CA2205601A1 - Non-quadrate linerless label construction, methods of use and application and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A label assembly (10) indicates a string of plurality of non-quadrate (e.g., circular) linerless labels (11) disposed in-line with at least one tie (12) about .018-.030 inches in width connecting consecutive labels (119) in the string together. Each label (11) has a first face (13) with adhesive release material and a second face (14) with pressure sensitive adhesive. The string may be in roll form and taken off the roll (15) and run through a burster (33) for bursting the ties (12) between the labels (11). The lables (11) may initially also be tied to a matrix (17) from which the string labels are continuously seperated. The burster (33) may include high and low speed rolls (34, 35; 19, 20) with a non-stick surface (37) between them and a bursting blade (36) above the non-stick surface. Downstream of the high speed rolls is a sensor (38) and a mechanism for applying the seperated linerless labels (11) to a surface, such as a reciprocating plunger (42), air blast nozzles (56, 57), a vacuum cylinder (55), or a conveyer belt (50, 53).

Description

~11 L ~J8 ~ 1 - 1 ) - 'Jt,.~ CA 0 i i 0 5 6 01 19 9 7 - 0 5 - 2 0 - - . J _ S

.' ~J

NON-C~UADRAT~ N~T,F!.~.~ T-~RR!T~ CONSTRUCTION, ~THOI)13 OF ~ A?~n APPI~ICATION. A~D APPAR~TU~

RAc~GRouND ~ND ~uluMA~y QF T~ 'rIO~

There ~re many circurn~tance8 in which ~on-quadrate (e.g., clr~lllar, oval, triangalar, or polygon~l shape) labels are lltili2ed, being applied to ~urfaces. In the la9t few year9 there h~s been an 10 increa9ing dem~nd for linerles9 lab~l~ becau~.e of the enviro~mental and other advantage~ a~ociated with them. The use of non-~ua~ate l~erless labels, per ~e, i~ 3hown in pending application Serial No. ~8/173,083, filed December 27, 1993 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by r~ference herein). Accordin~ to the present inYentiOn, a partlcu~ar s~r~ng of non-quadrate linerles~
labels i~ provided, a~ well as a method of det~hinF th~ individual Iabels from the 6tring, a method of sepal ating the string from sulTol1n~in~ matrix material, a method of applying burst labels direct}y to the surface6 of moving item~, and apparatus for

2~ pr~ctIcing all of the~e m~th~ds.

~ ccording to one aspect ofthe present inven~ n, a ~:lethod of actin~ on indindual non quadrate linerle~ label~ in a string of in-line quadrate linerle~s labels connected to the other by ties i~
~5 pro~ided. The method i~ practicsd usin~ a bur~ter hanng a ~ t pair o~ low ~pe~d roll~, and a ~econd pair of high ~peed roll~ with a stationary blade between the roller pa~r~. The burster utilized ~u~t be distinct fi~om conventional bu~L~f~, such as shovJn in EPO
~3767~4 since the 1~urster mu~t be able to filn~t;oT~ without p,~

RC~ I'A- llL~H~\ ~)5" ,. 1. A~ U~icA 6ii6s60l l997-05-20 +~o ~Y laYY~-~us~

' ;
components ~ticking to the linerles~ labels, a~d must ~upport the l~b~l~ between the roller ~ets of the bur3ter.

The method a~mprises the following ~teps; ~a) M~ring the ~, ~tr~ng of n~n-qu~dr~te liner~ess labelF, in a ~lr~ direction, to the ~r~t pair of roll~. ~b) Feeding the labeI~" one at a time, in sequence from the low speed ro~l~ to $,he h~gh spee~ roll2 sa that a tie connectin~ two con~ecutive label~ of the ~tring is po6itioned .! between the pairs of roll~. (c) Acting on a leP~in~ str~ng with the ~o hi~h-~peed roll~ to ca-lse the ~trin~ to be ten~,ioned and the tie between the roll pairs to engage the ~?tqt.i~n~ry blade and bur~t.
And, (d) rlicch~rglng the le~in~ label, burst from the string iIl ~tep (c), from the high speed r~lls.

