KR20050074999A - Method of making printable forms comprising stickers and articles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses form constructions such and self-seal mailer and methods of making form constructions comprising a substrate having a printable surface portion and a sticker. In preferred embodiments the sticker is a face adhering validation sticker and/or the form substrate comprises a cutout with the viewing surface of the sticker releasably attached to the perimeter of the cutout and exposed through the cutout.

Description

The printable form containing a sticker, and the manufacturing method of an article TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention discloses a method of making a form structure comprising a form structure such as a self-seal mailer and a substrate and a sticker having a printable surface portion. In a preferred embodiment, the sticker is a cotton attachment authentication sticker and / or includes a cutout having a form substrate, wherein the visible surface of the sticker is releasably attached to the periphery of the cutout and exposed through the cutout.

Certification stickers are used as registration certificates for automobiles and other vehicles (eg trucks, snowmobiles, etc.). Such retroreflective stickers generally have a printable plastic top surface and a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) on the bottom surface, which is affixed with protective release paper that is removed prior to attachment to end use surfaces such as license plates. Such stickers usually have a variety of printed information. Typically, when an end user (e.g., a car owner) pays a fee during the issuance period, the end user is issued a card that records his or her name, address, payment amount, and the like. The issuing agency prefers to print these stickers and cards at the same time and on demand as needed. To this end, it is common practice to pre-stick a sticker with a release paper to the card through an additional layer of adhesive between the release paper and the card surface before printing.

U. S. Patent No. 6,092, 843 (Abstract) describes a license plate decal provided on a folded (e.g., folded in a Z shape) business form used as a carrier for a decal. Cutouts are formed in the panel of the mailer, and patches (such as glassine patches) are adhesively fixed to the periphery of the mailer panel and a release coating is provided on at least a substantial portion of the center of the patch. Decal adhesives use a release coating to allow decals and pressure sensitive adhesives associated therewith to be easily removed from the patch. The patch may be secured to the paper on either side, and when secured at the bottom, the patches and decals may be bent into cutouts to provide a minimum thickness when present as a stack of mailer intermediates. When the patch is secured on its top surface, the maximum thickness of the patch and decal combination is preferably about 0.008 inches, which is much smaller than the thickness of the decal in the prior art carrier.

U. S. Patent No. 6,406, 787 (green) describes a novel form structure comprising a form sheet having a digitally printable surface portion and a release surface portion, wherein a label with a pressure sensitive adhesive is to be released onto the release coating surface portion. Can be. Digitally printable release coating compositions are also provided.

Unlike authentication stickers, where the opposite side of the sticker is attached to the target surface, for example a license plate, other types of vehicle registration stickers, such as parking permits and park passes, use face adhering verification ("FAV"). Wherein the visible side of the sticker, not the opposite side, comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive coated with a release paper. In use, the release paper is removed and the sticker is for example attached to the inside of the vehicle windshield, which is intended to be visible from outside the vehicle.

Representative decal assemblies and methods of making FAV stickers are described in US Pat. No. 5,788,796 (Look et al.). As described in the abstract of US Pat. No. 5,788,796, a decal assembly supports a backing web, a printed label (eg, a sticker) disposed on the backing web, an adhesive web and an adhesive web applied to the label and the backing web, And a releaseable release paper web applied to the backing web. The label and the adhesive web on this label define the actual decal. In a preferred embodiment, the label is made of a retroreflective sheet. The label on which the fixed information is printed is provided on the master roll. The final label is printed with various information, separated from the master roll, and then assembled into a decal assembly. For use, the releaseable web is peeled off to expose the adhesive web, label and backing web. The decal (ie, the label and the adhesive web covering the label) can then be applied to the surface separately from the surrounding adhesive web and the backing web.

The form structures shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are commercially available from 3M Company (3M), St. Paul, Minnesota. This shaped structure provides an 11 inch (28 cm) wide paper roll and a 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) wide retroreflective sheet 85, removing the release paper from the invisible surface of the sheet, and the pressure sensitive adhesive underneath. The adhesive is brought into contact with the paper near the edge of the paper roll, and the adhesive coated surface of a 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) wide transfer tape roll with windowed openings spaced 8.5 inches (22 cm) apart from the sheet. Contacting the center of the visible surface of the die and die cutting a rear 0.5 inch (1.3 cm) frame around the periphery of each of the window-shaped openings to form a sticker, each sticker being substantially close to each sheet as shown in FIGS. It was prepared by cutting the roll into sheets so as to be centered. The issuer prints digitally in the exposed center of the paper form and sticker. The end user removes the sticker 80 from the paper 60. Upon removal, the release paper 70 of the transfer tape remains attached to the form body to expose the adhesive to the visible surface under the release paper. The end user then contacts the exposed adhesive to the inside of the vehicle windshield.

The inventors have found that when the retroreflective sheet 85 extends in parallel edges around the paper-like structure as shown in FIG. 1, the paper curls after the roll is cut into individual sheets as shown in FIG. 2. Found to be prone. Dried sheets tend to produce jams and / or printing errors when printed by the publishing agency. The extra sheet thickness at the edges of the shape sheet can cause the device to stop running due to the failure of the device sensor to properly detect the sheets being processed. Problems may arise.

Accordingly, it has been found in the industry of the present invention that improved form structures comprising stickers and improved methods of manufacturing such form structures are beneficial.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention discloses a form structure comprising a substrate having a printable surface portion and a sticker having a surface opposite to the visible surface. The visible surface comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive coated with a release paper and the opposite surface comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive bonded to the substrate. The sticker and the substrate have a balanced peripheral edge that does not match.

