Abstract: An identification label for permanently marking a metal or other etchable surface such as an automobile part with an identifying indicia is disclosed. The label has a protective cover sheet, a pressure sensitive adhesive irremovably affixed to the cover sheet, and a liner with a release coating removably affixed to the adhesive. An identifying indicia comprising an etchant in a visible vehicle such as a printing ink is printed on the adhesive at the interface of the removable liner and the adhesive so that when the liner is removed, the remaining portions of the label may be adhesively attached to the metal surface with the etchant of the identifying indicia in etching contact therewith. The identifying indicia will thus be etched into the surface of the part for a permanent marking of the part.

Abstract: A water-based adhesive composition includes a water based acrylic adhesive emulsion and a tackifier. The adhesive has about 70 percent by weight of solids before drying. There is also provided a method for making an adhesive coated substrate which includes blending a water based acrylic adhesive emulsion with the tackifier to provide an aqueous composition which has above about 70 percent by weight of solids and above about 20 percent by weight of water. The composition is extruded onto a substrate moving at high speed and is cured.

Abstract: Pressure-sensitive adhesive-backed substances, such as printed labels, are produced on a release-coated carrier sheet with the printed label indicia sandwiched between the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and an overlying protecting, preferably transparent, thermoplastic layer. The process for producing the adhesive backed substrate features the extrusion of a water-based, pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive layer onto the substrate in as near a dry state as possible without heat. Additionally in the label-making process, the overlying thermoplastic layer also may be extruded. The extruded pressure-sensitive water-based acrylic adhesive preferably has a water content of on the order of about 10% by weight, which is just sufficient to permit the extrusion of the adhesive, so that minimal drying is required prior to subsequent processing steps such printing on the adhesive, in the case of the label-making process.

Abstract: An identification label for permanently marking a metal or other etchable surface such as an automobile part with an identifying indicia is disclosed. The label has a protective cover sheet, a pressure sensitive adhesive irremovably affixed to the cover sheet, and a liner with a release coating removably affixed to the adhesive. An identifying indicia comprising an etchant in a visible vehicle such as a printing ink is printed on the adhesive at the interface of the removable liner and the adhesive so that when the liner is removed, the remaining portions of the label may be adhesively attached to the metal surface with the etchant of the identifying indicia in etching contact therewith. The identifying indicia will thus be etched into the surface of the part for a permanent marking of the part.

Abstract: A continuous web of sheet material including a transparent face sheet having a rear surface coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and a backing sheet releasably attached to the adhesive is fed to label-forming apparatus comprising de-laminating means for separating the backing sheet from the face sheet, a plurality of printing stations for printing multi-color indicia on the adhesive coating of the face sheet, steering and re-laminating mechanism for aligning the separated face and backing sheets and then re-laminating them so that the backing sheet completely covers the adhesive coating, die cutters for cutting discrete label portions and surrounding waste portions in the re-laminated face sheet, and means for removing the waste portions; in an alternative embodiment the face sheet is opaque, the de-laminating means being disposed between two adjacent printing stations, the printing stations upstream of the de-laminating mechanism printing first indicia on the front surface of the face sheet, and the pri