The labels have a fir~t face ~ h a~he~ive rele~,e m~terial and a &econd face with pre~ e 3ensitive adhesive. ~tep (c) is typi~ally practiced by bringing the non-adhe~i~e face into contact u~th the st~tiQ~Ary blade. There is also preferably the further st~p of, except during ten~ioning as recited in sbep (c~, guidin~ the ~abel~
~o from thQ fir~t and ~econd roll pairs by bringing the adhesive face into contact ~r.ith a non-~tick guid~ng surface.

Normally, the ~tr~g of l-~bal~ i~ ong~nally c~nlle~
surrounding matrix by tie~, in which case there i~ the furthe~ step, 2~ prior to step (a), of (e) ~eparating the leading labels from the m~trix; and (f) cont~nuously auto~ ly pulling the matrix in a ~econd direction, di~tinct from the first direction, while physically e~ in~ the label ~tring 30 that the labelfi are not pulled with the matrix but in~tead are fed to the first rollers as recited in ~ps (a) Ai~ENû~ E~

C~ 51 ~ l~ L ' ~ L;', ~3~A 02io560 1 1997 - 0~ - 20 CC I r +49 eC3 ~3C94~;5 # ~;

and (b) ~eparated from the n~atr~x. Step (f~ is typically pr~ct;eerl by physically engaging the first face of the label str~ng with ~ ~mo~th, g~lh~ T ti ~ lly stationary surface.

A~er the practice of fitep (d), there i~ ~ fu~ther 9tep of b~ing~ng the detached leading linerle99 label ~econd face int~
~ontact wi~h ~ surface to which the adhesive adheres. Thi9 add~tional ~tep may be pra~ticed by pushing the first face in a third direction, ~ubstantislly tran~v~rse to the fir~t direction, u~til the o second face engagefi the ~urfa~e, OI~ by en~ ~ng the fir~t face with a rotatable ~lement and rotating the rotat~ble elerne~t to assist in mov~ng the label second fa~e into contact with the surface, by ~b~tantially sirnultaneou~ly movin~ the surface in~o en~agement with the ~ec~nrl face by asing air bla~t nozzles, or th~ like.

There may also be the further 9tep of se~Ain~ the pre~ence of th~ 1PZ~;n~ label being ~ h ~rged during the practice of step ~d~, and moving the fiurface toward the label in r~spon9e ~o that $en~-n~. The label string i8 ~ypically pulled by the low sp~ed rolI to 20 move into proper position. Also, typically, there i9 a ~peed difFerential of between 3:1 to 2:1 between t~e high speed and l~w speed roll~

It is a primary object af the present invention to provide for 25 the ef~e~tive and 6impIe det~chn~nt of non-quadr~te linerle~s label~
~om ~ ~tri~g, and tbe applicatioll of l,ht! detached label~ to a moving surfacc, in an automatic m~nner. This and other object~ of the invention will become clear from Em inspection of the detailed de~cription of the invention and from th~ appended clai~

RC~ A~Ul~ H~ ()~ L ~ v.( /r.. ~ A 0220560i 1997-05~20 . u~J J ~;39~4~;5 B~rE~F rlF~ TP~!ION OF T~Z D~WIN~S

FIGU~3 1 i8 a sid~ v~ew of a label a~sembly ~tring according to the pre~ent invention moving from roIl to linear form;
,1 FIGURE ~ is a top plan new of the strin~ in ~IGURE l;

FIGURE ~ i~ a top plan view of a 6tring like that of FI(~IJRE
2 bef.ore det~l~hment fIom the ~ur~ ;ng matr~x ~naterial;
' 10 FIGURE 4 i~ a side ~che~natic view of apparatus for separating the label string of FI(3URh 3 from the matrix material of FI(3URE 3, FIGURE 5 i~ a top per~pecti~e ~chem~ . view of the apparatus of FIG~JRE 4;

