GB2342638A

GB2342638A - Self adhesive labels

Info

Publication number: GB2342638A
Application number: GB9822590A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Wallace
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-10-17
Filing date: 1998-10-17
Publication date: 2000-04-19
Also published as: GB9822590D0

Abstract

A sheet 1 of self adhesive labels comprises a rectangular silicone coated backing paper layer 2 with an array of paper labels 6 releasably attached thereto and paper gripper edges 7 extending along each side of the sheet adjacent to the edges of the backing paper layer. The labels and gripper edges are so arranged that cutting of the sheet along a centre line 5 produces two identical rectangular sheets of self adhesive labels. A further embodiment allows for each of the two sheets to be further cut along respective centre lines (15 fig.2) each producing two identical sheets (Fig.2). The initial sheet may be of A3 size which is then cut down to two A4 sheets or initially of A2 size and then cut down to two A3 sheets and then further reduced to two pairs of A4 sheets. Larger format sheets of labels allow basic and repetitive printing to be carried out on a larger scale with subdivision of sheets at a later time for laser or ink jet printing or photocopying by the printer or end user as required, thereby generating cost and time savings.

Description

SELF-ADHESIVE LABELS The application relates to self-adhesive labels.

The label market consists of various types of labels which are governed by the printing method and/or the type of end use. This application relates applicable to selfadhesive labels in sheets and in particular to such sheets which are to be printed. Selfadhesive material is generally a three ply laminate. The first layer is the face paper/film which is nearly always printable. The second layer is an adhesive which is applied to the face paper and is integral to the face paper. The third layer is a silicone backing paper which acts as a barrier to the adhesive, a carrier to the face paper and a backing for die/kiss cutting purposes. In the current market these labels are normally will be supplied as individual formats in small sheets or as A5, A4 and A4 plus sheets.

Sheets of self-adhesive labels come in various formats and have been in existence for many years.. Each sheet is designed to be complete in itself. In the past, printing presses took small format sheets of eg 120mm x 150mm size. More recently, presses have become larger and printing presses smaller than A4 format (210mm x 297mm) are no longer made. Digital printing methods eg laser, ink jet have standardised on A sizes and have also caused the market to move away from small label format to A4 and larger formats. Lithographic (litho) printers and over printers make their main money when the printing press is in use so larger format self adhesive sheets means more printed labels for less time on the printing press. Hence the move to larger format sheets. Currently the two main sheets sizes are A4 (210mm x 297mm) and what is generally known as A4+ (approximately 225mm x 336mm).

The labels are normally set out on the sheets in a regular array of rows and columns.

Paper gripper edges normally extend along one long side and one short side of the sheet although occasionally sheets may have gripper edges on three sides. One of the gripper edges will be gripped by the printing machine as the sheet is fed thereinto depending on whether it is fed short side first or long side first. The other two sides are generally not provided with gripper edges and the paper labels extend near to those two sides. The gripper edges are not printed upon but merely provide a part of the sheet which can be gripped while the labels are printed.

The present invention proposes sheets that are formatted in such a way that they can be printed and then cut/guillotined in half so that each half of the sheet is identical. This is achieved by providing gripper edges on all four sides of the sheet and formatting the sheet so that opposite sides of the sheet have an identical pattern.

Accordingly, the invention provides a sheet of self-adhesive labels comprising: a rectangular backing paper layer having two pairs of opposite sides and a centre line parallel to one pair of the sides and midway therebetween; an array of paper labels each releasably adhered to the backing paper layer; and paper gripper edges extending along each side of the sheet adjacent to the edges of the backing paper layer and releasably adhered thereto; wherein the gripper edges and the array of paper labels are so arranged that cutting of the sheet in half along the centre line will produce two identical rectangular sheets of selfadhesive labels.

This means that an A3 sheet of self-adhesive labels could have basic and repetitive information printed by litho and then be cut into two A4 size sheets for variable information to be printed digitally by A4 laser, ink jet, photo copying, etc. Alternatively, the printing could be done by the various digital printing methods in large format and cut to more useful sizes when required. Because the uncut sheets have gripper edges on all four sides, they cannot be fed into the printing press the wrong way round. This is particularly important where more than one box of labels is used on any one job. This elimination of miss feeding/miss registration provides an important benefit The same design format applies to A2 format except that the double or more spacing will be provided on both horizontal and vertical centre lines.

