WO2010042988A1

WO2010042988A1 - Method and apparatus for producing labels

Info

Publication number: WO2010042988A1
Application number: PCT/AU2009/001358
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen Heaney; Aaron Green
Original assignee: PROSCALES Pty Ltd
Current assignee: PROSCALES Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2008-10-15
Filing date: 2009-10-15
Publication date: 2010-04-22
Anticipated expiration: 2011-04-15
Also published as: AU2009304586A1; AU2009304586B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for printing contextual infoπnation on a product label. In one embodiment the invention involves the steps of, providing a first computer readable database containing a plurality of individual merchandise records, selecting one of said individual merchandise records that corresponds to the product to which the label is being applied, cross-referencing the selected individual merchandise record with at least a second computer-readable database containing contextual information, and printing a label including the merchandise record that corresponds to said product and contextual information, wherein the contextual information is information regarding a related commodity or information that assists in use of said product, or a combination thereof. Preferably if the product is part of an advertising campaign then at least some of the contextual information is selected from an advertising campaign database. On the other hand if the product is not part of an advertising campaign then the contextual information is selected from a database containing information relating to use of the product.

Description

Method and apparatus for producing labels FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of producing labels and in one aspect relates to the production of a label that includes product information and contextual information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Apparatus for printing labels prior to the point of sale are used widely io the delicatessen section of supermarket and other speciality stores. The labels typically include information specific to the goods being purchased, including weight, unit price and total price. The labels may also include shelf life information such as the used by date of the goods.

Some labels include a voucher or discount information. Typically the discount information is pre-printed on the label and does not typically relate to the product being purchased. The discount information i$ not editable or dependent upon the type of merchandise being purchased.

Other incentive type systems involve the printing of voucher information on a detachable portion of a label that is applied to a product. The collection of a predetermined number of these detachable portions then qualifies the customer for discounted goods. Many incentive schemes involve the customer being provided with the incentive information at the end of the shopping event. Typically the customer can only exchange their voucher for goods during a future shopping excursion.

Another limitation with currently available label printing systems is they are limited in their ability to allow the user to control or modify the information printed on the label.

Packaging of many foodstuffs include recipes to assist a potential customer in use of the product or in the selection of complementary goods, for instance for formulating a meal or snack. This inforraation is applied to the articles by the manufacture or distributor before they arrive at the store. In-store label printing apparatus are not currently able to apply such information to labels.

There is therefore the need for a label printing apparatus that allows for the modification of information printed on the label. There is furthermore a need for a label printer that can print information relating to the product being purchased.

It should be appreciated that any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification is included solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention and should in no way be considered as. an admission that such prior art was widely known or formed part of the common general knowledge in the field as it existed before the priority date of the application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is proposed a method for printing contextual information on a product label, including the step of: providing a first computer-readable database containing a plurality of individual merchandise records; selecting one of said individual merchandise records that corresponds to the product, to which the label is being applied; cross-referencing the selected individual merchandise record with at least a second computer-readable database containing contextual information; and printing a label including the individual merchandise record that corresponds to said product and contextual information, wherein the contextual information is information regarding a related commodity or information that assists in use of said product or a combination thereof.

In one form the contextual information may be selected from a group containing, but not limited to, vouchers for related goods, incentive information, recipes and serving suggestions that incorporate said product, product information such as nutritional information, tasting notes relating to the product or marketing information for related goods or services. In this way the contextual information printed on the label may be tailored to the specific product being purchased^, This means that participating stores and manufactures can market their goods to target customers that are likely to require or be at least interested in purchasing the goods or services being promoted on the label. The information regarding use of the product assists the customer in the proper use of the product, which will typically add to the enjoyment by the customer.

The tasting notes may be printed on a label that is being attached to the packaging of a product including a food or beverage. The tasting notes may include' information about the nature or characteristics of the product, when and how to serve, history of the cheese type, or other foods or wines that complement the particular food or beverage. For instance the tasting notes may be printed on the label that is being attached to the packaging of cheese. The tasting notes may inclυde information about the nature or characteristics of the cheese, when and how to serve, history of the cheese type, other foods or wines that complement the particular cheese or any other information that the manufacture of the cheese or the retailer considers will assists in the enjoyment of the product, This is also true of many other types of foods, including smallgoods, and beverages such as wine.

