Patent ID: 7229517

Claim:
A method of applying a plastic label to an outer surface of a container comprising: (a) applying a radiation curable adhesive to a transfer member, said adhesive being in a minimally tacky state when applied to said transfer member; (b) retaining a plurality of labels in a stack with a lowermost label in the stack having an exposed surface; (c) causing said transfer member with the adhesive thereon to engage said exposed surface of said lowermost label prior to exposing said adhesive to radiation to transfer said minimally tacky radiation curable adhesive thereto and to releasably adhesively secure said lowermost label to said transfer member by said minimally tacky radiation curable adhesive; (d) adhering said label to said outer surface of said container by said radiation curable adhesive; and (e) directing said container with said label adhered to its outer surface through an irradiating station for irradiating said radiation curable adhesive to enhance the tackiness of said radiation curable adhesive.