Ink Jet Printing Temperature Control for Resin Film Misregistration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink-jet printing on resin films faces issues with ink flowability, intercolor bleeding, and misregistration due to temperature variations and the non-absorbent nature of synthetic resin films, leading to poor quality printed materials, especially when using water-based inks.
Innovation Solution
An ink-jet printing apparatus with a web roll heating/supporting mechanism, under heaters, and temperature control system that maintains a uniform temperature difference of 10°C across the printing medium, combined with a tension mechanism to prevent wrinkles and rumples, ensuring accurate ink placement and drying of water-based inks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If heating means is used to dry ink on resin films, then ink drying efficiency is improved, but temperature uniformity deteriorates causing misregistration
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is divided into multiple independent heating zones (first heating zone, second heating zone, third heating zone) along the printing medium transport path. Each zone can be controlled independently to maintain temperature uniformity within 10°C across different positions, preventing thermal expansion-induced misregistration while efficiently drying ink
Solution Approach 2:
The first heating zone performs preliminary heating of the printing medium before ink ejection. This pre-heating prevents rapid cooling after ink application, maintaining temperature uniformity and preventing misregistration while ensuring efficient ink drying
2Manufacturing precision
If tension mechanism is applied to prevent wrinkles, then printing quality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying complex mechanical tensioning systems in the horizontal plane, the invention uses thermal expansion control in the temperature dimension to maintain printing medium stability. By controlling temperature uniformity within 10°C, thermal expansion is minimized, eliminating wrinkles and improving print quality without adding mechanical complexity
3Object-affected harmful factors
If water-based ink is used on resin films, then environmental friendliness is improved, but ink flowability deteriorates causing intercolor bleeding
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the temperature parameter of the printing medium from ambient to elevated (maintained within 10°C uniformity across zones). This temperature elevation reduces water-based ink flowability issues and prevents intercolor bleeding on non-absorbent resin films, while maintaining environmental benefits of water-based ink
Solution Approach 2:
The heating zones operate continuously along the printing medium transport path, maintaining elevated temperature throughout the printing and drying process. This continuous thermal action ensures consistent ink behavior, preventing intercolor bleeding while enabling efficient water-based ink drying
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 high-quality printed materials with good appearance and reduced misregistration, effectively addressing the challenges of ink flowability and intercolor bleeding by maintaining temperature uniformity and applying tension to the resin printing medium.
Implementation Method 1
it has become increasingly important to control unevenness of a temperature of the printing medium... the heating amount control device controls the heating amount... such that a difference between the temperatures measured at the measuring positions... falls within the range of 10°C
Implementation Method 2
a tension mechanism for applying a tension force to a portion of the printing medium which is located between the web roll heating/supporting mechanism and the take-up mechanism such that the portion of the printing medium is maintained in a uniform state without any deflection
Implementation Method 3
the ink printed on the films tends to still exhibit high flowability even after droplets of the ink are impacted onto the films... in order to efficiently dry the ink printed on the films
Data Source
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Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to an ink-jet printing apparatus that is capable of obtaining printed materials having good appearance while maintaining high quality of printed characters or images even when printed on a resin printing medium using a water-based ink, and an ink-jet printing method. The present invention provides an ink-jet printing apparatus in which when setting a plurality of measuring positions of a printing medium including a position of the printing medium at which the printing medium is wound into a web roll in a web roll heating/supporting mechanism and positions of the printing medium which are respectively located just below a plurality of ink-jet printing heads, a plurality of temperature measuring devices measure temperatures of a surface of the printing medium at the plurality of measuring positions, respectively, and a heating amount control device controls a heating amount of the web roll heating/supporting mechanism and heating amounts of under heaters on the basis of the plural measured temperatures such that a difference between the temperatures measured in a portion of the printing medium to which a tension force is applied falls within the range of 10°C, and an ink-jet printing method using the ink-jet printing apparatus.