GB2635684A

GB2635684A - Linerless label

Info

Publication number: GB2635684A
Application number: GB2317727.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dudman Kevin
Original assignee: Reflex Labels Ltd
Current assignee: Reflex Labels Ltd
Priority date: 2023-11-20
Filing date: 2023-11-20
Publication date: 2025-05-28

Abstract

A linerless label web formed of a flexible label substrate 101 configured to define a plurality of linerless labels 200, comprises first and second areas 101A11,101A12 on the first side 1011 of the flexible label substrate, each bearing non-stick material 1021,1022 and third and fourth areas 101A23, 101A24 on the second side second side 1012 of the flexible label substrate, each bearing an adhesive material 1031, 1032. Tearable portions (1041, 1042), extending transversely across the flexible label substrate are provided, for enabling user separation of a label from the web. The adhesive and non-stick material areas are preferably provided alongside edges of the label web. A longitudinal tear strip (109, Fig. 3) may be provided to separate each label into two parts. The label may be used for sealing closed a bag (Fig. 7) or container which may then be opened by tearing the tear strip.

Description

LI NERLESS LABEL

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Examples of the present disclosure relate to linerless labels, in particular linerless labels for use as a bag topper for closing a bag or container. Some examples, though without prejudice to the foregoing, relate to a linerless bag topper.

BACKGROUND

Conventional self-adhesive labels (e.g. self-adhesive labels for labelling products, packaging and other articles) have a release liner/backing sheet to protect the adhesive on the reverse of the label. The release liner is then discarded once the label is applied. By contrast, linerless labels are labels which do not have a release liner. For example, one side of a linerless label may have an area of a non-stick material (e.g. silicone strip) and the underside/opposite side may have an area of an adhesive material in the same/aligned position. This prevents a reel/roll of linerless labels adhering to themselves.

The absence of a release liner can afford linerless labels with a number of advantages over more conventional lined labels or labels with backing sheets. Advantages include: reduced waste and thus reduced landfill and similar environmental impacts, reduced energy requirements during manufacture, reduced number of component materials within the labels helping with manufacturing costs and facilitating recycling.

Linerless labels are always applied to packaging products on a mechanical applicator such as a Ravenwood Packaging Ltd.'s range of Nobac linerless label applicators, or HERMA GmbH's InNo-Liner Linerless labelling system. Such linerless labels are not able to be manually dispensed and nor manually applied, for example to packages of non-consistent sizes and shapes (not least for example bags used for containing and delivering customer orders from Quick Service Restaurants "QSR" or on-line grocery shopping).

In some circumstances it can be desirable to provide an improved linerless label. In some circumstances it can be desirable to provide linerless labels that can be manually dispensed and manually applied. In some circumstances it can be desirable to provide a linerless bag topper, not least for use in closing/sealing bags or containers used for containing and delivering a customer's food order from a restaurant, fast food outlet or a Quick Service Restaurant "QSR".

The listing or discussion of any prior-published document or any background in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document or background is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge. One or more aspects/examples of the present disclosure may or may not address one or more of the background issues.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The scope of protection sought for various embodiments of the invention is set out by the claims.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there are provided examples as claimed in the appended claims. Any examples and features described in this specification that do not fall under the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various embodiments of the invention.

According to at least some examples of the disclosure there is provided an apparatus comprising a flexible label substrate configured to define a plurality of linerless labels, wherein the flexible label substrate comprises: a first side and an opposite second side; a first area and a second area of the first side of the flexible substrate, the first and second areas bearing a non-stick material; a third area and a fourth area of the second side of the flexible label substrate, the third and fourth areas bearing an adhesive material; and at least one first tearable portion, extending transversely across the flexible label substrate, for enabling user separation of at least one section of the flexible label substrate, wherein the at least one section defines at least one of the plurality of linerless labels.

The following portion of this 'Brief Summary' section describes various features that can be features of any of the examples described in the foregoing portion of the 'Brief Summary' section mutatis mutandis. The description of a function should additionally be considered to also disclose any means suitable for performing that function, or any instructions stored in at least one memory that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to perform that function.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the first and second areas of the non-stick material each extend longitudinally along the first side of the flexible label substrate in a first direction.

