GARMENT LABEL PRINTING METHOD Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method of providing indicia on a garment. Background to the Invention Conventionally, garment labels may be embroidered or printed on a fabric strip or ribbon, and label lengths of the ribbon are then stitched into the garment, for example to indicate branding, fibre content, country of origin, and perhaps washing instructions. This technique, however, has two principal drawbacks: it is labour-intensive, particularly in stitching the label into the garment; and the stitched label can be irritating to the wearer's skin.

Indicia can be printed directly on to a garment, using screen printing techniques, but these are expensive and are not generally capable of producing fine detail. An alternative is to produce the indicia in the form of a heat- activatable transfer which can be applied to the garment. Conventionally, such transfers are prepared by silk-screen printing indicia on to a release paper, and then printing an adhesive layer over the indicia. For multi-colour indicia, each colour ink must be fully cured before the next ink is applied. This typically involves leaving the printed transfer overnight between each printing, and this means that continuous web printing cannot be used, and sheets must instead be printed. Again, the use of silk-screen printing limits the resolution at which images can be reproduced, which can be disadvantageous, especially where small labels are required. Summary of the Invention

According to the invention, a method of providing indicia on a garment comprises printing the indicia in reverse on to a silicone release paper using a flexographic printing plate and an anilox roller to transfer ink to the plate, passing the paper through an ink dryer, printing a heat-activatable adhesive on to the paper over the indicia, curing or drying the adhesive, and pressing the paper carrying the indicia on to the garment at a temperature and for a time sufficient to cause the adhesive and indicia to adhere to the garment.

Preferably, the paper is in the form of an elongate web supplied from a reel and the paper is re-reeled after the application of the adhesive. The flex-

ographic printing step may be conducted in a separate machine from the printing of the adhesive, and the paper may therefore be re-reeled after the printing step to facilitate transfer to the adhesive printing machine. The correct alignment of the adhesive print with the indicia may be assisted by printing one or more alignment or registration marks in association with the indicia, and then detecting the alignment marks in the adhesive printing machine. The registration marks may also be used to ensure correct positioning of the indicia during application to the garment.

The adhesive is suitably printed on to the indicia by screen printing, and preferably the adhesive is arranged to have an area which is slightly greater than that of the printed indicia, so that there is no possibility of any part of the indicia failing to be fully adhered to the garment.

The indicia may be printed using a plurality of different coloured inks to provide a spot-coloured or full-colour image, and text where required. The inks employed are preferably of the type suitable for printing directly onto fabrics, being a hybrid of flexographic ink and letterpress ink specially developed to withstand washing and dry cleaning after application to fabric. Fabric printing inks in general are commercially available.

The reverse of the paper can be printed at the same time as the indicia, for example to provide application guidance or identification for the particular label being applied. Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which are diagrammatic representations of the stages of the method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a multicolour flexographic label printing machine;

Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating a screen printer for applying the adhesive; and

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the garment transfer application stage. Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment

Referring first to Figure 1 , the first stage can be achieved using a four- colour flexographic label printing machine, for example of the type sold by the

applicants under the name Focus LX Flexo, but modified to be able to handle paper as well as the fabric for which it is constructed, and to be able to handle ink suitable for printing directly on to or transfer to fabric. The transfer medium used in the method of the invention is a siliconised paper which can receive an ink image, but which permits the ink to be separated from the paper when applied to the garment. The paper is used in continuous web form, and a reel 1 of the paper is mounted on a feed reel stand 2, from where the paper is fed to a first print station 3, which prints the reverse side of the paper, for example with guide instructions and identifying information. From there, the paper web passes into the main print station 4, where it follows a circular path as the successive colour images are laid down on the paper, using industrial inks specially formulated for printing fabrics. The ink has the unique property to withstand washing and dry cleaning, making it suitable for both garment identification and labelling applications. Since the ink is a hy- brid of flexographic ink and letterpress ink, the traditional ink flow keys of a letterpress system have been replaced with an enclosed ink fountain and the ink flow is controlled through an engraved anilox roller. The process is capable of printing full colour fine resolution images on to the paper, thereby giving designers considerable flexibility in the design of labels. The flexographic process used permits the four inks to be applied without the need to dry the images in between each printing station in the machine. Registration marks are printed on to the paper adjacent to each of the indicia or transfer images.

The paper web leaving the main print station 4 passes through a single drying stage 5 using infra-red treatment with cold air passing over the paper to remove solvents without unnecessary heating of the paper and thereby avoiding the risk of distortion of the image. From the dryer, the web passes to a die cutting station 6, from which waste material is wound separately on a waste reel 7, while the labels are rewound at a re-reeling station 8 to provide a reel 9 for the second stage. In the second stage of the process, as illustrated in Figure 2, the printed reel 9 is transferred to a second printing machine 10 for the application of the adhesive. The printing machine consists of a screen-printing table 11 over

which the pre-printed paper is fed from the feed reel 9, passing beneath the screen having formed therein the reverse image of the region of adhesive to be applied to the printed indicia. The printing table 11 has associated therewith a photocell or the like to detect the presence of the registration marks to instruct the machine to stop the paper movement at the correct position for the screen to be brought into contact with the paper to permit the adhesive ink to be transferred through the screen on to the image. The adhesive is a plastisol heat transfer adhesive of a type used conventionally in the manufacture of transfer prints. After application of the adhesive, the paper passes into a vertically- arranged dryer 13 where it is exposed to an array of infra-red heaters to evaporate the solvents from the adhesive, so that the paper can then pass back down to the base of the machine, guided by a series of rollers 14, 15, 16 and 17, to allow cooling of the paper and any residual evaporation of solvent before being wound on to a receiving reel 18.

The final stage, illustrated in Figure 3, involves application of the indicia to the garments. The roll of completed transfers is installed on a applicator machine 20, in which the paper is fed to a heated platen 21. The printed paper is presented to the garment face down, with the registration marks faced upwards for ease of positioning. The registration marks are detected by a optical sensor 22 for correct positioning of the label in the head, to ensure correct positioning on the garment, which is located on the garment plate 23. A pressure cylinder 24 then causes the platen 21 to apply pressure and heat for a pre-determined time period, depending on the fabric type. The image and adhesive are trans- ferred to the garment during this period and the paper is then lifted clear of the garment, leaving the transferred ink image on the garment. The paper is then incremented for the next application to a new garment. The used transfer paper is re-wound on to a reel 25 for subsequent disposal.