Patent ID: 7922858

Claim:
A method for applying foil material onto successive sheets, comprising the steps of: transporting individual sheets in succession along a sheet transport path, which individual sheets are not linked to one another; applying at least one continuous band of foil material onto the individual sheets along a direction substantially parallel to a direction of displacement of said individual sheets, thereby forming a continuous flow of sheets linked to one another by said at least one continuous band of foil material; and cutting said at least one continuous band of foil material such that said continuous flow of sheets is separated into the individual sheets which are not linked to one another with portions of foil material remaining on the sheets, whereby the cutting is performed at positions located on said sheets such that said portions of foil material remaining on the sheets do not extend beyond leading and trailing edges of the sheets, wherein cutting of said at least one continuous band of foil material is carried out using a laser beam.