JP7654630B2 - Shrink label roll - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a shrink label raw material having a long strip of heat-shrinkable film with a design printed thereon repeatedly arranged in the longitudinal direction.

Shrink labels formed by forming a heat-shrinkable film into a cylindrical shape are known. Such shrink labels are usually obtained by cutting a long strip of shrink label material having a long strip of heat-shrinkable film and a plurality of design print portions repeatedly printed in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrinkable film. The design print portions are formed by printing ink on the heat-shrinkable film by various printing methods.

Printing methods can be broadly divided into letterpress printing and intaglio printing. Letterpress printing is relatively inexpensive, and has excellent printability on heat-shrinkable films of various materials and thicknesses. Letterpress printing includes printing methods such as flexographic printing and letterpress rotary printing, and flexographic printing is particularly commonly used when shrink labels are formed by letterpress printing.

Flexographic printing is a method of printing flexographic ink using a cylindrical plate having a cylindrical plate cylinder and a sheet-like printing plate wrapped around the plate cylinder. The printing plate has a relief plate. By rotating the cylindrical plate having the printing plate and contacting a heat-shrinkable film with the surface of the plate, the ink is transferred from the relief plate to the heat-shrinkable film to form a printed design.

In letterpress printing methods such as flexography, as the cylindrical plate rotates, the surface of the cylindrical plate alternates between contact with the heat-shrinkable film (the relief plate contacts the heat-shrinkable film) and non-contact with the heat-shrinkable film (the relief plate separates from the heat-shrinkable film at recesses where there is no relief plate). This causes the cylindrical plate to vibrate, resulting in so-called bouncing, which can result in poor ink transfer. Since poor ink transfer results in blurred printing, this problem needs to be improved.

Patent Literature 1 discloses the use of a flexographic printing plate having an image area and a non-image area, in which a region from 0.5 mm to 5 mm from the leading edge of the image area in the printing direction is a lowered region that is lower than the height of the image area other than that region, and the lowered region gradually becomes lower toward the non-image area in the printing direction. Patent Literature 1 discloses that by using the flexographic printing plate, bouncing can be suppressed and an image without unevenness can be printed.

WO2016/136357

From the standpoint of technological diversity, when a design is expressed by letterpress printing, it is desirable to have a shrink label base material on which the design print is clearly expressed by a means other than that of Patent Document 1.

An object of the present invention is to provide a shrink label stock material on which a design is beautifully printed by letterpress printing.

The shrink label raw material of the present invention has a long, strip-shaped heat-shrinkable film, a design row consisting of a plurality of design printed areas printed repeatedly in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrinkable film and transparent areas extending in the lateral direction and arranged between each of the design printed areas, the design rows being arranged in two or more rows in the lateral direction of the heat-shrinkable film, and in a first design row and a second design row adjacent to each other in the lateral direction, the transparent areas of the first design row and the second design row are discontinuous in the lateral direction.

A preferred shrink label raw material of the present invention is a shrink label raw material that is cut along the short direction and then joined together with a joining member, and the joining member is positioned so as not to overlap either the transparent portion of the first design row or the transparent portion of the second design row.

According to the present invention, ink bleeding can be suppressed when a design is printed by letterpress printing using a cylindrical plate, so that a shrink label roll can be provided on which a design is beautifully printed by letterpress printing.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shrink label roll as viewed from the front side. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shrink label roll as viewed from the back side. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged rear view of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. FIG. 6 is a reference side view of a printing machine used in the manufacturing process of shrink label rolls. FIG. 7(a) is a plan view of the first cylindrical plate. FIG. 7(b) is a perspective view of the first cylindrical plate. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the first printing plate. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a roll of shrink label material wound into a roll. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a long sheet obtained from a shrink label roll as viewed from the back side. FIG. 11 is a reference perspective view showing a process of forming a cylindrical label from a long sheet. FIG. 12(a) is a front view showing the process of attaching a wrap-around label obtained from a long sheet to an article. FIG. 12(b) is a front view showing the process of attaching a wrap-around label obtained from a long sheet to an article. FIG. 13 is a plan view of a shrink label roll having a defective printing area as viewed from the back side. FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the process of removing the defective printing area. FIG. 15( a ) is a plan view showing the process of joining together original rolls of shrink labels. FIG. 15(b) is a plan view showing the process of joining the original rolls of shrink labels.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the plan view shape refers to the shape of the heat shrinkable film when viewed in the normal direction from the front side or back side of the heat shrinkable film. In addition, the terms may be prefixed with "first", "second", etc., but this "first" etc. is added only to distinguish the terms and does not have any special meaning such as order or superiority. A numerical range represented by "lower limit value X to upper limit value Y" means lower limit value X or more and upper limit value Y or less. When a plurality of the numerical ranges are separately described, it is possible to select any lower limit value and any upper limit value to set "any lower limit value to any upper limit value". In addition, the dimensions, thickness, scale ratio, etc. of each configuration in each figure are different from the actual ones.

<Outline of shrink label stock>
Fig. 1 is a view of shrink label raw material A as seen from the front side. Fig. 2 is a view of shrink label raw material A as seen from the back side. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in Fig. 3.

In Fig. 1, the shrink label raw material A of the present disclosure is in the form of a long strip in plan view. In this specification, a long strip refers to a generally rectangular shape in plan view whose longitudinal length is sufficiently longer than its lateral direction. The lateral direction is a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The longitudinal length of the long strip is, for example, 5 m or more, and preferably 10 m or more. The shrink label raw material A has a long strip-shaped heat-shrinkable film 1 and a plurality of printed designs formed on the heat-shrinkable film 1. Here, in this specification, the printed designs are formed by ink solidification portions formed by printing ink on the heat-shrinkable film 1 and solidifying the ink.

