 µm. The cover film and / or the printed material section preferably have a thickness between 20 and 150 µm, in particular between 60 and 100 µm, and can be identical or different in terms of both thickness and specific configuration.

[0036] According to the invention, the cover film and / or the printed material section and / or the deep-drawing film is multi-layered and has at least one, but preferably two, outer layers made of a polyolefin, in particular of polyethylene or polypropylene.

[0037] These layers are particularly well-suited for sealing, so both the fastening seam and the closure seam can be heat-sealed. The outer layers can also be designed to be peelable.

[0038] The multilayer films are preferably formed as coextrusion films. In particular, the multilayer films are formed by blown extrusion or by flat film extrusion or cast extrusion. The printed material section can, for example, be an unstretched, multilayer, e.g., three-layer, cast film, with all layers preferably being based on polypropylene. Homopolymers and copolymers are particularly used as polypropylene, with the polypropylene used in the outer layers preferably having a lower melting point than that used in the inner layers.

[0039] Instead of coextrusion, the individual layers can also be welded, laminated, or laminated together, particularly adhesive-laminated. Adhesive lamination typically uses a two-component polyurethane-based adhesive.

[0040] Furthermore, the cover film and / or the printed material section and / or the thermoforming film can have a barrier layer. This barrier layer is preferably arranged between an outer layer and an inner layer. The barrier layer can, for example, be provided directly as a coextruded layer, e.g., made of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), in which case it preferably has a thickness between 0.5 and 20 µm, preferably between 1 and 10 µm.

[0041] Alternatively, the barrier layer can also be applied as a coating to at least one of the outer layers. Suitable materials for this purpose are silicon dioxide (SiOx) or aluminum dioxide (AlOx), with the coating preferably having a thickness of less than 120 nm, preferably less than 100 nm, particularly preferably less than 80 nm. A coating made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) is also possible, which is applied to at least one of the outer layers in a solvent-based manner. The polyvinyl alcohol coating preferably has a basis weight of 0.2 to 2.8 g / m 2 . The basis weight is particularly preferably less than 1.5 g / m 2 , in particular less than 1 g / m 2 . In addition, a metal layer can also be used as a barrier layer.In this case, at least one of the outer layers is metallized, with the barrier layer preferably having a thickness of less than 220 nm, preferably less than 200 nm, preferably less than 180 nm. However, such a metal layer has the disadvantage that it can impair the optical appearance, since the barrier layer is preferably transparent. This is not possible with a metallized barrier layer.

[0042] In principle, the barrier layers can be made very thin, so that they only represent a small proportion of contaminants in the corresponding film composite.

[0043] Particularly in a design with polypropylene in the outer layers, a barrier layer made of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer with an ethylene content of less than 35 wt.%, preferably less than 30 wt.%, and particularly preferably less than 27 wt.% is also used. The proportion of polypropylene can be more than 90 wt.%, preferably more than 95 wt.%, based on the entire thermoforming film packaging.

[0044] The printed material section preferably has a coating of sealing wax. This can be applied over the entire surface of the material section. Alternatively, a partial coating, for example, in strips, is sufficient, in which case a coating is applied at the points where sealing is required.

[0045] If the printed material section is attached to the packaging body via an adhesive seam, an adhesive layer is additionally provided between the cover film or the thermoforming film and the printed material section, wherein the adhesive layer preferably consists of an adhesive based on polyurethane (PU), in particular a two-component polyurethane.

[0046] The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary example. The figures show: Fig. 1a thermoformed packaging according to the invention with a printed material section in strip form Fig. 2a cross section of the packaging according to the Fig. 1 Fig. 3 an alternative design of the thermoforming film packaging with a fully printed material section Fig. 4 a cross section of the packaging according to the Fig. 3 Fig. 5the thermoforming film packaging according to the Fig. 1with a view of the underside Fig. 6 a method for producing the thermoforming film packaging according to the Fig. 1 Fig. 7 a method for producing a thermoforming film packaging according to the Fig. 3

[0047] The Fig. 1 shows a thermoforming film packaging according to the invention with a packaging body 1 consisting of a tray 2 and a cover film 3 that closes the tray 2. The tray 2 has previously been formed from a thermoforming film into a three-dimensional structure, which allows the inclusion of a product 4.

[0048] The tray 2 and the cover film 3 are connected to one another via a closure seam 5, wherein the closure seam 5 is designed as a heat-sealed seam and ensures a gas- and fluid-tight closure of the packaging body 1.

