WO2000058929A1

WO2000058929A1 - Labels and manufacture thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2000058929A1
Application number: PCT/GB2000/001153
Authority: WO
Inventors: David John Instance
Original assignee: David J. Instance Limited
Priority date: 1999-03-31
Filing date: 2000-03-24
Publication date: 2000-10-05
Also published as: AU3565300A; GB9907469D0; GB2348415A

Abstract

A self-adhesive label (2) comprising a self-adhesive base portion (6) which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a backing (4) of release material, a folded leaflet portion (8) which is disposed over the base portion (6), the folded leaflet portion (8) comprising a plurality of folded sheets (20, 22) adhered together by adhesive (26) and a self-adhesive overlaminate portion (10) which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion (8) and to exposed parts of the top surface of the base portion (6) on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion so as to retain the leaflet portion (8) in a folded configuration, the adhesive (26) extending generally in a direction extending between the parts of the base portion (6) to which the overlaminate portion (10) is adhered.

Description

LABELS AND MANUFACTURE THEREOF

The present invention relates to a self-adhesive label and to a method of producing self-adhesive labels.

It is known to manufacture multilaminar self-adhesive labels for application to products, the labels being openable so as to reveal previously hidden printed areas.

EP-A-0653088 discloses a self-adhesive label in which a folded leaflet portion is retained in a folded configuration and adhered to a self-adhesive base portion of the label by a self- adhesive laminate portion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion and to exposed parts of the top surface of the base portion on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion. The overlaminate portion exposes an end part of the folded leaflet portion whereby the end part can be pulled by a user thereby to open a label. That specification also discloses a method for producing such labels. The label of that prior specification suffers from the problem that a significant number of folds are required in order to maintain small dimensions of the foot print of the self-adhesive label when a large amount of information is required to be printed on the folded leaflet portion.

The present invention aims to provide an improved self- adhesive laJoel and method of producing such labels.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a self-adhesive label comprising a self-adhesive base portion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a backing of release material, a folded leaflet portion which is disposed over the base portion, the folded leaflet portion comprising a plurality of folded sheets adhered together by adhesive and a self-adhesive overlaminate portion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion and to exposed parts of the top surface of the base portion on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion so as to retain the leaflet portion in a folded configuration, the adhesive extending generally in a direction extending between the parts of the base portion to which the overlaminate portion is adhered.

The present invention also provides a self-adhesive label comprising a self-adhesive base portion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a backing of release material, a folded leaflet portion which is disposed over the base portion, and a self-adhesive overlaminate portion which is adhered by its self- adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion and to exposed parts of the top surface of the base portion on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion so as to retain the leaflet portion in a folded configuration, the folded leaflet portion having a longitudinal fold extending generally in the direction extending between the parts of the base to which the overlaminate is adhered, and a plurality of folds orthogonal to the longitudinal fold.

The present invention also provides a method of producing a succession of self-adhesive labels carried on a backing of release material, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a laminar material comprising a web of self-adhesive base material carried on a backing web of release material; (b) providing a plurality of printed webs and adhering the printed webs together by adhesive to form a composite web; (c) successively cutting a plurality of sheets from the composite web and successively folding the sheets to form a succession of folded leaflets; (d) applying the succession of folded leaflets to the top surface of the web of base material; (e) applying a self-adhesive overlaminating web over the folded leaflets and exposed parts of the top surface of the web of base material; and (f) cutting through the overlaminating web, the folded leaflets and the base material as far as the backing of release material so as to form a succession of self-adhesive labels on the backing of release material, in each self-adhesive label a portion of a respective folded leaflet being sandwiched between a portion of the overlaminating web and a portion of the base material web.

The present invention also provides a method of producing a succession of self-adhesive labels carried on a backing of release material, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a laminar material comprising a web of self-adhesive base material carried on a backing web of release material; (b) providing a printed web and folding the web in the longitudinal direction to form a longitudinally folded web; (c) successively cutting a plurality of longitudinally folded sheets from the longitudinally folded web and successively folding the longitudinally folded sheets in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction to form a succession of folded leaflets; (d) applying the succession of folded leaflets to the top surface of the web of base material; (e) applying a self-adhesive overlaminating web over the folded leaflets and exposed parts of the top surface of the web of base material; and (f) cutting through the overlaminating web, the folded leaflets and the base material as far as the backing of release material so as to form a succession of self-adhesive labels on the backing of release material, in each self-adhesive label a portion of a respective folded leaflet being sandwiched between a portion of the overlaminating web and a portion of the base material web.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a succession of self-adhesive labels carried on a backing of release material in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section on line A-A- of the self-adhesive label shown in Fig . 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a section on line B-B of the self-adhesive label shown in Fig . 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the folded leaflet portion of the self-adhesive label of Figs. 1 to 3 when removed from the base portion and unfolded to be read by a user;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of an apparatus for producing the self-adhesive labels of Fig. 1 in accordance with the embodiment of the method of the present invention; and