In some but not necessarily all examples: the first area of the non-stick material is disposed proximal to a first longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate; and the second area of the non-stick material is disposed proximal to a second longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate, opposite the first longitudinal edge.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the third and fourth areas of the adhesive material each extend longitudinally along the second side of the flexible label substrate in a first direction.

In some but not necessarily all examples: the third area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to a first longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate; and the fourth area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to a second longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate, opposite the first longitudinal edge.

In some but not necessarily all examples: the at least one first tearable portion extends transversely across the flexible in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the at least one first tearable portion comprises at least one of the following: a weakened portion; a plurality of perforations; and a tear line.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the flexible label substrate further comprises at least one second tearable portion extending longitudinally along the flexible label substrate.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the at least one second tearable portion comprises a tear strip.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the flexible label substrate further comprises at least one cut-out portion.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the at least one cut-out portion is configured to allow user access to at least a part of the at least one second tearable portion.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the cut-out portion is configured to define a tab portion for the at least one second tearable portion.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the apparatus further comprises a crease or fold line extending longitudinally along the flexible label substrate.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the crease or fold line is located substantially centrally between first and second opposing longitudinal edges of the flexible label substrate.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the first and second areas of the non-stick material are respectively substantially aligned with the third and fourth areas of the adhesive material.

In some but not necessarily all examples, widths of the first and second areas of the nonstick material are greater than respective widths of the third and fourth areas of the adhesive material.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the flexible label substrate is printed on one or both of the first side and the second side.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the flexible label substrate is printed with imagery, product information, data, branding and any other print required or desired for the intended utility of the linerless label.

In some but not necessarily all examples, each of the plurality of linerless labels is configured to be one or more of: a temper indicating device; a device for fastening a bag or container; a device for closing a bag or container; and a bag topper.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the flexible label substrate is provided in the form of a reel of the flexible label substrate for dispensing the plurality of linerless labels therefrom.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the first and second areas of non-stick material on the first side of the flexible label substrate are aligned with the third and fourth areas of adhesive material on the second side of the flexible label substrate such that, when the flexible label substrate is wound around itself, the first and second areas of non-stick material overlay the third and fourth areas of adhesive material.

While the above examples of the disclosure and optional features are described separately, it is to be understood that their provision in all possible combinations and permutations is contained within the disclosure. It is to be understood that various examples of the disclosure can comprise any or all of the features described in respect of other examples of the disclosure, and vice versa.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an example of the subject matter described herein; FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the example of FIG. 2; FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a first side of a further example of the subject matter described herein; FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a second side of the further example of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 shows a view of a yet further example of the subject matter described herein; FIG. 6 shows a view of an example of a linerless bag topper; and FIG. 7 shows a view of the linerless bag topper of FIG. 6 applied to a top of a bag.

The figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and views of the figures can be shown schematically or exaggerated in scale in the interest of clarity and conciseness. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the figures can be exaggerated relative to other elements to aid explication. Similar reference numerals are used in the figures to designate similar features. For clarity, all reference numerals are not necessarily displayed in all figures.

In the drawings (and description) a similar feature may be referenced by the same three-digit number. In the drawings (and description), an optional subscript to the three-digit number can be used to differentiate different instances of similar features. Therefore, a three-digit number without a subscript can be used as a generic reference and the three-digit number with a subscript can be used as a specific reference. A subscript can comprise a single digit that labels different instances. A subscript can comprise two digits including a first digit that labels a group of instances and a second digit that labels different instances in the group.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus 100 comprising a flexible label substrate 101 that defines a plurality of linerless labels 200. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a first side of the apparatus 100. FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of the apparatus 100.

The linerless labels are manufactured as a reel or roll of such labels defined in the flexible label substrate, with a series of linerless labels extending end on end. A partial roll is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 1, which shows a first linerless label 2001 and an adjacent second linerless label 2002 at one end of the first linerless label 2001. The linerless labels are identical and a tearable portion 1041 separates adjacent first and second linerless labels 2001 and 2002 from each other in the reel/roll. By way of a non-limiting example, there may be tens or hundreds of linerless labels in a reel/roll.