The method may includes the step of identifying the product, using a scanner, touch screen or manually entering the PLU code using a keyboard. It is then determined whether the identified product is part of an advertising campaign. If the product is part of a particular advertising campaign then at least some of the contextual information is selected from an advertising campaign database, and the product details along with the advertisement of the related commodity are printed on the label. If the product is not part of an advertising campaign then the contextual information is selected from a utilisation database containing information relating to use of the product, and the product details along with information relating to its use are printed on the label in step.

In another form, if the product is part of an advertising campaign the advertisement of the related commodity and the information relating to use of the product are both printed on the label. If on the other hand the product is not part of an advertising campaign then only the information relating to use of the product is printed on the label. The format and layout of the label could be changed, either automatically or manually, so that there are no large blank spaces on the label.

Alternatively different sized labels could be used depending upon the amount of information to be printed on the label. Alternatively the space occupied by the advertisement could be replaced with a default message such as the logo of the participating store when the product is not part of an advertising campaign.

A manufacture or retailer may select the products on which their goods will be advertised. For instance a manufacture of tomato sauce or hot dog rolls can advertise their goods on labels applied to hotdogs sausages purchased from the delicatessen section of a supermarket,

In still another form the contextual information presented on the label can be selected from at least two separate piece of information, The user or customer can select the preferred contextual information to be printed on the label. The contextual information may be two different discounts for different products or the contextual information may be a selected from either a progressive incentive or a specific discount. In this way the customer can select their preferred discount that is then printed on the label.

The incentive information may be progressive in nature, such that upon purchase of a certain quantity of product a customer is provided with different incentives . For example, if a customer purchases between 250-35Og of sliced ham they are provided with a 5% discount on bread rolls from a particular producer. On the other hand if the customer purchases over 35Og of sliced ham they are provided with a 10% discount on bread rolls from a particular producer.

The weight of the packaging or tare weight may be preset on a product type basis. The same type of packaging is typically used fox a particular product. Accordingly, the weight of the packaging can be preset so that when a particular product is selected the packaging weight is known and the net weight can be automatically calculated without having to first place the empty packaging on the scales. The method steps disclosed above are preferably instructions written as application software carried out by a computer processor.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is proposed an apparatus for printing contextual information on a label for attachment to a product, including a control means, in communication with , at least, first and second databases, the first database containing a plurality of individual merchandise records and the second database containing contextual information relating to each of the plurality of individual merchandise records, an input device, in communication with said control means, for collecting information specific to said product, and a printer in communication with said control means, for printing of the relevant merchandise record and contextual information onto the label, wherein the contextual information is information regarding a related commodity or information that assists in use of said product or a combination thereof.

In one form of the invention detailed in the immediately preceding paragraph the input device includes a set of scales. The product is positioned on the scales and the user identifies the article using a user interface.

The individual merchandise records may be selectively displayed on a user interface in at least two formats to facilitate the selection of a desired merchandise record corresponding to the product.

. The user interface may include a visually display means to assist in selection of the correct merchandise record. In one form the visual display means is a touch screen device that is able to display the merchandise records in a number formats to aid in selection of the relevant merchandise record. The merchandise xecords may be grouped into categories or displayed in an alphabetical list to assist the user is selecting the correct record.

The touch screen device may also display a selected number of merchandise record that are regularly used. These favourite records may be selective display on the touch screen and be customized by an administrator or dedicated software to the specific location of the apparatus within a particular store. For instance the favourite records displayed on a touch screen located in the meat section of a supermarket delicatessen would be different to the touch screen located in the cheese section of the store. The software may determine the records to be displayed depending upon the selection history of the control means.

The details of the product, such as the nutritional information, tasting notes, history of the product, complementary foods or beverages, when and how to serve, and serving suggestions may be displayable on the user interface or other display means, for the customer's information. The details may be selectable by the user for printing on the label depending upon the customer's preference.

In use the control means receives a weight indicative signal from the weight scale. Based upon the merchandise record selected by the user and the weight indicative signal received from the weight scale the control means establishes a price for the product. The control means then effects printing of the product label by the printer wherein the label includes product specific information such as, price, used by date and nutritional information, as well as the contextual information such as voucher details, recipes that incorporate the product or marketing information for related goods or services.

