Label printing apparatus and method

Apparatus for peeling a linerless label web from a linerless label web roll, comprising:

• a rotatably mounted linerless label web roll with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side and the other side being free of adhesive, a peel roller biased against the adhesive-free outer periphery of the label roll irrespective of whether the label roll is full or nearly depleted, and a driven roll for drawing the label web from the label roll and partially about the peel roller.

Method of peeling a linerless label web from a label web roll, comprising the steps of:

• providing a linerless label web roll having a linerless label web with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side and the other side being free of adhesive, pressing a peel roller against the adhesive-free outer periphery of the label roll, and drawing the label web from the label roll and partially around the peel roller.

Apparatus for printing on a linerless label web, comprising:

• a space for rotatably mounting a label roll having a linerless label web with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side and the other side being free of adhesive, a print head and a cooperable driven platen roll, a peel roller biased against the adhesive-free outer periphery of the label roll irrespectively of whether the label roll is full or nearly depleted, and wherein the platen roll draws the label web from the label roll and partially about the peel roller.

Apparatus for selectively printing on either on a linerless-type label web wound into a linerless type label roll with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side and a printable adhesive-free face on the other side or a liner-type label web having labels releasably adhered to a carrier web by pressure sensitive adhesive and wound into a liner-type label roll, comprising:

• a space for either a linerless-type label roll or a liner-type label roll, a peel roller biased against the adhesive-free outer periphery of either a linerless-type label roll or a liner-type label roll, a driven platen roll, a print head cooperable with the platen roll to print on either the linerless-type label web or a liner-type label web, wherein the linerless-type label roll is wound face-side-out, wherein the platen roll can draw the linerless-type label web from the linerless-type label roll and partially about the peel roller, wherein the liner-type label web is wound face-side-in, and wherein the liner-type label web can bypass the peel roller or the peel roller can act as a guide, and a delaminator for peeling the printed labels from the carrier web.

Hand-held apparatus for selectively printing on either a linerless-type label web wound into a linerless-type label roll with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side and a printable adhesive-free face on the other side or on a liner-type label roll, comprising:

• a housing having a handle, the housing including a space for either a linerless-type label roll or a liner-type label roll, a print head for printing on either a linerless-type label web or on a liner-type label web, a driven platen roll cooperable with the print head, a peel roller biased against the adhesive-free outer periphery of either a linerless-type label roll or a liner-type label roll, wherein the linerless-type label roll is wound face-side-out and adhesive-side-in, wherein the driven platen roll can draw the linerless-type label web from the linerless-type label roll and partially about the peel roller or can draw the liner-type label web from the liner-type label roll, and a delaminator for peeling the printed labels from the carrier web of the liner-type label web.

Apparatus for selectively printing on either a linerless-type label web wound into a linerless-type label roll or on a liner-type label web having labels releasably adhered to a carrier web and wound into a liner-type label roll, comprising:

• a space for either a linerless-type label roll or a liner-type label roll, a print head for printing on either a linerless-type label web or on a liner-type label web, a driven platen roll cooperable with the print head, a peel roller biased against the outer periphery of either a linerless-type label roll or a liner-type label roll, wherein the linerless-type label roll is wound face-side-out, wherein the driven platen roll can draw the linerless-type label web from the linerless-type label roll and partially about the peel roller or can draw the liner-type label web from the liner-type label roll, and a delaminator for peeling the printed labels from the carrier web of the liner-type label web.

Method of selectively printing on either a linerless-type label web wound into a linerless-type label roll or on a liner-type label web having labels releasably adhered to a carrier web and wound into a liner-type label roll, comprising the steps of:

• providing either a linerless-type label roll or a liner-type label roll, biasing a peel roller against the outer periphery of either the linerless-type label roll or the liner-type label roll, drawing the linerless-type label web partially about the peel roller to a printing station, or drawing the liner-type label web from the liner-type label roll to the printing station and thereafter delaminating labels from the carrier web.

Apparatus for printing on a linerless label web, comprising:

• a housing, a space within the housing for receiving a label roll of a linerless label web with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side with the other side being adhesive-free, a print head, a closable cover movable to afford access to the space to load a label roll, a peel roller mounted to the cover and biased against the adhesive-free outer periphery of the label roll, and a driven roll for drawing the label web from the label roll and partially about the peel roller to the print head.

Apparatus for printing on a linerless label web, comprising:

• a housing, a space within the housing for receiving a label roll of a linerless label web with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side with the other side being adhesive-free, a print head, the housing having a cover movable to afford access to the space to load a label roll, a peel roller mounted to the cover and biased against the adhesive-free outer periphery of the label roll, a driven roll for drawing the label web from the label roll and partially about the peel roller to the print head, and a stop to prevent the peel roller from moving too far when closing the cover.

Apparatus for printing on a linerless label web, comprising:

• a housing having a handle, a space within the housing for receiving a label roll of a linerless label web with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side with the other side being adhesive-free, a print head, the housing having a cover movable to afford access to the space to load a label roll, a peel roller mounted to the cover and biased against the adhesive-free outer periphery of the label roll, and a driven roll for drawing the label web from the label roll and partially about the peel roller to the print head.