The flexible label substrate/series of linerless labels is rolled in the direction along the series of labels so that the areas 101A11 and 101 Al2 of non-stick material 102 and the areas 101 A23 and 101 A24 of adhesive material 103 are aligned over each other as the labels are rolled to prevent the adhesive material 103 adhering/bonding to mutually contacting parts of the flexible label substrate/series of linerless labels in the roll.

The flexible label substrate comprises a plurality of tearable portions 104, each of which extends transversely across the flexible label substrate (i.e. in a direction 106 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 105). Each tearable portion is configured to facilitate/enable a user to separate/tear off a section of the flexible label substrate (the configuration of the flexible label substrate, namely with regards to its provision of non-stick areas on a first side thereof and provision of adhesive areas on a second side thereof are discussed below). In this regard, each section defines a linerless label, and hence a series of separable linerless labels are produced along a length of the flexible label substrate with the use of perforations between each impression.

Each tearable portion may be/comprise at least one of: a weakened portion; a plurality of perforations; a line of cuts in the flexible label substrate, and/or a tear line. In some examples, tearable portion may be formed of a line of weakness formed in the flexible label substrate without perforation through the label substrate.

The flexible label substrate comprises a first side/face 1011 and an opposite second side/face 1012.

A first area 101A11 of the first side bears/is coated with a non-stick material 102. Similarly, a second area 101 Ai 2 of the first side bears/is coated with a non-stick material. In this regard, two strips of non-stick material 1021 and 1022 are provided on the first side which extend along the length of the flexible label substrate in a first/longitudinal direction 105.

The first area of the non-stick material is disposed proximal to a first longitudinal edge 101' of the flexible label substrate. The second area of the non-stick material is disposed proximal to a second longitudinal edge 101" of the flexible label substrate, opposite the first longitudinal edge.

The first and second areas of non-stick material may be provided as two substantially mutually parallel strips that run across the first side of the flexible label substrate.

The non-stick material may be any suitable non-stick material, not least such as a material that precludes/minimises bonding with the below discussed adhesive material. The nonstick material may comprise silicon.

As shown in FIG. 2, a third area 101A23 of the second side of the flexible label substrate bears/is coated with an adhesive material 103. Similarly, a fourth area 101 A24 of the second side bears/is coated with an adhesive material.

The third area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to the first longitudinal edge 101' of the flexible label substrate. The fourth area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to the second longitudinal edge 101" of the flexible label substrate, opposite the first longitudinal edge.

The third and fourth areas of adhesive material may be provided as two substantially mutually parallel strips 1031 and 1032 that run across the first side of the flexible label substrate. The widths of the first and second non-stick areas may be greater than the respective widths of the third and fourth adhesive areas. This helps to accommodate minor misalignments of the adhesive and non-stick areas, e.g. during formation of a reel or roll of labels.

The or each strip of adhesive material on the second side of the flexible label substrate may run in alignment or substantially in alignment with a corresponding strip of non-stick material on the first side of the flexible label substrate.

The adhesive material may be any suitable adhesive material or glue. The adhesive material may comprise an adhesive that adheres to the flexible label substrate (and to an exterior surface of a package/container to which the linerless label is to be applied) but does not stick/bond to the non-stick material (or at least readily permits selective separation).

The adhesive may be one or more of: acrylic-based adhesive containing one or more of wax(es), resin(s) and synthetic polymer(s), water-based pressure sensitive adhesive, Polyvinyl acetate "PVA", water-based adhesive with modified cross linking agent, and UV curable so as to be cured upon exposure to ultraviolet light. The adhesive material may comprise or be based on one or more of: acrylic, rubber, hot melt, and cold melt. The adhesive material may be permanent or semi-permanent.

The third area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to a first longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate; and the fourth area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to a second longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate, opposite the first longitudinal edge. In this regard, the positioning of the areas of adhesive material and the positioning of the areas of non-stick material are aligned/in registration with one another.