The contextual information printed on the label may be selected from an advertising database or utilisation database, or both. The contextual information may be progressive in that once a predetermined quantity of the product is purchased the customer qualifies for different contextual information. For instance as a default the label may include a recipe that incorporating the product, when the customer purchases over a certain quantity of the product a discount voucher will be printed on the label. In another form of the second aspect of the invention the input device includes a scanner. The scanner is used to collect product specific information from barcodes and the like. This may be useful when the product is pre-packaged prior to being placed on display in the store. The communication between the input device, control means and printer can be via a communication interface using an appropriate communication channel such as a modem communication path, a local area computer network (LAN) , or fixed cables.

In yet another form of the second aspect of the invention the control means is a computer including memory in the form of random access memory (RAM) and readonly memory (ROM), a central processing unit or units, input/output (10) interfaces and at least one data storage device. The computer includes application software for controlling the computer and undertaking the task of processing input data, calculating price, cross-referencing with the database or databases containing contextual information and providing the printer with label information for printing.

In accordance with a third aspect of the invention there is proposed a system for producing product specific labels, including a plurality of control means connected to respective printing means and user interfaces, the plurality of control means being in communication with a central control unit, wherein the information printed on said labels includes product specific information and contextual information, the selection of said product specific information being controlled by the individual control means and the selection of said contextual information being controlled by said central control unit. The central control unit may be configured to control a number of individual apparatus. The central control unit may be located within a particular store or it may be situated offsite. In one form the contextual information may vary depending upon the time of the day or a selected discount cycle. The particular store may control the contextual information to relate to specific products at selected times of the day. For instance contextual information that relates to perishable items may be printed on the labels towards the end of trading to promote their sale.

Each of the plurality of control means may be connected to at least two printers, the printers being configured to print labels of different configurations. This means that a single control means is able to print different label formats depending upon the product selected using the user interface. It also means that different blank or partially pre-printed labels can be loaded into different printers.

The different labels may vary in size and layout, or may include a pre-printed portion including logos or advertising for a particular manufacturer. A manufacturer of a particular product may request that their brand specific labels be used on their goods or on other particular goods, such as cold meat from the delicatessen section of a supermarket. These brand specific labels may include contextual information corresponding to related goods. In this way the label can be customized to the specific requirements of the manufacturer.

The contextual information may be advertising relating to corresponding goods or services, ϊn one form the advertising is paid for by a local business, for instance the contextual information may relate to a video store in the vicinity of the supermarket. The contextual information is printed on labels that are applied to goods such as hot chickens sold on Friday evening. It is likely that purchases of hot chicken at that particular time are purchasing the goods on their way home and may be interested in hiring a movie.

In this way businesses can target likely customers by selecting the goods and times at which the contextual information is printed in the labels. The business can also select the geographic distributing of their advertising by choosing a specific store or group of stores to which the contextual information is applied to labels. The business can therefore further limit their advertising to target likely customers.

The advertising space can be sold to businesses on a per unit basis. For instance a business selling hotdog buns can choose to place their advertising or discounts on the next 1,000 purchases of hotdog sausages from the delicatessen section of a particular store. This provides an advantage to the business in that they know exactly how many people are being targeted with their advertising.

The plurality of control means are in commimication with the central control unit, via an intranet or the Internet. In one form the central control unit is in communication with a plurality of individual control means located at different geographical locations.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention there is proposed an apparatus for producing a label for a product, including a control means, in communication with a touch screen device, a database including a plurality of individual merchandise records displayable on said touch screen device, an input device for collecting product specific information, and a printer for printing of said labels, wherein the merchandise records can be selectively displayed on the touch screen device in at least two different layouts to facilitate the selection of the individual merchandise record corresponding to said product.

In one form the invention of the immediately preceding paragraph the input device is a weight scale that sends weight indicative signals to the control means when the product is located on a weight scale platform. Based upon the merchandise record selected and the weight indicative signal, the control means is able to calculate the price for the product and effect printing of the product label, Product specific information such as "used by date", "best before dace" and/or "packaging date" are also printed on the label. This product specific information may be set or calculated using a default equation use by the control means.