[0049] In the example shown, neither the tray 2 nor the cover film 3, and thus the entire packaging body 1, have any printing. However, it is fundamentally within the scope of the invention for minor printing such as batch numbers, expiration dates, or position marks to be printed on the packaging body 1. In principle, however, all essential information is printed on an additional printed material section 6, which lies flat on the cover film 3 and is connected to it via a fastening seam 7.It can be seen that the fastening seam 7 extends only along a part of the circumferential edge of the printed material section 6 and is divided into two fastening seam sections 7a, 7b, wherein these fastening seam sections 7a, 7b run in sections along a circumferential side edge of the packaging body 1 and are at least partially congruent with the closure seam 5.

[0050] The packaging body 1 has a rectangular shape, with the circumferential side edge being formed from two opposing first edge sections 8 and two opposing second edge sections 9. The fastening seam sections 7a, 7b are arranged only on the first edge sections 8, with the first edge sections 8 forming the short side and the second edge sections 9 forming the long side of the thermoforming film packaging or of the packaging body 1. Relative to the length of the first edge sections 8, the fastening seam sections 7a, 7b each extend over 30 to 60%, so that a correspondingly relatively large surface area of ​​the cover film 3 is not covered by the printed material section 6 and is thus visible from the outside. Such a configuration is particularly expedient since the cover film 3 is transparent and thus the product 4 is visible through the cover film 3.This allows the end user to identify which product 4 it is without looking at the printing on the printed material section 6.

[0051] The exact structure of the thermoformed packaging can be Fig. 2 which the thermoformed packaging according to the Fig. 1 in a cross-section. It can be seen that the closure seam 5 and the fastening seam 7 lie congruently on top of each other and are both formed as heat-sealed seams. This allows both the closure seam 5 and the fastening seam 7 to be formed in a single sealing step, thus reducing the number of individual process steps.

[0052] The exact structure of the thermoformed packaging can be found in Table 1. Accordingly, both the printed material section 6 and the cover film 3 are made of the same material, which consists of a layer of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and a sealing layer, which are laminated together using a two-component polyurethane adhesive (2K-PUR). The sealing layer is a coextrusion layer (PP-EVOH), with a comparatively thin layer of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) arranged between two layers of polypropylene (PP). The layer of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) forms a gas barrier layer, which at least makes it difficult for oxygen to penetrate, which can, for example, extend the shelf life of food. To improve the adhesive effect, an adhesion promoter layer (HV) is arranged between the individual layers of the coextrusion film.

[0053] The thermoforming film of the tray 2 is designed as a coextrusion film (PP-EVOH), which was produced in particular by blown film extrusion. During blown film extrusion, a tubular preform is formed, this preform being made of a layer of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) and two layers of polypropylene (PP), wherein the polypropylene layers enclose the layer of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer. The tubular preform is then laid flat, with the superimposed polypropylene layers then blocking one another, resulting in a double layer thickness and the barrier layer can be distributed across two layers. This allows the thickness tolerances of the individual layers to be improved. Against this background, the layer structure of the thermoforming film specified in Table 1 refers to the preform.The specified thickness of the thermoforming film, however, corresponds to the actual film thickness or the thickness of the flattened preform with a double layer structure. Alternatively, the thermoforming film can also be produced by cast film extrusion.

[0054] The fastening seam 6 is formed on a layer of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and a coextruded layer (PP-EVOH). The closure seam 5 is formed on two layers of polypropylene (PP). The sealing layers can be combined in a known manner to reduce the seal strength and enable easy separation. Table 1 Material section 6 BOPP 20 µm 2K-PUR PP-EVOH (PP / HV / EVOH / HV / PP) 60 µm (25 / 4 / 2 / 4 / 25) Cover foil 3 BOPP 20 µm 2K-PUR PP-EVOH (PP / HV / EVOH / HV / PP) 60 µm (25 / 4 / 2 / 4 / 25) Thermoforming foil PP-EVOH (PP / HV / EVOH / HV / PP) 250 µm (45 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 65)

[0055] In a comparative view with the Fig. 5It can be seen that the tray 2 has an information embossing 10 on its underside, through which information can be incorporated into the packaging body 1 without additional printing. This can be, for example, the brand name or a logo. Additionally or alternatively, the embossing can also be a symbol for the main plastic class of the material(s) used to form the thermoformed film packaging.