In the example shown in FIGs 1 and 2, two areas/strips of non-stick material are provided on the first side of the flexible label substrate. However, it is to be appreciated that the first side may be provided with other arrangements, sizes and shapes and numbers of areas of non-stick material. What is significant is the relative positioning of areas of non-stick material on the first side with respect to the relative positioning of areas of adhesive material on the second side. Namely, their relative positioning should be such that, when the flexible label substrate is laid over itself (e.g. wound up into a reel/roll -see for example FIG. 5) areas of adhesive material on the second side are overlaid by areas of non-stick material on the first side -thereby preventing the flexible label substrate from sticking/bonding to itself. In effect, each underlayer of a reel/roll of the flexible label substrate serves as a liner to its overlaying layer, in this regard, the flexible label substrate is configured such that it effectively serves as its own liner.

In some examples, rather than provide two or more separate/discrete areas of non-stick material on the first side of the flexible label substrate, instead the entire surface of the first side of the flexible label substrate may be non-stick, e.g. provided/coated with a non-stick material.

The flexible label substrate may be made from any suitable material, not least for example: cardboard, paperboard, paper, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate or synthetic Polypropylene construction.

It is to be appreciated that the flexible label substrate may be printed on one or both of its first and second sides. For example, it may be printed with imagery, product information, data, branding, and any other print required or desired for the intended utility of the linerless labels of the flexible label substrate.

FIGs. 3 and 4 illustrates an example of a linerless label 200, wherein such a linerless label corresponds to a section of a flexible label substrate 101 that has been torn out of/separated from the rest of the flexible label substrate.

FIG. 3 shows a first side 1011 of the linerless label 200. FIG.3's first side of the linerless label is broadly similar to the first side of one of the sections of the flexible label substrate shown in FIG. 1, except that instead of having two non-stick strips on the first side, the entire surface of the first side is non-stick.

FIG. 4 shows a second side 1012 of the linerless label 200 of FIG. 3. Similar to the example of FIGs 1 and 2, the second side if provided with two strips of adhesive material along the top and bottom edges of the second side.

In the linerless label of FIGs 3 and 4, another tearable portion 107 is provided. However, unlike the transversely tearable portions 104 of FIG 1 (for tearing off/separating each section/linerless label from the flexible label substrate), in FIGs 3 and 4, the tearable portion 107 extends longitudinally along the linerless label. It is to be appreciated that likewise, the flexible label substrate from which the section/linerless label of FIGs 3 and 4 is torn/separated from would correspondingly have a tearable portion that extends longitudinally along the length of the flexible label substrate.

In the example shown, this tearable portion comprises an integrated tear strip (i.e. two parallel lines of perforations/weakness in the linerless label/flexible label substrate. As discussed below with respect to FIGs 6 and 7, when the linerless label is used as a linerless bag top, the tear strip allows easy access to a bag's interior/contents (e.g. by a user/end consumer customer), as well as a tamper indication devices as to whether a bag's interior/contents have been accessed.

The linerless label/flexible label substrate further comprises a cut-out portion 108. The cutout portion (i.e. wherein a portion of the linerless label/flexible label substrate has been removed) is located at one side of the linerless label. In this regard, the cut-out portion is located proximal to an intersection of a transversely extending tearable portion (e.g. 104 of FIG 1) and the longitudinally extending tearable portion 107.

The cut-out portion is configured so as to facilitate/permit user access to the tearable portion 107. In this regard, the cut-out portion may be configured to define a tab portion 109 for the tearable portion 109, such that a user can manually grasp the tab and pull it along the tear line (i.e. such that the tab portion and tear strip act somewhat similarly to a zip) to separate/split the linerless label in two.

Also, the linerless label comprises a crease or fold line 110 extending longitudinally along the length of the flexible label substrate, about which the linerless label can be folded. It is to be appreciated that likewise, the flexible label substrate from which the section/linerless label of FIGS 3 and 4 is torn/separated from would correspondingly have a crease or fold line that extends longitudinally along the length of the flexible label substrate. The crease or fold line may be provided on or through the flexible label substrate.

The crease or fold line may be provided substantially parallel to the strips of the adhesive material and/or non-stick material.

The crease or fold line may extend substantially adjacent to the tearable portion 107.

