Film label and coating

Abstract

A film label comprising a film layer with printed material on the front or back surface, where the back surface may be covered with an overprint coating. The overprint coating protects any reverse-printed material, and may be colored or patterned, or both. One exemplary pattern is achieved by alternating coating weights to create a series of lands (i.e., raised areas) and groove (i.e., lower areas). The grooves help move entrapped air and gasses from the back side of the label, and may help water in a water-based adhesive wick away. The pattern can be a series of sinusoidal waves, curves, straight lines, or a variety of other patterns. The coating may also be used on opaque labels to assist in drying the label adhesive.

1 . A film label for application to an object, comprising:
 a film layer with an inner and outer surface;   printed matter on at least a portion of the inner surface; and   an overprint coating on at least a portion of the inner surface;   wherein the overprint coating is patterned so the portion of the film label without printed matter is not readily visible when the film label is applied to the object.   
     
     
         2 . The film label of  claim 1 , further comprising a separate adhesive layer applied to the overprint coating. 
     
     
         3 . The film label of  claim 1 , wherein the overprint coating covers all of the printed matter. 
     
     
         4 . The film label of  claim 1 , wherein the overprint coating covers the entire inner surface. 
     
     
         5 . The film label of  claim 1 , wherein the overprint coating covers only the unprinted portion of the inner surface. 
     
     
         6 . The film label of  claim 1 , wherein the overprint coating is colored. 
     
     
         7 . The film label of  claim 6 , wherein the pattern and color are matched to the object. 
     
     
         8 . The film label of  claim 1 , wherein the overprint coating pattern is formed from a series of areas where the overprint coating varies in thickness. 
     
     
         9 . The film label of  claim 8 , wherein the overprint coating pattern is formed from a series of alternating thick and thin layers. 
     
     
         10 . The film label of  claim 7 , wherein the overprint coating pattern comprises a series of sinusoidal waves. 
     
     
         11 . The film label of  claim 7 , wherein the overprint coating pattern comprises a series of grooves or channels in the overprint coating on the adhesive layer side of the overprint coating. 
     
     
         12 . The film label of  claim 7 , wherein the overprint coating pattern is a gradient. 
     
     
         13 . The film label of  claim 7 , wherein the overprint coating pattern comprises text. 
     
     
         14 . The film label of  claim 7 , wherein the overprint coating pattern comprises a pattern of light and dark areas. 
     
     
         15 . The film label of  claim 14 , wherein the light and dark areas are formed by application of different thicknesses of a colored ink. 
     
     
         16 . The film label of  claim 15 , wherein the light and dark areas are  1  to  2  millimeters in width. 
     
     
         17 . The film label of  claim 2 , wherein the adhesive layer comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive, and is covered with a pressure sensitive label release coating and pressure sensitive label liner.