In another embodiment, the form structure comprises a porous substrate bonded to the opposite side of the sticker, the porous substrate exposed on the opposite side of the sticker.

In another embodiment, the form structure includes a substrate having a cutout, and the visible surface of the sticker is temporarily attached to the periphery of the cutout and exposed through the cutout. The perimeter of the cutout may optionally include a release coating and / or the visible surface of the sticker may include a removable adhesive.

In another aspect, the present invention discloses a method of making a form structure, comprising providing a sticker with adhesive on both sides and bonding the sticker to the form substrate.

In each article and method embodied, the sticker is preferably disposed in the center of the substrate. In addition, the pressure sensitive adhesive coated with the release paper on the visible side of the sticker forms a peripheral edge substantially the same as the sticker, alone or in conjunction with the form substrate of the sticker. The sticker also preferably includes a release paper comprising one or more tabs. The sticker is preferably printable (eg in a digital manner) and has exposed visible surface portions. The sticker preferably comprises a polymer film, which may be retroreflective. Preferred stickers include vehicle registration stickers, authentication stickers, parking permit stickers and park permit stickers. The sticker also preferably includes one or more tamper-indicating features.

1 shows a plan view of a prior art form structure comprising a sticker.

2 illustrates the curling phenomenon of the form structure of FIG. 1.

3-6 show a form structure comprising a FAV sticker according to the present invention.

7 illustrates a shaped form structure that may include a FAV sticker or a conventional sticker.

8A and 8B show the inner and outer surfaces of a representative three-ply self seal mailer, including a window sticker with an authentication sticker, respectively.

The present invention relates to a form structure article comprising a sticker and a method of making a form structure having a sticker. As used herein, the term "sticker" refers to a substrate having a length and width smaller than that of the form substrate and comprising a pressure sensitive adhesive on one or more sides.

3-7 illustrate various embodiments of the present invention that include a shape structure that includes a shape substrate 10 (eg, paper) and a FAV sticker 20.

3-4 showing cross-sectional views of form structures, the sticker 20 includes a continuous or discontinuous layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 28 on the visible surface covered by the release paper 30. The "sticker substrate" 26 may comprise a material such as paper, but the sticker substrate is preferably durable. Preferred durables include various polymer films that can be opaque, transparent, translucent, reflective or retroreflective. In this preferred embodiment the sticker is bonded to the form substrate 10 by a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) composition 24.

Referring to FIG. 4, in use, a sticker 20 comprising a form substrate portion bonded by an adhesive 24 is separated from the remaining form substrate 10. Although the sticker may be cut out of the form, for example by scissors, the sticker is generally separable from the form substrate by means of perforations 4 present along the periphery of the sticker as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Do. The release paper 30 is removed and the pressure sensitive adhesive 28 is attached to the object surface. In the case of a FAV sticker, the target surface to which the sticker is attached is located above, not below.

5 and 6 show top views of the preferred form structures of the present invention. The form substrate 10 preferably includes tension marks and / or perforations 40 so that the sticker 20 can be easily removed by hand from the form. In addition, although the sticker 20 may be pre-printed to have various information, the release paper 30 and the transfer adhesive under it are provided only on a portion of the sticker surface such that only a portion of the sticker surface is exposed. As shown in FIG. 5, the release paper 30 having an adhesive under it is provided in the shape of a frame in which the center of the visible surface of the sticker is exposed. The exposed portion can then be printed simultaneously with the shaped body.

As shown in FIG. 6, the release paper 30 preferably includes one or more tabs 50 to facilitate removal of the release paper 30. If the release paper is scored in more than one piece, each piece of release paper preferably includes a tab. To facilitate printing, it is desirable for the tabs to be placed at trailing trailing edges, not at the leading edge or side edges of the sticker, to minimize the occurrence of tabs causing printer downtime. If the tab is attached to the paper, it is also suitable to place the tab in another location. The tab includes an adhesive that remains attached to the form after removing the sticker. Alternatively, a release coating can be applied to the form at the tab position to allow the tab to be releasably attached from the form. In another aspect, the tab may be post-applied to the release paper rather than integral with the release paper.

As shown in FIG. 7, the sticker may optionally be attached to the invisible surface of the form structure such that at least a portion of the sticker can be seen through the cutout window 90 in the form substrate 10. In the case of FAV stickers, it is preferred that a single PSA is located on the visible surface, such adhesive being permanently bonded to the visible surface of the sticker and releasably bonded to the periphery of the window of the form substrate. Releaseable bonding can be performed by providing a release coating on the invisible surface of the form substrate as described in US Pat. No. 6,406,787.

Alternatively, however, a conventional sticker can be used in combination with a shape structure having a cutout window where the visible surface of the sticker can be seen through the cutout. In conventional stickers, the adhesive is on the opposite side of the sticker. If a conventional sticker comprises a PSA, the opposite side (ie, back side) of the sticker also includes a release paper. Alternatively, when used in a low durability sticker, the sticker may optionally include an adhesive composition that is activated by wetting of the adhesive coating surface. Conventional stickers are temporarily bonded to the back side of the body along the periphery of the sticker side. Various known removable adhesive compositions, also referred to as "tipping" adhesives, are suitable for this use.

