AU706191B2

AU706191B2 - Labels and method of manufacturing labels

Info

Publication number: AU706191B2
Application number: AU70301/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Cowper Robison
Original assignee: Castle Graphics Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Castle Graphics Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1995-12-13
Filing date: 1996-10-21
Publication date: 1999-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2016-10-21
Also published as: AU7030196A

Description

This invention relates to labels and the manufacture thereof and more particularly to a method of manufacturing self-adhesive labels incorporating a pamphlet in a continuous strip suitable for automatic application to a container in a production line or for manual application.

The pamphlet (which may be printed on both sides) carries additional information regarding the products specified on the label. Such labels may be used with products requiring additional data area not available on face labels.

An object of the invention is to manufacture a label which complies 10 with Australian Government Legislation regarding the labelling of pharmaceutical products as well as the provision of an acceptable market aid for other industries. Some points of this legislation are:the product must be labelled in accordance with strictly specified information, print heights, widths etc. In a specified format, (ii) additional information regarding the product such as dosage, warnings etc and the prognostic information may be in the form of an attachment to the container which may be a folded pamphlet incorporated within the label, (iii) the manufacture of the label must be such that the container will be permanently labelled to identify the contents.

According to the invention there is provided a label for fixing to a container comprising an inner label, an outer label having a perforation and overlying the inner label and a pamphlet therebetween, the arrangement being such that when the outer label perforation is broken and the

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pamphlet and the outer label are removed, the inner label is revealed and cannot be easily removed from the container.

The labels are manufactured in such a manner that the outer and inner label must pertain to the same product.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a composite label comprising the steps of:providing a pamphlet giving information regarding a product specified on the label, (ii) providing a composite web comprising a carrier sheet and a 10 label sheet having a pressure sensitive adhesive on one face by means of which it is secured to the carrier sheet, and printing on the label sheet at least two rows of identical labels that extend along the label sheet, (iii) cutting the composite web longitudinally to separate the 15 rows of identical labels and thereby creating at least a first composite web of labels and carrier sheet and a second composite web of labels and carrier sheet, (iv) removing the label sheet of the first composite web and its adhesive coating from its carrier sheet, turning the label sheet of the first composite web so that it overlies that of the second composite web, (vi) inserting the printed pamphlet between the first and the second label sheets and (vii) adhering the first label sheet to the second label sheet with the pamphlet sandwiched therebetween.

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CC S In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a printed pressure sensitive web prior to slitting showing the position of top 0 04 0 0

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0U IC >"l and bottom labels relative to one another, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a machine for manufacturing the label assembly of the invention, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a composite label according to one embodiment of the invention.

In order to prepare a printed composite label and pamphlet according to the invention, the first step is that the layout and design of both the product label and the accompanying pamphlet be approved for correctness 10 including the product bar code by the approved authority.

The web 10 shown in Fig. 1 has a first row 11 of printed labels 12 co and a second row 13 of identical labels 12. The web 10 comprises a supporting backing paper 14 and a pressure sensitive web 15 on which the "labels are printed. The pressure sensitive web 15 has an undersurface of pressure sensitive adhesive by which the web 15 is releasably adhered to the backing paper 14 (see Fig. 3).

o ~In order to ensure that rows of labels are the same, a negative .incorporating two stepped images is produced from the artwork of the label, and from this negative, one printing plate is manufactured. This single printing plate may have one or more identical images of the label upon it, so that it is impossible for labels of different types to be mixed during printing.

The labels 12 are printed on the web 10, by any convenient printing process, and in any number of colours as specified by the design, and are printed one above the other in pairs as shown in Fig. 1 but not die cut, and are wound into rolls 16.

The pamphlet 17 which will accompany the label 12 is printed on a lightweight paper by any convenient printing process, and in any number of colours, and is formed into rolls 18.

It should be noted that both the label 12 and the pamphlet 17 will have printed in a convenient place, identical bar codes which can be subsequently verified by automatic scanners at the point where the pamphlet 17 is combined into the label 12 thus ensuring that the pamphlet 17 and the label 12 are for the same product.

The roll of printed labels 16 and the roll of printed pamphlets 18 are placed in a machine (shown in schematic form in Fig. 2) which produces the resultant combined label/pamphlet shown in Fig. 3.

co o previously printed roll of labels 16 is fed into the machine as a continuous web 21 through a double web tensioning device 20. The web 21 passes into a slitting station 22 where the web 21 is slit in half creating two webs which for convenience will be referred to as the top web 23 and the bottom web 24 but at the point of slitting lie side by side. Both webs pass under a delaminating roller 25 where the printed surface of the top web 23 and its adhesive coating are delaminated from the supporting o• silicone coated backing paper 14.

The top web 23 is then passed over a system of turn bars 26 and 27 which transpose the top web 23 into alignment with the bottom web 24.

