Ink set for ink jet printing

Abstract

An ink jet ink set for fabric printing contains a magenta ink containing C.I. Pigment Red 213 and a yellow ink containing a yellow pigment having L*a*b* color system chromas a* and b* such that −18≦a*≦0, and 50≦b*≦80 when printed on fabrics by an ink jet method, whereby a vivid red can be obtained in the printed portions of fabrics upon printing by an ink jet method.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink set used for fabric printing by an ink jet method, and to an ink jet method using this ink set. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] Ink sets with 3 or 4 colors, yellow inks, magenta inks, blue inks and, as needed, black inks, are widely used conventionally in cases where full color is formed by ink jet methods, where water-soluble dyes for each color are used as coloring agents. Pigment inks using pigments have been adopted as well in recent years, in addition to water-soluble dyes, from the viewpoint of weatherability and water resistance. Fabrics are also printed by ink jet methods using pigment inks. [0005] However, reproduction of vivid hues is more difficult using pigment inks than using dye inks, and the range of hues that can be rendered is narrower. Thus, active research is being conducted on combinations of pigments as coloring agents that may allow obtain...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides an ink set for fabric printing by ink jet methods that allows for vivid hues, especially vivid reds, to be printed on fabrics. The ink set includes a magenta ink containing C.I. Pigment Red 213 and a yellow ink containing a yellow pigment having L*a*b* color system chromas a* and b* such that when printed on fabrics by an ink jet method, the resulting colors are vivid and natural reds with expanded rendering ranges in the green region. The use of C.I. Pigment Red 213 as a pigment in magenta inks reduces the amount of magenta pigment needed by a fifth compared to C.I. Pigment Red 122. The ink jet printing method involves forming red on the fabric by attaching droplets of each ink in an arbitrary sequence and fixing the coloring material of the ink onto the fabric by thermal treatment.

Problems solved by technology

However, reproduction of vivid hues is more difficult using pigment inks than using dye inks, and the range of hues that can be rendered is narrower.

However, C.I. Pigment Red 122 has the drawbacks of being expensive, difficult to disperse and possessing a weak coloring power, etc., and especially in fabrics, the surface after printing tends to appear white due to fabric fluff.

Moreover, vivid reds cannot be obtained either by attempting to render red using yellow inks and magenta inks comprising this C.I. Pigment Red 122, since the resulting red hue is close to magenta.

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