Abstract: An apparatus transports sheets of material and breaks the adhesion between first and second sheets when sheets are fed from a stack one at a time. The apparatus includes a gripper which is mounted on a gripper arm and grips the first sheet. The arm repeatedly and cyclically moves the leading edge of the first sheet to be fed while the first sheet is held by the gripper. The arm moves the leading edge of the first sheet both horizontally and vertically. The vertical cyclical motion causes air pockets to travel between the first and second sheets and the horizontal cyclical motion translates the first sheet relative to the second sheet to break the adhesion.

Abstract: An automated lamination system for transferring an image to a print medium includes a photoconductive drum bearing a toned image on an electrostatic outer surface thereof. A dual purpose, heated lamination roller is moved to a first lamination position adjacent the drum to define a first nip between the drum and roller. The first nip in part defines a path for an image transfer web, and forces a thermally activated adhesive layer on the web against the drum. The image on the drum surface is embedded in the heated and softened adhesive layer as the web is advanced under pressure through the first nip. The dual purpose roller is later moved to a second lamination position adjacent a second lamination roller, to define a second nip therebetween. The second nip is configured to receive an image transfer substrate in registry with the latent image embedded in the adhesive of the web.