Method and apparatus for printing linerless media having an adhesive backing

An apparatus for printing a linerless label strip backed with a tacky adhesive, the apparatus comprising:

• a wound roll of a linerless label strip, said label strip comprising a primary substrate, and a layer of tacky adhesive on one side of the primary substrate, and being characterized by the absence of a carrier web;
• a support frame;
• a holder mounted to said frame for rotatably supporting said wound roll of the label strip;
• a platen roller rotatably mounted to said frame for supporting the label strip;
• means for printing indicia on one side of the label strip and including a print head positioned in alignment with said platen roller such that the label strip extends between said platen roller and said print head;
• means for rotating said platen roller such that the label strip is thereby advanced between said platen roller and said print head;
• means comprising a stripping roller, mounted downstream of said print head and adjacent said platen roller, for directly contacting the tacky adhesive backing of the label strip and for providing a lifting force to the label strip to thereby strip the adhesive backed label strip from said platen roller such that the adhesive backed label strip, having indicia imprinted on one side thereof, can be withdrawn from the printing apparatus;
• and
• a tear bar for permitting at least one label to be separated from the label strip after indicia has been imprinted thereon, said tear being mounted downstream of said stripping roller such that a leading edge portion of the label strip extends over said stripping roller after the label has been separated from the label strip.

A method for printing a strip of labels comprising the steps of:

• providing a wound roll of a linerless label strip, the label strip being backed with a tacky adhesive;
• providing a printing apparatus having a platen roller, an aligned print head, a stripping roller for stripping a portion of the adhesive backed label strip from the platen roller and a tear bar mounted downstream of the stripping roller;
• drawing the label strip from the wound roll to the platen roller;
• actuating the print head to print indicia on the side of the label strip opposite the adhesive backing;
• rotating the platen roller such that the label strip is fed between the platen roller and the print head;
• directly contacting the tacky adhesive backing of a portion of the label strip and lifting the contacted portion of the label strip with the stripping roller such that further rotation of the platen roller releases any significant adherence between the tacky adhesive backing of the label strip and the platen roller and so as to cause the strip to be delivered in a tangential direction from the platen roller;
• and
• separating at least one label from the label strip after indicia has been imprinted thereon by urging a portion of the label strip against the tear bear such that the leading edge portion of the label strip remaining following said separating step extends tangentially outward from the platen roller and over the stripping roller to permit a repeating of the steps of the method to print another label.