The user may select a particular merchandise record such that a series of quantities of the same product can be weighted and the labels automatically printed. This would be useful when portions of the same product are being consecutively weighted and labelled, which may occur when a user is separating a product into a number of smaller portions, such as when a cheese wheel is being divided. This enables the user to rapidly label a number of articles of the same product,

The product specific information, such as the "best before dale" or "packing date", may be altered by the user before the label is printed. This would be useful when the user has particular knowledge about the product that differs from the default settings or equations. In this way the end user can override some of the default information if required before the label is printed. Application software may be stored in a computer readable medium on a storage device such as a floppy disk, a hard drive, a magneto-optical disk drive, CD- ROM, magnetic tape, integrated circuit, a radio or infra-red transmission channel between the computer and another device, a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card, a flash drive or any other of the number of non-volatile storage devices.

Alternatively the application software could be read by the control means via a modem device from the Internet or an intranet, including modem transmission and information recorded in websites and the like. The foregoing is merely exemplary of relevant computer readable mediums. Other computer readable mediums may be practiced without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

The software may be implemented as one or more modules for undertaking the steps of the present invention. In one form the modules are parts of a computer program that usually performs a particular function or related functions. Alternatively the modules can be a packaged functional hardware unit for use with other components or modules.

The apparatus may include embedded software or firmware with corresponding hardware that is designed to perform one or more dedicated functions. The hardware may be a computer chip, mobile phone, Pocket PC or PDA.

In another form the processor and the memory cooperate with each other and with other components of a computer to perform all of the functionality described herein. In still another form the processor executes appropriate software to perform all of the functionality described herein. In an alternate form, some of all of the functionality described herein can be accomplished with dedicated electronics hardwired to perform the described functions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate implementations of the invention and, together with the description and claims, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a flow diagram illustrating the method steps of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a block diagram of an arrangement including a plurality of apparatus of the present invention and a central control unit;

Figures 6Vc are screen views displayable on a touch screen of the present invention, illustrating the sorting of individual merchandise records from the first database;

Figure 6d is another screen view illustrating the use of a drop down menu for modifying records;

Figure 7a is a screen view illustrating a list of the individual merchandise records of figures 6a-c;

Figure 7b is a screen view of one of the individual merchandise records of figure 7a;

Figure 8a is a screen view of the administrator tab of the present invention;

Figure 8b is a screen view of the category selection tab of the present invention;

Figure 9a is a screen view illustrating a list of the individual contextual information entries of the present invention; Figure 9b is a screen view of one of the individual contextual information tabs used to amend different parameters;

Figure 10 is a screen view of the automatic print mode of the present invention; and

Figure 11 is a flow diagram illustrating the method steps for controlling contextual information printed on a label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND EXEMPLIFIED EMBODIMENTS

There are numerous specific details set forth in the following description. However, from the disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and/or substitutions may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In some circumstance specific details may have been omitted so as not to obscure the invention. Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

In a first embodiment as illustrated in figure 1 there is provided a method 10 for controlling contextual information printer on a product label, including the step of:

• providing a first computer-readable database containing a plurality of individual merchandise records 12;

• selecting one of said individual merchandise records that corresponds to the product 14 to which the label is being applied;

• cross-referencing the selected individual merchandise record with at least a second computer-readable database containing contextual information 16;

• displaying information 18 to be printed on the label; and

• printing a label 20 that includes a merchandise record that corresponds to the product and contextual information, wherein the contextual information is information regarding a related commodity or information that assists in use of the product or a combination thereof. It is envisaged that the contextual information will be selected from a group containing, but not limited to, vouchers for related goods, incentive information, recipes and serving suggestions that incorporate the product or marketing information for related goods or services. In this way the information printed on the label can be tailored to the specific product to which the label is being applied.