In the example shown, the crease or fold line is located substantially centrally between first and second opposing longitudinal edges of the flexible label substrate. However, it is to be appreciated that the crease or fold line could be provided at another, e.g. off-centre, location. As discussed below and shown with respect to FIGs 6 and 7, the crease or fold line allows the linerless label to fold over, e.g. a bag and adhere to the bag sides.

The shape and dimensions of each linerless label may be selected to suit an intended use/utility of the linerless labels. Not least by way of non-limiting example, each label may be configured to have a substantially rectangular shape with a longitudinal dimension of the order of 200 mm and a transverse dimension of the order of 150 mm. Of course, each linerless label could be of another shape and differing dimensions.

UV Flexographic Ink may be applied to either side of the flexible label substrate on press.

Each of the: tearable portions 104 (e.g. transversely extending perforations between each linerless label), tearable portions 107 (e.g. longitudinally extending tear strip), cut-out portions 108 (e.g. small cut-out partials of material extracted from the flexible label substrate), and fold/crease line 110 (e.g. down the centre line of the flexible label substrate) may be added/applied via rotary tooling on press.

At the end of the printing and cutting process, the flexible label substrate can be wound into a reel or roll, such as a master reel.

A secondary machine can take the master reel and apply an adhesive to the underside of the flexible label substrate, e.g. in 2 strips, and apply non-stick material (e.g. silicon) in the corresponding areas on the opposite face of the flexible label substrate so as to stop the flexible label substrate sticking/bonding to itself when wound up into a final finished reel (as shown in FIG. 5) -from which individual linerless labels can be manually dispensed (i.e. a user can manually separate each linerless labels from the reel using the tearable portion 104) and manually applied to containers/packages, not least such as bags (as shown with respect to FIGs 6 and 7).

FIG. 5 illustrates the flexible label substrate 100 provided in the form of a reel (with one end partially unwound to show some of the linerless labels 200 comprised in/defined by the reel of the flexible label substrate). In such a manner, the linerless labels are supplied on a continuous reel with tear off perorations between each linerless label.

In the example shown, the flexible label substrate corresponds to one similar to that of FIGs 1 and 2 but with the addition of a fold or crease line 110. However, it is to be appreciated that the reel could be of a flexible label substrate that additionally or alternatively has a longitudinally extending tearable portion (such as 107 of FIGS. 3 and 4), or it could be of a flexible label substrate as per FIGs 1 and 2.

As previously discussed, the first and second areas of non-stick material on the first side of the flexible label substrate (not shown in FIG. 5) are aligned with the third and fourth areas of adhesive material on the second side of the flexible label substrate (not shown in FIG. 5) such that, when the flexible label substrate is wound around itself, the third and fourth areas of adhesive material are overlayed by the first and second areas of non-stick material -such that the flexible label substrate effectively serves as its own release liner/backing sheet such that release liners/backing sheets are not required.

The flexible label substrate reel, i.e. reel of linerless labels, may be configured to be mounted to or dispensed from any suitable device for non-machine applied application. In some example, the reel may be dispensed from a hanging frame or pole, whereupon individual linerless labels can be manually dispensed and manually applied to a container or package.

To meet the needs of fast-food delivery services offered by delivery companies as Deliveroo® and Just Eat®, typically Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) customer food orders are prepared, picked and placed into paper bags.

Once a bag has been filled with a customer's order, the top of the bag may be rolled up/folded over. The rolled up/folded over top of the bag may be closed/sealed with a "bag topper". A conventional bag topper may comprise a self-adhesive card having two strips of adhesive material, one at a top and one at a bottom of one side of the card, and a release liner/tape liner overlaying each adhesive strip. QSR staff would need to remove the tape liners and then fold the card over the top of the bag (such that the adhesive strips adhere to each side of the top of the bag) to close/seal the top of the paper bag. However, not only are the elements of tape liner from such conventional bag toppers additional waste material to be disposed, but they also represent a possible contaminate in a food preparation environment.

