Patent ID: 7621685

Claim:
Apparatus for handling labels of different widths, comprising: a frame; a center-justifying label roll holder mounted on the frame and capable of mounting a label roll comprised of a longitudinally extending label web of a selected width; a print head capable of printing on the label web; a cutter mounted along a label path on the frame to cut labels from the label web; a feed roll, a stacker including a side wall inclined downwardly and outwardly in a longitudinal direction of the label path, a rear plate disposed laterally of the label path, the rear plate being inclined downwardly and forwardly in a lateral direction, a label-receiving platform inclined upwardly and outwardly along the label path away from the side wall, the platform being movable downwardly as labels accumulate into a stack at the top of the platform, the platform being configured to support the bottom of the stack of labels, wherein the feed roll feeds labels along the label path outwardly beyond the side wall onto the top of the platform to form the stack, and the feed roll being positioned to contact the upper face of the trailing marginal edge of the uppermost label to feed the uppermost label in the retrograde direction until the trailing edge of the uppermost label contacts the side wall, and the stacker being adjustably mounted as a unit to the frame for movement laterally of the label path to enable labels of different widths to be, stacked in the stacker.