Abstract: There is disclosed a plurality of composite label web rolls and a method of making and using same. The web roll is comprised of a carrier web on which a series of labels are releasably held by a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive. The composite web rolls are made by slitting a wide composite web roll. The slitting is done without regard to the pattern of the adhesive coating. There is further disclosed a method by which the same or substantially identical hand-held labelers can be used to dispense labels of different widths, wherein the composite label webs exhibit the same drag. In this way the forces required to manually actuate the labeler or labelers are kept to a minimum and are substantially equal.

Abstract: There is disclosed a composite label web having pressure sensitive labels especially adapted for re-pricing. The composite label web is of a type in which pressure sensitive adhesive is on the underside of the label and the outer side of the label is free of adhesive and can be printed with re-price data. The label can, however, be applied with a hand-held labeler to the underside of a tag and thereafter the label is manually folded so that the printed re-price data appears on the same side as printed price data at the outer side of the tag. Also disclosed is the resultant tag and re-price label combination, and method of price and re-price marking using such labels.

Abstract: There is disclosed printing apparatus composed essentially of molded plastics material which has relatively few parts, is easy to manufacture and maintain, and is lightweight and portable. The apparatus is illustrated as being of the table top type which can print both standard type tags and labels, string tags and pin tickets. The apparatus has a print head operable in conjunction with an impression control device, a feed finger assembly with a registration adjustment, a simple drive arrangement operated by a cam with a single cam path, and a reel positionable at different attitudes, and the construction of the apparatus is readily adaptable to both manually operated and motorized versions. There is also disclosed an improved ink roller with a one-piece elongate molded plastics tube having a generally central flange which resists the tendency of the elongate tube to warp.

Abstract: There is disclosed a web of record assemblies and a method of using same. The web is a composite web constructed by using both a longitudinally extending web of supporting material and a web of label material releasably adhered to the supporting material by means of pressure sensitive adhesive. The composite web is formed into a plurality of record assemblies by means of a plurality of transversely spaced-apart lines of partial severing in the supporting material and by either butt cutting or die cutting the label material. The label material of each record assembly is, according to one embodiment, partially severed along a longitudinal line and the supporting material is completely severed along the same longitudinal line. The label material on one side of the longitudinal line is divided into record sections containing one or more labels.

Abstract: There is disclosed printing apparatus composed essentially of molded plastics material which has relatively few parts, is easy to manufacture and maintain, and is lightweight and portable. The apparatus is illustrated as being of the table top type which can print both standard type tags and labels, string tags and pin tickets. The apparatus has a print head operable in conjunction with an impression control device, a feed finger assembly with a registration adjustment, a simple drive arrangement operated by a cam with a single cam path, and a reel positionable at different attitudes, and the construction of the apparatus is readily adaptable to both manually operated and motorized versions.

Abstract: There is disclosed a composite label web having pressure sensitive labels especially adapted for re-pricing. The composite label web is of a type in which pressure sensitive adhesive is on the underside of the label and the outer side of the label is free of adhesive and can be printed with re-price data. The label can, however, be applied with a hand-held labeler to the underside of a tag and thereafter the label is manually folded so that the printed re-price data appears on the same side as printed price data at the outer side of the tag. Also disclosed is the resultant tag and re-price label combination, and method of price and re-price marking using such labels.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held labeler having a feed wheel for advancing a label-carrying web. The feed wheel is driven through a pawl and ratchet mechanism. The pawl and ratchet mechanism includes a pawl member and a ratchet wheel. The pawl member is slidably mounted for axial movement relative to the ratchet wheel. The ratchet wheel and the feed wheel are clutched for rotation as a unit during use, but they can be unclutched to effect relative adjustment of the ratchet wheel and the feed wheel. When the clutch is unclutched an additional clutch clutches the pawl member and the ratchet wheel to prevent movement of the ratchet wheel in either direction while the position of the feed wheel is adjusted.

Abstract: There is disclosed printing apparatus composed essentially of molded plastics material which has relatively few parts, is easy to manufacture and maintain, and is lightweight and portable. The apparatus is illustrated as being of the table top type which can print both standard type tags and labels, string tags and pin tickets. The apparatus has a print head operable in conjunction with an impression control device, a feed finger assembly with a registration adjustment, a simple drive arrangement operated by a cam with a single cam path, and a reel positionable at different attitudes, and the construction of the apparatus is readily adaptable to both manually operated and motorized versions.

Abstract: There is disclosed a web of tags adapted to be attached to merchandise either by a conventional hand-held tag attacher which dispenses a fastener through a hollow attacher needle or by a loop-type fastener. The tag is convenient to use because its chadless hole pattern enables the tag to be held on the attacher needle without falling off before the needle is inserted into the merchandise to be tagged. In one illustrated embodiment, the chadless hole pattern will also open to a greater extent to enable passage of the head of a loop-type fastener.

Abstract: There is disclosed printing apparatus composed essentially of molded plastics material which has relatively few parts, is easy to manufacture and maintain, and is lightweight and portable. The apparatus is illustrated as being of the table top type which can print both standard type tags and labels, string tags and pin tickets. The apparatus has a print head operable in conjunction with an impression control device, a feed finger assembly with a registration adjustment, a simple drive arrangement operated by a cam with a single cam path, and a reel positionable at different attitudes, and the construction of the apparatus is readily adaptable to both manually operated and motorized versions.