The method steps are instructions written as application software, which are carried out by a computer processor. As illustrated in figure 2, an apparatus 22 is used to undertake the steps of method 10. The apparatus 22 includes a control means 24 in communication with first and second databases 26, 28, a display means 30 and a printing device 32. Communication is undertaken by way of a communication means 34 such as a modem communication path, a computer network such as a local area network (LAN), Internet, or fixed cables.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in figure 3, the control means 24 is in the form of a computer having a keyboard 36 and mouse 38. The printer 32 is connected to the computer 24 via a fixed cable 40 and is configured to print labels 42. The labels 42 may be in various formats, such as self-adhesive labels. The control means 24 is connected via another cable 40 to an input device 44 being, in the present embodiment, a weight scale 46. The weight scale 46 is configured to collect product specific information such as the weight of the product to enable the control means 24 to calculate the total cost of the product. It should however be appreciated mat other input devices 44 such as a hand held scanner could be connected to the control means 24. In another form the input device 44 may be able to collect different information such as weight and date of packaging simultaneously by use of a scanner/weight scale device (not shown).

The control means 24 is in communication with the first and second databases

26, 28. The first database 26 contains a plurality of individual merchandise records and the second database 28 contains contextual information linked to each of the plurality of merchandise records. The weight scale 46 is in communication with the control means 24 and is adapted to collect weight information specific to a product on the scales. The control means 24 controls Uie operation of the printer 32 for printing of the relevant merchandise record and contextual information.

The display means 30 may include a user interface in the form of a touch screen device, The touch screen aids the user is selecting the individual merchandise record that corresponding to the product being weighted. The merchandise records may be displayed in a number formats to further aid in selection of the relevant merchandise record. The merchandise records may be grouped into categories or displayed in an alphabetical list to assist the user is selecting the correct record.

In use the control means 24 receives a weight indicative signal from the weight scale 46. Based upon the merchandise record selected by the user and the weight indicative signal received from the weight scale 46 the control means 24 establishes a price for the product. The control means 24 then effects printing of the product label 42 by the printer 32, wherein the labe) 42 includes product specific information such as, price, used by date and nutritional information, as well as the contextual information such as voucher details, recipes that incorporate the product or marketing information for related goods or services.

In a further embodiment, as illustrated in figure 4 the computer 24 includes a processor 48 in the form of a central processing unit (CPU) for processing data, memory 50 in the form of a random access memory (RAM) for storing data signals for processing by the CPU and for storing control programs for controlling the CPU, a mass storage unit 52, such as a hard-drive for storing database details, and an input/output unit (I/O) 54. The computer 24 further includes communication buses 56 or other means for communication between components 48, 50, 52, 54.

In the present embodiment the computer 24 is connected to printers 58 and 60. The use of two printers means that different label formats can be printed. Different sized labels or partially pre-printed labels can be loading into the different printers 58, 60. In this way specific labels can be used for different applications depending upon the requirement of the participating store or manufacturer. The computer, as further illustrated in figure 4, is in communication with a central control unit 62. The central control unit 62 is configured to control the contextual information printed on the label 42. The central control unit 62, which is controlled by an administrator, may be located within a particular store or it may be situated offsite.

The I/O unit 54 allow the processor 48 to communicate 34 with the display means 30, input device 44, printers 58 and 60, and the central control unit 62.

As illustrated in figure 5, the central control unit 62 may be connected to a number of individual computer processors located at stations 64, 66 and 68. The stations 64, 66 and 68 may be located within a single store or be located in different stores within a particular geographical area. Stations 64, 66 and 68 may be in communication 34 with the central control unit 62 via an intranet or the Internet.

The configuration of each of the stations may be different. For instance as illustrated in figure 5, the computer at station 64 is connected to a weight scale 44, and printers 58 , 60. The computer at station 66 is connected to a scanner 70 and printers 58, 60, and the computer at station 68 is connected to printers 58 and 60. This means that the apparatus 22 located at each of the stations can be tailored to the particular requirements of the store or location within the store. The central control unit 62 can control all of the computers located at stations 64, 66, 68. Alternatively selected computers can be controlled or the contextual infoπnation on particular computer can be altered. This allows the administrator of the central control unit 62 flexibility in being able to control the contextual information printed on the labels at particular locations and at particular times.

It is envisaged that the processes of the embodiments, described herein, are resident as software or a program recorded in a hard disk drive as the computer readable medium, and read and controlled using the central processing unit or units. The intermediate storage of the program and intermediate data and any data fetched from a network may be accomplished using the RAM, possibly in conjunction with the hard disk drive. It should however be appreciated that the computer components are provided for illustrative purposes only and other configurations could be employed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention,

In the present embodiment, the method is carried out using a display means 30 configured to visually display a number of different data selection/entry screens. These data selection/entry screens are displayed on a touch screen to aid in use of the invention, however it should be appreciated that the data selection/entry screens could be displayed on conventional computer monitor.

