Abstract:
A customer interface with a printing facility allows communication between the printing facility and customer for receiving customer order information including graphic and printing information for labeling relatively heavyweight cartons. The facility prints labels conforming to the shape of the cartons and cuts and laminates the labels onto individual cartons. A graphics computer with a microprocessor converts customer information into label size and graphics information; a digital press prints web stock with a plurality of labels; a finishing machine die cuts, singulates and stacks the labels; and a laminating press applies the labels in indexed relationship to cartons. The customer interface can be through the internet to fill “just in time” customer needs.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for applying labels to cartons for displaying the contents of the cartons.  
           [0002]    With today&#39;s increasing efforts to efficiently provide customers with products, “just in time” techniques for supplying commercial customers with products which are subsequently integrated into completed products is becoming increasingly challenging. In the printing industry, packaging must be supplied to customers in a coordinated manner such that the product being packaged can be correctly identified, matched with the package, and subsequently the packaging of the product completed.  
           [0003]    For long run mass production of cartons, for example, used for packaging consumer products, typically analog offset presses are employed to print directly onto the cartons. Although useful for such purposes, such printing methods require a significant set-up time and are not cost effective for smaller volume printing nor does such printing method allow for rapids changing of information in response to customer printing needs.  
           [0004]    In order to provide custom “just in time” service, it is often desirable to employ customer provided artwork for the packaging and use digital processing techniques for the graphics and other printed material contained on the package and employing digitally controlled printing presses for the printing of such packages. This allows, for example, on-line internet interface between the customer and the printer to provide order information and completion of the printing process.  
           [0005]    Existing digital printing presses, however, cannot accommodate the thicker fiberboard products required with many packages with the current state of the art allowing printing on packages of only up to 14-point board. There exists a significant demand for packages from the 18-point to 22-point board thickness and particularly the higher end 22-point board thickness, for a variety of items including, for example, medical instruments which must be carefully handled and which must undergo sterilization techniques once packaged. Such relatively high end products require heavier duty packaging, the surfaces of which cannot be printed utilizing high speed digital printing systems currently available. Thus, there exists a need for an apparatus and system which will allow the printing supplier to respond to customer orders quickly and provide relatively small volume runs of heavy duty packaging which is appropriately labeled using the speed and desirable interface ability of digital printing techniques and equipment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The system and method of the present invention satisfies this need by providing a customer interface with the printing facility which allows communication between the printing facility and customer for receiving customer order information, graphic and printing information which is converted to digital data which can be supplied to a digital press. The customer information provides carton number, size, shape, and graphic printing information to the printing facility which, utilizing a digital printing apparatus, prints labels conforming substantially to the surface of a carton. The method and apparatus subsequently laminates the preprinted, die cut labels onto cartons. This allows the printing facility to rapidly respond to customer orders in a “just in time” on demand manner to supply the customer with desired preprinted cartons. The method and apparatus provides relatively high speed production for relatively small volume custom printing jobs.  
           [0007]    The apparatus embodying the present invention includes a customer interface such as through an internet connection or other digital data format providing dimensions, graphics and printed information for a label; a graphics computer with a microprocessor for converting such customer information into label size and graphics information; a digital press for receiving web stock material for printing and printing a plurality of labels on the web stock; a finishing machine for die cutting, singulating and stacking individual labels; and a laminating machine for applying labels to cartons. The printing capabilities of such a system allows relatively heavyweight cartons to be efficiently labeled in a manner which simulates direct carton printing.  
           [0008]    These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a carton and matching label to be applied to the carton;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the method of receiving and completing customer carton printing orders by a printing facility;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a digital printing press for printing labels, such as the label of FIG. 1;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a side schematic view of a finishing machine for receiving rolls of printed labels, die cutting, singulating, and stacking them for subsequent processing;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a side schematic view of a laminating machine for receiving cartons and stacks of preprinted labels applying an adhesive to one of the labels and carton, aligning the label and carton, and pressing the carton to the label for laminating the two and subsequently discharging them to an output station; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a carton and label as oriented during the lamination step. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]    Referring initially to FIG. 1, there is shown a carton  10  which is to be labeled with graphic and printed information identifying products contained in the carton, supplier of the product, and any printed label information necessary, required, or desirable. The carton is available from any number of commercial carton manufacturers and, for purposes of the present invention, is of a relatively thick material which cannot be directly printed upon utilizing high speed digital presses. Thus, carton  10  may have a thickness of from about 18-point to 22-point fiberboard material, although it can be of greater or lesser thickness. The carton is preglued and folded, as seen in FIG. 1, to present a principal display panel  12 , left and right end panels  14  and  16 , and a side panel  18 , all of which are substantially covered by an overlying conforming label  20 .  