[0056] An alternative design is shown by the Fig. 3 and 4 , wherein the printed material section 6 now extends over the entire surface of the cover film 3 and is attached to the cover film 3 along the first edge sections 8 via a fastening seam 7. In contrast to the Fig. 1the first edge sections 8 now relate to a long side of the packaging body 1. In addition, the individual fastening seam sections 7A, 7B are not designed as heat-sealed seams but as adhesive seams, so that an adhesive layer is arranged between the cover film 3 and the printed material section 6. The material section 6 further has a print, which, however, does not extend over the entire surface of the printed material section 6, so that with a transparent design of the cover film 3 and the printed material section 6, a view into the packaging body 1 and thus of the packaged product 4 is still possible.

[0057] The exact structure is particularly evident from the Fig. 4 and Table 2, whereby the structure differs only in the printed material section 6 from the design according to the Fig. 2Since the material section 6 is connected to the cover film 3 via a fastening seam 7 designed as an adhesive seam, the material section 6 can be formed exclusively from a biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP) without an additional sealing layer. Table 2 Material section 6 BOPP 20 µm Cover foil 3 BOPP 20 µm 2K-PUR PP-EVOH (PP / HV / EVOH / HV / PP) 60 µm (25 / 4 / 2 / 4 / 25) Thermoforming foil PP-EVOH (PP / HV / EVOH / HV / PP) 250 µm (45 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 65)

[0058] Regardless of the specific design, the fastening seam 7 extends only along a section of the circumferential edge of the printed material section 6, wherein the fastening seam 7 is designed such that the printed material section 6 can be removed relatively easily by reaching behind it, so that it can be recycled independently of the packaging body 1. Accordingly, the fastening seams 7 are designed to be detachable. Alternatively, it is also possible to design them to be non-detachable, in which case, however, at least one perforation should be provided so that the printed material section 6 can be removed outside the fastening seams 7. In such a case, however, at least the areas of the printed material section 6 where the fastening seam sections 7a, 7b run should be unprinted so that, in a single-material design, they can be recycled together with the tray 2 and the cover film 3.

[0059] The closure seam 5 is also designed to be detachable in the examples shown, with at least a portion of this closure seam 5 being designed as a securing section and not being able to be released in this area. This ensures that the cover film 3 remains attached to the tray 2 even after the packaging body 1 has been opened, and can thus be disposed of and recycled together.

[0060] The Fig. 6 shows an exemplary method for producing a thermoforming film packaging according to the Fig. 1 , wherein a plurality of packaging bodies 1 extend in the machine direction MD, wherein in a first step only the trays 2 are fed from a thermoforming film and in a second step are covered with the cover film 3 and the printed material section 6. Both the cover film 3 and the printed material section 6 are provided in the form of endless belts and are each removed from rolls 11.

[0061] In a sealing step, both the cover film 3 and the tray 2, as well as the printed material section 6 and the cover film 3, are then sealed in a sealing station 12, forming both the closure seam 5 and the fastening seam 7 with the fastening seam sections 7a, 7b. Due to the joint sealing, the fastening seam sections 7a, 7b extend congruently with the closure seam 5 in the region of the first edge sections 8, which, in such a process, extend in a transverse direction CD. Accordingly, the second edge sections 9 extend in the machine direction MD.

[0062] In a final step, the packaging bodies 1 are separated from one another by cutting through the cover film 3 and the printed material section 6, whereby the corners of the thermoforming film packaging can also be trimmed at the same time. During such a trimming process, between 10 and 20 mm can be removed from the edge sections 8, 9 in order to compensate for any possible mispositioning between the cover film 3 and the tray 2. To avoid excessive material loss, trimming is preferably carried out only on the second edge sections 9. In addition, the corners between the first and second edge sections 8, 9 can also be punched to be rounded.

[0063] The Fig. 7 shows an alternative method for producing a thermoforming film packaging according to the Fig. 3Here, too, the trays 2 are fed in a machine direction MD and then covered with a composite consisting of a cover film 3 and the printed material section 6. The cover film 3 has already been previously bonded to the printed material section 6 via an adhesive layer 13, so that the composite consisting of the cover film 3 and the material section 6 can be fed in the form of a common endless belt from a roll 11.

[0064] The adhesive layer 13 has been applied only to the first edge sections 8, with the first edge sections 8 now extending in the form of two strips in the machine direction MD. Furthermore, the cover film is dimensioned such that it completely covers the cover film 3. A fastening seam 7 is then formed between the cover film 3 and the printed material section 6 via the adhesive layer 13, with the fastening seam sections 7a, 7b extending in the machine direction MD.