Figure 6a illustrates a data selection/entry screen 72 that includes the merchandise records from the first database 26 soπed by category 74, Each of the individual merchandise records 76 are assigned to a particular category 74 to assist the user in identifying the correct record 76 that corresponds to the product. The screen 72 includes a number of product specific fields including an editable product use field 78, product details field 80 and product price field 82. The screen 72 includes a product weight display 84 , a weighing trigger 86, print triggers 88, 90 and a label format field 92. The screen 72 also includes keys 94 and 96 for eotering product details and changing between different data selection/entry screens.

The product specific information, such as the "best before" date, "pack date" or "product life" in field 80 can be altered using the touch screen functionality and data entry keys 94.

The individual merchandise records 76 can be display in a number of different formats. As illustrated in figure 6b, data selection/entry screen 98 displays the individual merchandise records 76 in alphabetical sequence 100, The user can select the appropriate letter and tab to access the required record.

The data selection/entry screen 102, illustrated in figure 6c, includes a PLU display 104. This allows the user to entry the PLU code using the data entry keys 94. Data selection/entry screen 102 also includes a favourites display 106 that includes a number of preselected individual merchandise records 76. An adininistrator of the system may set which individual merchandise records 76 are displayed on the screen 102 or the software may be configured to automatically display the most popular individual merchandise records 76 used by the particular computer on which the application software is installed.

Figure 6d illustrates a modification screen 108 that allows the user or administrator to alter the details of a particular individual merchandise records 76 using drop down tabs 110.

As illustrated on data display screen 112 in figure 7a, the individual merchandise records 76 are stored as an editable database 26. The database 26 includes a ouraber of fields that are edible using the functionality of the touch screen and keys 114.

Each of the individual merchandise records 76 includes corresponding data sheets 116 that are displayable on screen 118, as illustrated in figure 7b. The data sheet 116 includes fields 120, 122, 124 and 126, that are editable using touch screen functionality and keys 128, This allows the administrator or user to set the information that will be printed on the label 42 for a particular product.

The administrator is able to set and modify other details using the administrator tools tab illustrated on screen 130 in figure 8a, The administrator is able to use screen 130 to enter and modify information contained within fields 132, 134, 136 and 138. This information includes software aud database configuration, details of the company using the apparatus and details relating to the input device such as the weight scale.

The administrator is also able to modify the system configuration using data entry screen 140. This includes details relating to the category details 74 and default label details 142 such as size or type of label.

Figure 9a illustrates a data display screen 144 that includes a list of the contextual information 148 from the second editable database 28. The list of the contextual information 148 includes the title 150 and content 152 of each of the individual items of contextual information 154. The individual items of contextual information 154 can be activated or deactivated using field 156. A data sheet 158 is provided for each of the individual items of contextual information 154, as illustrated on screen 160 of figure 9b. The data sheet 158 includes fields 162, 164, 166, 168 and 170, which are editable using touch screen functionality and keys 172 and 174. This allows the administrator or user to set the contextual information that will be printed on the label 42 for a particular product. The criteria, time schedule, and notes can also be controlled using screen 160.

The print screen 176 illustrated in figure 10 illustrates the automatic print function of the present invention, The print screen 176 includes label details 178, editable product use field 78 and label format field 92. The screen 176 also includes a print key 180 for activating and deactivating the automatic print function.

Figure 11 illustrates an embodiment of the method 10 for controlling contextual information printed on a label. The method 10 includes the initial step 182 of identifying the product using a scanner 70, touch screen 184 or manually entering the PLU code 186 using a keyboard. It is then determined whether the identified product is part of an advertising campaign in step 188. If the product is part of a campaign then the contextual information is selected from an advertising campaign database in step 190, and the product details along v/ith the advertising of the related commodity are printed on the label in step 192, If the product is not part of an advertising campaign then the contextual information is selected from a database containing information relating to use of the product in step 194, and the product details along with information relating to its use are printed on the label in step 196.