FIGS 6 (a) , (b) and (c) show in sequence the web assembly during the manufacture of the self-adhesive labels shown in Fig.

1 in accordance with the embodiment of the method of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a self-adhesive label

2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It will be seen from Figure 1 that a succession of such self- adhesive labels 2 is carried on a backing 4 of release material, such as silicone coated paper. Each label 2 includes a lowermost self-adhesive base portion 6 which is coated on its rear surface with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and is adhered thereby to the backing 4 of release material . The base portion 6 preferably comprises a transparent plastics layer, for example of polypropylene. However, it may be comprised of paper. A folded leaflet portion 8 is disposed over the base portion 4 and extends transversely across the self-adhesive label 2. The folded leaflet portion 8 comprises a plurality of paper sheets { e . g. two) which have been adhered together and folded with a plurality of folds so as to have a number of layers. In an alternative construction, the folded leaflet portion is constructed from a single sheet of paper folded once in a first direction and then folded a number of times in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A variety of different adhered and folded configurations can be employed in accordance with the present invention. A particularly preferred configuration is described with reference to Figures 2 to 4.

A self-adhesive overlaminate portion 10 has a rear surface coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and the rear surface is adhered over a part of the upper surface of the leaflet portion 8 and to parts of the upper surface of the base portion 6 on opposed sides of the leaflet portion 8 so as to adhere the folded leaflet portion 8 in a closed configuration to the base portion 6. In this embodiment, the overlaminate portion 10 preferably comprises a self-adhesive transparent plastics material, such as polypropylene, although it may be comprised of paper. The preferred plastics material of the overlaminate portion 10 preferably has a smaller thickness than the preferred plastics material of the base portion 6. The overlaminate portion 10 covers a major portion, but not all, of the upper surface of the self-adhesive label 2 so that at one edge of the self-adhesive label 2 an end part 12 of the folded leaflet portion 8 and adjacent parts 14 of the base portion 6 are exposed. The end part 12 can be pulled by a user so as to separate the folded leaflet portion 8 and the overlaminate portion 10 adhered thereover from the base portion 6. The folded leaflet portion 8 can then be unfolded and read by a user. In order to assist the removal of the overlaminate portion 10 from the base portion 6, the entire surface of the base portion 6 may have been pre-coated with a UV curable varnish which assists in partially deadening the adhesive interface between the pressure- sensitive adhesive on the overlaminate portion 10 and the upper surface of the base portion 6 so as to assist removal of the overlaminate portion 10 from the base portion 6.

It will be seen from Figure 1 that three edges of the overlaminate portion 10 are coincident with corresponding edges of the base portion 6, which edges have been cut in a single cutting step so that the overlaminate portion 10 has wing portions 16 on the opposed sides of the leaflet portion 8 which are large in area and tend to prevent the folded label from being inadvertently opened. The two end edges of the folded leaflet portion 8 are preferably coincident with corresponding end edges of the base portion 6, those edges having been cut in a single cutting step.

As may be seen with reference to Figures 2 and 3, the folded leaflet portion 8 comprises a pair of sheets 20,22 which are coextensive and overlie each other. The sheets 20,22 are preferably printed on both sides thereof, for example by flexographic printing. The sheets 20,22 are adhered together to form a unitary folded leaflet portion 8 by a single glue line 24, which in the preferred embodiment comprises a longitudinally directed (with reference to the web direction) line of dots of adhesive 26 between the two sheets 20,22. In the illustrated embodiment, the line of dots of adhesive 26 extends generally along coincident edges 28,30 of the two sheets 20,22 so that when the sheets 20,22 are folded to form the folded leaflet portion 8, the edges 28,30 are part of the end part 12 of the folded leaflet portion which is exposed by the overlaminate portion 10. The provision of two sheets 20,22 instead of a single sheet enables, for any given number of transverse folds 32 in the folded leaflet portion, substantially double the surface area of the folded leaflet portion 8 to be available for conveying printed information. In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, more than two sheets, preferably coextensive with each other, may be glued together to form the folded leaflet portion 8, for yet further increasing the surface area for any given number of transverse folds .