         [0016]    Label  20  is shaped to substantially overly and be congruent with carton surfaces  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and  18 , it being noted that carton  10  includes end flaps  13 , which are not labeled, and corner flaps  15  (shown in dotted lines) also which may be folded under side panel  18  during the lamination process or exposed as desired. Label  20  includes several printed areas, including a principal display surface  21  which includes an area  22  for the product identification, area  24  for the supplier logo or trademarks of the manufacturer of the product, area  26  for the graphic representation of a product, such as a medical instrument as depicted in FIG. 1, and an area  28  for cautionary symbols or printed warnings. Label  20  also includes end flaps  23  which are aligned and overlie end panels  14  and  16  of carton  10  and which also include similar graphic, supplier, and product identification information as does the principal display surface  21 . The side panel  25  of label  20  similarly includes areas for the product name, supplier identification, graphics identifying the product(s), and the UPC barcode  27 . Label  20  can be any desired paper, such as 80 pound paper CIS which is commercially available in large continuous rolls of web stock and which can be handled by a digital printing press such as shown in FIG. 3 and a finishing machine as shown FIG. 4. Although the preferred paper is 80 pound C1S paper, other weight paper, film material, or other printable stock material having different finishes can be employed as required for individual printing needs.  
         [0017]    Although the carton and label shown in FIG. 1 illustrate the labeling of only the principal display panel, end panels and one side panel, the method and apparatus of the present invention can be employed to generate a second label having the shape of the back panel, which would be the same shape as panel  12 , and another side panel, which would be the same shape as panel  18 . The second label would be printed and applied utilizing a repeat process and utilizing the same equipment and methods as described in connection with the first label  20 .  
         [0018]    Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow diagram  30  represents the method of producing labeled cartons according to the present invention to allow a printing facility to provide a rapid turnaround and an automated response to customer orders. In FIG. 2, customer input is represented by block  32  and may include an internet connection such as  31  to an order entry computer represented by block  34  at the printer&#39;s facility. The customer entry can also be via mail or facsimile or by recorded digital media, such as magnetic disks, laser disks or the like, which contain order information and customer graphics to be employed in printing labels to be applied to cartons. The order information will, in addition to containing the graphics, customer information and the like, contain the volume of cartons and labels to be laminated, dates for delivery, costing information and the like. The costing information and coordination of the printing process is represented by block  36  at the printing facility and may include a computer with a microprocessor coupled to a computer database contained in the order entry block  34 . The printing facility database will typically include customer identification information including shipping addresses, contacts, billing directions, standing printing orders and the like, all of which are employed to correlate with incoming individual order information from a customer to either print new orders or run a printing run against a standing order until the order is filled and can be controlled by, for example, a software program such as DOC Express® available from Impressive Solutions. Thus, the software for controlling inventory flow and a customer database employed by the printing facility may employ such software to coordinate order entries as well as the pre-press data entry as represented by block  38 .  
         [0019]    Block  38  typically will include a graphics computer, such as an Apple® computer, which will have graphics programs, such as Adobe®, Apple Script®, Post Script® software or the like, as well as DOC Express® to allow the operator to verify the customer information and lay out label graphics printing material on the proper label size for an individual carton to be labeled. Blocks  34 ,  36 , and  38  can be coordinated with one computer with a microprocessor of sufficient capacity to handle graphics and operate the DOC Express® and the graphics software to provide at an output  39  digital information in the form of a magnetic disk, a laser CD or a direct serial or parallel data connection to a digital printing press  40  for printing on a continuous roll of web stock paper or other material a plurality of labels  20  to be applied to cartons  10 .  
         [0020]    The digital printing press  40  is illustrated in FIG. 3 in schematic form and includes an input roll  42  of paper, such as the 80 pound C1S paper noted above, and is located in an environment which is carefully controlled to ensure color accuracy. Thus, the press typically will be in a press room held at a room temperature of, for example, 74° F. controlled within plus or minus one degree at fifty-percent humidity plus or minus two percent on an anti-static floor with a neutral gray wall color and color balanced lights to allow operators, not only in steps  34 - 38  but also throughout the printing and subsequent manufacturing process, to monitor the color and accuracy of labels being applied to the cartons. Press  40  may be a commercially available press, such as the Xeikon® DCP 320 S system or an Indigo® press which pretreats the papers in station  44  for subsequent multi-colored printing in subsequent charging and printing individual color stations  45 ,  46 ,  47 , and  48  followed by a subsequent drying and fixing station  50 .  
         [0021]    The digital data format can be in postscript format, PDF file format, or TIFF files, and typically the press will include its own computer including a microprocessor operating under a Windows® platform, such as the currently available Windows® 2000, for receiving the information from pre-press block  38  for the continuous roll printing of labels. The press includes an output station  52  which supplies a continuous web of now pre-printed paper stock from roll  42  onto an accumulating roller (not shown in FIG. 3 but shown as element  54  in FIG. 4), which once the label printing run is completed, is moved to the finishing machine  60  of FIG. 4.  
         [0022]    Printer  40  has a 600 dot per inch resolution capability and employs an LED array based dry toner electro-photography process utilizing in stations  45 ,  46  and  47  white, yellow, cyan, magenta followed by black in station  48 . It can operate at a web speed of up to 48 feet per minute for printing rows of labels  20  on a continuous web  41  of print stock which is subsequently processed as now described in connection with FIG. 4. The printer, for example, can print at a rate of 22 labels per minute for custom labels having a length of 26 inches.  
