Business News

New BOPP film enables real IML in thermoforming

Monday 17. August 2015 - A new film for in-mold labeling in thermoforming delivers a look and feel on par with injection-molded products. The solution developed by BOPP specialist Treofan features an innovative surface that enables stable fusing of thermoforming and lable film at comparatively low temperatures and pressures, allowing the benefits of deep drawing to be harnessed without compomising quality.

Deep drawing – or thermoforming – is an increasingly popular alternative to injection molding for certain product groups, not least due to potential economies of scale. Until now, however, attaching BOPP labels to thermoformed products has required a separate process step; as temperatures and pressures used in thermoforming are much lower than those in injection molding, direct fusion is not possible.

Treofan has thus developed a special surface that attaches perfectly to deep-drawn films under the conditions typically used for thermoforming. The resulting join between container and label is visually and functionally near-indistinguishable from the complete fusion achieved by injection molding. Following a comprehensive series of tests – including with Illig, a leading provider of machinery and tools for thermoforming and packaging technology -, the new label film is now being rolled out on the market on a large scale under the name Treofan EPT.