FIC~URE 6 i3 a side ~hem~tic v~ew of an exemplary burstiIlg apparatus for b~ ting the label ~tring of FIGUR13 2, according to 20 the present in~ention;

- FI(~URES 7 ~nd 8 are side ~h~3m~ views ~howing the high ~peed roll3 of the bL~ of FIl~URE 6 in conjunctiorl with a re¢iprocating pllmger ~or applying a dct~ched label to a mo~ing 25 sllrface;

FIGU~13S 9 and 10 are views like~ tho~e of FIGURES 7 and 8 only showing a belt cu~v~ur ~ystem downstr~am of the hi~h spe~d roll for apply~ng the la~el to a bottle or the like; A~EN~D S~tEET
-0.~:~t A ,~ )5, ~ r.~L~CA 0220560i 1997-05-20 +~3 S~'J ~)~3C~J4,~;8~

. '' .

FIGURES 11 and 12 are v~ewF like that of FIGtJRES 7 and 8 only howing a vacu~lm cylind~r and differently dispo~d conveyo~
downstream of the high ~peed roll; and fi FrGU~E 13 l5 a view liks that of FIGURE 12 on]y showing ga~ blast noz~le~ for operatively eng~ging a detached label and moving it into co~t~t with a ~urface being conveyed.

n~TA~.Rm nE9u~cIyl~oN OF T~R! I~RAWING~3 1() A label a~em~ly according tc the present inven~ion i~ ~hown generally by reference numeral lQ in FrGURES 1 ~nd 2. It con6ist~
of a ~tring of a plural~y of non-qu~drate li~erle~s label~-, 11 dispo~ed in-line with at lea~t one tie about .018-.030 inches iIl width connecting conceel~tive ~abels ~nd the string together. Each label 11 ha~ a fir~t f~ce 1~ with a&eF,ilre release mat~rial, e.g., ~ilicone, thereon and a ~econd face 14 (~e~ FIG. 1~ with presF,ure-sensitive a&csi~e (which may be repositi~n~l~ rernovable or perm~nl~nt).
The a~,~em~ly 10 may ~e in roll form, aF, il1u~trated by the roll 1~ in ~o FIG~JRE 1, and taken off from the roll intermittently, continuous~y, or in groups (~uch a~ the group illu~trated in FIG. 2).

The non-~uadrate corlfiguration of the label~ 11 may be o~ a wide variety of dirr~ t type~. For examplel the labels 11 may b~
25 circular as ~een in FIC~URES 1 and 2, o~ral, trian~ular, or of another non-quadrate polygon ~hape. Where circular labels 11 are 1It.ili7,e~1, aæ æeen in FIGU~ES 1 and 2, typically only a single tie 12 i~
providet between a~ e~t label~. Where t~le labels have other ~iapes, more than one tie may be pr~Yided, but the ties typically

3 S~

RC~ A~:i'A~ CH~ o5, L ' ~ "~ . CA 02~'05601 1997-05-20 J~

alwnys have a width of between about .04~-.076 cm [.018-.030 inche~

Normally -- as described in said ~opending application Ser~al N~. 08/173,08~ -- the ~tr~ng of labels is initially w~thin a matrix 17 -- as ~een in ~IGURE 3. It i~ al~o c~nnected to ~he matr~x by ties --such ~8 the ties 1~, which also E~r~lably have a width of about .01~-.030 inche~. The 3tr~ng of labels 10 i~ separated from the matrix mat~r~al 17 ~lt,r.mAtically~ preferably lltil;~in~ the 0 apparatus such as illustrated in FIGURES 4 and B.

