LABELING OF ITEMS WITH WASH-OFF LABELS

摘要

A washable label may include a heat-shrinkable layer and a heat-activatable layer. The label may be attached to an item by a method including: heating a portion of the heat-activatable layer by intense visible or infrared light so as to transform the surface of the heat-activatable layer from a non-tacky state to a tacky state, and attaching the label to the item when the surface of the heat-activatable layer is in the tacky state, wherein the intensity of the light is selected such that spatially averaged temperature of the heat-shrinkable layer remains lower than the threshold shrinking temperature of the heat-shrinkable layer. The label may be easily separated from the item by heating the label such that shrinking of the heat-shrinkable layer peels at least a portion of the label away from the item.