In this embodiment, the design printed portion is composed of design printed portion 21 that is repeatedly printed in the longitudinal direction, design printed portion 22 that is repeatedly printed in the longitudinal direction, design printed portion 23 that is repeatedly printed in the longitudinal direction, and design printed portion 24 that is repeatedly printed in the longitudinal direction. Each design printed portion 21, 22, 23, and 24 is adjacent to each other in the short direction as shown in Fig. 1. Hereinafter, when design printed portion 21, design printed portion 22, design printed portion 23, and design printed portion 24 are all intended, they may be referred to as design printed portions 21 to 24. The same applies to other explanations below.

The multiple design printed sections 21-24 are printed repeatedly in the longitudinal direction of the heat shrinkable film 1, and therefore the multiple design printed sections 21-24 are each arranged in the longitudinal direction. A transparent section 41 extending in the short direction is included between adjacent design printed sections 21 in the longitudinal direction. Similarly, a transparent section 42 extending in the short direction is included between adjacent design printed sections 22 in the longitudinal direction, a transparent section 43 extending in the short direction is included between adjacent design printed sections 23 in the longitudinal direction, and a transparent section 44 extending in the short direction is included between adjacent design printed sections 24 in the longitudinal direction.

The row X1 (design row X1) consisting of the design printed sections and transparent sections aligned in the longitudinal direction may be arranged in two or more rows in the lateral direction of the heat shrinkable film 1. In this embodiment, the design printed sections 21-24 are adjacent to each other in both the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction. In two design rows X1, X2 (the first design row X1 and the second design row X2) adjacent to each other in the lateral direction, the transparent section 41 of the first design row X1 and the transparent section 42 of the second design row X2 are discontinuous in the lateral direction.

<Heat shrinkable film>
The heat-shrinkable film 1 is not particularly limited as long as it has heat shrinkability and flexibility as well as appropriate strength and rigidity, and examples thereof include synthetic resin films, foamed resin films, nonwoven fabrics, and laminated films in which two or more of these are laminated. Furthermore, a synthetic resin film or a laminated film on which a gas and/or light barrier layer such as a metal deposition film is laminated may be used as the heat-shrinkable film 1. Heat shrinkability refers to the property of shrinking when heated to a predetermined temperature (e.g., 70°C to 100°C). The material of the synthetic resin film is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, cyclic olefins, and copolymers containing polyethylene, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polylactic acid, polyamides, and polystyrenes.

Moreover, the heat-shrinkable film 1 may have self-stretchability, or may not have substantially self-stretchability, provided that it has heat-shrinkability. Self-stretchability refers to the property of being stretched by the application of a tensile force and then returning to approximately the original state by releasing the tensile force. The heat-shrinkable film 1 may be heat-shrunk in the short-side direction, or may be heat-shrunk in the long-side direction, or may be heat-shrunk in both the short-side direction and the long-side direction. Moreover, the heat-shrinkable film 1 may be heat-shrunk mainly in the short-side direction, or may be heat-shrunk mainly in the long-side direction, or may be heat-shrunk equally in the short-side direction and the long-side direction.

In the illustrated example, a heat shrinkable film 1 that mainly heat shrinks in the short-side direction is used. The heat shrinkage rate of the heat shrinkable film 1 in the main heat shrinkage direction (e.g., short-side direction) is not particularly limited, but is preferably 20% or more, more preferably 30% or more, and even more preferably 40% or more, from the viewpoint of being able to be heat-shrink-attached well to an adherend having a relatively large diameter difference. The heat shrinkable film 1 may be one that changes due to heat in a direction perpendicular to the main heat shrinkage direction (e.g., the longitudinal direction), and the heat shrinkage rate in that direction is, for example, -3 to 15%, and preferably 1 to 10%. The negative value of the heat shrinkage rate means thermal elongation.

In this specification, the heat shrinkage rate is determined by measuring the length (original length) of the heat shrinkable film 1 before heating (storage for 24 hours under standard conditions) and the length (length after immersion) of the heat shrinkable film 1 after immersion in 90°C warm water for 10 seconds and removal under standard conditions, and substituting the results into the following formula. The length of each heat shrinkable film 1 is measured under standard conditions. The standard conditions are 23°C, 1 atmosphere, and 50% RH.
Heat shrinkage rate (%) = [{(original length in the longitudinal direction (or transverse direction)) - (length in the longitudinal direction (or transverse direction) after immersion)} / (original length in the longitudinal direction (or transverse direction)] × 100.

The thickness of the heat shrinkable film 1 is not particularly limited and is, for example, 8 μm to 200 μm, and preferably 10 μm to 120 μm. The heat shrinkable film 1 is preferably a transparent film (colored transparent or colorless transparent), and more preferably a colorless transparent film. Among the above examples, examples of the transparent heat shrinkable film 1 include a synthetic resin film and a laminate film of a synthetic resin film and another transparent film.

Here, transparency (colored transparent or colorless transparent) refers to a state in which a number (12 point size) printed on white paper in black ink is placed on the back side of an object, 1 cm away from the back side, and the number can be discerned from the front side through the object. An index of transparency (colorless transparent or colored transparent) is, for example, a total light transmittance of 70% or more, preferably 80% or more, and more preferably 90% or more. However, the total light transmittance refers to a value measured by a measurement method conforming to JIS K 7361 (Test method for total light transmittance of plastic transparent materials).