Advantageously, examples of the present disclosure may provide a linerless bag topper (i.e. with no liner element of tape covering any adhesive areas), such as for use in closing/sealing bags or containers used for containing and delivering a customer's food order from a restaurant, fast food outlet or Quick Service Restaurants "QSR". Similarly, examples may provide a linerless bag topper for other uses, not least such as for on-line grocery shopping, wherein a customer's shopping order is picked and placed into paper bags to which a linerless bag topper could be applied.

FIG. 6 shows a section of a flexible label substrate, which defines a linerless label 200, in a partially folded state, namely partially folded about its fold/crease line 110 as indicated by the arrow, for use as a linerless bag topper.

In its partially folded configuration, what was the first side 1011 of the section of flexible label substrate/linerless label now forms an exterior of the linerless bag topper, and what was the second side 1012 -comprising the first (not shown) and second 1032 adhesive strip sections -now forms an interior of the linerless bag topper. The linerless bag topper can be considered to have two flap sections, the interior sides of which have an adhesive strip along their distal edges.

Prior to completely folding the flexible label substrate/linerless label/bag topper, i.e. prior to bringing the two flaps completely together, an upper/top section of a bag is placed within the flaps and the flaps are closed over the top of the bag. The adhesive strips of the inner sides of the bag stick/bond to front and back side sections of the top of the bag thereby closing/sealing the bag. The flexible label substrate/linerless label/bag topper may thereby serve as a device for closing/fastening a bag or container, i.e. so as to restrict visible or actual access to the bag contents. Moreover, it may also serve as a temper indicating device, as any access to the interior contents of the bag would need to be done by tearing along the tearable portion 107.

The flexible label substrate/linerless label/bag topper may comprise one or more sections/areas thereof on which, for example consumer information, QSR communication or potential promotional activity may be printed.

The flexible label substrate/linerless label/bag topper may comprise one or more sections thereof where, for example, a customer order number could be written on, or where a receipt could be attached.

FIG. 7 shows the linerless bag topper of FIG. 6 applied to a top part of a bag, not least for example a bag used for containing and delivering customer orders from Quick Service Restaurants "QSR" or on-line grocery shopping.

Various examples of the present disclosure may provide a sturdy board linerless label which has adhesive strips applied to its rear face and silicon strips applied to its front face in corresponding areas, wherein each label is supplied, and manually dispensed, via a continuous roll with perforations between label. Examples may thereby provide an easily dispensed, manually applied solution to closing a bag or container.

Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Features described in the preceding description can be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.

Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions can be performable by other features whether described or not.

Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features can also be present in other examples whether described or not. Accordingly, features described in relation to one example/aspect of the disclosure can include any or all of the features described in relation to another example/aspect of the disclosure, and vice versa, to the extent that they are not mutually inconsistent.

Although various examples of the present disclosure have been described in the preceding paragraphs, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the claims.

The term 'comprise' is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X can comprise only one Y or can comprise more than one Y. If it is intended to use 'comprise' with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context by referring to "comprising only one..." or by using "consisting".

In this description, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions in relation to an example indicates that those features or functions are present in that example. The use of the term 'example' or 'for example', 'can' or 'may' in the text denotes, whether explicitly stated or not, that such features or functions are present in at least the described example, whether described as an example or not, and that they can be, but are not necessarily, present in some or all other examples. Thus 'example', 'for example', 'can' or 'may' refers to a particular instance in a class of examples. A property of the instance can be a property of only that instance or a property of the class or a property of a sub-class of the class that includes some but not all of the instances in the class.

In this description, references to "a/an/the" [feature, element, component, means...] are used with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning and are to be interpreted as "at least one" [feature, element, component, means...] unless explicitly stated otherwise. That is any reference to X comprising a/the Y indicates that X can comprise only one Y or can comprise more than one Y unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. If it is intended to use 'a' or 'the' with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context. In some circumstances the use of 'at least one' or 'one or more' can be used to emphasise an inclusive meaning but the absence of these terms should not be taken to infer any exclusive meaning. As used herein, "at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>" and "at least one of <a list of two or more elements>" and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by "and" or "or", mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to that feature (or combination of features) itself and also to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). The equivalent features include, for example, features that are variants and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. The equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function, in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result.