Turn bars 26 and 27 are mounted on an adjustable support so that the top web 23 and the bottom web 24 may be combined at relaminating station 28 in perfect register. Accurate tensioning of both webs 23 and 24 by tension device 20 is absolutely essential otherwise the webs may have a differential speed and perfect longitudinal registration will not be achieved.

Between the two sections of the double tension device 20 the printed pamphlet 18 is inserted into the relaminating station 28 and sandwiched between the top web 23 and the bottom web 24 and cut off.

The timing of the pamphlet inserting device 29 is adjusted to coincide with the printed top web 23 which is exactly aligned laterally and longitudinally with bottom web 24, so that the pamphlet 18 is positioned between the two webs 23 and 24 in the desired position. The combined web 30 then continues through the machine to the pressing station 31 where pressure is applied to the webs 23 and 24 to remove air bubbles, and combine the two 10 webs 23 and 24 with the pamphlet inserted into one flat web At diecutting station 32 a rotary or flat knife cuts through all the surfaces of the combined web 30 except the bottom layer of support silicone paper 14. The skeletal waste is stripped at delaminating station 33 and rolled up as waste at station 34. The diecut web 35 is edge trimmed at trim station 36 and formed into roll 37 for final inspection on other ooou equipment.

To maintain exact registration of diecutting to printing, a photo

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i electric register system 38 is incorporated in the diecutting drive system.

The diecutting tool may also include a perforation cut or thumb nail cut to facilitate the opening of the label to reveal the pamphlet once the label is applied to the container.

Bar code readers 39 and 40 are positioned to give a combined read out verifying that the two bar codes of the combined web label and pamphlet) are identical and that therefore there is no possibility that the instructions and warnings given in the pamphlet do not apply to the product specified on the label.

Also incorporated in the machine is a third rewind station 41 for the rolling up and removal of the web 42.

The machine may be operated either as a continuous system using rotary cutters in the die head or intermittently using flat cutters.

The resultant label is supplied in rolls to the labelling machine incorporated in a container filling line.

The final combined label 12 and pamphlet 18 is shown in schematic form in Fig. 3 and consists of a silicone paper carrier 14, adhesive 51, bottom printed label 52, adhesive 53, folded pamphlet 17, and top printed 10 label 55. There is a perforation cut 56 in the top printed label 55 to *facilitate the opening of the top label 55 to reveal the pamphlet when the composite label is on a container and a gap of 3mm between adjacent combined labels and pamphlets.

Various modifications may be made in details of design and 15 construction without departing from the scope and ambit of the invention.

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*0I.* *l C a w eA THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:- 1. A method of manufacturing a composite label comprising the steps of:providing a pamphlet giving information regarding a product specified on the label, (ii) providing a composite web comprising a carrier sheet and a label sheet having a pressure sensitive adhesive on one face by means of which it is secured to the carrier sheet, and printing on the label sheet at least two rows of identical labels that extend along the label sheet, (iii) cutting the composite web longitudinally to separate the rows of identical labels and thereby creating at least a first composite web of labels and carrier sheet and a second composite web of labels and carrier sheet, (iv) removing the label sheet of the first composite web and its adhesive coating from its carrier sheet, turning the label sheet of the first composite web so that it overlies that of the second composite web, (vi) inserting the printed pamphlet between the first and the second label sheets and (vii) adhering the first label sheet to the second label sheet with the pamphlet sandwiched therebetween.

2. A method of manufacturing a composite label according to claim 1 and including the step of forming a perforation in each label of the label sheet of the first composite web.

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Claims

3. A method of manufacturing a composite label according to claim 1 wherein the step of turning the first web comprises passing the first web over a plurality of turn bars to firstly reverse the direction of travel of the first web and then returning the first web to the original direction of travel.
4. A composite label for fixing to a container, said composite label produced by the method of any one of claims 1 to 3 and comprising an inner printed label, and an outer printed label having a perforation and overlying and adhered to the inner printed label and a pamphlet therebetween, the inner printed label and the outer printed label having the same information printed thereon, the arrangement being such that when the outer label perforation is broken and the pamphlet and outer label removed, the inner label is revealed. A method of manufacturing a composite label according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
6. A composite label substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 12 day of April 1999. CASTLE GRAPHICS PTY LIMITED Patent Attorneys for the Applicants: PETER MAXWELL ASSOCIATES ABSTRACT A composite label 18 for fixing to a container includes an inner label 52, an outer label 55 having a perforation 56 and overlying the inner label 52 and a pamphlet therebetween 17, the arrangement being such that when the outer label perforation 56 is broken and the pamphlet 17 and outer label 55 removed, the inner label 52 is revealed. A machine for manufacturing the composite labels is also disclosed. *0