Avery Dennison Corporation

The Continental Group, Inc.

Avery International Corporation

James River Paper Company, Inc.

Karl Josephy

James P Rettker

Richard G Miekka

Richard M Thomas

Donald F Kimes

Dennis Rene Benoit

Mitchell J Rackovan

Eng-Pi Chang

Ramin Heydarpour

Howard H Enlow

Roger H Mann

Edward I Sun

Frederick N Miekka

Johannes Schut

Yao-Feng Wang

Richard A Fotland

Yukihiko Sasaki

Melvin S Freedman

Luigi Sartor

Jesse C Ercillo

Gerald A Gordon

John J Fitch

Sebastian S Plamthottam

Ronald Ugolick

William F Scholz

Charles C Habeger, Jr

Norman A Conti

Richard C Adams

Kenneth A Pollart

Henk De Koning

Rick J Verhines

John O Landers

Richard R Baggarley

Ramon Roman

Richard G Meikka

Henk De Konig

George Q Moses

Elisea Amba

Bruce D Morrison

A process for making functional or decorative flakes or platelets economically and at high production rates comprises applying a multi-layer sandwich of vapor deposited metal and release coats in alternating layers to a rotating chilled drum or suitable carrier medium contained in a vapor deposition chamber. The alternating metallized layers are applied by vapor deposition and the intervening release layers are preferably solvent soluble thermoplastic polymeric materials applied by vapor deposition sources contained in the vapor deposition chamber. The multi-layer sandwich built up in the vacuum chamber is removed from the drum or carrier and treated with a suitable organic solvent to dissolve the release coating from the metal in a stripping process that leaves the metal flakes essentially release coat free. The solvent and dissolved release material are then removed by centrifuging to produce a cake of concentrated flakes which can be air milled and let down in a preferred vehicle and further sized and homogenized for final use in inks, paints or coatings. In one embodiment the finished flakes comprise single-layer thin metal or metal alloy flakes or flakes of inorganic materials, and in another embodiment flakes are coated on both sides with protective polymeric coatings that were applied from suitable vacuum deposition sources or the like contained in the vapor deposition chamber.

Process for making angstrom scale and high aspect functional platelets

This invention relates to a die-cuttable, biaxially stretch-oriented monolayer film comprising a polyethylene having a density of about 0.940 g/cm or less, a propylene polymer or copolymer, or mixtures thereof, wherein the tensile modulus of the film in the machine direction is greater than the tensile modulus in the cross direction, the tensile modulus of the film in the cross direction is about 150,000 psi or less, and the film is free of copolymers of ethylene with an ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid or ester. Die-cuttable, stretch-oriented multilayer films also are described comprising the above films as a base layer, and a thermoplastic polymer skin layer bonded to the upper surface of the base layer. The biaxially oriented monolayer and multilayer films are useful in particular in preparing adhesive containing labelstock for use in adhesive labels.

Conformable and die-cuttable biaxially oriented films and labelstocks

A process for preparing embossed, finely-divided, thin, bright-metal particles which process comprises forming an embossed release surface to al least one side of a carrier sheet, depositing a metal film onto the release surface so that the metal film conforms to the embossed surface, solubilizing the release surface, removing the metal film from the carrier sheet, and breaking the thin metal film onto embossed particles having an average diameter of between 10 to 50 microns. The film may also take the form of an optical stack.

Process for making machine readable images

A multilayer film facestock for labels is described which comprises a base layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, and at least a first skin layer bonded to the upper surface of the base layer by a tie layer wherein the base layer comprises a propylene homopolymer or copolymer, or a blend of a propylene homopolymer and at least one propylene copolymer, and the first skin layer consists essentially of at least one polyethylene having a density of about 0.940 g/cm or less, wherein the multilayer facestock is not oriented. Adhesive containing multilayer labelstocks for use in adhesive labels also are described which comprise the multilayer film facestock described above and an adhesive layer adhesively joined to the lower surface of the base layer. Labels prepared from the facestock and the labelstock also are described.

Multilayer films and labels

Prelaminate pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) constructions comprise, a first substrate, a coating or release material on a surface of the first substrate, a PSA layer disposed on the coating of release material, and a detackified layer (DL) disposed on a surface of the PSA layer to form a continuous film covering the PSA layer. In first and second embodiments of the construction the DL is activatable to form a tacky layer on top of the PSA layer for lamination with a second substrate. In a third embodiment, the DL includes constituents that when activated migrate into the PSA layer to expose the PSA layer tacky surface for lamination with a second substrate. The prelaminate PSA constructions are completely nonblocking to a minimum 24 hour blocking temperature of about 50&deg; C. at pressure of about 40 kilopascals, thereby allowing such prelaminate PSA construction to be collected, stored, and or transported before being laminated without adhesive interference occurring between continuous layers. The DL in each embodiment is activatable in less than five seconds to provide a tacky layer having a sufficient open tack time to permit lamination at less than about 100&deg; C.

Prelaminate pressure-sensitive adhesive constructions

A multilayer film facestock for labels is described which comprises a base layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, and at least a first skin layer bonded to the upper surface of the base layer by a tie layer wherein the base layer comprises a propylene homopolymer or copolymer, or a blend of a propylene homopolymer and at least one propylene copolymer, and the first skin layer consists essentially of at least one polyethylene having a density of about 0.940 g/cm or less. In one preferred embodiment, at least the base layer is machine direction oriented. In another embodiment, the base layer comprises a polyethylene having a density above 0.940 g/cm (high density) and the polyethylene is ultimately oriented in the machine direction. Adhesive containing multilayer labelstocks for use in adhesive labels also are described which comprise the multilayer film facestock described above and an adhesive layer adhesively joined to the lower surface of the base layer. Labels prepared from the facestock and the labelstock also are described.