When the end part 12 is pulled by the user so as to separate the folded leaflet portion 8 and the overlaminate portion 10 adhered thereover from the base portion 6, as shown in Figure 4 the folded leaflet portion 8 can be unfolded not only along the transverse folds 32 but also along the line of adhesive dots 26 which, together with the coincident edges 28,30 of the sheets 20,22, constitutes a spine 34 for a two sheet/four page booklet 36 which can be opened and read by a user. If desired, the two sheets 20,22 can be pulled apart by separating the two sheets 20,22 along the line of adhesive dots 26.

As mentioned above, according to an alternative construction, the folded leaflet portion may be formed from a single sheet of paper by folding once in the longitudinal direction and then folding a number of times in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. A series of such folded leaflet portions can be, for example, produced by folding a web once in the longitudinal direction by, for example, the technique of plough folding, cutting the longitudinally folded web to form a series of longitudinally folded sheets and then folding the longitudinally folded sheets a number of times in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal fold.

An embodiment of a method of producing labels in accordance with the invention is illustrated in Figure 5.

Referring to Figure 5, there is shown an apparatus, designated generally as 102, for producing a reel 104 carrying a succession of self-adhesive labels 106. The reel 104 comprises an indeterminate length of a backing web 108 of release material, typically comprising a silicone-faced backing paper. The backing web 108 is provided in a reel 110 of duplex labelstock material 109 comprising a self-adhesive web 112 of paper or plastics which is coated on its reverse side with pressure-sensitive adhesive and is carried on the release material web 108. The reel 110 is mounted in the apparatus 102 as a supply reel which is fed out over one or more guide rollers 114 to a label applying station, designated generally as 116, which includes a pair of opposed rollers 118,120 between which the labelstock material 109 is passed. At the label applying station 116, individual folded printed labels 122 are fed between the rollers 118,120 by a label feed system designated generally as 126, whereby the folded labels 122 are applied to the upper surface of the self-adhesive web 112. A self-adhesive laminate 128, typically of plastics, is fed out from a supply reel 130 and between the rollers 118,120 so as to be laminated by its self-adhesive surface over the folded labels 122 which have been applied to the underlying web 112 of self-adhesive material. The folded labels 122 are thereby adhered to the self-adhesive web 112. The combined web/label assembly 131 is conveyed to a die-cutting station designated generally as 132 which includes an upper die-cutting roller 134 with a lower opposed backing roller 136. The die-cutting station 134 is downstream in the direction of web movement from the label feed system 126. At the die-cutting station 132, the resultant self-adhesive labels 106 are cut out from the overlying laminar material 128, the folded labels 122 and the self-adhesive web 112. The release web 108 is not cut but in the illustrated embodiment it is slit centrally and longitudinally to separate the release web 108 into two adjacent web lengths, each carrying thereon a respective succession of self-adhesive labels 106. The waste web skeleton 138 which may include waste pieces of the folded labels 122 is wound up on a waste reel 140 and the slit webs of release backing material 108 carrying the succession self-adhesive labels 106 are wound up on respective reels 104 as take-up reels, the backing material web 108 having been fed over one or more guide rollers 142.

The label feed system 136 has an output end 44 past which the labelstock material 109 comprising the self-adhesive web 112 carried on the web 108 of release backing material is moved by a web conveying system comprising a drive unit (not shown) and the supply and take-up reels 104 and the guide rollers 114,142, the drive unit rotating at least the take-up reel 104 and optionally the supply reel 104 and/or one or more of the guide rollers 114,142. The label feed system 126 also includes an input end 146 which is disposed beneath sheet folding unit designated generally as 148. The label feed system 126 has a conveying device which comprises upper and lower endless belts 150,152 which are mounted between respective pairs of rollers 154,156. The endless belts 150,152 are rotatably driven by the respective rollers 154,156 at lease one of which is in turn driven by a feed motor 202 so as to move folded labels 122 in succession from the input end 146 at which folded labels 122 are received from the folding unit 148 to the output end 144 at which folded labels 122 are fed onto the self-adhesive web 112 between the rollers 118,120.