<Design and Printing Department>
The design printed portions 21-24 are formed by forming a single design pattern of any coherent image (design), and the design pattern is letterpress-printed repeatedly in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrinkable film 1. If each of the multiple design printed portions 21-24 aligned in the longitudinal direction is regarded as a "row," the design printed portions 21-24 are provided in two or more rows (multiple rows) in the lateral direction of the heat-shrinkable film 1.

The design rows need only be formed in two or more rows, preferably three or more rows, and more preferably four or more rows, in the short side direction of the heat shrinkable film 1. There is no particular upper limit to the number of design rows, and it is determined by the relationship between the short side length of the heat shrinkable film 1 and the short side length of the design printed portion. For convenience, the illustrated example shows a shrink label raw material A having four design rows X1 to X4 in the short side direction.

Hereinafter, when each design row is to be distinguished by terminology, it will be referred to as the first design row X1, the second design row X2, etc. However, the first design row X1 and the second design row X2 are two design rows adjacent to each other in the short direction. As shown in the illustrated example, for the four design rows X1 to X4, for convenience, they will be referred to as the first design row X1, the second design row X2, the third design row X3, and the fourth design row X4 from the side, but they are not limited to this order.

1, the design printed portions 21-24 are letterpress printed on the front and/or back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1 so that an image (design) can be seen from the front surface side of the heat shrinkable film 1. The design printed portions 21-24 are provided on at least one of the front surface and back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1. From the viewpoint of preventing scratches, the design printed portions 21-24 are letterpress printed on the back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1.

The design printed sections 21-24 each have a display printed section 5 formed by letterpress printing and presenting an image (design). Preferably, the design printed sections 21-24 each have a display printed section 5 formed by letterpress printing and presenting an image (design), and plain, one-color solid printed sections 31-34 formed by letterpress printing.

The printed display section 5 is formed by letterpress printing one color ink or two or more colors of color inks on the heat-shrinkable film 1. The printed display section 5 may be formed by printing one layer (one time), or by overprinting two or more layers (two or more times), or by printing two or more layers (two or more times) that are not overlaid and are spaced apart from each other.

Examples of images displayed on the display print section 5 include characters, symbols, and pictures. From the viewpoint of the content (information) visually transmitted, the display print section 5 uses images such as characters and symbols to display legal or non-legal displays. Legal displays refer to those that should be displayed according to laws, industry group agreements, or customs. Legal displays are determined according to the product to which the shrink label is applied, and examples include product name, ingredients, place of origin, content amount, expiration date, production date, and manufacturer (seller). Non-legal displays usually refer to those that are arbitrarily displayed to promote the product. Non-legal displays generally include trademarks (product names), characters, product images, product descriptions, and catchphrases. In the illustrated example, the display print section 5 is composed of a display print section 5 that displays characters and a display print section 5 that displays pictures. However, the display print section 5 is not limited to these two, and may be one or more than three.

The solid print areas 31 to 34 represent solid images of one color, and are preferably solid images of one color without a pattern. The solid state means that the ink solidified portion extends in the surface direction to form one continuous layer. However, since a solid image formed by a printing method is composed of an aggregate of ink that has been deposited in a dot pattern and solidified, it should be noted that although the ink solidified portion extends in the surface direction to form one continuous layer when viewed macroscopically, there may be countless minute gaps within the surface when viewed microscopically. Even if there are minute gaps when viewed microscopically, if it forms one continuous layer macroscopically, it is considered to be included in the category of a solid state.

The color of the solid print parts 31-34 is not particularly limited, and is one color selected from any color such as white, silver, black, etc. Preferably, the solid print parts 31-34 are white. The solid print part 31 may express a pattern by shading, or may have no pattern. For example, the plain white solid print parts 31-34 can be formed by letterpress printing a white ink on the heat shrinkable film 1. In particular, the solid print parts 31-34 are formed extending to the back surface of the display print part 5 and the back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1 so as to cover the back surface of the display print part 5 and the back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1 (the back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1 in the range where the display print part 5 is not formed). Such plain solid print parts 31-34 are also called background prints, etc., and make the image of the display print part 5 stand out, and are one element of the design represented by the design print parts 21-24.

In the illustrated example, the design printed portions 21-24 include a display printed portion 5 printed by letterpress on the back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1, and solid printed portions 31-34 printed by letterpress on the display printed portion 5 and the back surface of the heat shrinkable film 1 so as to cover the display printed portion 5. The size (area) of the solid printed portions 31-34 is usually larger than the display printed portion 5. Also, it can be said that the size (area) of the design printed portions 21-24 is usually the size of the solid printed portions 31-34. The thicknesses of the display printed portion 5 and the solid printed portions 31-34 are not particularly limited and are each independently, for example, 0.5 μm to 5 μm.

In Fig. 1, the design printed parts 21-24 (the display printed part 5 and the solid printed parts 31-34) that can be seen when viewed from the front side of the heat shrinkable film 1 are drawn with solid lines. When viewed from the back side of the heat shrinkable film 1, the display printed part 5 covered by the solid printed parts 31-34 is not clearly visible, so the display printed part 5 is not drawn in Fig. 2. Note that Fig. 3 is also a view from the back side of the heat shrinkable film 1, but in this Fig. 3, the display printed part 5 covered by the solid printed parts 31-34 is drawn with dashed lines.

The planar shape of the solid print sections 31 to 34 is not particularly limited, but is usually a substantially rectangular or square shape in plan view. The solid print sections 31 to 34 having a substantially rectangular or square shape in plan view are arranged with one side parallel to the longitudinal direction. In the illustrated example, the planar shape of the solid print sections 31 to 34 is substantially rectangular, and the long side is arranged parallel to the short side direction. The planar shape of the solid print sections 31 to 34 is not limited to a substantially rectangular or square shape in plan view, and may be other shapes such as a substantially circular shape, a substantially elliptical shape, or a substantially parallelogram shape in plan view (not shown).