The form structure of each embodiment described herein may further include an adhesive 50 on the form such that the form can later fold to form a self seal mailer on its own, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. A variety of two- and three-ply (eg Z-fold) self-sealing mailers with pre-coated adhesives are available from a variety of suppliers, including Moore Business Forms, Standard Resistor and Relizone Corporation. Such designs generally have a water activated, heat activated or pressure activated tacky adhesive along at least the periphery of the morphology. Additional adhesive may be provided at the periphery of the folded laminate. Mailers include pressure sensitive adhesives covered by a release paper, but non-tacky adhesives to facilitate automated means for sealing the mailers are generally preferred. As an alternative to using the self seal mailer as the substrate, the adhesive may be applied after incorporation of the sticker.

While each of the form structures shown in FIGS. 1-7 includes a single sticker, the form structures may include a plurality of stickers as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The form structure comprising a plurality of stickers includes one or more FAV stickers or one or more stickers that are releasably attached to the periphery of the cutout of the form substrate as described herein. Preferred form structures as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B include an authentication sticker as described in US Pat. No. 6,406,787 with a FAV registration sticker.

The method of the present invention does not comprise a sticker on the form substrate but rather attaches the sticker to the form substrate after providing the sticker. The shape structure and method of the present invention has the advantage of reducing the cost of the shape body in one aspect by reducing the waste of the sticker material. In another aspect, however, this method is beneficial in preventing curling of the shaped structure as shown in FIG. 2. Another advantage of the preferred embodiment is that the remaining form after the sticker has been removed can be recycled entirely to the paper recycling process, since the remaining form is substantially free of plastic material such as release paper.

The sticker has an adhesive on one or more surfaces for the purpose of attaching the sticker to the object surface. The adhesive is preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) coated with a release paper. Prior to bonding the sticker to the form substrate during the manufacture of the sticker, the PSA of the sticker is generally transfer coated with a release paper onto the sticker substrate (eg, the visible surface). Release papers typically include paper and plastic film materials having a release coating. Various release coating compositions are known as described in US Pat. No. 6,406,787. In a preferred embodiment, only a portion of the sticker side comprises the adhesive, and the rest of the sticker is exposed such that the sticker can be printed at the same time as printing the form. Alternatively, other non-PSA adhesive compositions may be used, particularly in embodiments in which the form substrate is porous (eg, paper) and the form substrate is exposed to the invisible surface of the sticker.

In the case of a preferred FAV sticker structure, the sticker comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive coated with a release paper on the visible surface. Pressure sensitive adhesives can be derived from known water based, solvent based, radiation curable and 100% solids hot melt adhesive compositions. Preferred adhesive compositions are selected depending on the intended duration of use of the sticker and the expected exposure conditions (eg, temperature, humidity, sunlight). For example, removable adhesive compositions can be used for temporary use (eg, daily parking permits). For long-term use of the intended use, the adhesive composition is preferably initially repositionable, which can be reattached by repositioning the sticker without damaging the sticker, and later permanently bonding to the target surface (eg, vehicle windshield). It means that it can form. FAV stickers typically comprise a transparent adhesive composition, but the adhesive composition may be translucent or opaque, and may be further colored, especially if the adhesive is provided only at the periphery of the sticker. Particularly preferred adhesive compositions for FAV stickers for use in automotive windshields include adhesives sold under the trade name "3M high performance adhesive 200MP" at 3M.

Suitable pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) for attaching a sticker to a target surface (eg vehicle windshield), and in some cases for attaching a sticker to a form substrate, are at least temporarily repositionable or without damaging the sticker. It is desirable to have a strong adhesiveness (aggresive) to remove the. In general, PSA is attached to the substrate without requiring more force than hand, and does not require activation by water, solvents or heat. Suitable PSAs are disclosed, for example, in US Pat. No. 5,725,935 (signboard articles and methods of making them), which is incorporated herein by reference.

PSAs suitable for the present invention are preferably alkylacrylate polymers and copolymers; Copolymers of alkyl acrylate and acrylic acid; Terpolymers of alkylacrylates, acrylic acid and vinyl-lactate; Alkyl vinyl ether polymers and copolymers; Polyisoalkylenes; Polyalkylidene; Alkylidene-styrene copolymers; Styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymers; Polydialkylsiloxanes; Polyalkylphenylsiloxanes; caoutchouc; Synthetic rubber; Chlorinated rubber; Latex crepe; rosin; Coumarone resins; Alkyd polymers; And polyacrylate esters and mixtures thereof. Examples are polyisobutylene, polybutadiene or butadiene-styrene copolymers, and mixtures thereof (these polymers and copolymers preferably do not comprise reactive moieties, ie they do not oxidize in air); Silicone-based compounds such as polydimethylsiloxane, and polymethylphenylsiloxane in combination with other resins and / or oils.

Other suitable PSAs also include tackified thermoplastic resins and tackified thermoplastic elastomers, wherein the tackifiers include one or more compounds that increase the tack of the composition. Tackified thermoplastics useful as aggressive PSAs are substantially equivalent to the vinyl acetate / ethylene copolymer known under the trade name VYNATHENE EY 902-30 (available from Quantum Chemicals, Cincinnati, Ohio) and under the trademark PICCOTEX LC (ring and Water-white thermoplastics prepared by copolymerization of vinyltoluene and alpha-methylstyrene monomers having a ball softening point of about 87-95 ° C., commercially available from Hercules Incorporated, Wilmington, Delaware) and WINGTACK 10 A tackifier known as a liquid aliphatic C-5 petroleum hydrocarbon resin commercially available from A Chemical) and an organic solvent such as toluene. Examples of tackified thermoplastic elastomers useful as aggressive PSAs include styrene-poly (ethylene-butylene) -styrene block copolymers sold under the name KRATON G1657 by Shell Chemicals and one or more low molecular weights available under the trademark REGALREZ by Hercules. It is a combination of a hydrocarbon resin and an organic solvent such as toluene. Both formulations may be coated with a knife coater to air dry or oven dried after air drying. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the use of the above-mentioned special combinations of thermoplastic resins, thermoplastic elastomers and tackifiers.