The apparatu3 of FIG~JRES 4 and 6 include~ a conveyin~
me~h~nis~ for conveyin~ the stl~ng of label~ in a fir~t direction 18 (see FIG. 4), the conveyor me~h~niqm typically comprising the low 1~ speed rolls 19, 20 of R detacher (as il1ustr~ted in FIC~. 6). A
conveyor belt, conveyor bottom rol1ers, conveying 31ats, convey~ng chains, toothed wheels, or a wide var~ety of other meçhAni qm~ may al30 be provided a3 the con~eyin~ mearl~ for moving the label ~tring in the direction 18.
~o The matrix/l~bel ~tring det~ch~n~nt rnc~ch~n;~m al30 prefcrably comprises a stationary label hold-d~wn me~h~n~m 21, which may --a~ illu~trated in FIGS. 4 and ~ -- be in the form of an arrn having an ~ e-l body portion 22 ~tationar~l~ .mounted to a ~t~tio~ry aupport 23 at a first en~ thereof, a bottom p~rtion ~4 WhICh I~3 substantial1y parallel to the direction 18, and an up-turned end portion 25 of the element 2~. The arm 21 i~ preferably formed of a piece of Lexan or pla~tic, and i8 relatively rigid, although it ha~
~ome fl P~ ty~ It is typically light ~n weight and preferably at . ~ U 1 . ~ 1 L' l. ' ,1~ J .~ . .' ~A 0 2 2 0 5 6 0 1 1 9 9 7 - 0 5 - 2 0 . u . --~ ~ J ~

lea~t the portion thereof that en~a~e the adhesivc release fa~e~ 13 o~ the label strin~ lQ i~ s~nooth 90 that it toes not mark, tear or othe~i~e ~dversely a~ec~ the labels 11.

The m~tri~labeI det~hment mer~niRrn aIso include~
matrix t~ke-up ~hown gener~lIy by reference numeral 26, and preferably including a take-up rol~er 27 driven by a motor 2~ or the like and about which the matr~x material 17 i~ initially wrapped.
The axis of rotatinn of the roller ~7, about which it i8 driven by th~
0 motor 28, is in a 3econd dimension 29 which i~ preferably perpendicular to the I'ir~t direction 18 The take-up roller ~7 mov~
the m~trix in a second direction 30, which ~ distinct from and inter~ectg the fir~t direction 18. In t~e preferred e~bodiment illustrated in FIG~JRES 4 and 5, t~e ~econd direction 30 i5 pc~p~ndicular t~ the fir~t direction 18 Finally, the matrixAabel string separation mech~ni.~m comprise~ an abutment, pre~era~Iy a powered or idler roller 31, e~n~ the matrix 17 and the strin~ of labels 10 where the fir~t.
20 and 3econd direct.iQIlR 18t30 inter~ect. The roller 31 i~ rotatable about an axis parallel to the a2~i9 29. When pow~red the roller 31 - may compri~e, or may comprise part of, the con~eyor rnec~niqrn ~r pulling the labels in the direction 18.

An exemplary l~ ter according to the present invention i~
~hown generally by reference numeral 3~ In addition to the ~ow ~peed rolls lg, 20 ~he burster 3~ includes a pn r ~f h~gh spe~d rolle 34, 35, each ofthe ~eta of rolls 19, 20 and 34, ~5 h~ving a nip betwe~n them. The t0118 19, ~0 and 34, 35 are mou~ted ~o that the ~ 'a~`;

, ~C~ Y '~ \CIIL~ ", ,l,, I. . r l .li ~ lr.. ~ ~ti.CA 02210~60 i 1997 - 0~ - 20 ('C l r~ t ( ~l- +4~J e~ e5: ~1 1 nip6 are in an im7~n~r~ ~traight line ~om one to the other (preferably at the same horizontal o~ vertical position) and all of the roll~ 19, ~0, 34, 3~ are rotatable about sub~tantially parallel axes of rotation The burster 33 also includes a bur~ting blade ~6 diæposed .s between the rollers on one ~ide of the im7l~n~y ~trai~ht line between the roller nip~, and adapted to engage the release material ~urface 13 of the le~in~ label ~1 in a st~ing 10 a~ the tie 12 ~o that bursting ~long the tie 12 t~k~,~ place.

