Printed matter – Having revealable concealed information – fraud preventer or... – Having plastic laminate
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-29
2004-02-03
Carter, Monica (Department: 3722)
Printed matter
Having revealable concealed information, fraud preventer or...
Having plastic laminate
C283S087000, C283S101000, C428S042300, C428S043000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06685228
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well know in the art that labels are useful for many types of business forms. In many applications, it has been found that it is much more cost effective and convenient to provide essentially blank forms and then some form of separate customizable or printable label for uniquely identifying that form. One such major application for this technique includes the typical file folder with which those in office settings are imminently familiar. There are many different types of file folders including the ubiquitous manila file folders that have a tab which in the prior art provides a convenient place for the application of a label or even hand scrawling an identifying title for its contents. This tab has been located at the top or side of the file folder to accommodate the particular filing cabinet or shelf used to store what is typically a series of them each holding related information, such as patient files, customer files, etc. As an aid in maintaining them in proper order, avoiding losing or mis-filing files, and retrieving them, various schemes have been developed for all manner of coding systems. These include most predominantly color coding and bar coding.
One example of the type of labeling file folders which is available in the prior art is presently being marketed under the ColorBar®trademark by Smead Mfg. Co. That product essentially comprises self adhering labels provided in roll format or on a sheet which may be as large as 8½ by 11 inches and have multiple labels for convenient processing by a printer such as a laser printer, typically under computer control, with custom software also being provided. This product has become to be known as “strip labels” as they take the form of a strip which is approximately twice as wide as the tab and printable on both sides to allow the strip label to be adhered to and cover both sides of the tab. While this product, and other similar products, have allowed for the customized printing of labels that may then be applied to the various types of business forms including file folders, they have been further improved to solve issues that have developed with their use.
One such issue has been the unevenness with which these strip labels have been applied to the folders, thereby interfering with the “eyeballing” of a row of files to locate files that are out of place and otherwise making it difficult to locate a particular file due to the “inconsistent” appearance of the file labels. As it is desired for files to be kept neat and organized, an “inconsistent” appearance detracts from that goal. To solve this problem, there has been developed at least one method in the prior art for consistently aligning the labels as they are applied to the folder tab. That form and method is presently being marketed under the ClickStrip™ trademark by Smead Mfg. Co, and may be the subject of a pending patent application.
Still another issue which has arisen through the use of these types of labels is the propensity for the customized labeling to be worn away by the constant handling of the file by the strip label, which covers the file tab. As the tab sticks out from what is typically the side or top of the folder, it becomes a convenient “handle” for the user to grasp the file for removing it from, or replacing it back into, its location within the drawer or shelf. This usage induces an inordinate amount of wear on the pre-printed color bars or bar code or other identifying indicia as a person's fingers have contaminants such as perspiration, hand lotion, and other such substances which contact the face of the label and have a deleterious affect thereon. Furthermore, in some instances, the file may be difficult to remove or replace due to the crowding of the file folders so that some appreciable gripping force is applied, and the users fingers may slip, thereby “smearing” the label as the user attempts to move the file. Again, there has been at least one solution arrived at in the prior art which entails a separate sheet of lamination strips that are sized to cover the face, or one side, of the label strip after it has been printed and before it is removed from its backing sheet. Should the strip labels have been prepared a sheet at time, a sheet of laminating strips may also be applied to the sheet of strip labels in a single application. This technique allows for the application of laminating strips to a plurality of labels in one operation. The laminating strip may have an edge which extends beyond the edge of the strip label, assuming they are aligned properly as the laminating strip is applied to the strip label, with adhesive applied to the edge as an aid in applying the strip/lamination matrix to the file folder tab. However, that alignment issue is only addressed in the context of the aforementioned full sheet having the aforementioned full sheet having multiple strip labels and separate full sheet having multiple matching laminating strips. As can be appreciated, these separate sheets require extra material, at extra cost. As the lamination material would generally require a lamination carrier, and lamination material is relatively expensive, this solution does represent a significant additional expense. Furthermore, separate sheets of strip labels and laminating strips have to be handled by a staff person in order to assemble the strip labels, which takes time and effort. Unless proper care is taken, it is entirely possible and even likely that the laminating strips will not be properly aligned thereby detracting from the desired overall neatness of appearance, not even considering that improperly aligned laminating strips could result in premature peeling of the strip label/laminating strip from the file tab and thus failure of the strip label.
In order to solve these and other shortcomings of the prior art, and to reduce both material as well as labor cost, the inventor herein has succeeded in designing and developing several embodiments of a self-laminating strip label and a method of assembling the label and laminating strip and applying it to the file folder that virtually eliminates the possibility of incorrect alignment between them and which provides a finished strip label having a lamination applied on both sides.
In a first embodiment of his invention, the self-laminating strip label is assembled from a form having two layers. A first layer of a face stock material suitable for receiving a printed image overlies a second layer of a laminating material which is substantially transparent and which may be made from Mylar or other suitable material as is known in the art. These layers are adhered to each other with a pattern adhesive which allows for assembly of a strip label/laminating strip matrix, as will be explained. More particularly, the face stock has a separation line, which is preferably a die cut or perforation, which defines the strip label with the strip label being sized to fold over the tab and mark both sides of the tab, as known in the art. When the strip label is removed from the form, a layer of adhesive occupies a central portion of the label defined by a periphery where no adhesive is applied and instead a release coat insures that adhesive is left behind on the form as the label is separated therefrom. Thus, the strip label as separated from the form has adhesive at its central portion but not around its periphery which allows for handling of the strip label without a user's fingers contacting the adhesive. On the opposite side of the form, in the laminating layer, a second separation line or preferably die cut defines a laminating strip which is somewhat larger than the label, with the laminating strip and label being aligned with each other such that while contained within the form, the label is approximately centered over the laminating strip. Furthermore, as dictated by this construction and as will be further explained below, the laminating strip when separated from the form has a central portion which has no adhesive but which has an outer peripheral area surro
Carter Monica
Laser Band, LLC
Thompson & Coburn LLP
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