Alkaline Ink Media Set for Glossy Office Paper Printing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inkjet printing technologies face challenges in achieving high-quality, glossy, and clear images without blur, feathering, or bleeding on standard office papers, and they struggle with ink fixation and optical density, leading to complex and expensive apparatuses with limited usability in home or office settings.
Innovation Solution
An ink-media set comprising recording inks with specific humectants and surfactants, and a recording medium with a coating layer, where the ink has a surface tension of 20-35 mN/m and a transfer rate optimized for quick absorption and drying, ensuring clear, glossy, and high-density images without beading or feathering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional inkjet printing uses standard office papers, then ease of operation is improved, but image quality deteriorates with blur, feathering, and bleeding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the ink by adjusting pH to strong alkaline (pH 12-14) and modifying surfactant composition to achieve proper ink fixation on acid-free papers while preventing feathering and bleeding, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and image quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite ink formulations combining strong alkaline components with specific surfactants (fluorine-containing surfactants and/or polyoxyethylene alkyl ether) to create an ink system that simultaneously achieves good fixation and clear images on standard office papers
2Reliability
If strong alkaline ink is used to improve ink fixation, then fixation is improved, but safety deteriorates due to handling risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the pH parameter to strong alkaline (12-14) to improve fixation, but simultaneously introduces surfactant composition control to mitigate the harmful effects, achieving a balance between fixation and safety
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces surfactants as intermediary substances that mediate between the strong alkaline ink and the paper, enabling proper fixation while reducing direct harmful contact and improving safety
3Reliability
If strong alkaline ink is used to achieve good fixation, then fixation is improved, but image quality deteriorates on acid-free paper
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts multiple parameters simultaneously - pH (12-14), surfactant type (fluorine-containing and/or polyoxyethylene alkyl ether), and surfactant concentration - to achieve both good fixation and high printing quality on acid-free paper
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite ink system combining strong alkaline components with specific surfactants that work synergistically to achieve both fixation and clear image quality on acid-free paper
4Reliability
If strong alkaline ink with high osmotic force is used, then fixation is improved, but adaptability deteriorates due to penetration to opposite side
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the osmotic force parameter by adjusting surfactant concentration and type, reducing it to prevent penetration to the opposite side while maintaining adequate fixation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces surfactants as intermediaries that control the ink's interaction with the paper, reducing excessive osmotic force and preventing penetration while maintaining fixation on the printing side
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 solution enables high-quality recording with clear edges, glossy images, and high optical density, improving image uniformity and reducing beading and feathering issues, while simplifying the printing process and reducing apparatus complexity.
Implementation Method 1
the transfer rate of the recording ink onto the recording medium on the surface having the coating layer is 0.5 ml/m2 to 5 ml/m2
Implementation Method 2
each of the recording inks contains water, a colorant and a humectant and has a surface tension of 20 mN/m to 35 mN/m at 25°C
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
The present invention provides an ink-media set, record printed by use of the ink-media set, an inkjet printing method, and an inkjet printing apparatus which includes ink that has at least water, dye, and humectant and surface tension thereof is 20 to 35 mN/m at 25, a support, and a recording medium having the support and at least one surface thereof has a coating layer wherein transfer rate of the ink to the recording medium measured by a dynamic scanning absorptometer in 100 ms of contact time is 4 to 15 ml/m? and transfer rate of the ink to the recording medium measured by a dynamic scanning absorptometer in 400 ms of contact time is 7 to 20 ml/m?.