Laminated card assembly

An assembly for creating laminated cards for printing by a laser printer has a backing sheet. The backing sheet has a first side with a release coating, and a second side with a printable surface. The assembly also has a card which has been cut from the backing sheet. A lamination sheet adhesively adheres to the first side of the backing sheet and to the cut card. A lamination strip which has been cut from the lamination sheet has a first portion which adheres to and covers one surface of the card. The lamination strip also has an integral second portion which adheres to the backing sheet adjacent to the cut card. The lamination strip maintains the cut card in the same position relative to the backing sheet that the card had prior to being cut. The assembly has a substantially constant thickness and substantially flat upper and lower surfaces so that the assembly can pass through a complex paper path without jamming. A method for creating laminated cards from such an assembly has several steps. A user feeds the assembly into a printer. The printer prints onto the surface of the card. The user removes the card from off the assembly and peels the lamination strip from the assembly. The user then folds the lamination strip to cover the printing surface of the card.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to the field of laminated cards and, in particular, 
to assemblies for making laminated identification cards, self-adhering 
index tabs, and hanging file folder tabs that can be fed into a laser 
printer, ink jet printer, photocopier or the like without jamming. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Modern society has found innumerable uses for laminated cards. Perhaps 
billions of such cards have been made for use as conference name tags, 
personal identification cards, gift tags, parking passes, playing cards, 
and so on. Other types of laminated cards include adhesive index tabs and 
hinging file folder tabs. Indeed, nearly everyone has a laminated card of 
some sort. 
In the not so distant past, simple laminated cards such as club membership 
cards were made by hand. A secretary would typically insert a card into a 
typewriter and would type in relevant information such as the member's 
name and date of admission. After the member had signed the card, the 
secretary would place the card on a sheet of transparent plastic for 
forming the lamination assembly. The secretary would then fold the 
lamination over the card, press the lamination down to seal the card 
within the lamination, and cut the lamination about the card to remove any 
excess. 
In the 1980's, dot matrix printers came into wide-spread use. Laminated 
card assemblies were developed for dot matrix printers to simplify the 
process of making a laminated card. A typical dot matrix laminated card 
assembly had tractor feed holes running along either side of the assembly 
so that it could be fed through the dot matrix printer. A lamination sheet 
was attached to a card on one side and had a thin backing on the other 
side. The dot matrix printer would print information on the back of the 
card, after which the secretary would remove the card from the printer, 
remove the backing from the lamination, and fold the lamination over the 
card. The secretary would then cut off the tractor feed holes with 
scissors, or tear off the strip of holes if perforation lines were 
provided for that purpose. 
In the 1990's, laser printers and ink jet printers replaced dot matrix 
printers as the printers of choice. Such printers are capable of printing 
high resolution text and graphics at a high speed with very little noise. 
Unfortunately, the old tractor feed laminated card assemblies did not work 
well in laser printers and ink jet printers and photocopiers for at least 
two reasons. First, the tractor feed holes of the dot matrix assemblies 
caused the assemblies to jam in the laser printer or ink jet printer paper 
feed path. Second, the dot matrix laminated card assemblies tended to have 
non-uniform thickness across the width of the assembly. For instance, the 
half of the assembly having the lamination and backing might be 6.5 mils 
thick, while the adjoining half having the lamination and card might be 9 
or more mils thick. This variation in thickness was a second reason why 
the assemblies would jam in laser printers. 
Thus, there has been a very substantial need to develop an assembly for 
conveniently printing laminated cards in a laser printer, ink jet printer, 
photocopier or other printer requiring a substantially flat printing 
surface. 
There has also been a substantial need to develop a general type of 
assembly which can be alternatively employed to create laminated 
identification cards, self-laminating hanging file folder tabs, and 
self-laminating adhesive index tabs. Each of these applications is related 
to the others in that they all involve a card which is laminated by a 
lamination member which folds over and seals the card. Conceptually, then, 
it would be of advantage to manufacturers of assemblies for printing in 
printers such as laser printers to be able to rely on a single type of 
assembly which can be utilized for a wide variety of applications relating 
to laminated cards. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an assembly 
for making laminated cards using a laser printer, ink jet printer or 
photocopier. It is also an object to provide an assembly having 
substantially constant thickness and flat upper and lower surfaces so that 
the assembly will not jam in the complex paper path of laser or ink jet 
printers, or photographic copiers. It is a further object of the invention 
to provide an assembly which can yield laminated identification cards, 
laminated self-adhesive index tabs or laminated hanging file folder tabs 
with only a slight variation in die-cuts and/or perforations. 
Viewed from a broad perspective, the invention may be an assembly for 
creating laminated cards, such as identification cards, hanging file tabs, 
and index tabs, for printing by a laser printer, ink jet printer or 
photocopier. The assembly may have a backing sheet which has two sides. 