Abstract: There is disclosed an ink roller and method of making same. The ink roller includes a tube having a plurality of holes. A porous ink-receptive sleeve is received about the tube. The end portions of the tube are coupled to bearing rolls and the bearing rolls are closed off to provide space for holding ink. At least one bearing roll is a separate part and is sealed to the tube and closures are sealed to both bearing rolls. Means are provided to keep the separate bearing roll from becoming uncoupled from the tube. The holes converge outwardly toward the surface of the roll to conduct ink to the sleeve. Also disclosed is method of making the roll.

Abstract: There is disclosed a holster adapted to hold a gun-like labeler. The holster is adapted to be connected to a belt of a user and to be worn in either the left-hand or right-hand position. The holster preferably includes a plurality of holster members with one of the holster members being adapted to carry a labeler and other holster members being adapted to carry a label roll, a utility knife, and the like.

Abstract: There is disclosed a composite label web including a carrier web and labels releasably adhered by pressure sensitive adhesive to the carrier web, with the carrier web having improved feed cuts. The composite label web is wound into a roll. The cuts are arranged in groups. Certain groups have two lateral cuts and a longitudinal cut. The lateral cuts extend away from the outer free end of the composite label web toward respective leading and trailing locations on the longitudinal cut. These groups of cuts are in pre-determined relation with respect to chevron-shaped feed cuts in the carrier web.

Abstract: There is disclosed a composite label web and method of making and method of applying labels. The composite label web comprises a longitudinally extending carrier web and label material releasably adhered by pressure sensitive adhesive to the carrier web. There are cuts extending across the label material at longitudinally spaced intervals to provide adjacent labels having complementary leading and trailing edges defining a forwardly projecting portion and a rearwardly projecting portion. In dispensing the label from the carrier web, the forwardly projecting portion is gradually delaminated. It is preferred that only a part of the rearwardly projecting portion of the leading label which has been dispensed to a label applying position remain adhered to the carrier web and that only a part of the forwardly projecting portion of the next successive label be delaminated from the carrier web.

Abstract: A wide endless flexible band (10) is molded on a flat core blade (12) with one group of laterally extending rows of outwardly projecting printing characters (16) molded on one side of the core blade between a set of laterally extending notched guide bars (32). The notches within the guide bars are used to align the wide endless band on a rotary cylindrical arbor (40) precisely with a set of spaced cutters (44) which slit the wide band at laterally spaced intervals into a plurality of relatively narrow endless printing bands. The wide endless band is also molded with a second group of raised characters (14) which correspond to the printing characters and are positioned on the other side of the core blade between a set of laterally extending continuous guide bars (24).

Abstract: There is disclosed web feeding apparatus and method for feeding a web from a web roll to a utilization device. The paying out of the web from the web roll into a U-shaped buffer loop is assisted by a pair of cooperating feed rolls which engage the web along the buffer loop. When the loop decreases to a certain extent, a sensing member causes the feed rolls to rotate to pay additional web material out of the web roll until the loop has increased to a certain extent. The web material extends from the buffer loop over the web roll and is guided to the utilization device, for example, a printer. The feed rolls can be caused to rotate when a manually engageable lever is moved in one direction. Alternatively the feed rolls can be separated and caused to rotate when the member is moved in the opposite direction. The apparatus also includes a reel assembly having a reel for handling web rolls having a variety of different widths.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held label printing and applying apparatus for printing on labels releasably adhered to a web of supporting material, the apparatus having a print head and a platen with an impression control mechanism for the print head, a traveling inker with an easily replaceable inking member, a mechanism for adjusting the registration of a label with respect to the print head, and a return spring subassembly or module which is easy to handle and assemble into operative relation with the remainder of the apparatus. Also disclosed is method of and apparatus for applying labels to tags using the hand-held label printing and applying apparatus. Also disclosed is an improved masking member which masks off a label and prevents smearing of ink printed on the label.

Abstract: There is disclosed a print wheel and a method of making a print wheel. The print wheel includes a generally annular base and a molded, unitary, flexible printing band having end portions. The printing band has a series of different printing elements disposed at spaced intervals along its length between the end portions. The printing band is disposed about the outer periphery of the base and the end portions of the band are inserted into spaced recesses in the outer periphery of the base. There is a printing element support between the end portions and one of the printing elements is disposed at a printing position on the support.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held labeler having a feed wheel for advancing a label-carrying web. The feed wheel is driven through a pawl and ratchet mechanism. The pawl and ratchet mechanism includes a pawl member and a ratchet wheel. The pawl member is slidably mounted for axial movement relative to the ratchet wheel. The ratchet wheel and the feed wheel are clutched for rotation as a unit during use, but they can be unclutched to effect relative adjustment of the ratchet wheel and the feed wheel. When the clutch is unclutched an additional clutch clutches the pawl member and the ratchet wheel to prevent movement of the ratchet wheel in either direction while the position of the feed wheel is adjusted.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held label printing and applying apparatus for printing on labels releasably adhered to a web of supporting material, the apparatus having a print head and a platen with an impression control mechanism for the print head, a traveling inker with an easily replaceable inking member, a mechanism for adjusting the registration of a label with respect to the print head, and a return spring subassembly or module which is easy to handle and assemble into operative relation with the remainder of the apparatus.