The folding unit 148 is of generally known construction and comprises a zig-zag array of folding rollers 158 together with a zig-zag array of folding pockets 160 on opposed sides of the array of rollers 158. In use, the folding rollers 158 rotate continuously to drive a sheet through the folding unit 148. In use, a sheet 162 is fed through the uppermost pair of rollers 158 and into the uppermost folding pocket 160. When the leading edge of the sheet 62 hits the end of the folding pocket 160, the sheet 162 continues to be fed by the rollers 158 and the initially flat sheet 162 is then upset by this continued feeding so as to have a folded configuration with a single fold. The location of the fold in the sheet 162 is determined by the depth of the folding pocket 160. The single folded sheet 162 is then fed by the next pair of rollers 158 (i.e. the second and third rollers) in the zig-zag array into the second folding pocket and in the same way a second fold line is formed. This process continues until the desired folded sheet 162 is achieved, the sheet having a number of transverse fold lines corresponding to the number of folding pockets 160. The resultant fully folded label 122 is then fed out from the lowermost pair of rollers 158 between the endless belts 150,152 of the label feed system 126.

The folding unit 148 is supplied continuously with printed sheets 162 which have been formed by adhering together two printed webs 164,164' having the same transverse width and being coextensive, each of which has been fed out from a respective supply reel 166,166' thereof. Each web 164,164' is conveyed through one or more printing stations, designated generally as 167, 167 where the webs 164,164' are printed on one or both sides e . g. by a flexographic , letterpress or digital printing technique. Each web 164,164' may alternatively be pre-printed off-line .

One of the webs 164,164' , in the illustrated embodiment the lowermost web 164 has applied thereto five longitudinally extending lines of adhesive dots 40,42,44,46,48 which are shown ^•more clearly in phantom in Figure 6 (a) . The lines of adhesive dots 40,42,44,46,48 include two outermost lines 40,48 which are located slightly inwardly of respective longitudinal edges of the web 164' and two intermediate lines of adhesive 42,46 which are located a small distance inwardly of the outermost glue lines 40,48. Typically, the intermediate adhesive lines 42,46 are located about 1cm inwardly of the respective outermost glue lines 40,48. A central line of adhesive 44 extends longitudinally along the centre of the web 164' . Downstream of an adhesive applying station 169 for applying the lines of adhesive dots 40,42,44,46,48, the two webs 164,164' are adhered together by a pair of pinch rollers 173 to form a composite web 181 which is cut as aforesaid to form the aforesaid printed sheets 162 (each printed sheet 162 in fact comprising a two sheet/four page booklet) . Each printed sheet 162 accordingly comprises a two layer structure, with two respective sheet portions 20,22 adhered together by portions of the five longitudinally directed adhesive lines 40,42,44,46,48.

Each web 164,164' has been printed at the respective printing station 167,167' with a succession of pairs of transversely separated images whereby opposed longitudinally extending sides of the composite web 181 are intended to form a respective succession of folded leaflet portions 8 in a respective succession of self-adhesive labels 2 carried on a respective length of release backing material 4 following slitting of the release web 108 as aforesaid. As is known to the man skilled in the art, this type of configuration is described as making self-adhesive labels "two-up" across the web.

The composite web 181 is driven by a web drive and guide apparatus, designated generally as 168.

The composite web 181 is fed to a festoon 170 at which a supply length of the composite printed web 181 is tensioned. The composite web 181 then passes between a drive roller 172 and an upper opposed roller 174 of a web feed system 171 which feeds the composite web 181 intermittently to a cutting device 176 comprising a cutting roller 178 and an opposed backing roller 180. The cutting device 176 cuts off a desired length of the composite printed web 181 to form a separate printed sheet 162 which is then fed into the folding unit 148. The drive roller 172 is driven by an electromagnetic clutch 175 which has its input shaft 177 continuously driven. The electromagnetic clutch 175 is actuated intermittently so as to rotate the drive roller 72 when the composite printed web 181 is required to be fed through the cutting device 176.

The feed motor 202 continuously drives not only at least one of rollers 154,156 thereby continuously rotating the endless belts 150,152 of the label feed system 126 but also continuously drives the folding rollers 158 of the folding unit 148 and the input shaft 177 of the electromagnetic clutch 175 of the drive roller 172 for the composite printed web 181. Preferably, the driven roller or rollers 154,156, the folding rollers 158 and the input shaft 177 are mechanically geared together, thereby providing a mechanical coupling between the web feed system 171, the folding unit 148 and the label feed system 126.