One side of the backing sheet has a surface for receiving printing. The 
backing sheet may also be die cut to provide at least one opening with a 
card or cards which completely fill the openings and which are removably 
positioned in the openings. A lamination sheet is adhesively adhered to 
the backing sheet on the side opposite the side having the printing 
surface. The lamination sheet may also be die cut to provide a removable 
lamination member which adheres to and covers one surface of the card and 
which also removably adheres to the backing sheet in the area adjacent to 
the opening. The assembly has a substantially constant thickness and 
substantially flat upper and lower surfaces when the card is positioned in 
and fills the opening. The constant thickness and flat upper and lower 
surfaces allow the assembly to pass through a complex paper path of a 
laser or ink jet printer or photocopier without jamming. 
In accordance with the various features which may be associated with this 
broad perspective of the invention, the assembly may have more than one 
card and corresponding lamination member. The assembly may have lines of 
perforation which separate the assembly into sections. Each of the 
sections may have at least one lamination member and at least one card. An 
embodiment of the assembly may be approximately 81/2 inches wide by 11 
inches long, and may be divided symmetrically in its lengthwise or 
widthwise direction into two sections or more by a line of 
microperforations which extend across the width or length of the assembly. 
The line of microperforations may extend through both the sheet of 
lamination and the backing sheet. The backing sheet may have certain areas 
which have a release coating for convenience in peeling back a portion of 
the transparent plastic laminating sheet. Alternatively, the backing sheet 
may be coated across its entire width and length with a release coating. 
Additionally, the assembly is preferably no more than fifteen mils thick, 
so as to prevent jamming in a complex printer sheet feed path. Permanent 
pressure sensitive adhesive may be employed to secure the cards to and 
within the lamination. Further, the laminating plastic preferably has an 
area slightly more than twice that of the card, so that it may cover both 
sides of the card and seal around the edges thereof. 
Working from the broad invention to particular embodiments, one version of 
the present invention may have a backing sheet which has a first face with 
a printing surface and a second face opposite the first face. A sheet of 
transparent plastic lamination material may be juxtaposed to the second 
face and may adhere to the second face with a coating of pressure 
sensitive adhesive in at least some areas of the sheet of lamination. 
There may be more than one card die cut from the backing sheet. These 
cards remain in place on the backing sheet at the positions from which 
they were cut. The sheet of lamination may be cut into more than one 
lamination member. Each of these lamination members may cover and adhere 
to a corresponding card to form a card/lamination set. Each of the 
lamination members also removably adheres to the backing sheet. The 
backing sheet and the sheet of transparent lamination material may be 
substantially coextensive, such that each has substantially the same width 
and length as the other. The assembly may be substantially flat and may 
have substantially constant thickness so as to prevent jamming in a laser 
printer, ink jet printer, photocopier or other printer requiring a 
substantially flat printing surface. Each of the card/lamination sets may 
be individually detached from the assembly, and each lamination member may 
be folded over after detachment from the assembly to laminate its 
corresponding card. 
In accordance with various features which may be included in embodiments of 
the present invention, the assembly may be divided into individual 
sections by lines of microperforations which extend through both the 
backing sheet and the lamination sheet. Each individual section has at 
least one of the card/lamination sets. Each section may be individually 
separated along a line of microperforations from the assembly for 
individual printing in a laser printer, ink jet printer or photocopier. 
The lamination member may be symmetrical and have a line of perforations 
along its line of symmetry. The user is thereby assisted in folding the 
lamination member about the line of symmetry. The assembly is preferably 
no greater than 15 mils thick. The pressure sensitive heat adhesive may 
optionally be a permanent adhesive. The backing sheet may be any of a 
variety of materials, including paper and cardstock. The assembly may be 
divided into two or more identical sections in its lengthwise or widthwise 
directions by one or more lines of microperforations. These 
microperforations may extend through both the sheet of lamination and 
through the backing sheet. 
A specific embodiment of the present invention may be an assembly for 
creating laminated cards for printing by a laser printer, ink jet printer 
or photocopier. The assembly may have a sheet of cardstock which has a 
first face and a second face. The first face has a printing surface for 
receiving indicia from a printer. The second face, which is on the 
opposite side of the sheet from the first face, has areas which have a 
release coating. The assembly also has a sheet of plastic film which is 
juxtaposed to and adheres to the second face of the sheet of cardstock. 
The plastic film may have a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive which 
adheres the plastic sheet to the second face of the cardstock sheet. There 
may be more than one card die cut from predetermined positions of the 
sheet of cardstock. The cards remain in the same predetermined position on 
the sheet of cardstock from which they were cut. The sheet of plastic film 
may be cut into more than one symmetrical lamination members, which each 
have a line of symmetry. Each of the lamination members may cover and 
adhere to a corresponding one of the cards to form a card/lamination set. 