In this specification, "approximately" means a range that is acceptable in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. For example, the "approximately" of an approximately rectangular, approximately square, or approximately parallelogram shape includes, for example, a shape with chamfered corners, a shape with a slightly bulging or recessed edge, or a shape with a slightly curved edge. Furthermore, the "approximately" of an approximately circular or approximately elliptical shape includes, for example, a shape with a slightly bulging or recessed edge, or a shape with a slightly straight or oblique edge.

1 and 2, in each of the design rows X1 to X4, a plurality of design printed sections 21 to 24 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrinkable film 1, and transparent sections 41 to 44 extending in the lateral direction are provided between adjacent design printed sections 21 to 24 in the longitudinal direction. These transparent sections 41 to 44 are film regions of the transparent heat-shrinkable film 1 where the design printed sections 21 to 24 are not provided. The transparent sections 41 to 44 are colorless and transparent or colored and transparent like the heat-shrinkable film 1, and are preferably colorless and transparent.

The transparent portions 41-44 extend in the short direction, and when the solid printed portions 31-34 are generally rectangular (or generally square) in plan view, the transparent portions 41-44 are regions that extend in linear bands in the short direction. Hereinafter, the transparent portions 41-44 that exist between adjacent design printed portions 21-24 in the longitudinal direction are referred to as "interline transparent portions 41-44." Thus, each design column (first design column X1, second design column X2, third design column X3, fourth design column X4) is composed of the design printed portions 21-24 and the interline transparent portions 41-44, and the design printed portions 21-24 and the interline transparent portions 41-44 are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction.

Hereinafter, when distinguishing between the design printed sections 21 to 24, solid printed sections 31 to 34, and transparent interline sections 41 to 44 of the first to fourth design columns X1 to X4, the terms will be prefixed with first, second, third, and fourth, respectively.

The first to fourth interline transparent portions 41 to 44 are all band-shaped in plan view extending in the short-side direction. The first interline transparent portion 41 and the second interline transparent portion 42 are discontinuous in the short-side direction. The first interline transparent portion 41 and the second interline transparent portion 42 are discontinuous in the short-side direction when the first interline transparent portion 41 and the second interline transparent portion 42 are discontinuous in the short-side direction when an imaginary band having the same width as the first interline transparent portion 41 is extended in the short-side direction from the short-side edge of the first interline transparent portion 41, the imaginary band does not overlap all or part of the second interline transparent portion 42.

The width of the first interline transparent portion 41 refers to the longitudinal length of the interline transparent portion, and refers to its minimum value when the width of the first interline transparent portion 41 is not constant (i.e., when the first interline transparent portion 41 is not strip-shaped in plan view). Therefore, when the first interline transparent portion 41 is strip-shaped in plan view, the width of the imaginary band is equal to the width of the first interline transparent portion 41, and when the first interline transparent portion 41 is not strip-shaped in plan view, the width of the imaginary band is equal to the minimum value of the width of the first interline transparent portion 41.

In addition, in terms of the positional relationship between the second interline transparent portion 42 and the third interline transparent portion 43, the second interline transparent portion 42 and the third interline transparent portion 43 are discontinuous in the short-side direction. The phrase "the second interline transparent portion 42 and the third interline transparent portion 43 are discontinuous in the short-side direction" should be interpreted by replacing "first" with "second" and "second" with "third" in the above explanation of "the first interline transparent portion 41 and the second interline transparent portion 42 are discontinuous in the short-side direction."

In terms of the positional relationship between the third interline transparent portion 43 and the fourth interline transparent portion 44, the third interline transparent portion 43 and the fourth interline transparent portion 44 are discontinuous in the short-side direction. The fact that the third interline transparent portion 43 and the fourth interline transparent portion 44 are discontinuous in the short-side direction is meant to be understood as meaning that "first" is replaced with "third" and "second" is replaced with "fourth" in the above explanation of "the first interline transparent portion 41 and the second interline transparent portion 42 are discontinuous in the short-side direction."

In addition, since the number of design columns is not limited to four columns, if the above positional relationship is generalized, the positional relationship between the inter-row transparent parts of the odd-numbered columns and the inter-row transparent parts of the even-numbered columns is such that the inter-row transparent parts of the odd-numbered columns and the inter-row transparent parts of the even-numbered columns are discontinuous in the short direction.

In terms of the positional relationship between the first interline transparent portion 41 and the third interline transparent portion 43, the first interline transparent portion 41 and the third interline transparent portion 43 are continuous in the short side direction. The first interline transparent portion 41 and the third interline transparent portion 43 being continuous in the short side direction means that, as described above, when an imaginary band having the same width as the width of the first interline transparent portion 41 is extended in the short side direction from the short side edge of the first interline transparent portion 41, the imaginary band overlaps all or part of the third interline transparent portion 43, and preferably means that the imaginary band overlaps the entire third interline transparent portion 43.

In the positional relationship between the second interrow transparent portion 42 and the fourth interrow transparent portion 44, the second interrow transparent portion 42 and the fourth interrow transparent portion 44 are also continuous in the short side direction, similar to the positional relationship between the first interrow transparent portion 41 and the third interrow transparent portion 43. Similarly, when the above positional relationship is generalized, in the positional relationships between the interrow transparent portions of odd-numbered columns and between the interrow transparent portions of even-numbered columns, the interrow transparent portion of an odd-numbered column and the interrow transparent portion of an odd-numbered column different therefrom are continuous in the short side direction, and the interrow transparent portion of an even-numbered column and the interrow transparent portion of an even-numbered column different therefrom are continuous in the short side direction.