The skilled addressee will now appreciate the many advantages of the illustrated invention. In one form the invention provides an apparatus and method of controlling the contextual information printed on a product label. The contextual information may be vouchers for related goods, incentive information, recipes and serving suggestions that incorporate said product, product information such as nutritional information, tasting notes relating to the product or marketing information for related goods or services. An administrator may be able to control the printing of different contextual information to labels depending upon the location of the apparatus , time of day or discount cycle. In another form the invention provides an apparatus and method for displaying merchandise records in at least two different layouts to facilitate the selection of the individual merchandise record corresponding to a particular product. A database containing all of the merchandise records can be sorted in a number of ways to provide a display on a touch screen device that aids a user in selected the required merchandise record.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however, it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate and that the invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly the invention can include various modifications, which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. It should be further understood that for the purpose of the specification the word "comprise" or "comprising" means "including but not limited to".

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A method for printing contextual information on a product label, including the step of: providing a first computer-readable database containing a plurality of individual merchandise records; selecting one of said individual merchandise records that corresponds to the product to which the label is being applied; cross-referencing the selected individual merchandise record with at least a second computer-readable database containing contextual information; and printing a label including the individual merchandise record that corresponds to said product and contextual information, wherein the contextual information is information regarding a related commodity or information that assists in use of said product or a combination thereof.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the contextual information may be selected from a group containing, but not limited to, vouchers for related goods, incentive information, recipes and serving suggestions that incorporate said product, product information such as nutritional information, tasting notes relating to the product or marketing information for related goods or services. 3. The method in accordance with claim 2 wherein the tasting notes are printed on a label that is being attached to the packaging of a product including a food or beverage, the tasting notes including information about the nature or characteristics of the product, when and how to serve, history of the cheese type, or other foods or wines that complement the particular food or beverage.

4. The method in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the contextual information presented on the label is selected from at least two separate sources of information, such as two databases. The method in accordance with any one of the above claims further including the step of determined whether the product is part of an advertising campaign. The method in accordance with claim 5 wherein if the product is part of said advertising campaign at least some of the contextual information is selected from an advertising campaign database, and if the product is not part of said advertising campaign the contextual information is selected from a utilisation database containing information relating to use of said product.

The method in accordance claim 5 wherein if the product is part of said advertising campaign the advertisement of the related commodity and the information relating to ose of the product are both printed on the label.

An apparatus for printing contextual information on a label for attachment to a product, including a control means, in communication with at least first and second databases, the first database containing a plurality of individual merchandise records and the second database containing contextual information relating to each of the plurality of individual merchandise records, an input device, in communication with said control means, for collecting information specific to said product, and a printer in communication with said control means, for printing of the relevant merchandise record and contextual information onto the label, wherein the contextual information is information regarding a related commodity or information that assists in use of said product or a combination thereof.

The apparatus in accordance with claim 8 further including a user interface wherein individual merchandise records may be selectively displayed on a display means in at least two formats to facilitate the selection of a desired merchandise record corresponding to the product.

The apparatus in accordance with claim 9 wherein the user interface includes a visual display means such as a touch screen device that is able to display the merchandise records in a number formats to aid in selection of the relevant merchandise record.

11. The apparatus in accordance with any one of claims 8 to 10 wherein the details of the product, such as the nutritional information, tasting notes, history of the product, complementary foods or beverages, when and how to serve, and serving suggestions may be displayable on a user interface or other display means.

12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 1 wherein the details of said product are selectable by the user for printing onto the label.

13. A system for producing product specific labels, including a plurality of control means connected to respective printing means and user interfaces, the plurality of control means being in communication with a central control unit, wherein the information printed on said labels include product specific information and contextual information, the selection of said product specific information being controlled by the individual control means and the selection of said contextual information being controlled by said central control unit.

14. The system in accordance with claim 13 wherein the contextual information may be advertising relating to corresponding goods or services.

15. An apparatus for producing a label for a product, including a control means, in communication with a touch screen device, a database including a plurality of individual merchandise records displayable on said touch screen device, an input device for collecting product specific information, and a printer for printing of said labels, wherein the merchandise records can be selectively displayed on the touch screen device in at least two different layouts to facilitate the selection of the individual merchandise record corresponding to said product.