The st~tion~ry bursting blade ~B ia al~ over a non~6tick gui~e ~urface 37 which is also mounted between ~he rolls 19, 20 and 34, 3~ and extend ~ub~tantially along the im~Ein:~ry ~traight Ii~e between the nips The no~-aticlc BUrface 37 engage~ the pres~ure-sensitive adhe~ive 14 face of the Iabel string 10 It is preferred that 16 the non-s~icl~ chara~t~n~tic6 of the ~urface 37 ~e obtained by m:~ ~oating The lower low ~peed rolle~ 19 and the lower high speed raller 34, which engage the adhesive surface 14, also are both p~ ably non-~tick coated, ~o thQt they do not adhere to the adhesive 14. Al~o the dist~ce between the roll pair~ 19, 20 and 34, ~o 35 are fixed to one label 11 length, with the tie 12 ~or a senes of ties~ aligned with the burst~ng blade 36.

Conventional bur3ter~ ~which are aimilar to the burster 33 only not -ti1i~in~ the non-stick ~urface 37 and corresponding non-stick surfaces on the ro]ler~ 1~, 34~ typically operate at a differential speed ratio of 2:1 between the high speed and low ~peed rolls. ~he speed ratio ~ccordin~ to the present invention is pre~rably between 3:1 and 2 1, including all ratios inbetween.
Also, ~ sensor 38 (of any suitable conventirn~l type, e.g., optic~l) i6 ,~

t'A - ~ L ` ~ ~ " ,, " ,^, ., I r ~ L~ ~CA 0 2 2 0 5 6 0 1 19 9 7 0 5 2 0 . U . ~ Y _~ t i~

. 'i g preferably pro~ided downstream of the hi~h ~peed roll~ 34, 35 in the direction 18 to sen~e a leading label 11 after it has been burst, and to in turn move ~ ~urface ~rlto contact with the label andlor operate another l~bel enga~ing ele~nent to engage the label and rnove it into contact with the sulface~ A ~econd ~enxor (~hown generally at 3~ ~n FIG. 9) may also be provided to ~ense a moving surface to which th~
detached label 11 is to be applied. The ~ensors 3~, 3g may al90 control the dr~ve of the high speed rolls 34, 3~ to stop the clr~ve ~o that the leading label i~ eR~er-h~l1y parked until acted upon by a ~o la~el engaging element or a moving ~urface to which the label is applied.

A vide v~riety nf ~hel-eng~ g meaI~ may ~e provid~d downs~ream of thQ high speed rolls 34, 30 in the irst direction 18 f~r engag~ng a label 11 a~ it mo~e~ throu~h the nip of the high speed rolls ~4, 35. Fotlr di~erent such l~bel ~nE~ng me~n~ are il~ufitrated in FIGUR~i:S 7 through 13. All of them may be integrated with the operati~n of the roller3 34, 35 by the ~ensor 38 andior the ~en~or 39.
In th~ ~IGURES 7 and 8 em~odiment, the la~el-en~ E
- means compIi~e~ a hor~zontally movable plunger 42 mounted for movcment by a rod 43 in ~ direction 44 perpen~ r to the direction 18. The plunger 4~ engages tll~ relea~e material face 13 25 of the label 11 çLnd moves the adhe~ive fac~ 14 into contact with a æurface 45 ~o which the label~ can be applIed. In F~(~;URE 8 the surface 45 i~ ~hown as bein~ one of the side~ or top o~ a cardbo~rd carton 66, which i8 mounted on a convt~y~r means 47 for movem~nt tn the direction 48. In the exemplary embodiment illuRtr~t.ed in ~oD S~