Each of the lamination members also removably adheres to the sheet of 
cardstock in at least one of the areas that has a release coating. The 
lamination members may be longer and wider than their corresponding cards, 
so that they may be folded over and seal the card on both sides and around 
the edges of the card. The assembly may be divided into individual 
sections by lines of microperforations. Each of the individual sections 
may comprise at least one of the card/lamination sets, such that the 
sections may be individually separated along the lines of 
microperforations from the assembly for individual printing in a laser 
printer, ink jet printer or photocopier. The sheet of cardstock and the 
sheet of plastic film may be substantially coextensive, so that each has 
substantially the same width and length as the other. The assembly may be 
substantially flat and may have substantially constant thickness so as to 
prevent jamming in a laser printer, ink jet printer or photocopier. Each 
of the card lamination sets may be individually detached from the 
assembly, and each member may be folded over at its line of symmetry after 
detachment from the assembly to laminate its corresponding card. 
In accordance with various other features which may be included in 
embodiments of the present invention, the cards may be substantially 
rectangular and the lamination members may be substantially rectangular 
lamination strips which are approximately twice as long as the cards. The 
lamination member may comprise a line of perforations along the lines of 
symmetry which assist the user in folding the lamination member about the 
line of symmetry to laminate the card. The card lamination set may 
alternatively be for making a hanging file tab. The finished hanging file 
tab has a left engagement toe and a right engagement toe when the 
lamination member is folded about its line of symmetry over its 
corresponding card. The engagement toes each include an inwardly extending 
slot so that the right and left toes may engage in slots of a hanging file 
folder. The card/lamination sets may alternatively be cut for making index 
tabs. The card adheres to the lamination member entirely on one side of 
the line of symmetry of the lamination member. The card may have one edge 
along the line of symmetry, and the length of the card may be less than 
the length of one symmetrical half of the lamination member. The assembly 
is preferably no greater than 15 mils thick. The pressure sensitive 
adhesive may be a permanent adhesive. The assembly may be divided into at 
least two identical sections in its lengthwise direction by one or more 
lines of microperforations which extend through both the sheet of plastic 
lamination and the sheet of cardstock. 
The present invention also encompasses a method for creating laminated 
cards from a certain type of assembly. The assembly has a backing sheet, a 
card which has been die cut from the backing sheet and which has a 
printing surface, a lamination sheet adhesively adhered to the backing 
sheet and to the die cut card, and a lamination member. The lamination 
member has been die cut from the lamination sheet, and it adheres to the 
card and to the backing sheet adjacent to the die cut card. The backing 
sheet may have a release coating in at least some of the areas where the 
lamination adheres to the backing sheet. The assembly may have 
substantially constant thickness and substantially flat upper and lower 
surfaces. The method may have a number of steps. One step is feeding the 
assembly into a printer. Another step is printing onto the printing 
surface of the card. An additional step is removing the card and the 
lamination member together from the assembly, with the card being adhered 
on the side opposite to its printing surface to the lamination member. A 
further step may be folding the lamination member over to cover the 
printing surface of the card and a final step may include pressing the 
lamination member and the entire card firmly to seal the lamination over 
the card. In accordance with various other steps that may be included in 
the method, the lamination member may include a line of perforations 
dividing the lamination member into two symmetrical halves, and the step 
of folding the lamination member over may include folding the lamination 
member over at the line of perforations. The printing surface of the card 
is thereby covered by the lamination member, and the line of perforations 
assist the user in folding the lamination member in the proper 
orientation. A laser printer may perform the step of printing onto the 
printing surface of the card. The card may have edges, with the lamination 
member extending beyond the edges of the card. The step of pressing the 
lamination member and the entire card to seal the lamination member over 
the card may then include pressing the lamination member about the edges 
of the card to seal the lamination about the edges of the card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a prior art 
assembly 20 for printing cards in a dot matrix or other type of printer 
equipped with a tractor feed mechanism. Prior art assembly 20 includes 
tractor feed strips 22 having tractor feed apertures 24. Tractor feed 
strips 22 are removable from assembly 20 at lines of perforation 26. The 
front of the assembly 20 has a layer of lamination 28 which is coated with 
a pressure sensitive adhesive 30. 
FIG. 2 illustrates the back side of the prior art assembly 20 of FIG. 1. 
