Fan-Folded Label Web With Perforation-Free Creases
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fan-folded webs of pressure-sensitive labels with cross-perforations are prone to breakage during high-speed handling and application, leading to incomplete labeling of newspapers due to weakened liners, especially when subjected to tension and rough handling.
Innovation Solution
A fan-folded web label product with alternately reversely indented creases, substantially devoid of perforations, is produced using a modified narrow web label press with a creasing station that forms pre-folds in the liner without damaging the labels, allowing for precise folding and increased strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cross-perforations are used to enable fan-folding, then the web can be easily folded, but the liner becomes weakened and prone to breakage during high-speed handling
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the folding function from the structural integrity function by placing creases only in the face stock layer while leaving the liner continuous. This allows the face stock to be easily folded along the creases while the liner maintains its strength and continuity, resolving the contradiction between ease of folding and liner strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies different structural qualities to different layers: the face stock has localized creases for easy folding, while the liner remains uniform and uninterrupted for strength. This local differentiation allows each layer to perform its optimal function without compromising the other.
2Ease of manufacture
If cross-perforations are used to facilitate fan-folding, then the web can be folded into stacks, but the perforated liner breaks under tension during high-speed application
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the folding function from the structural integrity function by placing creases only in the face stock layer while leaving the liner continuous. This allows the face stock to be easily folded along the creases while the liner maintains its strength and continuity, resolving the contradiction between ease of folding and liner strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The creases are formed in advance during the labeling process itself, integrating the folding preparation into the main production flow. This preliminary creasing enables subsequent fan-folding and stacking without requiring separate preprocessing steps, maintaining both ease of manufacture and reliability.
3Productivity
If high-speed fan-folding is used to produce stacks, then productivity increases, but tension and rough handling cause cross-perforated webs to break
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the folding function from the structural integrity function by placing creases only in the face stock layer while leaving the liner continuous. This allows the face stock to be easily folded along the creases while the liner maintains its strength and continuity, resolving the contradiction between ease of folding and liner strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the structural parameter of the web by replacing through-perforations with surface creases. This parameter change maintains the flexibility needed for high-speed folding while preserving the tensile strength required to withstand tension during rapid handling and application.
4Ease of operation
If conventional cross-perforated webs are used, then fan-folding can be achieved, but label breakage and liner failure occur during high-speed application to newspapers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the folding function from the structural integrity function by placing creases only in the face stock layer while leaving the liner continuous. This allows the face stock to be easily folded along the creases while the liner maintains its strength and continuity, resolving the contradiction between ease of folding and liner strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies different structural qualities to different layers: the face stock has localized creases for easy folding, while the liner remains uniform and uninterrupted for strength. This local differentiation allows each layer to perform its optimal function without compromising the other.
Data Source
AI summary
A label product in web form has alternating, oppositely indented creases in the liner of the product to produce a fan-folded stack having alternating, reversely folded plies. Each crease is substantially, if not entirely, perforation-free to maximize the strength of the liner at the fold lines. The product is preferably produced on a narrow web press in a creasing station that includes a stack of rolls wherein a first die roll is on the bottom of the stack, a second die roll is on the top of the stack, and a pair of base rolls are located in the middle of the stack between the die rolls. A blade on each die roll cooperates with a cushion on the corresponding base roll to produce a crease during every other rotation of the die roll, each of the base rolls having a smaller circumference than its corresponding die roll.