" , ,~ J ~ u ~CA O 2 2 0 ~i 6 0 1 l 9 9 7 0 ~i 2 0 . u . ~

,, 10 FIGURES 7 and ~, the direction 48 i9 parallel to the direction 18, but that is not neces~ary. The conv~ing means 47 may be any con~e~tion~l conveyor ~uch as a ~or~eyor belt, con-~eyor rollers, conveyor ~h~in~, conveyor platform~, etc.
s In the embodf~ent of FIGURES ~ and 10 the l~bel engaging ~eans compri~es ~ conveyor belt 50 mounted just ~ownstream of th~ nip of the rolls S4, 35 in the direction 18 in position to cooperate with a bott~e, can or like element 51 having a 61lrfacc to which thc 10 label 11 i~ applied. The bott]e B1 i8 ~o~ed by the con~r~yor 47 in the direction 52, the direction ~2 in this cs.se being perpendicuI~r to the direction 18. A ~econd conve~or belt a~embly 53 i~ mounted on the oppo~;ite ~ide of the ~onveyor 47 from t~e conveyor belt as mbly 60 to rot~te th~ hntL1~ .51 ~ it. movr& in direction 5~ and 15 a~ t~e label 11 i~ being applied, a~ illustrated in F~GURE 10.
Cons~eyor belt as~e~blie~ ~l 53 c~n be dri~en or not driYen, althoug~ it i8 preferred th~t the ~ern~ly 53 at 1east be driven.

~I&URE 11 illu~trate~ yet another form of label engaging 20 means in this c~e in the form of a v~cuum cylinder ~ which is mounted just downstream of the nip between the roller 34, 35 and - is rotatable a~out an axi~ parallel to the rollers 3~, 34 axes. The vacuum cylinder 55 en~age~ the non-adhe~i~e f~ce 13 of the label 11 and moves the adhe~ive face 14 into cont;~t with ~ surface 4B of a~ carton 46, or like object, bein~ conveyed by the conveyor 47 in the dlrection ~, a~ ~een in F~GU~

FIGURE 13 illu~trate~ other embodimen~ of the label engag~ng mesns in which ju~t downstreRm of the nip between the AQ.;ENI:)~D s~ER

K~ t'!~-~il t ~,tlt~ J ' f~ A 02205601 1997 05 20 z rolls 34, 36 one more air/gas bla~t n~.7~e~ 56, S7 are located. The noz~le~ 56, 57 are connected up to a sou~ce of compre~sed gas (e.g., air, nitro~en, e~c.) ~8. Valve~ for autorl~tic~lly controlling the pa~age of compres~ed gas fro~n the ~ource 58 to the nozzle~ ~6, 57 a T~l~ly be ~ntrolled by a sensor like ~ensor 38 in FIGURE 6 (e.g., an optical sensor). The blasts of ~a~ from the nozzles ~, 5~ conveys the l~bei 11 to the sufface 4~ of a car$on 4~ or ]ilce device being moved in direction 59 ~y the conveyor 47 (i~ this case tbe con~yor 47 being s-~hem~tically illu~trated as powered rollers with gripping 0 surfaces). In thi~ c~se the direction 59 may make an angle of abo~t 30-60 with respect to the direction 18.

~ he embadiment~ of FIGURES 7 throu~h 13 illustrate var~ous mech~niRmR f~r trapping, blowing or rolling a label detached by the detach~r 33, onto a surface onto which the labeI is to be applied. Howe-reI, other type~ of me~h~ni~m~ also may be utiliz~d for pe,r,~ lg th~ ~ame basic function.

It w~ll thus be seen that acc~rding to the pre~ent invention, 20 an adYanta~eous label ~emhly Gon.~ tjng of a string of a plurality of non-quadrate linerless labels w~th tie6 between them, a m~thod ~ of acting upon individual non-quadrate lInerle~s label~ to ~eparatc them from the strin~ and apply them to product ~urfaces, and a variety of dif~erent app:~ratu~ m~y be utilized which are highly 25 adva~tageou3.