FIG. 2 shows a piece of lining material 32 being removed from adhesively 
backed lamination layer 28. The right hand side of the assembly of FIG. 2 
is a card 34 having a printable surface 36. Generally speaking, the 
assembly is fed through a tractor feed printer, which prints indicia 38 
onto printing surface 36. This indicia 38 may include personalized 
information such as a country club member's name, membership number, and 
so on. After the assembly has passed through the printer, the user may 
then sign the card 34, remove liner 32 from lamination layer 28, remove 
tractor feed strips 22, and fold lamination 28 over at line 40 to cover 
and adhere to card 34. The user then has a laminated membership card that 
she or he may carry with them. 
As discussed previously, there are a number of problems with using the 
prior art assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a modern day laser printer, ink jet 
printer, or photocopier. The left hand side 29 of assembly 20 has a 
thickness that is less than that of right hand side 31. Consequently, 
there is a sudden thickness change at line 40. This inconsistent thickness 
will tend to cause jamming in a laser printer, ink jet printer, or 
photocopier. The friction feed of these types of printers has difficulty 
grasping hold of such a varying thickness assembly. Additionally, tractor 
feed apertures 24 will both interfere with the friction feed of these 
printers as well as provide an opportunity for assembly 20 to become 
snagged in the interior of the printer. Consequently, the prior art 
assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 is inappropriate for use in the types of 
printers that are most common in offices today. 
FIG. 3 illustrates a laminated card assembly 46 which is a preferred 
embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows that assembly 46 has 
three separate sections which are separable from one another along 
transverse lines of microperforations 48 and 50. Assembly 46 includes a 
top layer consisting of a lamination sheet 52, which is free of apertures 
or indentations which could interfere with feeding assembly 46 into a 
laser printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. Each separable section of 
the assembly includes an identification card/lamination strip set such as 
54. 
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4--4 which crosses the 
width of assembly section 56. FIG. 4 shows that assembly 46 includes 
lamination layer 52, which is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive 
layer 58. Assembly 46 also consists of a backing sheet 60 having a surface 
for printing 62 and a surface on the opposite side of the backing sheet 64 
which has a release coating. 
Backing layer 60 which is typically a heavy paper or light cardboard, is 
die cut into a rectangular card 66 (see FIG. 3) at lines 68 and 70. 
Lamination layer 46 is die cut at 72, 74, 76, and 78 (see FIG. 3) into a 
lamination strip 80, which normally remains in the same position on 
lamination 46 from which it was cut. The lamination strip 80 is perforated 
along a center line 82 so that the lamination strip may be easily folded 
over at perforation line 82. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the portion of 
lamination strip 80 defined by die cut 72 and line of perforation 82 is 
somewhat wider than the corresponding card portion defined by die cuts 68 
and 70. The portion of lamination strip 80 defined by die cut lines 78 and 
74 are also somewhat wider than the corresponding width of the card 
portion. Consequently, the finished card of FIG. 6 will have lamination 
edges 84 which extend around the card. 
It should be noted that die cuts 72, 74, 76 and 78 extend completely 
through lamination layer 52, but do not penetrate into backing layer 60. 
Likewise, die cut lines 68, 69, 70 and 71 pass through backing layer 60, 
but do not extend into lamination layer 52. Line of perforation 82 passes 
through lamination layer 52, but does not extend into the backing sheet 
layer 60. 
FIG. 5 illustrates the rear of assembly 46 corresponding to the front view 
in FIG. 3. A die cut card 66 is shown defined by die cut lines 68, 69, 70 
and 71. As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 4, the back side of assembly 
46 has a printable surface 62 which will receive printing from a laser 
printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. Card 66 includes indicia 84 
which the printer prints as the assembly passes through the printer. Such 
indicia may include the name of a particular club member, his or her 
membership number, and various other information that the user desires. 
Also provided is a signature blank 86 for the member to sign once the card 
is printed. The back of card 66 may also include various pre-printed 
indicia, which is common to all of a particular type of card. Die cut card 
66 is held in place by lamination strip 80. The lamination strip 80 has a 
first portion which adheres to and covers the upper surface of the card 
and an integral second portion which adheres to the backing sheet adjacent 
to the cut card. The lamination strip thereby maintains the cut card in 
the same position relative to the backing sheet that it had been in prior 
to being cut. It should be noted that the assembly 46 has substantially 
constant thickness and substantially flat upper and lower surfaces so that 
the assembly can pass through a complex paper path of a laser printer, ink 
jet printer, or photocopier without jamming. It should also be noted that 
both the lamination sheet and the backing sheet are substantially 
aperture- and indentation-free so as to reduce the possibility of jamming. 
Method Of Creating Laminated Cards From Assembly 46 
The user has the option of printing an entire sheet of identification 
cards, or to separate the sheet into one or more sections for printing a 
reduced number of cards. When printing an entire sheet of cards, the user 
first feeds the entire assembly into the entry paper path of a printer. 
