Packaging film having direct food contact identifiers and method of making thereof

Method for producing a packaging film strip for providing a number of individual packaging film parts for packing food or beverages, wherein the packaging film strip contains for each said individual packaging film part an area having a printed two-dimensional code as a packaging or product identifier, the process comprising the steps of:

• a) providing at least one first substrate film strip (10, 25),
• b) one side of said at least one first substrate film strip (10, 25) is provided with an artwork printing (20) for each said individual packaging film part,
• c) the side of said at least one first substrate film strip (25) comprising the artwork printing (20) is optionally laminated to a second substrate film strip (10) using an adhesive layer (15), or a second substrate film strip (10) is optionally extruded onto the at least one first substrate film strip,
• d) a surface of the one first or second substrate film strip (10, 12) lying opposite to the artwork printing (20) is provided with a direct food contact ink (DFC ink) area (28) for each said individual packaging film part, wherein the direct food contact ink area (28) is designated to be present at an inner layer of each said individual packaging film part having direct food contact,
• e) the packaging film strip comprising the artwork printing and the direct food contact ink areas is slitted to provide a series of individual packaging film parts running along a longside of the packaging film strip,
• f) ablating the direct food contact ink areas (28) by a computer-controlled laser beam (8) for providing a predetermined and individual printed two-dimensional code (2, 3, 30) as the packaging or product identifier,
• g) cleaning a surface of the packaging film strip comprising the printed two-dimensional codes (2, 3, 30), and
• h) checking a quality of the printed two-dimensional codes (2, 3, 30).