While the inverltion has been herein ~hown and d~cr~bed in what i3 pre~ently concei~ed to be the nlo~t practical and prcferred emhodiment, It will be app~Lrent to tho~e of ordirlaly ~Icill in the ert 5 L~ s . .,' ". .,. 1~ J~ CA 0220 5 601 1997 - 0 5 - 20 . U ~ Y~ 5: ~15 that many mo~ r~t;~n~ may ~e made thereof within the 8cope of the invention, which scope i9 to be a~c~rded the br~ade8t interpretation of claim~, ~o ~9 to en~nmp~ all equivalent method~, product~ and apparatus.

Claims (13)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of acting on an individual non-quadrate linerless label (11) in a string (10) of in-line non-quadrate pressure sensitive adhesive linerless labels connected together by ties, using a burster (33) having a first pair of low speed rolls (19, 20), and a second pair of high speed rolls (34, 35), with a stationary blade (36) between the roller pairs, comprising the steps of;
(a) moving the string of non-quadrate pressure sensitive adhesive linerless labels, in a first direction (18), to the first pair of rolls;
(b) feeding the labels, one at a time, in sequence from the low speed rolls to the high speed rolls so that a tie (12) connecting two consecutive labels of the string is positioned between the pairs of rolls;
(c) acting on a leading label of the string with the high speed rolls to cause the string to be tensioned and the tie between the roll pairs to engage the stationary blade and burst; and (d) discharging the leading label, burst from the string in step (c), from the high speed rolls.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the labels have a first face (13) with adhesive release material and a second face (14) with pressure sensitive adhesive; and wherein step (c) is practiced by bringing the first face into contact with the stationary blade.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 comprising the further step of, except during tensioning as recited in step (c), guiding the labels from the first to the second roll pairs by bringing the second face into contact with a non-stick guiding surface (37),

4. A method as recited in any preceding claim wherein the string of labels is connected to a surrounding matrix (17) by ties (18), and comprising the further steps, prior to step (a), of (e) separating the leading labels from the matrix; and (f) continuously automatically pulling the matrix in a second direction (30), distinct from the first direction, while physically engaging the label strong (sorter 21) so that the labels are not pulled with the matrix but instead are fed to the first rollers as recited in steps (a) and (b) separated from the matrix.

5. A method as recited in claim 4 wherein the labels have a first faee with adhesive release material and a second face with pressure sensitive adhesive; and wherein step (f) is practiced by physically engaging the first face of the label string with a smooth, substantially stationary, surface (21).

6. A method as recited in any of claims 2-6 comprising the further step (e), substantially immediately after step (d), of bringing the detached, leading linerless label second face into contact with a surface (45) to which the adhesive adheres.

7. A method as recited in claim 6 wherein step (e) is practiced by pushing the first face in a third direction (44), substantially transverse to the first direction, until the second face engages the surface.

8. A method as recited in claim 6 wherein step (e) is practiced by engaging the first face with a rotatable element (55, 50), and rotating the rotatable element to assist in moving the label second face into contact with the surface.

9. A method as recited in claim 8 wherein step (e) is further practiced by subbtantially simultaneously moving (via 47) the surface into engagement with the second face.

10. A method as recited in claim 6 comprising the further step (f) of sensing (using 38) the presence of the leading label being discharged during the practice of step (d), and moving the surface toward the label in response to step (f).

11. A method as recited in claim 4 wherein steps (a) and (f) are practiced substantially solely by pulling the label string with the low speed rolls.

12. A method as recited in any preceding claim wherein the labels are substantially circular, and the leading label is connected to a following label by a single tie (12) having a width of about .046-.076 cm (.018-.030 inches); and wherein step (c) is practiced by moving the single tie into contact with the stationary blade.

13. A method as recited in any preceding claim wherein steps (a)-(c) are practiced by providing a speed differential of between 3;1 to 2:1 between the high speed and low speed rolls.