This format is new in the self adhesive label market and has practical applications and commercial value. The benefit to the printer and/or his customer is that the possibility of miss registration is eliminated and he saves time and money by reducing time, often by half or more, on the printing press. The printer or his customer can then cut sheets of labels into the format required. In each case time and money is saved and the press is more quickly available for additional profitable work.

Embodiments of the invention are described below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in : Figure 1 shows a first sheet of self-adhesive labels; and Figure 2 shows a second sheet of self-adhesive labels.

A sheet 1 of self-adhesive labels shown in Figure 1 is formed with a rectangular sheet 2 of silicone paper which forms the backing paper layer, The backing paper layer 2 has a pair of longer sides 3 and a pair of shorter sides 4 and a centre line 5 parallel to and midway between the shorter sides.

As is well known, sheets of this general type are formed from a roll of laminate material comprising the silicone backing paper layer and a face paper layer releasably adhered to the backing layer by an adhesive which is fixed to the face paper layer. The laminate material is fed into die/kiss cutting apparatus which cuts the required pattern in the face paper layer but does not sever the backing paper layer. The laminate material is also cut into sheets such as shown in Figure 1.

The pattern which is cut through the face paper layer defines an array of spaced paper labels 6 each releasably adhered to the backing paper layer 2 surrounded by paper gripper edges 7 which extend along each side of the sheet adjacent to the edges of the backing paper layer. A matrix 8 of 2mm (1/10 inch) wide strips runs between the labels and around the outer edges of the gripper edge 7. The matrix 8 is twice as wide or more in the region of the centre line 5. The centre line 5 may or may not be marked on the face paper layer to assist in cutting as described below.

As can be seen from Figure 1, the sheet 1 can be cut in half along the centre line 5 to produce two identical smaller sheets of self-adhesive labels.

The sheet shown in Figure 1 may be of generally A3 shape and size so that when cut it produces two identical sheets of generally A4 shape and size.

The sheet 10 shown in Figure 2 is similar to that of Figure 1 but has additional gripper edges 17 extending along either side of its centre line 15. As can be seen from Figure 2, the sheet 10 can be cut in half along the centre line 15 to produce two identical smaller sheets of paper labels which can each be cut along their centre lines 5 into two identical yet smaller sheets of paper labels. In a further related embodiment (not shown) additional gripper edges are provided along either side of both the vertical centre line 15 and the horizontal centre line 5.

The sheet 10 may be of generally A2 shape and size such that when cut it produces two identical A3 sheets which can themselves be cut to provide identical A4 sheets of self adhesive labels. Other sizes may, of course, be used as required.

The matrix 9 (also known as weed) is normally left on during printing since it helps to prevent delamination but will generally be removed thereafter so that labels can be more easily removed from the sheet.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A sheet of self-adhesive labels comprising: a rectangular backing paper layer having two pairs of opposite sides and a centre line parallel to one pair of the sides and midway therebetween; an array of paper labels each releasably adhered to the backing paper layer; and paper gripper edges extending along each side of the sheet adjacent to the edges of the backing paper layer and releasably adhered thereto; wherein the gripper edges and the array of paper labels are so arranged that cutting of the sheet in half along the centre line will produce two identical rectangular sheets of self-adhesive labels.
2. A sheet of self-adhesive labels as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the sheet is of generally A3 shape and size such that when cut in half along the centre line it produces two identical sheets of generally A4 shape and size.
3. A sheet of self-adhesive labels as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the sheet is of generally A2 shape and size such that when cut in half along the centre line it produces two identical sheets of generally A3 shape and size, and wherein the A3 sheets are such that they satisfy the requirements of Claim 1 and thus can each be cut in half along their centre line to produce two identical sheets of generally A4 shape and size.
4. A sheet of self-adhesive labels substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.