In terms of the positional relationship between the first interline transparent portion 41 and the second design printed portion 22 (second solid printed portion 32), the first interline transparent portion 41 is disposed between both longitudinal ends 22a, 22b of the second design printed portion 22 in the short side direction, and preferably disposed between the longitudinal end edge 22a and the longitudinal midpoint of the second design printed portion 22 in the short side direction. Note that in this specification, the midpoint refers to the midpoint (1/2 length) between both ends.

In the positional relationship between the second interline transparent portion 42 and the third design printed portion 23 (third solid printed portion 33), the second interline transparent portion 42 is disposed between both longitudinal ends 23a, 23b of the third design printed portion 23 in the short side direction, and preferably disposed between the longitudinal end edge 22a and the longitudinal midpoint of the third design printed portion 23 in the short side direction. In the positional relationship between the third interline transparent portion 43 and the fourth design printed portion 24 (fourth solid printed portion 34), the third interline transparent portion 43 is disposed between both longitudinal ends 24a, 24b of the fourth design printed portion 24 in the short side direction, and preferably disposed between the longitudinal end edge 24a and the longitudinal midpoint of the fourth design printed portion 24 in the short side direction. To generalize the above positional relationship, in the positional relationship between the odd-numbered column inter-row transparent parts and the even-numbered column design printed parts, the odd-numbered column inter-row transparent parts are disposed between both longitudinal edges of the even-numbered column design printed parts in the short side direction.In the positional relationship between the even-numbered column inter-row transparent parts and the odd-numbered column design printed parts, the even-numbered column inter-row transparent parts are disposed between both longitudinal edges of the odd-numbered column design printed parts in the short side direction.

In each of the design rows X1 to X4, the adjacent design printed sections 21 to 24 in the short-side direction of the heat-shrinkable film 1 may be continuous, or may be spaced a predetermined distance apart in the short-side direction. In the illustrated example, the adjacent design printed sections 21 to 24 in the short-side direction are not continuous, but are spaced a predetermined distance apart. Thus, a transparent section 6 is provided between each of the adjacent design printed sections 21 to 24 in the short-side direction.

This transparent portion 6 extends linearly over the entire length, and when the design printed portions 21-24 are generally rectangular (or generally square) in plan view, this transparent portion 6 is a region extending in a strip shape in the length direction. Hereinafter, the transparent portion 6 existing between adjacent design printed portions 21-24 in the short direction will be referred to as the "inter-row transparent portion 6." Therefore, an inter-row transparent portion 6 is disposed between each of the design rows X1-X4. Each inter-row transparent portion 6 is preferably of generally the same shape and size in plan view.

The width of each inter-row transparent portion 41-44 is not particularly limited and may be set appropriately, for example, 3 mm to 10 mm. The width of each inter-column transparent portion 6 (the length in the short direction of the inter-column transparent portion 6) is not particularly limited and may be set appropriately, for example, 3 mm to 10 mm. In terms of the sizes of the design printed portions 21-24, the solid printed portions 31-34, and the inter-row transparent portions 41-44, it is preferable that the following relationship is satisfied.
Formula: (longitudinal length of design printed section - longitudinal length of interline transparent section) x 1/2 > width of joining member.

3, the longitudinal length L2 of the design printed parts 21-24 is the length between both longitudinal ends of the design printed parts 21-24, and the longitudinal length L4 of the interline transparent parts 41-44 is the width of the interline transparent parts 41-44 as described above. For example, in the first design column X1, the first design printed part 21 (first solid printed part 31) and the first interline transparent part 41 are formed to a size that satisfies the above formula. The other design columns are also formed to a size that satisfies the above formula. For example, in the second to fourth design columns X2 to X4, the second to fourth design printed parts 22-24 (second to fourth solid printed parts 32-34) and the second to fourth interline transparent parts 42-44 are similarly formed to a size that satisfies the above formula.

<Manufacturing method of shrink label roll>
The shrink label raw material A can be obtained, for example, by the following method. However, the shrink label raw material A is not limited to those obtained by the manufacturing method described below.

Shrink label raw material A is obtained by a step of transporting long, strip-shaped heat-shrinkable film 1 in the longitudinal direction, and a step of printing ink on heat-shrinkable film 1 during transportation to form design printed sections 21-24. The printing method used to form design printed sections 21-24 is a letterpress printing method using a cylindrical plate in which a sheet-like printing plate is wrapped around a plate cylinder, and preferably a flexographic printing method using a cylindrical plate.

FIG. 6 shows the printing machine 7. The thin arrow in FIG. 6 indicates the conveying direction of the heat-shrinkable film 1. The printing machine 7 is disposed in the middle of feeding the heat-shrinkable film 1 in the longitudinal direction. The printing machine 7 has, for example, a cylindrical plate for flexographic printing. The illustrated example shows a case where three types of ink are printed (hence, three cylindrical plates are disposed). For example, as in the illustrated example described above, when the design printing sections 21 to 24 are composed of the display printing section 5 showing characters, the display printing section 5 showing a pattern with a different color from the characters, and the solid printing sections 31 to 34, cylindrical plates (first cylindrical plate, second cylindrical plate, third cylindrical plate) for letterpress printing with different inks are disposed. However, the number of cylindrical plates is not limited to this.

6, the printing machine 7 has a center drum 71 that transports the heat shrinkable film 1, and a plurality of cylindrical plates (e.g., a first cylindrical plate 81, a second cylindrical plate 82, and a third cylindrical plate 83) that are arranged around the center drum 71 with the heat shrinkable film 1 sandwiched therebetween. For example, the third cylindrical plate 83, the second cylindrical plate 82, and the first cylindrical plate 81 are arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the heat shrinkable film 1.