The apparatus 102 includes a number of sensors, with associated control systems, for controlling and coordinating the operating of the various parts of the apparatus 102. A printed web sensor 182 is provided between the festoon 170 and the drive roller 172 for the composite printed web 181. The sensor 172, which is typically a photodetector , is adapted to detect a series of printed marks along the composite printed web 181. The detection of each printed mark causes a detection signal to be generated which switches off the electromagnetic clutch 175 for the drive roller 172 and actuates the cutting device 176 when the web 181 has stopped. The cutting device, and the web drive, are thereby operable in response to a detection signal from the sensor. This ensures that accurately cut printed sheets 162 are formed from the composite printed web 181, each printed sheet 162 having the required length and being registered with respect to the printing on the web 181. The web 181 is then moved again through the cutting device 176 after a short delay in the next cycle by actuation of the electromagnetic clutch 175 for the drive roller 172. A second sensor 184 is provided m the label feed system 126 and is adapted to detect each folded label 122 as it passes along the label feed system 126. The sensor 184 is typically a photodetector which is adapted to detect either an edge, for example the leading edge, of each folded label 122 or a printed registration mark on each folded label 122. The second sensor is adapted to control the application of the folded label 122 to the self-adhesive web 112 so that it is m registry with the die- cutting roller 134. This registration is employed when the web 109 is not pre-printed, pre-cut or otherwise provided with a succession of registration points along the length of the web 109. The second sensor 184 controls the application of the folded label 122 by varying the speed of the feed motor 202. The variation of the speed of the feed motor 202 causes corresponding speeding up or slowing down of the web feed system 171, the folding unit 148 and the label feed system 126 which are coupled together.

The web conveying system and the label feed system can be arranged to run at a set speed ratio, the speed ratio being related to the length of each finished label, the length of each folded label which is applied to the web and the spacing between the folded labels on the web.

The label feed system 126 is also controlled with respect to the die-cutting roller 134 so as to ensure that when each folded printed label 122 is applied to the self-adhesive web 112, the folded printed label 122 is applied at substantially the correct position, irrespective of any fluctuations or variations in the position of the folded printed labels upstream of the sensor 184 in the label feed system 126 and the folding unit 148, so that when the folded printed label 122 is cut by the die- cutting roller 134 at the die-cutting station 132, the die-cut is substantially in registration with the folded printed label 122.

In operation, the web drive unit continuously feed the composite printed web 181 into the festoon 170, and any slack in the web 181, as a result of the intermittent operation of the drive roller 172 as described below, is taken up by the web drive unit 168. The drive roller 172 feeds the composite printed web 181 through the cutting device 176 unit the sensor 182 detects the next printed mark on the composite printed web 181. At this point, the desired length of the composite printed web 181 has been fed through the cutting device 176. The drive roller 172 is instantaneously stopped by the electromagnetic clutch 175 to stop the web movement through the cutting device 176 and the cutting roller 178 is actuated to cut the desired length from the composite printed web 181. The cut sheet 162 is then fed into the folding unit 148, folded to the desired folded configuration and then fed between the endless belts 150,152 of the label feed system 126. After the cutting operation, the web drive roller 172 is started again to commence the next feeding, cutting and folding cycle.

The label feed system 126 operates continuously and applies the succession of folded printed labels 122 onto the continuously moving web 112. As described hereinabove, the speed of the label feed system 126 is set to be a particular ratio of the speed of the web conveying system and the application of each folded printed label 122 to the web 112 is controlled with respect to the position of the die-cutting roller 134.

The configuration of the folded printed labels 122 extending across the web 112 is shown in Figure 6 (a) . The location of the lines of adhesive 40,42,44,46,48 are shown in phantom in Figure 6(a) . It may be seen that each folded printed label 122 constitutes a pair of opposed label parts 123,123' which are ultimately to be cut at the die-cutting station 132 to form respective folded leaflet portions 8 which are disposed in a mirror-like configuration on opposed longitudinal sides of the web 122 following die-cutting.

The folded printed sheets 122 are adhered to the self- adhesive web 112 by the self-adhesive laminar material 128 and then the combined assembly 131 is die-cut at the die-cutting station 132 and the waste 138 removed.