Some currently preferred PSAs have a long shelf life and are resistant to loss of tack under atmospheric conditions and include acrylic copolymer adhesives such as those disclosed in US Patent Re 24,906. One example of such an acrylic copolymer is an isooctylacrylate / acrylic acid copolymer of 95.5: 4.5 (measured in parts by weight, respectively). Another preferred adhesive is a copolymer of a 90:10 weight ratio combination of the two monomers. Still other preferred adhesives include terpolymers of ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and acrylic acid; Copolymers of isooctylacrylate and acrylamide and terpolymers of isooctylacrylate, vinyl-acetate and acrylic acid.

The acrylic PSA may be coated with a coatable composition comprising an organic solvent such as a heptane: isopropanol solvent mixture, which is then evaporated to leave only a pressure sensitive adhesive coating. This coating layer preferably has a thickness of about 0.038 centimeters (cm) to about 0.11 cm (5 to 15 mils) when the substrate is a retroreflective sheet material.

PSAs useful in the present invention may also be characterized as having a "180 ° peel adhesion" of about 10 g / cm to about 1000 g / cm, more preferably about 50 g / cm or more. For Aggressive PSAs, 180 ° peel adhesion is typically about 200 g / cm to about 600 g / cm as measured using standard test procedures. In this procedure, when removing the PSA coated substrate from the test substrate, the force required to remove (ie, peel) the PSA coated substrate from the test substrate is referred to as the "peel adhesion" value. The standard glass plate is washed with a solvent (for example, once with diacetone alcohol and then three times with n-heptane). Then, with very weak tensile force, a sample with a PSA backsize coating is applied along the center of the standard glass plate with the PSA side down. The sample is then rolled once using a 2.04 Kg manual roller. The standard glass plate is then fixed to the horizontal platen in a standard peel adhesion tester such as known under the trade name "IMASS". One end of the sample is then attached to the hook which is part of the Peel Adhesion Tester. By moving the platen horizontally at a rate of 228.6 cm / min, the sample is peeled from the standard glass plate at an angle of 180 ° (ie, pulling one end of the sample towards the other end), and the force required for various residence times Record in sample width (g / cm).

Typically, the opposite side (eg, invisible) of the sticker also includes an adhesive composition to bond the sticker to the form substrate. The adhesive on the opposite side may be the same as the adhesive used to attach the sticker to the object surface, but is generally different. For embodiments that use a removable adhesive composition on the opposite side, such as a removable PSA or adhesive composition where the bonding force is reduced under certain exposure conditions (eg when wetted), the adhesive on the opposite side of the sticker and the form underneath the adhesive Both parts do not have to be present in the end use sticker. For preferred embodiments using non-removable PSA or other non-adhesive (eg, aqueous) adhesive compositions, the form substrate is integrated with the end use sticker as shown in FIGS. 3-6. Thus, the form substrate (eg paper) is exposed to the invisible surface of the sticker. However, in some cases, the back side of the form substrate may comprise a coating on the form substrate.

However, the sticker preferably includes a feature that indicates one or more tampers known in the art. Representative loss of adhesive temper indication features are described in US Pat. No. 5,153,042 to Indrelie; 5,770,283 to Gosselin et al .; And 4,999,076 to Faykish. Suitable derating film tamper marking features are described in US Pat. No. 4,876,123 (Rivera et al.); 6,395,376 (Cooley) and 6,416,857 (Wright). Representative tamper display films are commercially available from 3M under the trade name “3M 7380 tamper display film”.

The sticker may include one or more security features instead of or in addition to the tamper marking feature (s). Bar code (s), dot code, variable color mark, watermark, holographic mark, ultraviolet light (UV) or infrared light (IR) visibility mark, mark including specular reflection change, such as metallic gold Various security markings are known, such as silver or pearlescent marks, and special colored marks where the visibility of multiple colors may be variable (ie, visible at certain viewing angles and invisible at other viewing angles).

In the course of manufacturing the form structure, the sticker may be bonded to the form substrate such that the sticker and the form substrate have a common peripheral edge. In addition, the sticker may be disposed at the corner of the form substrate such that the sticker and the form substrate sheet have two common vertical peripheral edges. However, the sticker is sufficiently smaller than the shaped body such that the sticker and the form substrate have non-common parallel peripheral edges. In addition, the most preferred is to place the sticker in the center of the body such that the sticker is substantially free of peripheral edges of the body (ie within about 3 cm from the edge). By placing the sticker on the form structure in this manner, the form structure is substantially free of edges.

A preferred method of making a form structure includes providing a form substrate, removing the release paper from the opposite side of the sticker to remove the adhesive below it (eg, PSA), and contacting the exposed adhesive to the substrate to form a bond. Steps. Thus, the sticker may be prepared in advance before bonding the sticker to the form substrate or in the production line. Preferred FAV stickers provide a roll of retroreflective sheet comprising a visible surface and an opposite surface with a PSA coated with a release paper, and then a transfer having a windowed opening spaced about 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) in the center of the sheet's visible surface. After the visible surface is bonded to the tape, a frame of a predetermined size (e.g., 0.5 to 5 cm) around the periphery of each window-shaped opening is produced in advance by die-cutting the release paper through the sticker from the visible surface to form a sticker. The release paper of the retroreflective sheet is then removed from each sticker and the sticker is bonded to the bottom of the conveyed paper roll or paper sheet so that the sticker is 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) away from the center. For embodiments in which the form substrate is provided in a roll, the roll is cut into sheets before delivering the form to the end user or where the form is printed, so that each sticker is shown in each sheet as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. It should be near the center of the.

The form substrate, preferably at least a portion of the entire form substrate, is printable. In addition, at least a portion of the sticker may also be printed. "Printable" means that the printing composition (eg, toner, ink) is sufficiently fixed so that the graphics formed by the printing composition are readable. Preferably, at least 50% of the printing composition adheres to the printable surface portion. More preferably at least 70% of the printing composition, most preferably at least 90% of the printing composition is attached to the printable surface portion. The form and / or sticker may be printed before applying the sticker to the form substrate. Preferably, however, the form is filled by printing, and the stickers are printed simultaneously by the same print job.

The shapes and / or stickers can be printed using screen printing, letter press, offset, laser or thermal transfer printing techniques, but the shapes and / or stickers are preferably digitally printable. As used herein, “digitally printable” refers to digital, including laser printing, inkjet printing, thermal mass transfer printing, thermal dye transfer printing, electrostatic printing, ion deposition printing, electron beam image printing, solid inkjet printing, and dot-matrix printing. It means that printing is possible by the printing method. Most preferred is digital printing by laser printing, thermal mass transfer printing, or inkjet printing. Printing may use black and / or color printing media (eg, liquid inks, ribbons, toner powder).

The form substrate is preferably paper. However, the form substrate may include other porous or nonporous materials such as films, nonwovens, carded and woven fabrics. In embodiments where the substrate is not suitable for printing, the substrate may further comprise an ink receptive coating on one or more printable surface portions. The form substrate and form structure can typically be provided in the form of a roll comprising individual portions that can be separated into individual sheets by perforation lines. Preferably, the form substrate is provided in a roll during the manufacture of the form structure together with the finished form structure provided in individual sheets. In addition, the preferred form substrate has tensile marks or perforations along the perimeter of the sticker so that the sticker can be easily removed from the surrounding form substrate.

The present invention is particularly useful for authentication sticker forms. Certification stickers are used as registration certificates for automobiles and other vehicles such as all-terrier vehicles, ships (eg boats), trucks and snowmobiles. Other forms of structures that do not necessarily need to be retroreflective include fishing and hunting permits, indoor / outdoor labeling products, product certified items, product list labeling and regulatory items, window stickers and inspection stickers for cars and other devices, parking permits, expiry stickers, It is used as a park pass, advertising mailer, decorative sticker and the like.

Sticker substrate 26 generally has a pre-coated PSA layer 24 coated with a release paper and often includes a retroreflective sheet. The two most common types of retroreflective sheets suitable for use are microsphere sheets and cube corner sheets. Microsphere sheets are often referred to as "beaded sheeting" and are at least partially embedded in a bond layer and combined with specular or diffuse reflecting materials (e.g. metallic vapor or sputter coating, metallic foil, or pigment particles). It includes microspheres. Representative examples of microsphere sheets are described in US Pat. No. 4,025,159 to McGrath; No. 4,983,436 (Bailey); No. 5,064,272 to Bailey; 5,066,098 (Kult); 5,069,964 (Tolliver); And 5,262,225 to Wilson.

Cube corner sheets, sometimes referred to as prismatic, microprism, or triple mirror reflector sheets, typically comprise a plurality of cube corner members that retroreflect incident light. Cube corner retroreflective mirrors typically include a sheet having a generally flat front face and an array of cube corner members protruding from the back face. Cube corner reflective members generally comprise a trihedral structure-cube corner with sides that meet at a single corner and are substantially perpendicular to each other. In use, the retroreflective mirror is generally arranged to have the expected position of the intended observer and the front face disposed towards the light source. Light incident on the front surface enters the sheet, passes through the sheet body, and is reflected by each of the three surfaces of the members, thereby exiting the front surface substantially in the direction toward the light source. In the case of full internal reflection, there should be no dust, water and adhesive at the air interface and therefore sealed with a sealing film. The light rays are generally reflected on the side due to full internal reflection or reflected on the back side of the side by a reflective coating as described above. Preferred polymers for cube corner sheets are poly (carbonate), poly (methylmethacrylate), poly (ethylene terephthalate). Aliphatic polyurethanes as well as their ethylene copolymers and ionomers. Cube corner sheets can be produced by casting directly onto a film, as described in US Pat. No. 5,691,846 (Benson). Preferred polymers for radiation cured cube corners include crosslinked acrylates such as multifunctional acrylates or epoxides and acrylate urethanes blended with monofunctional and multifunctional monomers. In addition, cube corners, such as cube corners as described above, may be cast from plasticized polyvinyl chloride for use in more flexible cast cube corner sheets. Such polymers are preferred for several reasons, including thermal stability, environmental stability, transparency, good release from tools or molds, and the ability to accommodate reflective coatings.

If the sheet can be exposed to moisture, the cube corner retroreflective member is preferably covered with a seal film. If a cube corner sheet is used as the retroreflective layer, a backing layer can be used to opaque the laminate or article or to improve scratch and resistance and / or to eliminate the blocking tendency of the seal film. Representative examples of cube corner-based retroreflective sheets are described in US Pat. No. 5,138,488 (Szczech); No. 5,387,458 to Pavelka; 5,450,235 (Smith); 5,605,761 (Burns); 5,614,286 (Bacon) and 5,691,846 (Benson Jr.).

The retroreflectivity of the retroreflective sticker depends on the intended use. However, in general, the non-printed area of a non-colored (ie white or silver) retroreflective sticker has a retroreflectivity of 0.2 ° and incident angle, as measured according to ASTM E-810 test for measuring retroreflectivity of retroreflective sheets. About 4 candela / lux / m ² to about 1500 candela / lux / m ² at 4 °. The retroreflectivity is preferably at least 10 candela / lux / m ² , more preferably at least 20 candela / lux / m ² , even more preferably at least 50 candela / lux / m ² . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the retroreflectivity is lower for the colored sheets due to absorption and scattering.

The objects and advantages of the invention are further illustrated in the following examples, which should not be construed as unduly limiting the invention to the particular materials and amounts and other conditions and details mentioned in the examples.

Example 1 Preparation of Sticker Shaped Body

3 inches wide by hand using a razor blade from a 3.5 inch (9 cm) wide by about 5 inch (13 cm) long laminating adhesive strip, marketed under the trade name "Scotch 9172MP Laminating Adhesive" (9172 MP Adhesive) from 3M. cm) x 4 inch (10 cm) long windows (ie, openings) were cut. The 9172MP adhesive includes a laminating adhesive interposed between the release paper film and the paper release paper. The paper release paper was removed from the windowed 9172MP adhesive and the exposed adhesive was similar in structure to that sold under the trade name "3M Scotchlite Certified Security Sheet Series 5330" (Scotchlite 5330 sheet) at 3M x 4 inches (10 cm) wide. Attached to the visible surface of a 12 inch (30 cm) sheet piece. The windowed 9172MP adhesive was laminated to the Scotchlite 5330 sheet using two back and forth motions using a small manual roller. Laminated windowed 9172MP adhesive was applied to the Scotchlite 5330 sheet, then a rectangular, 3 inches wide (7.6 cm) x 5 inches (13 cm) long, the size of the finished window sticker, with scissors so that the window was centered on the sticker. Was cut using. The release paper was then removed from the Scotchlite 5330 sheet and the exposed adhesive was 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) wide by 11 inches (28 cm) long, sold under the trade name "Hammer Mill Copy Plus" in International Paper, Memphis, Tennessee. A 20 lb (75 g / m ² ) sheet bond was attached. The exposed adhesive was laminated to the bond paper using two back and forth motions using a small manual roller. The sticker structure on the bond paper was then punctured along the outer edge of the final sticker on the sticker form using a small manual drilling tool. The sticker on the morphology was printed text using a laser printer sold under the trade name "Model No. ML 1651 N" by Samsung Electronics Korea. The form structure comprising the printed sticker is shown in FIG. 5. After printing the sticker form, the sticker was removed from the sticker form along the perforation of the sticker form. The release paper from the 9172MP adhesive was pulled back and removed using the fingernail to expose the sticker so that the sticker could be attached to the window. The removal of the sticker from the body and the removal of the release paper are shown in FIG. 4.

Example 2 Preparation of a Sticky Shaped Body Comprising a Tamper Marking Film

Remove the paper release paper from the 9172MP adhesive and expose the exposed adhesive at 3M under the trade name "3M 7380 Tamper Marking Film" (7380 film), 3.5 inch wide (8.9 cm) x 5 inch long (12.5 cm) film strip. Attached to the surface. Paper release paper from another piece of 9172 MP adhesive was attached to the exposed side of the pre-attached 7380 film. A 2 inch (5 cm) wide by 4 inch (10 cm) wide window was cut from the structure by hand using a razor blade. The release paper was then removed from the Scotchlite 5330 sheet, and the exposed adhesive was removed using Example 2 of 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) x 11 inches (28 cm) in length using two back and forth motions using a small manual roller. Laminated to paper sheet. The sticker structure on the bond paper was then punctured along the outer edge of the final sticker on the sticker form using a small manual drilling tool. The sticker on the morphology was printed text using a laser printer sold under the trade name "Model No. ML 1651 N" by Samsung Electronics Korea. After printing the sticker form, the sticker was removed from the sticker form along the perforation of the sticker form. The top surface release paper from 9172MP adhesive was pulled back and removed using a fingernail to expose the sticker so that the sticker could be attached to the window.

When you attach a sticker to a window and later try to remove it. The 7380 film cracked, leaving some marks, such as "voids", on the window and sticker sides. This alerts officials to suspect sticker manipulation.

Example 3 Preparation of a Sticker Shaped Body Including a Printed Tamper Marking Feature

The following changes were made to prepare a sticker form as described in Example 2. Instead of using a 7380 film, a release solution sold under the trade name “Scotch Y-110 Release Solution” (Y-110 solution) from 3M was applied to the applicator on the visible side of the Scotchlite 5330 sheet using a cotton tip applicator immersed in this solution. It was applied in the form of stripes or lines by manual operation before and after. The release coating was air dried for about 5 minutes. A primer, commercially available under the trade name “Scotch Y-122 Primer Solution” at 3M, was then applied onto the release coating, using a similar procedure except using a flood coat application using a hand applicator. The primer was dried in air for about 5 minutes, and then the ink commercially available at 3M under the trade name “3M Scotchlite Process Color Ink Series 990-03 Blue” was flood coated on top of the primer with a hand applicator. The formed structure was dried in a 120 ° C. oven for 1 hour. This structure was removed from the oven and cooled to room temperature. A strip of 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, commercially available from 3M under the trade name "No. 610", was manually applied to the ink surface of the structure, and the tape was firmly attached to the ink surface, using the sharp edges of the razor blade by hand. It was made. Thereafter, the tape was peeled off from the ink surface by pulling the tape backward by hand at an angle of 90 ° to the ink surface. After removing the No. 610 tape, the structure was visually inspected and ink was removed from the Scotchlite sheet area coated with the Y-110 solution, while ink was removed from the Scotchlite 5330 sheet in the area not coated with the Y-110 solution. Was observed. This showed that the printed tamper marking feature was effective as a replacement for the 7380 film.

Examples 4 and 5-Preparation of Sticker Shapes Comprising Release Paper Removal Tabs

The following changes were made to produce two sticker forms as described in Examples 1 and 2, respectively. From a 9172MP adhesive strip 3.5 inches wide (8.9 cm) x approximately 5 inches (13 cm) long, use a razor blade to manually open a window (ie Cut. 3 inches wide (7.6 cm) x 5 inches (13 cm) rectangular shape, the size of the finished window sticker, and about 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) x 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) tabs A 2 inch (4 cm) x 4 inch (10 cm) long window was cut using scissors so that the center of the sticker was positioned and the tab protruded from one edge. Stickers were cut from a 3 inch (7.6 cm) x 5 inch (12.7 cm) wide piece using scissors from a 4 inch (10 cm) wide by 12 inch (30 cm) long Scotchlite 5330 sheet piece. The paper release paper was removed from the 9172MP adhesive with windows and tabs formed. Exposed adhesive is attached to a piece of Scotchlite 5330 sheet 3 inches wide (7.6 cm) x 5 inches long (12.7 cm) with tabs that extend beyond the edge of the sticker using two front and back motions using a small manual roller. It was. The 8.5 inch (21 cm) wide by 11 inch (28 cm) long adhesive sheet of Example ¹ was coated with a release coating such that an area on the paper surface of about 3/4 in ² was coated using a cotton tip applicator. Suitable release coatings are described in Example 2 of US Pat. No. 6,406,787. The coating on paper was dried at room temperature for 15 minutes. The release paper was then removed from the Scotchlite 5330 sheet and the exposed adhesive was applied to a sheet of paper 8.5 inches (21 cm) wide by 11 inches (28 cm) long so that the tab on the sticker was placed directly on the release coating on the paper. Applied. The paper form was then perforated and printed as shown in Example 1. This shape structure design is shown in FIG. 6. The tab was used to remove the release paper by pulling the tab backwards to expose the adhesive. As a result, the sticker was able to be attached to the window.

Example 6 Preparation of Shaped Body with Cutout Window Including Conventional Sticker

A sticker form was prepared by cutting a 8.5 inch (21 cm) spaced window in the center of the paper sheet and attaching a removable adhesive along the window to the periphery of the paper on the back side of the paper. Conventional sticker structures having a PSA coated with release paper on the invisible surface can be releasably bonded to the removable adhesive of the form such that the central portion of the sticker is exposed through the cutout window. The sticker and the form can then be printed by a digital printing method at the place of issue. The sticker can then be removed from the form and attached to the object surface (eg license plate) by means of an adhesive. This form structure is shown in FIG. 7.

Example 7 Preparation of Shaped Body with Cutout Window Including FAV Sticker

A sticker form can be prepared by cutting a window 8.5 inches (21 cm) apart in the center of the paper sheet and attaching a removable adhesive to the periphery of the visible surface of the sticker substrate to form a FAV sticker. The removable adhesive of the sticker is releasably attached to the periphery of the cutout window so that the center of the sticker is exposed through the cutout window. The sticker and the form can then be printed by a digital printing method at the place of issue. The sticker was then removed from the form and attached to the window via cotton adhesive. This shape structure design is also shown in FIG. 7.

Example 8 Preparation of 3-Piece Self Seal Mailer with FAV Sticker

The shape structure was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the sticker was attached to the blank 3-ply self-sealing mailer shape. Such forms are commercially available from Relizone Corporation, Dayton, Ohio. This form structure has a sticker attached to the center of the lower third of the form and the adhesive is present at the peripheral edge in the longitudinal direction and at the peripheral edge of the upper third point inward of the form (shown in FIG. 8A). Had the same design as in FIG. The adhesive was also present at the bottom third of the morphology at the peripheral edge along the fold line and on the back side of the mailer at both longitudinal edges (ie, as shown in FIG. 8B). A razor was used to cut from the back side through paper forms and stickers to simulate the kiss die cut used in the production, provided that the protective release paper covered the cotton adhesive. The window sticker was printed on a laser printer sold under the trade name "HP LaserJet 2200 dn" by the trade name Hewlett Packard (Palo Alto, Calif.). The bottom third of the body was folded over the center of the body and the top 1/3 was folded back to the bottom 1/3 of the body. Pressure was applied to the edges of the body to activate the adhesive seal on the edge of the body so that the body could be used directly for mailing.

Example 9 Preparation of a 3-Ply Self Seal Mailer with FAV Stickers

Example 8 was repeated except that a manual perforator was used to draw perforations on the outer periphery of the window sticker. Perforations can be seen on the back side of the self seal mailer. The end user will tear the window sticker along the perforation to remove the sticker from the form and then remove the protective release paper to expose the cotton adhesive.

Example 10 Preparation of a 3-Piece Self Seal Mailer Including FAV Stickers

The shape structure was prepared in the same manner as described in Example 7 except that the sticker was bonded to a blank 3-ply self-sealing mailer as described in Example 8. It had the same design as shown in FIG. 7 except that the sticker was bonded to the center of the bottom third of the form and the adhesive was present in the peripheral edge region as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

Example 11 Preparation of a Shaped Structure Comprising a plurality of Stickers

The self-seal mailer of Embodiment 8 may also include an authentication sticker (eg, FAV) along with the window sticker as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. For such representative shaped structures, the middle 1/3 inner panel of the three-ply mailer is a Pharmaco Incofo, using a 150 line anilox roll with a solvent-based release coating described in Example 2 of US Pat. No. 6,407,787. The core was coated in one pass using a manual coater manufactured by Lautide. The release coating was dried in a 100 ° F. oven to evaporate the solvent. The release paper was removed from the license plate authentication sticker sold by 3M under the trade name “3M authentication sticker in roll form” to expose the pressure sensitive adhesive underneath. The exposed pressure sensitive adhesive surface layer of the sticker was contacted by hand to releasably attach the sticker to the dried release coating. The entire form structure (ie, the inside of the mailer and sticker) can then be printed on a laser printer sold under the trade name “HP LaserJet 2200 dn” at Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto, CA. After printing the mailer, the mailer forms can be folded and joined to each other under pressure with the peripheral edges of the mailer. The mailer can then be opened later to remove the sticker from the release coating surface without damaging the rest of the mailer.

Claims (30)

A form structure comprising a substrate having a printable surface portion and a sticker having a visible surface comprising a pressure-sensitive adhesive coated with a release paper and an opposite surface comprising a pressure-sensitive adhesive bonded to the substrate, wherein the sticker and the substrate do not coincide with each other. A shape structure having one peripheral edge. The structure of claim 1, wherein the sticker is disposed in the center of the substrate. The form structure of claim 2, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive coated with the release paper of the sticker visible surface has a peripheral edge substantially the same as the sticker. The form structure of claim 3, wherein the sticker comprises a release paper comprising one or more tabs. The form structure of claim 2, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive bonded to the substrate has a peripheral edge substantially the same as the sticker. The form structure of claim 1, wherein the sticker has an exposed visible surface portion. The form structure of claim 6, wherein the visible surface of the sticker comprises a frame of pressure sensitive adhesive coated with a release paper. The form structure of claim 1, wherein the sticker comprises a printable surface portion. The printable surface portion of claim 1, wherein the printable surface portion is digital by at least one of laser printing, inkjet printing, thermal mass transfer printing, thermal dye transfer printing, electrostatic printing, ion deposition printing, electron beam image printing, solid inkjet printing, and dot matrix printing. A form structure that can be printed in a manner. The printable surface portion of claim 8, wherein the printable surface portion is digital by at least one of laser printing, inkjet printing, thermal mass transfer printing, thermal dye transfer printing, electrostatic printing, ion deposition printing, electron beam image printing, solid inkjet printing, and dot matrix printing. A form structure that can be printed in a manner. The form structure of claim 1, wherein the sticker comprises a polymer film. The shape structure of claim 1, wherein the sticker is retroreflective. The form structure of claim 1, wherein the sticker is selected from the group comprising a vehicle registration sticker, an authentication sticker, a parking permit sticker, and a park permit sticker. The form structure of claim 1, wherein the sticker further comprises one or more tamper indicating features. The shape structure of claim 1, wherein the substrate is roll-good. The form structure of claim 15, wherein the substrate comprises perforations such that the form can be separated into individual sheets. The form structure of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a sheet. The form structure of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a self-seal mailer. The shape structure of claim 1, wherein the shape body is a self seal mailer. A form structure comprising a sticker having a porous substrate having a printable surface portion and a visible surface comprising a pressure-sensitive adhesive coated with a release paper and an opposite surface comprising an adhesive bonded to the porous substrate, wherein the porous substrate is the opposite surface of the sticker. Form structure that is exposed to. 21. The form structure of claim 20, wherein the substrate is a self seal mailer. The shape structure of claim 20, wherein the shape body is a self seal mailer. A method of using a form structure, comprising providing the form structure of claim 1 and printing the substrate. The method of claim 23, further comprising printing a sticker. Providing a substrate having a printable surface portion; Providing a sticker having a visible side and an opposite side, wherein both sides have a pressure sensitive adhesive coated with a release paper; Removing the release paper from the opposite side to expose the adhesive; And Contacting the exposed adhesive to the substrate It includes, the manufacturing method of the form structure. A substrate having a printable surface portion and a cutout having a periphery portion; And a surface opposite to the visible surface, wherein at least one of the two surfaces includes an adhesive, wherein the visible surface of the sticker is releasably attached to the periphery of the cutout and through the cutout. Form structure that is exposed. 27. The form structure of Claim 26, wherein the visible surface comprises a removable pressure sensitive adhesive. 27. The form structure of claim 26, wherein the visible surface comprises a removable adhesive and the opposite surface comprises an adhesive suitable for bonding the sticker to the object surface. 27. The form structure of claim 26, wherein the substrate is a self seal mailer. 27. The form structure of claim 26, wherein the form is a self seal mailer.