BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Conventional bar-coding allows product and/or batches of product to be identified by a unique coding or identification system. The unique coding is either printed directly onto the product or packaging or printed onto an adhesive label or a non-adhesive surface of an adhesive tape which is then applied to the product or packaging.

Ink-jet printers and label printers are most commonly used to print the bar-coding. Reading of the bar-coded labels is effected in a known manner by scanning of the bar code with a laser decoder.

This conventional system of bar-coding has at least the following drawbacks or constraints: i) the bar-coding must be printed with a relatively high definition or resolution print for high-speed scanning; ii) the printing on the bar-coding may be exposed to physical damage which then means the bar-coding is difficult to read or scan; and iii) the system of bar-coding is inflexible insofar as there are limitations on for example the size of the coding and the speed at which it is applied to the product or packaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of applying print matter to a print

surface, said method comprising the steps of: temporarily providing the print matter on a releasable surface; transferring the print matter to an adhesive surface of an adhesive layer of a transfer material by contacting and thereafter removing the adhesive surface from the releasable surface; and applying the transferred print matter to the print surface by contacting the adhesive surface of the adhesive layer with the print surface.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of applying print matter to a print surface, said method comprising the steps of: temporarily providing the print matter on a releasable surface; transferring the print matter to an adhesive surface of an adhesive layer of a transfer material by contacting and thereafter removing the adhesive surface from the releasable surface; and applying the transferred print matter to the print surface by contacting an opposing adhesive surface of the adhesive layer with'the print surface.

Generally the step of providing the print matter on the releasable surface involves printing onto said surface using conventional techniques or equipment such as laser printing or other methods of imaging using powder such as photocopying.

Preferably the method of applying print matter further comprises the step of applying a backing material to the adhesive surface of the transfer material and thereafter removing a liner of the transfer material so as to expose the opposing adhesive surface which is adhered to the print surface.

Typically the step of applying the transferred print matter to the print surface involves adhesion of the adhesive layer of the transfer material to the print surface.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of applying print matter to a print surface, said method comprising the steps of: providing the print matter on a releasable surface; and applying the print matter to the print surface by contacting the releasable surface with the print surface with a generally uniform pressure therebetween.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a sheet material having a releasable surface with print matter applied thereon, the sheet material being adapted for transfer of the print matter to an adhesive surface of an adhesive layer of a transfer material by contact therebetween, the transferred printed matter capable of then being applied to a print surface by contacting the adhesive surface or an opposing adhesive surface of the adhesive layer with the print surface.

A sheet material is to be understood as including but not being limited to a discrete sheet, a belt or a roll.

Preferably the releasable surface is provided on or incorporated in paper, the releasable surface including silicone, a silicone-based material, or a polymeric material such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

Typically the transfer material is a transfer tape of a conventional construction including a liner on which the adhesive layer is formed. More typically the adhesive layer is formed of a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention

there is provided a method of applying print matter to a print surface, said method comprising the steps of: providing the print matter on an adhesive surface of an adhesive layer of a transfer material; and applying the transfer material to the print surface by adhering the adhesive surface or an opposing adhesive surface of the adhesive layer to the print surface.

According to still a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a transfer material including an adhesive surface of an adhesive layer with print matter applied thereon, the adhesive surface or an opposing adhesive surface of the adhesive layer being adapted to adhere to the print surface whereby the print matter is applied to the print surface.

Preferably the print surface is defined by a packaging surface on which the print matter is to be displayed.

Alternatively the print surface is defined by a substantially rigid display surface such as an inner surface of a window.

Generally the print matter is"variable information"such as bar coding or graphics including machine or human readable print matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the present invention a preferred embodiment of a method of applying print matter to a print surface and means for achieving this method will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is an enlarged schematic representation of a release material and an adhesive tape according to one embodiment of the invention applied to a print surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in Figure 1 there is a sheet material shown generally as 10 having a releasable surface 12 with printed matter 14 applied thereon. In this example the sheet material is in the form of a discrete sheet of paper 16 having the releasable surface 12 provided on one of its faces. The releasable surface 12 is constructed largely of a silicone, a silicone-based material, or a polymeric material such as PTFE.

The print matter 14 is printed onto the releasable silicone surface 12 using a conventional laser printer. In this embodiment the print matter 14 consists of bar-coding of a unique coding or identification system. Although this embodiment of the invention is particularly beneficial when providing"variable information"such as bar-coding, it will also extend to other applications where print matter is to be provided on a print surface. For example, the invention would extend to the application of distinctive livery and other printed materials on product packaging.

