Collation of packages and method of retaining packages together in a collation

1 . A collation of packages, each package of the collation being cuboid-shaped and comprising a pair of opposing first faces, a pair of opposing second faces and a pair of opposing end faces,

wherein the packages are arranged in rows such that a second face of a package faces a second face of an adjacent package within the same row, and a first face of a package in a row faces a first face of a package in an adjacent row, a second face of a package at the end of each row, and a first face of each package in a row, being exposed;

a plurality of bands extending about the packages to hold the collation together;

wherein each band is spaced from its adjacent band and extends over the exposed first face and exposed second face, of each package; and

wherein each package comprises a wrapper and a tear strip for removal of the wrapper, wherein the plurality of bands extend about said packages such that they do not overlie the tear strip.

2 . The collation according to claim 1 , wherein the pair of opposing end faces of each package comprises a top end face and a bottom end face, and wherein all the top end faces of the collation of packages lie in a first plane, and the bottom end faces of the collation of packages lie in a second plane, parallel to the first plane, and wherein each band of the plurality of bands extends parallel to said first and second planes.

3 . The collation of packages according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of bands comprises a first band and a second band, said first band being spaced from said first and second planes, and wherein the second band is spaced from said first and second planes.

4 . The collation of packages according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of bands comprises a first band and a second band, said second band being spaced from said first and second planes.

5 . The collation of packages according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of bands comprises a first band and a second band, wherein the first band is contiguous with the first plane, and wherein the second band is contiguous with the second plane.

6 . The collation of packages according to claim 2 , comprising a third band between said first and second bands.

7 . The collation of packages according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of bands are equally spaced from one another.

8 . The collation of packages according to claim 1 , wherein each band of the plurality of bands is endless.

9 . The collation of packages according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of bands are strips or ribbons, and wherein the strips or ribbons comprise a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer for releasable attachment to the collation of packages.

10 . The collation according to claim 9 , wherein each strip or ribbon comprise a region of overlap.

11 . The collation according to claim 10 , wherein the strip or ribbon is adhered to itself with peelable adhesive in the region of overlap, a tip portion of the region of overlap being adhesive free to form a pull tab.

12 . The collation according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of bands is formed from a transparent material.

13 . The collation according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of bands is formed from MOPP or PET.

14 . The collation according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of bands each have a width between 1.6 mm and 20 mm, preferably 5 mm to 15 mm, preferably around 8 mm.

15 . The collation according to claim 1 , wherein the first face of each package is a major face, and the second face of each package is a minor face.

16 . A collation of packages, each package of the collation being cuboid-shaped and comprising a pair of opposing first faces, a pair of opposing second faces and a pair of opposing end faces,

wherein the packages are arranged in a row such that a first face of a package faces a first face of an adjacent package in the row, a first face of a package at the end the row, and a second face of each package in the row, being exposed;

a plurality of bands extending about the packages to hold the collation together;

wherein each band is spaced from its adjacent band and extends over the exposed first face and exposed second face, of each package; wherein each band is spaced from its adjacent band and extends over the exposed first face and exposed second face, of each package.

17 . A method of retaining packages together in a collation, the method comprising:

providing a collation of cuboid-shaped packages, each package comprising a wrapper and a tear strip for removal of the wrapper, each package also comprising a pair of opposing first faces, a pair of opposing second faces and a pair of opposing end faces,

arranging the packages in rows such that a second face of a package faces a second face of an adjacent package within the same row, and a first face of a package in a row faces a first face of a package in an adjacent row, a second face of a package at the end of each row, and a first face of a package in a row being exposed;

providing a plurality of bands; and

positioning each band so that it is spaced from its adjacent band and extends over the exposed first face, and the exposed second faces, of each package and such that the plurality of bands extend about said packages such that they do not overlie the tear strip.

18 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein each band is endless and is formed from a heat-sensitive material, the method comprising heat shrinking each band once they have been positioned so as to extend over the exposed first faces and exposed second faces.

19 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein the plurality of bands are strips or ribbons and the method comprises attaching the strips or ribbons to the packages via an adhesive.