Each of the cylindrical plates 81 to 83 is equipped with an anilox roll 72 and a doctor chamber 73. Ink is applied from the doctor chamber 73 to the anilox roll 72, transferred from the anilox roll 72 to the relief plates of the cylindrical plates 81 to 83, and then transferred from the relief plates of the cylindrical plates 81 to 83 to the heat-shrinkable film 1. The cylindrical plates 81 to 83 each have a cylindrical plate cylinder 89 and sheet-like printing plates (first printing plate 811, second printing plate 821, third printing plate 831) wrapped around the plate cylinder 89. The sheet-like printing plates 811 to 83 are, for example, flexible sheets such as elastomers or rubbers on which relief plates are formed. The printing machine 7, including the plate cylinder 89 and the sheet-like printing plates 811 to 813, the anilox roll 72, and the doctor chamber 73, may be any of those used in a conventionally known flexographic printing method.

7(a) and 7(b) show a first cylindrical plate 81 for letterpress printing the solid printed portions 31 to 34, and Fig. 8 shows a first printing plate 811 constituting the first cylindrical plate 81. The first cylindrical plate 81 has a columnar plate cylinder 89 having a support shaft 891, a sheet-like first printing plate 811 (see Fig. 8) wrapped around the plate cylinder 89, and a joint adhesive 88 that fills the seams at both ends of the first printing plate 811. The circumferential length and axial length of the letterpress 819 of the first printing plate 811 are equal to the longitudinal and lateral lengths of the solid printed portions 31 to 34.

As shown in FIG. 8, the first printing plate 811 has a relief plate 819 formed on its surface for printing the solid printing sections 31 to 34. The relief plates 819 are provided at a plurality of locations at predetermined intervals in the axial direction and the circumferential direction when the sheet-like first printing plate 811 is wound around the plate cylinder 89. The number of relief plates 819 in the axial direction corresponds to the number of rows of the design printing sections 21 to 24 (solid printing sections 31 to 34). For example, when the first to fourth design rows X1 to X4 are formed on the heat-shrinkable film 1 as described above, four relief rows (first to fourth relief rows) are provided at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. The interval between adjacent relief rows in the axial direction is equal to the width of the inter-row transparent section 6 of the design printing sections 21 to 24 (solid printing sections 31 to 34). Between adjacent relief rows in the axial direction is an inter-row recess 818 (this recess is a portion that is recessed due to a relative unevenness relationship with the relief plate), and ink is not transferred to this inter-row recess 818. Therefore, the area of the heat-shrinkable film 1 corresponding to this inter-row recess 818 is left unprinted (inter-row transparent portion 6).

Furthermore, the spacing between adjacent relief plates 819 in the circumferential direction in each relief plate row is equal to the width of the interline transparent portions 41-44 of the design printed portions 21-24. Between adjacent relief plates 819 in the circumferential direction is an interline recess 8171 (this recess is a portion that is recessed in a relative uneven relationship with the relief plate), and ink is not transferred to this interline recess 8171. Therefore, the area of the heat-shrinkable film 1 corresponding to this interline recess 8171 is unprinted (interline transparent portions 41-44).

In order to form a shrink label raw material A in which the first interline transparent portion 41 and the second interline transparent portion 42 are discontinuous in the short direction, two adjacent relief columns in the axial direction are provided shifted in the circumferential direction (so that the interline recess between them is not continuous in the axial direction). In other words, the interline recess 8171 is discontinuous in the axial direction. Specifically, the first interline recess 8171 of the first relief column is discontinuous in the axial direction with the second interline recess 8172 of the second relief column, the second interline recess 8172 of the second relief column is discontinuous in the axial direction with the third interline recess 8173 of the third relief column, and the third interline recess 8173 of the third relief column is discontinuous in the axial direction with the fourth interline recess 8174 of the fourth relief column. In other words, the second relief plate 819 of the second relief plate row is located axially to the side of the first interline transparent portion 41 of the first relief plate row, the third relief plate 819 of the third relief plate row is located axially to the side of the second interline transparent portion 42 of the second relief plate row, and the fourth relief plate 819 of the fourth relief plate row is located axially to the side of the third interline transparent portion 43 of the third relief plate row. Note that, since the sheet-like first printing plate 811 is wound around the plate cylinder 89, relief cannot be formed at the seams at both ends of the first printing plate 811, and the seams become interline recesses 8171.

The third cylindrical plate is a cylindrical plate for letterpress printing of the display printed part 5 showing characters (or the display printed part 5 showing a pattern), and the second cylindrical plate is a cylindrical plate for letterpress printing of the display printed part 5 showing a pattern (or the display printed part 5 showing characters). The second and third cylindrical plates are similar in configuration to the first cylindrical plate 81, except that each of the letterpress printing parts can print displays such as characters and patterns.

<<Transportation process>>
6, a long strip of heat-shrinkable film 1 is transported in the longitudinal direction. When the heat-shrinkable film 1 is fed along the periphery of a center drum 71, letterpress printing is sequentially performed on the heat-shrinkable film 1 in a printing process described later.

<<Printing process>>
6, a display print section 5 displaying, for example, characters is letterpress printed by a third cylindrical plate 83 on the back surface of the heat-shrinkable film 1 fed to the center drum 71. Next, a second cylindrical plate 82 letterpress prints color inks on the back surface of the heat-shrinkable film 1 to form a display print section 5 displaying, for example, a picture, and a first cylindrical plate 81 letterpress prints color inks on the back surface of the heat-shrinkable film 1 while overlapping the display print section 5 to form a solid print section 31.