[0065] In a sealing station 12, the cover film 3 is then sealed to the tray 2 so that a closure seam 5 is formed along the circumferential side edge.

[0066] Finally, the individual thermoformed film packaging is separated and the surrounding side edges are trimmed.

Claims

1. A deep drawing sheet packaging with a packaging body (1) comprising a shell (2) and a cover film (3), wherein the cover film (3) closes the shell (2) and the shell (2) is formed from a deep drawing sheet, wherein a printed material portion (6) is arranged on the packaging body (1) and only attached to the packaging body (1) at a part of a circumferential edge by an fastening seam (7), characterized in that the cover film (3) and / or the printed material portion (6) and / or the deep drawing sheet are configured to be multi- layered and have at least one outer layer of polyolefin and wherein the printed material portion (6) is arranged on the cover film and the fastening seam (7) is configured as a heat-sealing seam or as an adhesive seam.

2. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to Claim 1, characterized in that the fastening seam extends over a proportion of between 5 and 80%, preferably between 10 and 60% of the circumferential edge.

3. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the printed material portion (6) is arranged on the cover film (3), wherein the printed material portion (6) only covers a proportion between 30 and 80%, preferably between 40 and 70% of the cover film (3).

4. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the printed material portion (6) is arranged on the cover film (3) and covers the entire surface of the cover film (3), wherein the printed material portion (6) has printing which only covers a proportion between 30 and 80%, preferably between 40 and 70% of the material portion.

5. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cover film and / or the deep drawing sheet are transparent.

6. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the shell (2) and the cover film (3) are connected to one another via a closure seam (5) running along a circumferential side edge of the packaging body (1), wherein the closure seam (5) is formed as a heat-sealing seam.

7. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to Claim 6, characterized in that the fastening seam (7) is formed so as to be completely detachable, and the closure seam (5) is formed to be at least partially detachable.

8. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to Claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the closure seam (5) has a safety portion at which the closure seam (5) is formed permanently and wherein the closure seam (5) is formed detachably outside of the safety portion.

9. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the circumferential edge extends at least partially along a circumferential side edge of the packaging body (1), and the fastening seam (7) is at least partially congruent with the closure seam (5).

10. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to Claim 9, characterized in that the packaging body (1) has a rectangular shape and the circumferential side edge is formed from two opposing first edge portions and two opposing second edge portions (8, 9), wherein the fastening seam (7) is arranged only at the first edge portions (8).

11. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the deep drawing sheet and the cover film (3) are configured to be single-origin.

12. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the packaging body (1) is substantially unprinted.

13. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the shell (2) has an embossing, particularly an information embossing (10).

14. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the printed material portion (6), the deep drawing sheet and the cover film (3) are configured to be single-origin, wherein the printed material portion (6) is unprinted at least in the region of the fastening seam (7).

15. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the deep drawing sheet has a thickness of between 50 and 500 µm, in particular between 100 and 350 µm.

16. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the cover film (3) and / or the printed material portion (6) have a thickness of between 20 and 150 µm, in particular between 60 and 100 µm.

17. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the printed material portion (6) comprises a material selected from the group comprising film, nonwoven and coated paper.

18. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the cover film (3) and / or the printed material portion (6) and / or the deep drawing sheet have at least one outer layer of polyethylene or polypropylene.

19. The deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the cover film (3) and / or the printed material portion (6) and / or the deep drawing sheet have at least one barrier layer.

20. A method for producing a deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 19: - wherein shells (2) are supplied from a deep drawing sheet, - wherein the shells (2) are covered with a cover film (3) and a printed material portion (6), - wherein in a sealing step both the cover film (3) is heat-sealed with the shell (2) via a closure seam (5) and the printed material portion (6) is heat-sealed with the cover film (3) via a fastening seam (7), - wherein the cover film (3) and the printed material portion (6) are severed between two consecutive shells in the cross direction (CD).

21. The method for producing a deep drawing sheet packaging according to one of Claims 1 to 19: - wherein shells (2) are supplied from a deep drawing sheet, - wherein a composite comprising a cover film (3) and a printed material portion (6) fastened to the cover film (3) via a fastening seam (7) is supplied, - wherein the shells (2) are covered with the composite, - wherein in a sealing step the composite is heat-sealed with the shell (2) via a closure seam (5), - wherein the cover film (3) and the printed material portion (6) are severed between two consecutive shells in the cross direction (CD).

22. The method according to Claim 21, wherein the fastening seam (7) is formed via an adhesive layer (13) .