The printer then carries the assembly along its paper path and prints 
indicia onto the printing surface of the card or cards. Once the assembly 
exits the printer, the user removes the card from the assembly in a manner 
illustrated in FIG. 3 at 90. As discussed previously, the card is adhered 
on the side opposite to the printing surface to the lamination strip. 
After the card has been removed the assembly, the remainder of the 
lamination strip is peeled off of the assembly. The user may then fold the 
lamination strip over to cover the printing surface of the card. If the 
lamination strip includes a line of perforation such as 82, the user may 
fold the lamination strip over at the line of perforations to cover the 
printing surface of the card. The user may then press the entire card to 
seal the lamination strip over the card. The lamination strip may have 
dimensions greater than those of the card and, in that case, the user may 
press the entire card to seal the lamination about the edges of the card. 
It should be noted that after the card has been printed, but before the 
card has been sealed, the user may also sign his or her name on the card 
in ink. Alternatively, the user may also attach a photograph or other 
object onto the printing surface of the card prior to sealing the card. 
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a finished card after the user has 
sealed it. The finished card includes the first portion of the lamination 
strip 92, which covers the top of the card, and second portion of the 
laminated strip 94, which covers the bottom of the card. The edges of the 
lamination 84 which encompass and surround the card 60 are of two 
varieties. The right hand side of FIG. 7 shows an edge along perforated 
fold line 82. This edge has a continuous piece of lamination which is 
simply folded over itself. The other three edges of the laminated card, 
however, consist of first and second portions of the lamination strip 92, 
94 coming together at a junction, such as 96. Pressure sensitive adhesive 
58 bonds the lamination to card 60, and bonds the first and second 
portions 92, 94 of lamination layer 52 together about the edges of the 
card. 
Materials From Which The preferred Embodiment Is Constructed 
There are three basic material components to the present invention: the 
lamination layer 52, the adhesive layer 58, and the backing or card layer 
60. The backing sheet preferably has a silicone release coating on one 
size thereof that facilitates peeling the lamination layer off of the 
backing sheet, as discussed above. Alternatively, fluorinated or 
amine-based release coatings may be used, or any other desirable coating. 
The release coating is preferably formed of a conventional silicone 
material which has a negligible thickness in the order of a few 
ten-thousandths of an inch. The backing layer itself preferably consists 
of paper having a thickness of approximately 6.0 mil. It is noted that the 
sheets are shown in the drawings thicker than their actual dimensions, the 
relative thicknesses are not to scale, and the sheets would usually be 
formed of fairly heavy paper or light cardboard stock, also known as card 
stock. The microperforations consist of cuts which vary in size from 
0.0095 to 0.0105 inches and which are separated by ties that vary in size 
from 0.0045 to 0.0055 inches. Thus, there are between 63 and 69 
perforations per inch, with about 66 perforations being an average between 
the two allowed extremes. More generally, the term "microperforations" 
indicates that there are more than about 35-40 perforations per inch. 
The lamination layer is releasably attached to the backing layer by a 
stable, pressure-sensitive adhesive of a type which will not flow at a 
temperature of a few hundred degrees Fahrenheit. However, it is preferred 
that the pressure sensitive adhesive will remain stable when subjected to 
temperatures in the range of up to about 300 to about 400 degrees 
Fahrenheit to facilitate printing on the cards through laser or other high 
temperature printing equipment, as discussed above. 
The adhesive should be a pressure-sensitive adhesive which does not easily 
degrade when exposed to ultra-violet light. That is, exposure to ultra 
violet light during normal use of the card should not turn the adhesive 
yellow or cause the adhesive to lose its tackiness. One such adhesive is 
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,216. A suitable adhesive is the P60 hot 
melt adhesive which is available from the Avery Dennison Corporation. 
Generally speaking, the adhesive should be applied to the lamination layer 
in a coat of between 0.25 and 2.0 mils thick. 
The lamination layer may be made from any of a number of materials, such as 
mylar. The lamination may have a coating that is receptive to toners and 
inks so that the finished card may have printing on the surface of the 
card as well as on the surface of the lamination. Printing on the surface 
of the lamination would most commonly be by an offset printing process, 
although it would be possible to print onto the lamination with a laser 
printer, ink jet printer or photocopiers. 
Suitable coated and uncoated mylar lamination films are available from 
DuPont and the Dunmore Corporation. The lamination film should be between 
1 and 4 mils thick. 
The backing layer may be made from 1001b velum card stock, which is 
available from a wide variety of paper manufacturers and vendors, such as 
the Simpson Corporation. The backing should have a thickness of between 4 
and 10 mils. The backing may have a light release coating, such as 
silicone, to prevent firm adherence of the lamination to the backing 
layer. The release coating should be extremely thin, in the range of 
between approximately 0.1 and 0.5 mils. 
