Patent ID: 7364777

Claim:
A heat-transfer label assembly, said heat-transfer label assembly comprising: (a) a substrate; (b) a release positioned over said substrate; and (c) a heat-transfer label, said heat-transfer label being deposited directly onto said release for transfer of said heat-transfer label from said substrate to an article under conditions of heat and pressure, said heat-transfer label being bondable to the article under conditions of heat and pressure and consisting of one or more ink design layers, each of said ink design layers comprising (i) a mixture of polyester resins, wherein said mixture of polyester resins comprises a first polyester resin having a molecular weight of about 47,500 daltons, a T g of 63° C., a tensile strength of about 8000 psi, a 7% elongation, a hydroxyl number of 3-5, and a Shore D hardness of 79, a second polyester resin having a molecular weight of about 67,000 daltons, a T g of 47° C., a tensile strength of about 7000 psi, a 4% elongation, a hydroxyl number of 2-5, and a Shore D hardness of 78, and a third polyester resin having a molecular weight of about 75,000 daltons, a T g of −15° C., a tensile strength of about 30 psi, a >2000% elongation, a hydroxyl number of 3-6, and a Shore A hardness of 25; (ii) a cross-linking system adapted to effect partial cross-linking of the mixture of polyester resins upon transfer of said heat-transfer label to the article; and (iii) a colorant.