Ink Set Cleaning Chemistry for Dried Nozzle Ink Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Highly drying inkjet inks, particularly those containing pigments, adhere strongly to the nozzle surface of a recording head and dry, leading to nozzle clogging and reduced ejection stability, making it difficult to remove the solidified ink.
Innovation Solution
An ink set comprising a highly drying ink with a drying ratio of 87-93% after 24 hours at 40°C, combined with a cleaning solution containing diethylene glycol butyl methyl ether and a trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol, which facilitates easy removal of the solidified ink by weakening adhesion and enhancing cleaning power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If highly drying inkjet ink is used to accelerate fixation and achieve faster printing speed, then productivity is improved, but the ink strongly adheres to the nozzle surface and dries, causing nozzle clogging and reducing ejection stability
Solution Approach 1:
A cleaning solution containing diethylene glycol butyl methyl ether and a trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol is introduced as an intermediary substance to remove the solidified ink from the nozzle surface. This cleaning solution acts as a mediator between the highly drying ink and the nozzle, enabling the ink to be easily removed while maintaining the high drying ratio (87-93%) that ensures fast printing speed.
2Productivity
If highly drying inkjet ink with high volatile component is used to achieve fast printing speed, then productivity is improved, but the solidified ink becomes difficult to remove from the ink ejection surface
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning solution utilizes specific chemical parameters (diethylene glycol butyl methyl ether and trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol) to change the interaction between the solidified ink and the cleaning agent. This parameter optimization allows the cleaning solution to effectively remove the solidified ink even when the ink has a high drying ratio of 87-93%, maintaining both fast printing speed and ease of cleaning.
3Reliability
If inkjet ink containing binder resin is used to improve fixability of recording medium, then quality is improved, but the ink strongly adheres to the ink ejection surface and cannot be removed easily
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning solution containing diethylene glycol butyl methyl ether and trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol serves as an intermediary that specifically targets the binder resin component. This cleaning solution enables the removal of the solidified ink with binder resin from the nozzle surface while maintaining the fixability improvement that the binder resin provides in the recording medium.
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 set effectively removes solidified ink from the nozzle surface, maintaining ejection stability and enabling high-speed printing by optimizing ink ejection performance.
Implementation Method 1
the solidified inkjet ink adhered to the ink ejection surface of the recording head
Implementation Method 2
capable of easily removing the solidified highly drying inkjet ink (specifically, the solidified highly drying inkjet ink adhered to the ink ejection surface of the recording head) by washing (cleaning)
Data Source
AI summary
An ink set includes: an inkjet ink; and a cleaning solution, the inkjet ink including a pigment and an aqueous medium, a drying ratio of the inkjet ink when left to stand at 40° C. for 24 hours being 87 mass % or more and 93 mass % or less, the cleaning solution including diethylene glycol butyl methyl ether and trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol.