Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02226863 1998-01-13
Process for manufacturing forms and form obtained by this process
The present invention relates to the manufacture of forms
composed of a sheet and of at least one peelable part forming a self-adhesive
5 label.
Frequently, there is a need to be able to identify articles by, for
exannple, a number, a bar code or the like and to transfer this information
onto other documents making it possible, for example, to accomplish tasks
relating to the management of the articles, such as their storage, their entry
0 into the accounting system, their assigning to a dispatch note, etc.
Conventionally, such information was transferred by hand onto the
documents relating to the article, an operation which was often subject to
copymg errors.
Some time ago, more suitable forms were therefore created, these
including a base sheet to which is optionally attached at least one other sheet
which can be detached, and on which base sheet are provided several easily
peelable self-adhesive labels. These labels each bear the same identification
information, such as an uncoded number and/or a bar code, the base sheet
also carrying the same information. Under these conditions, the base sheet
20 may be attached to the article and the labels may serve as elements for
identifying the article, which may then be stuck onto other documents
serving, for example, for management of the article from the storage and
accounting standpoints.
Another application of such forms is their use in a medical-analysis
2 5 laboratory, each sample from a patient, identified by a form, having to be split
into several specimens to be examined which may then be precisely identified
by attaching to each specimen a label coming from one and the same form.
CA 02226863 1998-01-13
Such a form may thus comprise various items of information, such
as numbers, corporate-name particulars, addresses, items of information for
identifying the articles on which they are stuck, etc. These items of
information or "messages" may be termed "fixed messages" and "variable
5 messages". An item of information which, in a given series of forms, does not
change from one form to another is called a "fixed message", while a
"variable message" is different for each form in the same series.
These messages must be printed both on the base sheet of the form
and on the self-adhesive labels and possibly also on other sheets, if this is a
0 forrrl making up a set comprising several detachable additional sheets.
In accordance with an example of a current process for
manufacturing these forms, a first strip of a siliconized support material, on
which first strip is deposited an adhesive, and a second strip of paper, are
taken. This two-strip complex provided with adhesive is then printed recto
5 and verso with fixed and/or variable messages. If variable messages are to be
printed both recto and verso, two separate printing passes are therefore
necessary for the printing. Next, in order to obtain self-adhesive labels, it isnecessary to cut these out from the strip of paper. The forms may then be
delirnited from one another by lines of perforation extending transversely
20 with respect to the superposed strips and the product obtained may be
packaged as a concertina-folded assembly or as a reel. In use, the labels may
thus be easily separated from the siliconized support.
During the printing operation, it is of course important that the
variable messages printed recto coincide in the length direction with the same
25 variable messages printed verso so that, after printing, there may be found,
on a region corresponding to a given form, the same variable messages on all
the recto and verso elements of the form.
However, it turns out that concordance of the variable messages on
the recto and verso of the reeled or concertina-folded complex requires
CA 02226863 1998-01-13
constant verification during the second printing pass. This verification work
can be performed for a reasonable cost only if the verifier checks only the
beginning and end of the complex, the verification operation being extremely
expensive if the verifier has to check each form in the complex. However,
insta.nces of non-concordance of the variable messages may also occur
between the beginning and end of the complex.
The invention aims to remedy the abovementioned drawbacks of
the prior art and to avoid any necessity of correcting faults in coincidence of
the v ariable messages on the various recto and verso elements of the forms.
0 The subject of the invention is therefore a process for
manufacturing forms of the type comprising a base sheet to which is fastened
at least one peelable label, by means of a silicone layer and of an adhesive
layer, the said layers being superposed, the said sheet and the said label beingeach provided with at least one so-called variable message which differs from
one form to another, this process being characterized in that
- a) an elongate web of paper or similar material is prepared;
- b) printed on one side of this web and in each region
corresponding to a form are both at least the variable message intended for
the said sheet of this form and at least the variable message intended for the
said label of this form, the two variable messages being spaced apart in the
transiverse direction of the said web, two longitudinal strips, assigned
respectively to the sheets of the forms and to the labels of the latter, being
materialized on the said web;
c) at least one silicone layer and at least one adhesive layer are deposited
2 5 on the side of the said web opposite that bearing the said variable messages at
the place where the said label has to be fastened to the said web;
- d) and one of the said strips is turned over the other strip so as to
superpose the strip assigned to the labels and the said silicone and adhesive
layers, it being possible to carry out operations a), b) and c) in any order.
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By virtue of these characteristics, because of the fact that the
prin~ing of the variable messages is carried out on one and the same web of
paper and that, when turning one of the longitudinal strips over the other
long:itudinal shrip, these messages may be maintained in perfect regishration
in the length direction and each form will always bear identical variable
messages on the two shrips. There is therefore no possibility of having a fault
in the coincidence of these messages.
The subject of the invention is also a form obtained by the process
such as that just defined.
0 Other characterishcs and advantages of the invention will appear
in the course of the description which follows, this being given solely by way
of example and with reference to the appended drawings in which:
- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a form produced using the
process according to the invention;
- Figure 2 is also a perspective view of the form according to the
inverlhon, some of its elements being partially detached therefrom, while
others are revealed by a cut-away;
- Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of a form according to the
invenhon;
2 o - Figure 4 illustrates, by means of a highly diagrammatic
perspective view, certain operahons performed during the implementation of
the n:~anufacturing process according to the invention;
- Figure 5 is a highly diagrammatic elevational view of a plant for
implementing the process according to the invention; and
2 5 - Figure 6 is a highly diagrammatic view illustrating an
alter:native way of implementing the process according to the invention.
Figures 1 to 3 will first of all be described, these showing, solely by
way of example, a form which can be produced using the manufacturing
proc, Iss according to the invenhon. It is denoted by the general reference 1.
CA 02226863 1998-01-13
The form 1 first of all comprises a base sheet 2 which may be
produced from any material in web form, such as a mechanical paper of
suiti~ble grammage, a kraft paper or possibly a plastic film. Attached to this
base sheet 2 may be additional sheets 3 and 4 mounted in a detachable
5 mar~er on the base sheet 2, for example by their lateral edges, the sheet 4
constituting in this example the top of the form. Such additional sheets may
also be provided below the other side of the form.
The margins 5a and 5b may receive Caroll-type sprocket holes 6,
well known in this art for transporting a series of forms which are attached to
o one another by perforated lines 7 and can be separated along these perforated
lmes.
That side of each sheet facing the top in Figure 1 will be called
recto and the opposite side will be called verso.
The verso of the base sheet 2 is divided into two regions 2a and 2b.
5 The two regions 2a and 2b may bear printed information formed by fixed and
variable messages in the sense in which these terms are explained
hereinabove.
In the region 2a of the base sheet, the verso of the latter bears a
silicone layer 8. In the example described, this region occupies a little less than
2 o one quarter of the total surface area of the sheet 2. However, it will be noted
that the size of the region 2b compared to that of the entire form is not critical
and is only dictated by the requirements of use of the form and by the fixed
and variable messages which it has to bear.
The siliconized region 2b is covered, at least partially, with a flap 9
2 5 bearing on its side facing the sheet 2 an adhesive layer 10 by means of which
the ~lap 9 adheres to the base sheet 2. The area of this adhesive layer 10 is
slightly greater than that of the silicone layer 8, this being moreover divided
into several regions lla to lle corresponding to perimetric cuts which, in this
example, have a rectangular general shape. These regions each delimit a
CA 02226863 1998-01-13
peeLlble label. There are, solely by way of example, five of these regions. Of
course, the arrangement of the silicone layer, the adhesive layer and the cuts
may be the other way around.
All the sheets of the form, including the flap 9, may bear a plurality
5 of uncoded preprinted fixed messages (not illustrated in the drawings) such
as form fields, identification particulars, texts relating to the use of the form,
corporate name, etc.
The form may also have various variable messages differing from
one ~orm to another. Such a message may first of all be an uncoded serial
0 number (No. 9 in the figures), optionally and preferably, accompanied by a
coded identification which can be read by a machine, such as a bar code, for
example.
These variable messages occur several times on the form and, with
regard to the serial number and the code, are necessarily identical for one and
5 the same form. In the example shown, these variable messages are on at least
the base sheet 2, at 12a (uncoded serial number) and 13a (bar code), and on
the labels 11a to 11e, respectively at 12b to 12f and at 13b to 13f.
Furthermore, the form includes identified messages 14a to 14e
which are in fact fixed messages, since they are identical from one form to
2 o anot]her but different within the same form. In the example shown, these fixed
messages, representing the numbers 1 to 5, are serial numbers of the actual
labels in the form, enabling them to be distinguished from one another.
Those skilled in this art will understand that, within the scope of
the invention, a form may include a great number of messages, whether they
2 5 be fixed or variable, depending on the requirements of use of the form. The
invention is therefore in no way limited by the nature of these messages or by
their content or by their graphics or by other properties which they may
optionally exhibit.
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It is important to note that the form 1 according to the invention
includes a base sheet 2 and a flap 9 which are produced from the same
material, this being an essential characteristic of the invention which will
appear more clearly hereinbelow on reading the description of the
5 manufacturing process according to the invention.
A preferred embodiment of this manufacturing process will now
be described with more particular reference to Figures 4 and 5.
A web 15 of material, such as paper, kraft paper or possibly a
plasl:ic film, is first of all subjected to a printing process during which all the
0 fixecl and variable messages of the sheet 2 and of the flap 9 are provided
thereon in a single printing pass on one and the same side of the web. This
therefore has a width corresponding to slightly more than the sum of the
widt:h of the sheet 2 and of the flap 9 of a form. This procedure may be
imp]emented using any known printing process, rotary printing being
5 preferred.
During this operation, each region of the web 15 corresponding
subsequently to a form will thus comprise, side by side in the width direction,
the rnessages on the recto of the sheet 2 and those on the verso of the flap 9.
During printing of the web, this may be wound on a reel 16 (Figure
20 5) which may be transported or temporarily stored, awaiting subsequent
treatment.
The reel 16 is placed in the plant for implementing the process of
the invention, where the preprinted web 15 will be unreeled therefrom.
Downstream of the position of the reel 16, the web will receive, on its side
2 5 opposite the printed side, firstly a silicone layer (17, Figure 4) which is applied
thereto by a nozzle 18 which is placed across the web 15 and has an outlet
whose width corresponds to the width of the labels 11a to 11e. It should be
noted that, according to an alternative form, the silicone layer 17 may be
CA 02226863 1998-01-13
affixed before the printing, during the printing or, as shown, after the
printing.
Placed downstream of the nozzle 18 is a nozzle 19 by means of
which an adhesive layer 20 is deposited on that side of the web 15 on which
5 the silicone layer 17 has just been deposited. This nozzle 19 is also placed
across the web, but its outlet is offset transversely with respect to the outlet of
the nozzle 18.
Next, the web passes through a folding station 21 equipped with
three rollers 21a, 21b and 21c, for example, enabling the web to be folded
0 lengthwise in such a manner that the adhesive layer 20 covers the silicone
laye:r 17, thus forming a lateral fold 22 in the web 15 (see also, in Figure 1, that
part of the form 1 shown in dot-dash lines).
In order for the web 15 to be folded lengthwise satisfactorily, it is
important that it be correctly tensioned from the reel 16. The plant comprises
5 for this purpose a paper take-up device, symbolized at 23 in Figure 5, making
it possible to maintain the necessary tension in the web on the upstream side.
Downstream of the paper take-up station 23, the web is optionally
provided with Caroll-type sprocket holes 6 on both its margins in a punching
station symbolized at 24. For the margin on the side where the fold 22 is
2 o located these sprocket holes are placed on the inside of a cutting line 25 (see
Figure 1) from along which the fold 22 will be removed from the web 15. The
cutting may be carried out in a station 26 placed downstream of the punching
station 24.
Still downstream, the process subsequently consists in making a
25 "mid-depth" cut in order to delimit the regions 11a to 11e corresponding to
the labels of the form 1. During this operation, the cutting knife will only cutinto the thickness of the flap 9 to the corresponding side of the web 15, (whichin Figures 4 and 5 is the top side of the lengthwise-folded web 15). The "mid-
dept:h" cutting work is carried out in a station 27. In an alternative
CA 02226863 1998-01-13
embodiment, in which the form has only a single label, the incision operation
is superfluous.
Next, in a station 28, additional sheets, such as the sheets 3 and 4
shown in Figures 1 to 3 may be joined to the web 15. The latter is then
provided with transverse lines of perforation extending between the forms
(the station is not shown in the figures), it being possible for these forms to be
deta~ hed from one another in order to be dispatched as a stack or else to
remain attached in order to be dispatched as a reel or in the form of a
concertina-folded stack.
0 From the foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that
the variable messages which were discussed above and which have been
printed in perfect longitudinal coincidence on the as-yet unfolded web, will
preserve this longitudinal coincidence throughout all the subsequent
operations, firstly because the web 15 is made as a single piece and then, aftersepa:rating off the fold 22, because the then separate two strips of the web will
be adhering to each other. An offset in the variable messages in the length
direction of the web is thus impossible, each form thus being always provided
with its correct variable messages.
Figure 6 shows an alternative way of implementing the process of
the invention which has the advantage of being able to join the strip of the
web intended to form the labels laterally at any point on the other strip of theweb.
Figure 6 shows a web 15A preprinted, on the side not visible in the
figure, with fixed and variable messages as in the case of the web 15 in
2 5 Figu:res 4 and 5. This web firstly undergoes a lengthwise cutting operation in
a culting station 30 by means of which a longitudinal incision 31 is made in
the web 15A. A strip 15A-a, intended to form the base sheets 2 of the forms 1,
and a strip 15A-b, which will form the flaps 9 thereof, are thus formed.
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--10 -
Upstream of the incision station 30, a silicone layer 32 having a
width corresponding to that of the labels is deposited on that part of the web
which will subsequently form the strip 15A-a.
The latter passes through a flow-regulating station 33, known per
5 se, after which an adhesive layer 34 is deposited on the strip superposed with the silicone layer 32.
The other strip 15A-b of the web 15A is brought into a turning-
ove:r station 35 in which this strip is turned over, the printed messages lying
initially on the lower face in Figure 6 lying, after leaving this station 35, on the
o top, the strip being positioned laterally in such a manner that it covers the
adh,esive layer 34 deposited on the strip 15A-a.
The station 35, by slightly delaying the strip 15A-a with respect to
the itrip 15A-b, allows precise compensation for the delay caused by the latter
passing through the turn-over station 35.