Depending on the type of ink, the ink is dried or irradiated with ionizing radiation such as ultraviolet light to harden the ink. The obtained shrink-label raw material A is usually taken up by a take-up unit 74 having a core material. Figure 9 shows a roll B in which the shrink-label raw material A is taken up in a roll shape around a core material.

<Examples of use of shrink label rolls>
In the shrink label original A of the present disclosure, the image (design) represented by the design print section 21 is arranged repeatedly in the longitudinal direction. Such a shrink label original A is used after being processed into a tubular label, a wrap-around label, or the like. For example, when processing the shrink label original A into a tubular label, the shrink label original A is first divided into long sheets C each consisting of a single row of designs. Specifically, the shrink label original A is pulled out from the roll body B, and cut parallel to the longitudinal direction at the boundaries (for example, the inter-row transparent portion 6) of each of the design rows X1 to X4 shown by the thick arrows in FIG. 2. This makes it possible to obtain a long sheet C including one row of design rows X1. As shown in FIG. 2, in the case of a shrink label original A having four rows of design rows X1 to X4 in the lateral direction, four long sheets C are obtained. The right and left sides (so-called ears) in the lateral direction of the shrink label original A are discarded.

Fig. 10 shows one long sheet C obtained by dividing a shrink label roll A. As shown in Fig. 11, the long sheet C is rolled into a cylindrical shape with the back side facing inward, and the left end C1 and the right end C2 in the short direction are overlapped and glued together to obtain a long continuous tubular label D. The interline transparent portions 41-44 of this long continuous tubular label D are detected by a sensor, and the continuous tubular label D is cut parallel to the short direction at the interline transparent portions 41-44 to obtain a tubular label including one design printed portion 21-24. The obtained tubular label has a heat-shrinkable film 1, and is fitted onto an adherend such as a container and heated to be attached to the adherend.

10, a sensor detects the interline transparent portion 41 of the long sheet C, and the long sheet C is cut parallel to the short side direction at the interline transparent portion 41 to obtain a sheet-like label E including one design printed portion 21. This sheet-like label E can be used as a wrap-around label.

The sheet-shaped label E is attached by wrapping it around the adherend F such as a container, as shown in Fig. 12(a) and Fig. 12(b). A label attached in this manner is also called a wrap-around label. An adhesive is applied to the backside of at least one end of the wrap-around label, and one end E1 is attached to the adherend F such as a container, as shown in Fig. 12(a). The wrap-around label E is then wrapped around the adherend, and the backside of the other end E2 is attached to the front side of one end E1 (or the backside of the other end E2 is attached to the adherend F), as shown in Fig. 12(b). In Fig. 12(a) and Fig. 12(b), the design print part 21 (the display print part 5 and the solid print part 31) that can be seen when viewed from the front side is drawn with a solid line. Finally, the wrap-around label E having the heat-shrinkable film 1 is heat-shrunk by heating and attached to the adherend F.

<Effects of shrink label stock>
In the shrink label original A of the present disclosure, the design printed parts 21 to 24 are beautifully represented by letterpress printing. Specifically, when the shrink label original A is manufactured, as described above, the design printed parts 21 to 24 are formed by letterpress printing ink onto the heat shrinkable film 1 using the first cylindrical plate 81. Generally, as the cylindrical plate rotates, it performs letterpress printing by repeatedly bringing the letterpress into contact with the heat shrinkable film (at which time the ink is transferred) and the inter-row and inter-column recesses out of contact with the heat shrinkable film. In the process of transitioning from the letterpress contact to the inter-row recesses out of contact, the cylindrical plate vibrates, causing what is called bouncing.

In this respect, in the present disclosure, the inter-row recesses 8171 of the first relief column of the first cylindrical plate 81 and the inter-row recesses 8172 of the second relief column are discontinuous in the axial direction, so that when the inter-row recesses 8171 of the first relief column face the heat-shrinkable film 1 during rotation of the first cylindrical plate 81, the relief 819 of the second relief column is in contact with the heat-shrinkable film 1. In other words, when the first cylindrical plate 81 rotates, the relief 819 of at least one of the multiple relief columns is always in contact with the heat-shrinkable film 1. For this reason, the first cylindrical plate 81 is less likely to bounce. The design printed portions 21 to 24 that are relief printed using the first cylindrical plate 81 that is less likely to bounce are less likely to have ink loss and are beautifully represented.

In particular, the solid printed portion has a relatively large area, and ink transfer failure due to bouncing is likely to occur, in other words, ink loss is easily noticeable, but according to the present disclosure, it is possible to produce beautiful solid printed portions 31 to 34 without ink loss. Note that, depending on the arrangement of the letters and patterns, the cylindrical plates (e.g., the second cylindrical plate and the third cylindrical plate) on which the display printed portion showing the letters and patterns is printed cannot be said to always come into contact with the relief plate when rotating, and in this respect, bouncing may occur. In the solid printed portion 31 consisting of a solid print, light coloring due to ink loss is easily noticeable in appearance, but in the display printed portion 5 showing the letters and patterns, light coloring due to ink loss may not be very noticeable in appearance. In practice, it is the solid printed portion 31 where the problem of printing failure due to ink loss caused by bouncing becomes noticeable, so by producing a beautiful solid printed portion 31 in particular, a shrink label roll A with a good appearance can be obtained.