         [0023]    The finishing process and station is represented by block  60  in FIG. 2. The machine is shown in schematic form in FIG. 4. This process includes feeding the roll of preprinted web stock  54 , coating the printed surface, drying the coated surface, die cutting individual labels  20  from the web stock, singulating and stacking the individual die cut labels. Turning to FIG. 4, the machine for accomplishing these finishing processes is mounted to a framework  62  supporting an axle  63  for holding the roll  54  of printed web stock and feeding the web  41  therefrom through a web guide splice table  64  which controls the feeding of the web stock into a flexographic print unit  66  which applies varnish from a sliding cartridge to the printed surface of each of the labels  20  for protecting the label from abrasion during handling. After a coat of varnish is applied to the labels, the web  41  passes downwardly through a heater  67  and into an air cooled UV curing unit  68  and subsequently to a precision rotary metal-to-metal die cutting station  70 . Station  70  die cuts the individual labels from the web stock  41 . As noted earlier, the web stock may include rows of from about three to five labels aligned across the width of the web stock  55  and longitudinally aligned successive rows. The die cutting station  70  includes an upper rotary die  71  and a lower rotary die  72  synchronously driven for cutting the labels  20  from the web stock  41 . The dies are machined from the digital label shape and size information to precisely cut labels from the web stock. The web stock waste  41 ′ is then exited from the machine while the labels  20  are singulated and stacked on a shingle conveyor  74  for subsequent application to the cartons in the laminating step  80  shown in block form in FIG. 2 and in schematic form in FIG. 5. Although a clear varnish is employed in the preferred embodiment of the invention, other protective coatings may also be applied prior to the die cutting and subsequent processing of the labels.  
         [0024]    The laminating machine  80  shown in FIG. 5 receives prefolded and glued centers  10  shown by block  82  in FIG. 2. Machine  80  comprises three interrelated stations including a label singulator and gluing station  90 ; a carton handling and label registration and application station  100 ; and a smoothing roller and stacking station  110 , it being understood that the flow of the process is from left to right in FIG. 5 as is the flow of label processing shown in machine  60  of FIG. 4. Machine  80  and its components include a laminating, flat board wrapper machine, which can be of the type commercially available from Emmeci USA LLC of Providence, R.I. and identified as a laminating line flat board wrapper Model No. MC2000. Station  90  receives the stacked precut patterned labels  20  (FIG. 1) from the output  74  of machine  60 . Labels  20  are oriented in station  90  with the printed side facing downwardly and the back of the label facing upwardly. Station  90  includes a vacuum lifting mechanism  92  for handling individual labels from a stack of labels and introducing them into a glue viscosity control unit  94  which employs a hot melt glue which rolls glue onto the upper exposed surface of the label rear surfaces utilizing stainless steel rollers.  
         [0025]    A vacuum holding perforated endless belt conveyor  96  transfers the individually sequentially fed labels into laminating station  100  which holds a plurality of stacked cartons  10  in an in-feed station  102 . Station  100  includes a vacuum lift programmable transfer assembly  104  which picks up individual cartons with panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and  18  facing downwardly and applies the cartons in registered relationship to the labels at interface  106 . The alignment is controlled by suitable sensors and/or index marks which may be printed on the cartons and/or labels to assure alignment of the label to the carton to within 1/64″ such that the end product, when the label stock color is the same as the carton, appears to be a directly printed carton. A laminating section  107  includes a platen for applying pressure to the carton onto the upwardly facing glue of the label. Subsequently, the labeled cartons are fed by a conveyor  108  to a smoothing rotary press  110  which applies pressure to remove any trapped air between the label and cartons and which includes an output stacker  112  for stacking a plurality of the now labeled cartons for packaging and shipment to the customer. The finishing and laminating steps have a relatively high speed through part  16  at least about 40 finished cartons per minute. A finished, laminated and labeled carton is shown in FIG. 6 in which carton  10  includes a label  20  applied thereto having a printed side surface  21  facing downwardly and an adhesive interface  11  extending between the back surface  29  of label  20  and the surfaces of panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and  18  of carton  10 .  
         [0026]    The sections of machine  80  may include an Emmeci MC1/R automatic gluing machine forming station  90 , an Emmeci MC B automatic spotter as the laminating station  100 , and an Emmeci 30″ Potevin type rotary press Model No. MC A smoothing and stacking station  110 . The speed of the laminating process can be as high as 40 units per minute to allow the relatively rapid, laminating of the precut, preprinted labels  20  onto the prefolded and glued matching cartons  10 . Thus, with the system of the present invention, cartons having a thickness greater than that which can be printed directly using a digital press can have preprinted labels applied and laminated thereto utilizing an adhesive to provide a finished carton having the appearance of a preprinted carton to contain desired graphics, manufacturing information, trademarks, user instructions and the like thereon in a cost effective method and system for providing such packaging. Further, the method of handling the customer information graphics and digitally controlling the printing, cutting and laminating of labels onto the carton results in a rapid set up time to provide “just in time” response to customer custom printing needs such that it is not necessary for the customer to inventory prelabeled cartons for an significant period of time.  
         [0027]    It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications to the preferred embodiment of the invention as described herein can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.