Aqueous Ink With Wax Particles for Stable Inkjet Ejection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inkjet inks using C.I. Pigment Yellow 74 and C.I. Pigment Yellow 155 face issues with unstable ejection due to pigment sticking around the ejection orifice, leading to difficulty in recovering the ejection stability, and they struggle to achieve both high light fastness and color developability.
Innovation Solution
An aqueous ink formulation containing C.I. Pigment Yellow 74, C.I. Pigment Yellow 155, and a wax particle is developed, where the wax particle is hydrophobic and localizes at the gas-liquid interface, preventing pigment crystal formation and enhancing sticking recovery properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If C.I. Pigment Yellow 74 and C.I. Pigment Yellow 155 are combined to achieve both light fastness and color developability, then image quality improves, but pigment sticking around the ejection orifice occurs causing ejection instability
Solution Approach 1:
A surfactant is introduced as an intermediary substance between the pigment particles and the ejection orifice. The surfactant adsorbs onto the pigment surface and at the orifice interface, preventing direct contact and adhesion of pigment to the orifice, thereby maintaining ejection stability while preserving the beneficial pigment combination for image quality
Solution Approach 2:
The pH value of the ink is specifically adjusted to 8.5 or higher. This parameter change modifies the surface charge characteristics of the pigment particles and the orifice material, reducing electrostatic attraction and preventing pigment sticking, thus maintaining reliable ejection while using the high-performance pigment combination
2Manufacturing precision
If pigment concentration is increased to improve color developability, then image color intensity improves, but pigment sticking around the ejection orifice increases making recovery difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The surfactant acts as a protective intermediary layer around high-concentration pigment particles, preventing them from adhering to the ejection orifice even at elevated concentrations. This enables maintaining high color developability while preventing the sticking that would otherwise require difficult recovery operations
Solution Approach 2:
The ink formulation includes components that automatically prevent sticking under normal operating conditions, eliminating the need for external recovery interventions. The surfactant and pH conditions work continuously to keep pigment particles suspended and non-adhesive, making recovery processing unnecessary under proper operating conditions
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 achieves improved ejection stability and stability in recording high-quality images with both high light fastness and color developability, reducing pigment sticking and enabling effective recovery processing.
Implementation Method 1
the wax particle is hydrophobic and localizes at the gas-liquid interface, preventing pigment crystal formation and enhancing sticking recovery properties
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
Provided are an aqueous ink for ink jet that is capable of recording an image excellent in color developability and light fastness and is excellent in sticking recovery property, and an ink cartridge and an inkjet recording method each using the aqueous ink. The aqueous ink for ink jet contains a plurality of kinds of pigments and a wax particle. The plurality of kinds of pigments include a first pigment and a second pigment. The first pigment is C.I. Pigment Yellow 74, and the second pigment is C.I. Pigment Yellow 155. Further, the ink cartridge includes an ink storage portion configured to store the aqueous ink, and the ink jet recording method includes ejecting the aqueous ink from a recording head of an ink jet system to record an image on a recording medium.