As described above, when shrink label original web A is manufactured, the heat shrinkable film 1 is printed with ink to form the printed design sections 21-24, and during this process, the printing of the printed design sections 21-24 is checked, for example, by an image inspection device equipped with a camera. Even if a printing defect in the printed design section 21 (printing defects include missing print, tangling, stains, etc.) is detected, the printer 7 is not stopped in the middle of the continuous mechanical manufacturing of the shrink label original web A, and the shrink label original web A is once produced and wound up into a roll. Thereafter, the shrink label original web A is pulled out from the roll body B, the printed defective parts of the printed design section 21 are removed, the shrink label original web A is joined with a joining member, and wound up into a roll again.

More specifically, during the production of shrink-label original web A, for example, as shown in Fig. 13, if there is a printing defect in one of the multiple design printed sections 21-24 (design printed section 221 indicated by an x in Fig. 13), the machine memorizes the defective design printed section 221. After production of shrink-label original web A is completed, shrink-label original web A is pulled out from roll B up to the location of the defective design printed section 221 that has been memorized. Next, it is cut in the short direction so as to include this defective design printed section 221 (the cutting line is shown by a thin dashed line in Fig. 13). At this time, it is desirable to cut so that the cutting line does not overlap the transparent interline sections 41-44.

As described above, when obtaining a cylindrical label or a sheet-like label E including one design printed part 21 from a cylindrical label continuum D or a long sheet C, the sensor detects the interline transparent part 41, but if a joining member is attached to the interline transparent part 41, the sensor may not be able to accurately detect the interline transparent part 41. Therefore, it is preferable to cut so that the cutting line does not overlap the interline transparent parts 41 to 44 (so that the cutting line divides the design printed parts 21 to 24 arranged in the short direction). Also, as described later, it is preferable to cut so that when the edge of one area of the shrink label original A is butted against the edge of the other area, the divided design printed part 21 of one area and the divided design printed part 21 of the other area are joined together to form one design printed part 21. When cut, the area including the defective design printed part 221 is separated from the shrink label original A as shown in FIG. 14.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15(a), the edge of one area A1 of the shrink label original A after removing the area including the defective design printed portion 221 is butted against the edge of the other area A2. The divided design printed portion 21 of one area A1 and the divided design printed portion 21 of the other area A2 are joined together to form one design printed portion 21. Therefore, the spacing between the design printed portions 21-24 and the inter-row transparent portions 41-44 of each design row of the shrink label original A after the jointing is the same as that of the shrink label original A before the jointing. Then, as shown in FIG. 15(b), a joining member G is attached in the short direction so as to straddle the edge of the one area A1 and the edge of the other area A2. By attaching the joining member G, a shrink label original A in which the one area A1 and the other area A2 are jointed is obtained. In FIG. 15(b), in order to easily represent the joining member G, the tape G is marked with dots.

The joining member G may be, for example, a splice tape. The joining member G is made of a material that allows the joining member G to be mechanically detected, and may be, for example, a film containing a metal foil such as aluminum or a metal deposition film coated with an adhesive. The width of the joining member G is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 15 mm to 35 mm. When attaching the joining member G, it is preferable that the joining member G is disposed at a position that does not overlap all or a part of the inter-row transparent portions 41 to 44 of each design column, and more preferably, it is disposed at a position that does not overlap any of the inter-row transparent portions 41 to 44 of each design column.

As described above, the shrink label raw material A of the present disclosure is formed so that the design printed portion 21 and the transparent space between the lines 41 of the first design column X1 satisfy the relationship of the formula: (longitudinal length of the design printed portion - longitudinal length of the transparent space between the lines) x 1/2 > width of the joining member. Therefore, when joining the one area A1 and the other area A2, it is possible to attach the joining member G so as not to overlap the transparent space between the lines 41-44 of each design column.

The joined shrink label raw material A is cut parallel to the longitudinal direction as explained in <Example of use of shrink label raw material> to obtain a long sheet C including a bonding member G. The long sheet C is formed into a cylindrical shape to obtain a continuous tubular label strip D including a bonding member G. The continuous tubular label strip D including the bonding member G is also cut in the short direction by detecting the transparent portion 41 between the lines with a sensor to obtain a single tubular label. Similarly, the long sheet C including the bonding member G is also cut in the short direction by detecting the transparent portion 41 between the lines with a sensor to obtain a single sheet-like label E. Since the bonding member G does not overlap the transparent portion 41 between the lines, the sensor does not miss a detection and the continuous tubular label strip D can be cut reliably at the transparent portion 41 between the lines.

A plurality of individual labels E and tubular labels are obtained from the long sheet C and the continuous tubular label web D including the joining member G, at least one of which has the joining member G attached thereto. The individual labels E or tubular labels having the joining member G attached thereto are detected by a detector that detects the joining member G after (or before) being attached to an adherend such as a container, and are removed from the product.

1 Heat shrinkable film 21, 22, 23, 24 Design printed portion 31, 32, 33, 34 Solid printed portion 41, 42, 43, 44 Transparent portion (transparent portion between lines)
A Shrink label roll C Long sheet G Joint material X1, X2, X3, X4 Design row

Claims (2)

A long strip of heat shrinkable film;
a design row consisting of a plurality of design printed sections repeatedly printed in the longitudinal direction of the heat-shrinkable film and transparent sections extending in the lateral direction and disposed between the respective design printed sections, the design row being arranged in two or more rows in the lateral direction of the heat-shrinkable film;
In the shrink label original, in a first design row and a second design row adjacent to each other in the short side direction, the transparent portions of the first design row and the transparent portions of the second design row are discontinuous in the short side direction. A shrink label roll that is cut along the short side direction and then joined together with a joining member,
2 . The shrink label substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the joining member is positioned so as not to overlap either the transparent portion of the first design row or the transparent portion of the second design row.