The Challenge
Carleton University, a Canadian university in Ottawa, Ontario, needed a label to wrap around cable as identification, with the ends sticking together, but not adhering to the cable itself (the label needed to be able to slide along the cable length). The label was to be printed by thermal transfer technology, using a random database, so it had to be prepared in rolls.
Our Solution
The label itself could not have been simpler, but its structure on the adhesive side required intricacy in the manufacturing process. When removed from the roll, the label needed the adhesive on the middle third of its length to be masked. The ends could then stick together, leaving a non-stick loop in the centre (like a band-aid in form).
AWT developed a die that would cut to two different levels. This allowed the overall label shape to be done by a kiss-cut, while an anvil-cut was made through the face, adhesive and liner in the middle, between the labels on the roll. Linear backslitters were then used to cut the liner in the middle third of each label, so it would remain on the label, covering the adhesive in that area.Â
Understanding what the customer wants the label to do allows us to ensure that the label will work in its application.
