Acetal Cosolvent Ink Composition for Fast Drying and Low Fuse Energy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aqueous ink compositions used in highly productive inkjet printing exhibit low drying speed and require high fuse energies, which can compromise print quality and robustness, and often contain cosolvents with high Health, Safety, and Environmental (HS&E) risks.
Innovation Solution
An ink composition comprising 1-40 weight % water dispersible resin, 0.5-15 weight % colorant, and 20-80 weight % water, with 1-30 weight % acetal cosolvent, which improves drying and fuse behavior without compromising print quality or robustness, and has negligible HS&E risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If aqueous ink compositions are used in highly productive inkjet printing, then environmental safety is improved, but drying speed becomes too low and fuse energy requirement becomes too high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the aqueous ink by adding specific cosolvents (1,3-dioxolane at 1-10 wt% and/or 1,4-dioxane at 1-10 wt%) to modify the evaporation rate and drying behavior. This allows maintaining water as the primary solvent for environmental safety while adjusting physical parameters to achieve faster drying speed suitable for high-productivity printing.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If aqueous ink compositions are used in highly productive inkjet printing, then environmental safety is improved, but fuse energy requirement becomes too high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the energy parameter by introducing cosolvents that alter the thermal properties and evaporation characteristics of the ink. The 1,3-dioxolane and 1,4-dioxane components facilitate faster solvent evaporation and film formation at lower temperatures, reducing the fuse energy requirement while maintaining environmental benefits of aqueous formulation.
3Speed
If cosolvents with high HS&E risks are used to improve drying behavior, then drying speed is improved, but health, safety and environmental risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces persistent, high-risk cosolvents with biodegradable cyclic ethers (1,3-dioxolane and 1,4-dioxane) that have low toxicity and environmental impact. These short-lived, environmentally benign alternatives provide the necessary drying speed improvement without introducing long-term health, safety, or environmental hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent selects specific cyclic ether compounds with optimized molecular structures that balance evaporation rate enhancement with minimal HS&E risks. The chosen cosolvents have appropriate vapor pressures and low toxicity profiles, achieving drying speed improvement while maintaining favorable health, safety, and environmental characteristics.
4Reliability
If non-evaporating dispersion-stabilizing polar fraction is added to provide reliable jetting and cleaning behavior, then jetting reliability is improved, but drying speed decreases and fuse energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts the concentration and type of dispersion-stabilizing polar components, balancing their amount to maintain adequate jetting reliability while minimizing their negative impact on drying speed. The use of volatile cosolvents (1,3-dioxolane and 1,4-dioxane) compensates for the drying retardation effect of the polar fraction, allowing optimized formulation for both reliable jetting and acceptable drying performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The ink composition achieves faster film formation and reduced energy consumption for fixing the ink to the substrate, resulting in improved print robustness and lower energy usage, while minimizing environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
improve the drying and fuse behavior of the ink composition... significantly improving the drying and fuse behavior... faster film formation
Implementation Method 2
reduced energy consumption for fixing the ink to the substrate... improved drying and fuse behavior
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an aqueous ink composition including between 1 and 40 weight % of a water dispersible resin, between 0.5 and 15 weight % of a colorant, between 20 and 80 weight % of water and between 1 and 30 weight % of an acetal cosolvent, wherein all amounts are relative to the total ink composition. The ink composition may further include between 15 and 75 weight % of a dispersion stabilizing cosolvent.