Water-in-oil emulsion ink matte finish
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional emulsion inks often result in high gloss printed images, making text or images difficult to distinguish due to specular reflection, and suffer from ink bleeding and show-through issues, which affect print density and image quality.
Innovation Solution
A water-in-oil emulsion ink with a first water phase containing a colorant and a second water phase without colorant, where the mass of the first water phase is less than the second water phase, is developed, allowing for a favorable print density and matte finish by controlling the mass ratio and incorporating specific colorants and dispersants to prevent aggregation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a conventional water-in-oil emulsion ink is used, then the ink can penetrate into the paper, but the printed image exhibits high gloss due to specular reflection, making text difficult to distinguish
Solution Approach 1:
The ink formulation is segmented into distinct functional components: a water phase containing colorant and a oil phase containing resin and solvent. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each phase's properties, where the water phase provides color while the oil phase controls penetration and drying, ultimately achieving matte finish without sacrificing text distinguishability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical and chemical parameters of the ink system by specifying precise ranges for water phase content (5-50 mass%), colorant concentration (0.1-10 mass% relative to total ink), and resin content (1-20 mass%). These parameter adjustments transform the ink's optical properties to reduce specular reflection and achieve matte finish while maintaining readability
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the colorant is incorporated within the oil phase, then the ink can be formulated, but the coloring component penetrates deeply into the paper, increasing show-through and causing ink bleeding
Solution Approach 1:
The colorant is extracted from the oil phase and placed into a separate water phase. This extraction eliminates the direct connection between the coloring component and the oil-based penetration mechanism, preventing colorant from following the oil phase deep into the paper substrate, thereby reducing show-through and bleeding while maintaining formulation control
Solution Approach 2:
The water phase acts as an intermediary carrier for the colorant. Instead of the colorant being directly associated with the penetrating oil phase, it is transported and deposited via the water phase, which has different penetration characteristics. This intermediary mechanism controls the deposition location and prevents excessive penetration into the paper
3Manufacturing precision
If the water phase containing colorant is increased in amount, then the print density can be improved, but the gloss increases making the image less distinguishable
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by differentiating the functional roles of different phases: the water phase (containing colorant) provides localized color density, while the oil phase provides localized penetration control and matte finish. By optimizing the water phase content within 5-50 mass%, the invention achieves sufficient print density in the color-bearing regions without excessive gloss, as the oil phase dominates the surface optical properties
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 achieves a high print density with a low-gloss matte finish, enhancing the distinguishability of text and images, while preventing ink degradation and maintaining optimal print quality.
Implementation Method 1
Water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion inks are generally used as the emulsion inks
Implementation Method 2
first, the oil phase component(s) that constitute the outer phase of the emulsion penetrate into the paper or the like, and subsequently, the water phase component(s) that constitute the inner phase penetrate into the interior of the paper or the like
Data Source
AI summary
An emulsion ink capable of generating a printed image quality having favorable print density and a favorable matte finish. A water-in-oil emulsion ink having an oil phase and a water phase, wherein the ink has a first water phase comprising a colorant and a second water phase comprising no colorant, and the amount (mass) of the first water phase is less than the amount (mass) of the second water phase.