A vacuum station comprising a main housing and a pair of arms extending from the main housing. The arms are configured to hold a roller. The main housing has a front face and a rear face, with the front face having a recess therein. An air path extends from the front face to the rear face. The vacuum station also includes a removable plate having a plurality of suction holes therethrough located within the recess in the front face of the main housing. The removable plate is removably connected to the main housing by magnets. A sheet of labels can be held to the removable plate by a suction force through the air path in the main housing and the suction holes in the removable plate.

Apparatuses and methods for applying a transfer material onto the surface of an article are disclosed, including apparatuses and methods of transfer printing on and/or decorating three-dimensional articles, as well as the articles printed and/or decorated thereby. In some cases, the apparatuses and methods involve providing a deposition device, such as a printing device; providing a transfer component; depositing a material onto a portion of the transfer component with the deposition device; modifying the portion of the transfer component with the transfer material thereon to conform the transfer component to at least a portion of the surface of the three-dimensional article; and transferring the transfer material onto the surface of the article.

Teaching including adjustment of an inclination of a suction tool with respect to an object is performed in teaching of a suction position of the suction tool. A sticker affixing system includes an articulated robot, a controller, a suction tool attached to a distal end of the articulated robot, a force sensor, and a storage. The controller causes the articulated robot to execute an operation of bringing the suction tool close to a sticker on a release paper in a teaching mode, an operation of adjusting a suction position of the suction tool and an inclination in a traveling direction (roll axis X) of the suction tool in peeling off the sticker based on a signal from the force sensor, and an operation of storing the teaching data including information about the adjusted suction position and the inclination of the suction tool in the storage.

Systems and methods for applying labels to food products include pulling a label on two part backing along a pathway comprising one or more rollers to a stripping point in a first direction, the two part backing comprising a first strip and a second strip. The two part backing is removed from the label by pulling the label from the first strip and the second strip at the stripping point using suction by either a pair of stacked v-shaped first and second plates or by angled nose rollers.

A high speed automatic produce labeling system is provided, having a label dispense cycle of less than 17 milliseconds and capable of dispensing and applying 1,000 labels per minute per lane. First and second direct gear drives are actuated by a single stepper motor. A removable label cassette is driven by the first direct gear drive; the cassette carries a label carrier strip. An improved Geneva wheel drive forms part of the first gear drive which substantially reduces jerk and tearing of the label carrier strip while maintaining high labeling speed. The label cassette includes several quick-change components allowing the system to apply different size labels. An improved tensioning system is provided, minimizing slipping and tearing of the label carrier strip. An improved stripper plate tip actuator is also provided.

A label applying apparatus and a related method are provided. The label applying apparatus may include a label applicator and a receptacle. The label applicator may include a displaceable piston with an applicator surface configured to receive a label. The receptacle may include walls that define an interior compartment. Further the receptacle may include a pivotable cover member that pivots about a hinge between a closed position that covers an upper opening of the receptacle and an open position in which articles of material may be inserted into the interior compartment. The distal end of an upper portion of the pivotable cover member may engage the articles such that the articles are retained in a position whereby the displaceable piston extends into the interior compartment and applies a label to a label application surface of the most proximate one of the articles to the applicator surface of the displaceable piston.

Generation of a wrinkle is prevented in a sticker when the sticker is peeled off from a release paper. A sticker affixing system includes an articulated robot, a controller that controls the articulated robot, a suction tool attached to a distal end of the articulated robot, and a sticker feeder that conveys a release paper. The suction tool is sucked to the sticker on the release paper. The controller causes the articulated robot to execute an operation of moving the suction tool in parallel with the release paper at a constant speed of the release paper in synchronization with the sticker feeder, an operation of peeling off the sticker at an edge A of a peeling base of the release paper, and an operation of affixing the sticker to the object to which the sticker is affixed.