Patent ID: 8623166

Claim:
A method of forming on a substrate an adhesive region comprising a heat-activatable adhesive composition, the method comprising: a) applying a dispersion of the heat-activatable adhesive composition in a solvent to an anilox roller on a flexographic press, said heat-activatable adhesive composition comprising an adhesive polymer; b) contacting the anilox roller with a flexographic plate to transfer a portion of the dispersion thereto, said flexographic plate comprising an adhesive application region having a shape substantially matching that of the adhesive region on the substrate; c) contacting the flexographic plate with the substrate to transfer the dispersion to the substrate; and d) drying the dispersion on the substrate to form the adhesive region; wherein the method is performed at a station on a multi-station flexographic printing press during a press run that additionally produces graphic images on the substrate, wherein the method produces a printed substrate having the graphic image thereon and having the adhesive region on an external surface thereof, available for subsequent adhesion of the heat-activatable adhesive composition to another surface, and wherein the adhesive application region has an average coverage in a range from 35% to 65%.