Patent ID: 8028385

Claim:
A method for making a tampon comprising: providing an uncompressed pledget of absorbent material; compressing the uncompressed pledget in a compression machine; feeding the compressed pledget with a compression member into a tampon mold having a mold cavity for receiving the compressed pledget of absorbent material, wherein the mold cavity comprises at least one pattern oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the compressed pledget, wherein the at least one pattern comprises: one or more design elements, at least one smooth, sloped lead in portion, and at least one smooth, sloped trailing portion associated with the one or more design elements; and molding the compressed pledget into a tampon having an exterior surface, the exterior surface comprising at least one patterned impression oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tampon, wherein the patterned impression corresponds to the at least one pattern of the mold cavity.