The configuration of the printed sheets 122 following application of the self-adhesive laminar material 128 is shown in Figure 6 (b) and the configuration following die-cutting and slitting is shown in Figure 6 (c) . It may be seen from Figure 6 (b) that before die-cutting the single self-adhesive laminar material 128 covers major portions of both of the label parts 123,123' in a central section of the folded printed label 122 whereby opposed end parts 125,125' of the folded printed label 122 are left uncovered by the self-adhesive laminar material 128. Following die-cutting at the die-cutting station 132, as shown in Figure 6 (c) the self-adhesive labels 2 are formed whereby across the width of the web 108 of release backing material there are disposed transversely opposed self-adhesive labels 2, each label 2 incorporating a folded leaflet portion 8 which has been die-cut from a respective part 123,123' of a single folded printed label 122. The die-cutting step is performed so that the outermost lines of adhesive 40,48 and the central line of adhesive 44 are located within the waste web 138 which is removed from the web 108 of release backing material. The intermediate lines of adhesive 42,46 are retained in the labels 106, in the vicinity of the end parts 107,107' of the folded printed labels 122 left exposed by the laminar material 128. The outermost lines of adhesive 40,48 and the central line of adhesive 44 are provided to ensure structural integrity in the waste 138, so that all of the waste, including the longitudinally outwardly located and centrally located cut-away parts of the folded printed label 122 which includes the plurality of sheets adhered together, is safely removed from the assembly of labels 106 on the web 108 of release backing material. The web 108 of release backing material is slit by a central longitudinal slitting line 50 into two adjacent webs 52,54 of release backing material, each of which carries a respective succession of the labels 106. The present invention provides a self-adhesive label which is, by the use of a plastics overlaminating layer, protected against soiling for damage during transport and prior to use. However, when it is desired to open the label, a relatively small part of the folded leaflet can be pulled away from the self- adhesive base of the label to enable the label to be opened. The labels of the present invention are readily and economically manufactured because a succession of the folded leaflets is sandwiched between two self-adhesive webs.

As compared to the labels disclosed in EP-A-0653088 , the labels of the present invention provide the advantage of having increased printed area for conveying information for any given number of transverse fold lines. In addition, according to the preferred embodiment, the folded leaflet portion can be unfolded to form a booklet construction, as opposed to a single sheet leaflet. The booklet can however readily be separated into two halves .

The self adhesive label made in accordance with the present invention has particular application in labelling products such as pharmaceuticals in which a large amount of printed information is required to be provided on a relative small ^'area or "footprint" of the product.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A self-adhesive label (2) comprising a self-adhesive base portion (6) which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a backing (4) of release material, a folded leaflet portion (8) which is disposed over the base portion (6) , the folded leaflet portion (8) comprising a plurality of folded sheets (20,22) adhered together by adhesive (26) and a self-adhesive overlaminate portion (10) which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion (8) and to exposed parts of the top surface of the base portion (6) on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion so as to retain the leaflet portion (8) in a folded configuration, the adhesive (26) extending generally in a direction extending between the parts of the base portion (6) to which the overlaminate portion (10) is adhered.

2 . A self-adhesive label according to claim 1 wherein the adhesive comprises a line of adhesive (26) between adjacent coextensive sheets (20,22) of the folded leaflet.

3. A self-adhesive label according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein there is a single line of adhesive (26) between adjacent coextensive sheets (20,22) of the folded leaflet portion (8) which extends generally along adjacent edges of the adjacent sheets .

4. A self-adhesive label according to any foregoing claim wherein the overlaminate portion (10) exposes an end part (12) of the folded leaflet portion (8) whereby the end part (12) can be easily pulled by a user thereby to open the label (2) .

5. A self-adhesive label according to claim 4 wherein the adhesive (26) extends along a free edge of the end part (12) .

6. A self-adhesive label according to claim 3 wherein the single line of adhesive (26) defines a spine for a booklet which is formed when the folded leaflet portion (8) is removed from the base portion (6) and unfolded.

7. A self-adhesive label according to any foregoing claim wherein the adhesive (26) is in the form of at least one line of adhesive dots (26) .

8. A method of producing a succession of self-adhesive labels (106) carried on a backing (108) of release material, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a laminar material (109) comprising a web (112) of self-adhesive base material carried on a backing web (108) of release material;

(b) providing a plurality of printed webs (164,164') and adhering the printed webs together by adhesive to form a composite web (181) ;

(c) successively cutting a plurality of sheets (162) from the composite web (181) and successively folding the sheets (162) to form a succession of folded leaflets (122) ;

(d) applying the succession of folded leaflets (122) to the top surface of the web (112) of base material;

(e) applying a self-adhesive overlaminating web (128) over the folded leaflets (122) and^' exposed parts of the top surface of the web (112) of base material; and

(f) cutting through the overlaminating web (128) , the folded leaflets (122) and the base material (112) as far as the backing (108) of release material so as to form a succession of self- adhesive labels (106) on the backing (108) of release material, in each self-adhesive label (106) a portion of a respective folded leaflet (122) being sandwiched between a portion of the overlaminating web (128) and a portion of the base material web

(122) .

