Abstract: A label application system for liner-less pressure sensitive adhesive-backed labels comprises a label sensor disposed at a junction between a drive roller and a vacuum belt. When the leading edge of a passing label is detected, the drive roller is stopped, while the vacuum drive belt continues to advance, thus pulling the label in question distally, relative to its trailing connected label, which is stopped on the drive roller. This applied force functions to separate the label from its trailing label, along a micro-perforation between the two labels, following which the separated leading label travels along the vacuum belt and is applied to an article passing on an adjacent conveyor system.