The sheet material 10 of this embodiment of the invention is designed to be used in conjunction with adhesive tape of a conventional construction. In this instance there is provided an adhesive transfer tape 18 which serves as a transfer material having an adhesive layer 20. In this example the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 20 is formed on a liner 22 in a traditional manner.

In operation the adhesive transfer tape 18 is contacted with the releasable surface 12 of the release paper 10.

The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 20 adheres to the print matter 14 and temporarily the releasable surface 12.

The release paper 10 is designed so that the print matter 14 is retained on the exposed adhesive surface of the adhesive layer 20 when the tape 18 is removed from the

release paper 10.

Accordingly the print matter 14 resides against the exposed adhesive surface of the adhesive layer 20 of the transfer tape 18. The transfer tape 18 can then be applied to a print surface, such as cardboard packaging 24. In this example the transfer tape 18 remains with the packaging 24.

Alternatively, where the print matter 14 or the print surface has an adhesive surface, the transfer tape 18 can be removed from the surface of the packaging 24. It is preferable that the transfer tape 18 permanently resides on the packaging 24 to provide a protective barrier for the print matter 14. In this example this protects the bar- coding from damage which would affect its ability to be rapidly scanned.

It will be appreciated that the primary application for this embodiment of the invention is for the bar-coding of product to be marked with machine readable information and if required human readable information. This coding is used in the identification of supermarket goods from manufacturer to retail outlet, transport tracking of goods being shipped, and identification of goods in ware house for stocktaking, stock rotation and batch identification for recall purposes. Advantageously this embodiment of the invention provides a print label using existing software programs for PC or mainframe computer application and utilising low-cost printers to produce a high quality image that is essential for high speed scanning.

The label described is itself a clear-pressure sensitive tape with or without a liner that the print matter is retained on. The transfer tape 18 may be constructed of any of the conventional packaging tape liners and pressure sensitive adhesives. Other tapes such as those used for office applications that have a matt surface may also be suitable.

In this example the bar-code image 14 is printed on the releasable surface 12 of the release paper 16 using a laser printer or other method of imaging using powder such as photocopying. The print matter 14 extends to graphics and colour images. Importantly the print matter 14 is temporarily provided on the release surface 12 and is thereafter transferred to the adhesive layer 20 of the transfer material 18 by contacting the adhesive layer 20 of the transfer tape 18 with the print matter 14 of the release paper 10.

It is also possible to apply a backing material (not shown) to the adhesive surface of the adhesive layer 20 of the transfer material and thereafter remove the liner 22 so as to expose an opposing surface of the adhesive layer 20.

The opposing adhesive layer can then be adhered to a print surface such as a window. It should be appreciated that this technique allows"right reading"of print matter through the window or other transparent print surface.

The release paper 10 can be designed for repeated use in order to reduce cost. Further, the release paper 10 may be provided in the form of a belt for a semi-continuous printing/release application. In this instance it may be necessary to reconfigure the printer with signalling changes. Otherwise, in this example the transfer tape 18 with the retained print matter 14 can be applied to the print surface or cardboard packaging surface 24 by an applicator using known technology.

It will be appreciated that this method of relatively low cost label generation can be used to identify goods, particularly in the food industry that use generic containers and boxes that are identified for their particular contents at the time of packaging. This is also of benefit to the box manufacturers because of large run

sizes. Pallets of goods can also be identified using this label method of manufacture.

In this example where the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 20 is formed of a relatively light adhesive, the transfer tape 18 together with the retained image 14 can be rolled up and still unrolled. Not all packaging tapes have this construction where the adhesive to liner balance allows unwinding. However, it is possible to select an adhesive/liner combination which according to one example of the invention permits a pre-transfer of the print matter 14 to the release tape 18 which is then wound into a roll for later application. In this example a registration mark may be included in the transfer tape 18 for signalling to the applicator equipment as a datum in the image.

Now that a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in some detail it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the method of applying print matter to a print surface has at least the following advantages: (i) a relatively high quality image is produced that is important for high speed scanning; (ii) the print matter or image is physically protected by the liner of the transfer tape or the backing material; and (iii) the method is relatively simple yet effective largely using conventional equipment such as laser printers and known applicators.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. For example, it is possible that the print matter may be transferred directly to the print surface without an intermediate transfer material as described. In this instance an exposed surface of the print matter and/or the

print surface are configured to permit adhesion or engagement of the print matter 14 with the print surface.

Alternatively, the print matter may be applied directly to an adhesive surface of a transfer material without the preliminary step of providing the print matter on a releasable surface. In this instance the print matter would be provided as a mirror image so that when applied to a non-transparent print surface it is appropriately"right reading".

All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the ambit of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.