9. A method according to claim 8 wherein the overlaminating step (e) and the cutting step (f) is carried out so that in each self-adhesive label (106) a part (107) of the folded leaflet (122) is exposed by the portion of the overlaminating web (128) .

10. A method according to claim 8 or 9 wherein the adhesive extends generally in a direction extending between the parts of the base material to which the overlaminate web (128) is adhered.

11. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 10 wherein the adhesive comprises at least one longitudinal line of adhesive

(40,42,44,46,48) between the adjacent printed webs (164,164').

12. A method according to claim 11 wherein in each self-adhesive line (106) there is one line of adhesive (42) adhering adjacent sheets (20,22) together.

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein in the cutting step waste (138) which is cut away from the self-adhesive labels (106) includes additional longitudinal lines of adhesive (40,44,48).

14. A method according to any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein the or each line of adhesive (40,42,44,46,48) comprises a line of adhesive dots.

15. A method according to claim 9 wherein the overlaminating web (128) has a width less than that of the base material (112) .

16. A method according to claim 15 wherein in the cutting step (f) each folded leaflet (122) is cut to form a pair of the portions of the folded leaflets (122) and opposed pairs of the self-adhesive labels (106) are formed transversely across the backing (108) of release material and the overlaminating and base material webs (128,112) are longitudinally aligned whereby opposed end parts (107,107') of the portions of the folded leaflets (122) are exposed and not covered by the overlaminating web (128) .

17. A method according to claim 16 wherein in the cutting step (f) a central part and opposed ends of the folded leaflets (122) are cut away .

18. A method according to claim 9 wherein the said exposed part

(107) of the portion of the folded leaflet (122) is disposed at one edge of the self-adhesive label (106) between two exposed parts of the portion of the base material (112) .

19. A self-adhesive label (2) comprising a self-adhesive base portion (6) which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a backing (4) of release material, a folded leaflet portion (8) which is disposed over the base portion (6) , and a self-adhesive overlaminate portion (10) which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion (8) and to exposed parts of the top surface of the base portion (6) on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion so as to retain the leaflet portion (8) in a folded configuration, the folded leaflet portion having a longitudinal fold extending generally in the direction extending between the parts of the base to which the overlaminate (10) is adhered, and a plurality of folds orthogonal to the longitudinal fold.

20. A self-adhesive label according to claim 19 wherein the overlaminate portion (10) exposed an end part (12) of the folded leaflet portion (8) whereby the end part (12) can be easily pulled by a user thereby to open the label (2) .

21. A method of producing a succession of self-adhesive labels (106) carried on a backing (108) of release material, the method comprising the steps of :

(a) providing a laminar material (109) comprising a web (112) of self-adhesive base material carried on a backing web

(108) of release material;

(b) providing a printed web and folding the web in the longitudinal direction to form a longitudinally folded web (181) ;

(c) successively cutting a plurality of longitudinally folded sheets from the longitudinally folded web and successively folding the longitudinally folded sheets in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction to form a succession of folded leaflets; (d) applying the succession of folded leaflets to the top surface of the web (112) of base material;

(e) applying a self-adhesive overlaminating web (128) over the folded leaflets and exposed parts of the top surface of the web (112) of base material; and

(f ) cutting through the overlaminating web (128) , the folded leaflets and the base material (112) as far as the backing (108) of release material so as to form a succession of self-adhesive labels (106) on the backing (108) of release material, in each self-adhesive label (106) a portion of a respective folded leaflet being sandwiched between a portion of the overlaminating web (128) and a portion of the base material web (112) .

22. A method according to claim 21 wherein the overlaminating step (e) and the cutting step (f) is carried out so that in each self-adhesive label (106) a part (107) of the folded leaflet is exposed by the portion of the overlaminating web (128) .

23. A method according to claim 21 or claim 22 wherein the longitudinal fold extends generally in a direction extending between the parts of the base material to which the overlaminate web (128) is adhered.