The above description describes some examples of the present disclosure however those of ordinary skill in the art will be aware of possible alternative structures and method features which offer equivalent functionality to the specific examples of such structures and features described herein above and which for the sake of brevity and clarity have been omitted from the above description. Nonetheless, the above description should be read as implicitly including reference to such alternative structures and method features which provide equivalent functionality unless such alternative structures or method features are explicitly excluded in the above description of the examples of the present disclosure.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of examples of the present disclosure believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

The examples of the present disclosure and the accompanying claims can be suitably combined in any manner apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Separate references to an "example", "in some examples" and/or the like in the description do not necessarily refer to the same example and are also not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For instance, a feature, structure, process, block, step, action, or the like described in one example may also be included in other examples, but is not necessarily included.

Each and every claim is incorporated as further disclosure into the specification and the claims are embodiment(s) of the present disclosure. Further, while the claims herein are provided as comprising specific dependencies, it is contemplated that any claims can depend from any other claims and that to the extent that any alternative embodiments can result from combining, integrating, and/or omitting features of the various claims and/or changing dependencies of claims, any such alternative embodiments and their equivalents

are also within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMS We claim: 1. An apparatus comprising a flexible label substrate configured to define a plurality of linerless labels, wherein the flexible label substrate comprises: a first side and an opposite second side; a first area and a second area of the first side of the flexible substrate, the first and second areas bearing a non-stick material; a third area and a fourth area of the second side of the flexible label substrate, the third and fourth areas bearing an adhesive material; and at least one first tearable portion, extending transversely across the flexible label substrate, for enabling user separation of at least one section of the flexible label substrate, wherein the at least one section defines at least one of the plurality of linerless labels.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second areas of the non-stick material each extend longitudinally along the first side of the flexible label substrate in a first direction.
3. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein: the first area of the non-stick material is disposed proximal to a first longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate; and the second area of the non-stick material is disposed proximal to a second longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate, opposite the first longitudinal edge.
4. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the third and fourth areas of the adhesive material each extend longitudinally along the second side of the flexible label substrate in a first direction.
5. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein: the third area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to a first longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate; and the fourth area of the adhesive material is disposed proximal to a second longitudinal edge of the flexible label substrate, opposite the first longitudinal edge.
6. The apparatus of any of previous claim when dependent upon claim 2 of 4, wherein: the at least one first tearable portion extends transversely across the flexible in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
7. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the at least one first tearable portion comprises at least one of the following: a weakened portion; a plurality of perforations; and a tear line.
8. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the flexible label substrate further comprises at least one second tearable portion extending longitudinally along the flexible label substrate.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one second tearable portion comprises a tear strip.
10. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the flexible label substrate further comprises at least one cut-out portion.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 when dependent upon claim 8, wherein the at least one cut-out portion is configured to allow user access to at least a part of the at least one second tearable portion.
12. The apparatus of claim 10 or 11 when dependent upon claim 8, wherein the cut-out portion is configured to define a tab portion for the at least one second tearable portion.
13. The apparatus of any previous claim, further comprising a crease or fold line extending longitudinally along the flexible label substrate.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the crease or fold line is located substantially centrally between first and second opposing longitudinal edges of the flexible label substrate.
15. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the first and second areas of the non-stick material are respectively substantially aligned with the third and fourth areas of the adhesive material.
16. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein widths of the first and second areas of the non-stick material are greater than respective widths of the third and fourth areas of the adhesive material.
17. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the flexible label substrate is printed on one or both of the first side and the second side.
18. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the flexible label substrate is printed with imagery, product information, data, branding and any other print required or desired for the intended utility of the linerless label.
19. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein each of the plurality of linerless labels is configured to be one or more of: a temper indicating device; a device for fastening a bag or container; a device for closing a bag or container; and a bag topper.
20. The apparatus of any previous claim, wherein the flexible label substrate is provided in the form of a reel of the flexible label substrate for dispensing the plurality of linerless labels therefrom.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first and second areas of non-stick material on the first side of the flexible label substrate are aligned with the third and fourth areas of adhesive material on the second side of the flexible label substrate such that, when the flexible label substrate is wound around itself, the first and second areas of non-stick material overlay the third and fourth areas of adhesive material.