It should be noted that in selecting the above-mentioned materials, the 
overall thickness of the assembly should not exceed 15 mils. It has been 
observed that present day laser printers tend not to work well with 
assemblies having thicknesses grater than 15 mils. However, if future 
models of laser printers are developed to be capable of accepting 
assemblies having a thickness grater than 15 mils, then the maximum 
overall assembly thickness may be increased. 
Additionally, the lamination and backing layer materials may be 
substantially flat so that the overall assembly has substantially constant 
thickness throughout its entire width and length, thereby reducing the 
likelihood that the assembly will jam in the complex paper path of a 
modern printer. The backing and lamination layers may also be free from 
apertures, tractor-feed holes, depressions and the like other than die 
cuts, perforations and other very minor discontinuities. 
For purposes of clarity, it should be understood that the term "laser 
printer" refers not only to laser printers as such, but also to ink jet 
printers, photocopiers, and any other printer which will jam when a sheet 
having a non-constant thickness is input into the printer. The present 
invention is further intended to be used in conjunction with future types 
of printers not yet developed or not presently in widespread use. It 
should also be understood that the word "cut" refers not only to die 
cutting, but also to any other type of cutting, as well as to 
perforations. It should also be understood that the term 
"microperforations" is intended to encompass all constructions in which 
the edges of the backing sheet are smooth and substantially free of coarse 
irregularities following separation. 
Exemplary dimensions of one embodiment are as follows. These dimensions are 
for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. A full assembly 
may be 81/2 inches wide by 11 inches long, with a thickness of between 
approximately 5.35 mils to 15 mils. An individual card may be between 31/4 
inches long by 2 inches wide. A lamination strip may be 63/4 inches long 
and 21/8 inches wide. The distance from the top of the assembly to the top 
of the uppermost lamination strip may be 15/8 inches. The distance from 
the bottom of the assembly to the bottom of the lower most lamination 
strip may be 1/4 inch. The distance from the left hand edge of the 
assembly to the left hand edges of the lamination strips may be 7/16 inch. 
The distance from the right hand edge of the assembly to the right hand 
edges of the lamination strips may be 13/8 inches. The lamination strips 
may be vertically spaced from one another so that the bottom of an upper 
strip is 11/2 inches away from the top of a lower strip. 
A wide range of other dimensions are possible. For instance, the overall 
assembly dimensions may be 3 to 41/4 inches wide by 11 inches long. 
Alternatively, an 81/2 inches wide by 11 inches long assembly may be 
divided into equal separable sections of 32/3 inches long each. As 
discussed previously, each section has one or more card/lamination strip 
sets. Two lines of microperforations run across the entire width of the 
assembly to separate the sections. Alternatively, such lines of 
microperforations could run vertically along the length of the assembly to 
make vertical separable sections. 
Various other dimensions and card shapes are also imaginable. For instance, 
as new printers are developed that can accommodate very narrow sheets, the 
present assemblies may be made correspondingly more narrow. Similarly, 
future printers may accommodate sheets that are more than 81/2 inches 
wide, and the present assemblies may be made wider than 81/2 inches within 
the scope of the invention. 
First Alternative Preferred Embodiment: Adhesive Index Tabs 
An alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to an 
assembly for printing self-laminating adhesive index tabs in a laser 
printer, an ink jet printer or photocopier. A laminated adhesive index tab 
is a laminated tab that is used to identify sections within a document. 
The assembly 100 consists of a sheet of principal material 102, such as 
cardstock or paper. Sheet 102 is die-cut into pieces 104, which are 
themselves divided by a line of microperforations 138. Each die-cut 
portion 104 has a printing card 106 and a cardstock wing 108. The line of 
perforations 138 separate printing area 106 from cardstock wing 108 cards 
106 have a printing surface onto which indicia 110 may be printed. By a 
laser printer, an ink jet printer or a photocopier. All of these features 
are illustrated in FIG. 8, which shows the first outer surface of the 
assembly 100. 
FIG. 9 illustrates the second surface of assembly 100, which is on the 
opposite side of assembly 100 from the first side which FIG. 8 
illustrates. The second side consists of a sheet of transparent plastic 
film 112 which has been die-cut into a repeated pattern 114. The repeated 
pattern 114 has a first wing 116, a second wing 118 and a central portion 
120. A line of symmetry 122 bisects each die-cut pattern 114 into halves 
which are mirror images of each other. First wing 116 and second wing 118 
are at opposite sides of the line of symmetry 122 from each other. 
The partial cutaway view in the lower right hand corner of FIG. 9 shows 
that sheet of transparent plastic film 112 is juxtaposed to sheet of 
principal material 102. Sheet of transparent plastic film 112 and sheet of 
principal material 102 are substantially coextensive with each other, with 
sheet 112 having the same width and length as sheet 102. This 
coextensivity of sheets 112 and 102 ensure that the assembly has 
substantially constant thickness and substantially flat upper and lower 
surfaces. The assembly is thereby well suited for feeding into the complex 
paper path of a printer such as a laser printer without becoming jammed. 