The present invention is directed toward multilayer pressure-sensitive adhesive constructions with improved convertibility and aging. In one embodiment, the multilayer constructions have one layer formed of a first adhesive composition having a first glass transition temperature, and also having a tangent delta greater than about 0.5 at 10 radians per second at 20&deg; C., and a storage modulus greater than about 3&times;10 dynes/cm at 10 radians per second at 20&deg; C. At least a second adhesive layer is provided in the construction, the second adhesive layer comprising a second adhesive composition with a second glass transition temperature.

Multilayer pressure-sensitive adhesive construction

A process for making high aspect ratio metal flakes economically and at high production rates comprises applying a multi-layer sandwich of vapor deposited metal and release coats in alternating layers to a rotating chilled drum or suitable carrier medium contained in a vapor deposition chamber. The alternating metallized layers are applied by vapor deposition and the intervening release layers are preferably solvent or water soluble materials applied by suitable coating or vapor deposition sources contained in the vapor deposition chamber. The release coat materials can be a thermoplastic solvent-soluble polymer, a water soluble inorganic salt, or a high boiling point dissolvable wax-like substance. The multi-layer sandwich built up in the vacuum chamber is removed from the drum or carrier and treated with a suitable solvent or water to dissolve the release coating from the metal in a stripping process that leaves the metal flakes essentially release coat free. The solvent or water and dissolved release material are then removed by centrifuging to produce a cake of concentrated flakes which can be air milled and let down in a preferred vehicle and further sized and homogenized for final use in inks, paints or coatings. In one embodiment the finished flakes comprise single-layer thin metal flakes and in another embodiment the flakes are coated on both sides with protective polymeric coatings that were applied from suitable vacuum deposition sources or the like contained in the vapor deposition chamber. In an alternative embodiment the release coat can be a thermoset material which is lightly cross-linked in the vacuum chamber and then later treated with a depolymerizing solvent material that breaks the chemical bonds sufficiently to separate the layers.

Process for making high aspect ratio reflective metal flakes

The present invention provides a method of improving the peel-plate dispensability of die-cut and matrix-stripped label constructions which do not generally have the required minimum stiffness to be successfully peel-plate dispensed, particularly at room temperature. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of improving the peel-plate dispensability of a die-cut and matrix-stripped polymer film label construction comprising a facestock, a release liner, and a substrate adhesive layer between the facestock and the liner, which method comprises maintaining the temperature of at least the leading edge of the label below about 20&deg; C. as the leading edge of the label construction moves over a peel-plate and the label is separated from the release liner. Maintaining the temperature of the label, of at least the leading edge of the label at a reduced temperature such as from about &minus;15 to about &plus;15&deg; or even 20&deg; C. temporarily increases the stiffness of the label, and, thus, when the cooled label is passed over the peel-plate, the label has the required stiffness to cause it to separate from the release liner and proceed in a straight line toward the application substrate. The invention is particularly applicable to thin label constructions (e.g., faceless constructions) which do not have the requisite stiffness at room temperature to be peel-plate dispensable at room temperature. The facestocks of the label constructions may be monolayer facestocks or multilayer facestocks.

Method of improving peel-plate dispensability of label constructions

Finely divided embossed metal particles are prepared by forming an embossment on a carrier surface in which the embossment comprises a machine readable image produced by a diffraction grating pattern, a holographic image pattern or an image visible solely by optical magnification. A layer of metal is applied to the surface so the layer adopts the complement or the embossment. The layer is then separated from the surface and reduced to embossed particles. Alternatively, the embossment can be formed on the carrier sheet directly or on the outer surface of a release coating formed on the carrier sheet. When removing the film of metal from the release-coated carrier, the carrier sheet with the release coating and film of metal can be passed through a release environment which causes the release coating to separate the film and carrier, but which is nondestructive of the metal. The metal particles can be collected in a solvent which is nonreactive with the metal, and the metal particles can be broken further into pigment particles. The diffraction grating can have from about 5,000 to about 11,000 grooves per cm.

Physical properties of extruded, uniaxially oriented films useful in label manufacture and formed from blends of olefinic base materials and soft polar additives such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) are changed in a directionally selective manner that improves abrasion resistance while preserving conformability by use of compatibilizers or coupling agents in the blends. Machine direction strength properties, including stiffness and tensile modulus, increase with little or no degradation of cross-direction elongation, and with limited degradation of cross-direction tensile modulus, both required for good label conformability.

Uniaxially oriented label film with compatibilizer

The present invention is directed toward a multilayer, pressure-sensitive adhesive construction wherein one layer is formed of a first adhesive composition having a first glass transition temperature, and at least a second layer is formed of a second adhesive composition having a second glass transition temperature. The first glass transition temperature differs from the second glass transition temperature by from about 10.degree. C. to about 50.degree. C.

Multilayer Pressure-sensitive adhesive construction

Machine-direction oriented polypropylene homopolymer and propylene copolymer films are described wherein the propylene copolymer is one selected from the group consisting of propylene-ethylene copolymers containing up to about 10% by weight of ethylene and propylene-1-butene copolymers containing up to about 15% by weight of 1-butene wherein the oriented films has an opacity of less than about 10% and a haze of about 10% or less in the machine-direction and in the cross-direction.

Clear conformable oriented films and labels

A process for preparing embossed, finely-divided, thin, bright-metal particles which process comprises forming an embossed release surface to at least one side of a carrier sheet, depositing a metal film onto the release surface so that the metal film conforms to the embossed surface, solubilizing the release surface, removing the metal film from the carrier sheet, and breaking the thin metal film into embossed particles having an average diameter of between 25 to 50 microns. The film may also take the form of an optical stack.

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Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Karl Josephy