Transparent plastic film 112 is coated with an adhesive layer 124, as seen 
in FIG. 10. FIG. 9 shows that sheet of principal material 102 is treated 
with an adhesive release agent 126, which may be silicone based. Adhesive 
release agent 126 is provided in special patterns on sheet of principal 
material 102, such that the printing card 106 is not provided with an 
adhesive release agent. This ensures that printing cards 106 adhere to 
transparent plastic film 112 and are not easily removed therefrom. On the 
other hand, cardstock wings 108 are treated with the adhesive release 
agent 126, so that cardstock wings 108 can be delaminated from transparent 
plastic film layer 112. 
Returning to FIG. 10, various features are shown in a cross-section taken 
about line 10--10 of FIG. 9. Sheet of principal material 102 acts as a 
backing sheet which has a first face having a printing surface and a 
second face having the patterns of adhesive release agent 126. The 
transparent plastic film 112 is juxtaposed to sheet of material 102 and is 
coated with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive 124. A plurality of 
cards such as 106 are cut from sheet of material 102 and remain in place 
on sheet 102 at the positions from which they were cut. The sheet of 
lamination 112 is cut into a plurality of lamination members along first 
die-cut line 130 and second die-cut line 132, as well as other die-cut 
lines. 
Each die-cut pattern 114 and its associated printing card 106 forms a 
card/lamination set. Each card/lamination set remains intact and in place 
on assembly 100 during printing, after which indicia 110 has been printed 
on the printing surface of the printing card 106. 
FIG. 11 illustrates a card/lamination set 144 being removed from assembly 
100 after printing. Die cut card 106 separates from assembly 100 along 
die-cut line 134. Cardstock wing portion 108 separates from assembly 100 
along line of perforations 138. It should be noted that a user will need 
to apply some pressure along line of perforation 138 in order to cause 
card/lamination set 144 to separate from assembly 100. After the 
perforations have been broken, the user rotates the card/lamination set so 
as to cause the upper half of the die-cut pattern 114 to separate from the 
sheet of principal material 102 along the adhesive release agent 7. 
FIG. 12 shows what a card/lamination set 144 looks like after separation 
from assembly 100. Approximately 1/2 of the lamination portion of 
card/lamination set 144 has no backing at this point, and adhesive 124 is 
exposed this exposed portion of the lamination adhesive corresponds to 
approximately 1/2 of the die-cut pattern 114 and is all of the lamination 
member falling on one side of line of symmetry 122. When the user is ready 
to apply the card/lamination set to a document page, the user removes 
cardstock wing 108 from the card/lamination set along die-cut line 136. 
Cardstock wing 108 includes adhesive release agent 126 for making removal 
of wing 108 fairly easy. 
FIG. 13 illustrates that the user first applies first wing 116 of the 
lamination to a back side of document page 140. The user then folds second 
wing 118 at line of symmetry 122 to cover the printed surface of printing 
card 106. At the same time, the user presses second lamination wing 118 
onto document page 140, thereby yielding a document page having an index 
tab. 
Second Alternative Preferred Embodiment: Hanging File Folder Tab 
A second alternative embodiment of the present invention is a 
self-laminating hanging file folder tab, as described by FIGS. 14 through 
19. An assembly 200 includes a paper sheet 202 having a series of spaced, 
die-cut printing cards 206. FIG. 15 shows the reverse side of assembly 
200, which is predominantly a lamination sheet 212. The lamination sheet 
212 has substantially the same width and length of paper sheet 202, such 
that paper layer 202 and lamination sheet 212 are coextensive. The 
lamination sheet 212 includes a series of die-cut patterns 214. The shape 
of printing cards 206 correspond to the shape of the bottom half of 
die-cut patterns 214, which are symmetrical about lines of symmetry 222. 
Die-cut printing cards 206 are typically cardstock which is not treated 
with an adhesive release agent. However, the spaces separating die-cut 
printing cards 206 are typically treated with a silicone adhesive release 
agent 226. Thus, adhesive release agent 226 is provided in selected areas 
of paper layer 202, but not in other areas. Lamination sheet 212 includes 
a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive 224, which may be a permanent 
adhesive or alternatively may be an adhesive that may be repeatedly sealed 
and unsealed. 
FIG. 16 shows the assembly 200 in cross-section about line 16--16 of FIG. 
14. Lamination die-cut pattern 214 is bounded on one side by a die-cut 
230, which passes through the lamination sheet 212 but not through the 
paper layer 202. Lamination die-cut pattern 214 is bounded on the other 
side by a die-cut 236, which passes through both lamination sheet 212 and 
paper sheet 202. A further die-cut 234 passes through the paper sheet 
layer 202 but not through the lamination sheet 212. Die-cut 234 is located 
intermediate to die-cuts 236 and 230. Pressure sensitive adhesive 224 
serves to bond lamination sheet 212 to paper sheet 202. 
FIG. 17 shows how a user removes a card/lamination set 244 from the 
assembly 200. The user pushes on the card/lamination set 244 to separate 
the card/lamination set from the assembly at die-cuts 236, 234 and 230. 
The die-cut lamination pattern 214, also known as a lamination member, 
separates easily from paper sheet layer 202 in the areas having adhesive 
release agent 226. 
Once a card/lamination set 244 has been removed from assembly 200, the user 
finishes the hanging file folder tab by folding over the lamination member 
214 at its line of symmetry 222 to cover and adhere to die-cut printing 
card 206. Note that the shape of lamination member 214 and die-cut 
printing card 206 is such that the finished laminated tab 264 has right 
engaging toe 262 and left engaging toe 260, characterized by inwardly 
extending channels 272 and 270. 
Once the user has pressed the lamination member 214 over the entire width 
and length of die-cut card 206, the user may then insert completed 
laminated tab 264 into a hanging file 276, as illustrated in FIG. 19. 
Hanging file 276 has spaced tab slots 274, into which engaging toes 260 
and 262 may engage. FIG. 19 shows a laminated tab 264 having been inserted 
at right engaging toe 262 into a spaced tab slot 274, with left engaging 
toe 260 remaining to be inserted into another spaced tab slot by the user. 
Thus, a hanging file 276 is thereby identified by laminated tab 264. 
It may be noted that one difference between the self laminated adhesive 
index tab embodiment and the self laminated hanging file folder tab 
embodiment is that the printed card of the latter extends along the entire 
length of one side of the line of symmetry of the lamination member. On 
the other hand, with the adhesive index tab embodiment, the printing card 
does not extend the entire length of one side of the line of symmetry. 
Instead, the printing card has one edge along the line of symmetry but 
extends only to the beginning of the wing on that side of the line of 
symmetry. That is, the hanging file folder tab can be said to have a 
printing card which occupies the entirety of one of the two identical 
halves of the lamination member. In contrast, the printing card of the 
adhesive index tab embodiment takes up only part of 1/2 of the lamination 
member, leaving the wing of that half of the member uncovered immediately 
prior to being applied to a document page. 
It is preferable in some applications to use a permanent adhesive, which 
bonds the label to the substrate with a particularly strong bond. In this 
regard, the nature of an adhesive, whether permanent or removable, is 
often specified by the force required to peel (peel force) a one inch 
sample strip at right angles from a stainless steel surface to which it 
has been adhered. Standards and procedures for measuring peel forces have 
been established by the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council, and the peel 
forces as used herein relate to tests made pursuant to such standard 
procedures. The designation "permanent adhesives" is normally applied to 
adhesives having peel forces in the order of 3 pounds or more, while 
adhesives having a peel force of less than about 2 pounds are normally 
referred to as removable adhesive coatings. 
The proportional dimensions of the drawings are for illustrative purposes 
only. Thus, the adhesive in the cross-sectional views, as well as other 
aspects of the assembly, are drawn out of proportion for clarity of 
explanation. 
In conclusion, it is to be understood that the foregoing detailed 
description and the accompanying drawings relate to the presently 
preferred illustrative embodiments of the invention. However, various 
changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the 
invention. Thus, by way of example are not of limitation. 
The present invention is not limited to any one application. The present 
invention encompasses name tags for conferences, gift tags, parking 
passes, and any other laminated card. After a card has been printed, a 
user may glue or otherwise attach a photograph to the printing surface of 
the card. The user can then fold the lamination strip over the card and 
photograph to create a photo identification card. It is further noted that 
although fairly heavy paper or card stock is preferred, the term "card" as 
used herein could refer to normal sheets of paper employed to form 
laminated assemblies, as disclosed herein. 
The present invention also encompasses cards which have shapes other than a 
standard rectangular card. For instance, the present invention includes an 
assembly for making laminated cards for rotary address files such as those 
available from the Rolodex Corporation of Secaucus, N.J. One problem with 
non-laminated cards for rotary address files is that they easily become 
dirty and worn. However, the present invention provides a system for 
creating long-lasting rotary address cards that will not deteriorate with 
normal use. 
The present invention also encompasses other laminated cards, such as 
custom-designed playing cards which a user designs on a personal computer 
using clip art images and text. Accordingly, the present invention is not 
limited to the arrangement shown in the drawings and described 
hereinabove.