Aqueous Ink Jet Ink Composition for Wet Spread and Banding Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aqueous ink jet inks face issues with poor wet spreadability, storage stability, and deviation in landing positions, leading to banding unevenness and clogging, especially on low-absorbing or non-absorbing recording media.
Innovation Solution
An aqueous ink jet ink composition containing a pigment, a sparingly water-soluble low-molecular-weight organic compound, and a nonionic water-soluble resin with specific molecular weight and content, which enhances wet spreadability, storage stability, and reduces deviation in landing positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If aqueous ink is used to improve environmental friendliness and cost, then ink composition simplicity is improved, but wet spreadability deteriorates causing banding unevenness
Solution Approach 1:
A wetting agent is introduced as an intermediary substance to mediate between the aqueous ink and the recording medium. The wetting agent reduces surface tension and improves wet spreadability of the aqueous ink on low-absorbing or non-absorbing recording media, preventing banding unevenness while maintaining the simplicity of aqueous ink composition.
Solution Approach 2:
The surface tension parameter of the aqueous ink is changed by adding a wetting agent. This parameter modification enables the ink to spread properly on recording media that would otherwise cause banding unevenness, resolving the contradiction between using simple aqueous ink and achieving uniform image quality.
2Manufacturing precision
If ink formulation is optimized for wet spreadability, then image quality is improved, but storage stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wetting agent serves as a mediator that improves wet spreadability without compromising storage stability. By carefully selecting and controlling the amount of wetting agent, the ink maintains proper spreading characteristics during recording while remaining stable during storage, resolving the contradiction between image quality and storage reliability.
3Manufacturing precision
If ink composition is adjusted for better wet spreadability, then banding unevenness is reduced, but deviation in landing positions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surface tension parameter is modified within a controlled range to improve wet spreadability and reduce banding unevenness. By optimizing the concentration of the wetting agent, the patent achieves proper ink spreading while maintaining sufficient surface tension to prevent excessive deviation in landing positions, thus resolving the contradiction between image quality uniformity and landing position accuracy.
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 composition achieves excellent image quality with reduced banding unevenness, improved storage stability, and enhanced clogging recovery, while maintaining jetting stability and rub resistance.
Implementation Method 1
the ink may be difficult to wet-spread on a recording medium (poorly fills the recording medium)
Implementation Method 2
the pigment is a self-dispersion pigment or a resin dispersion pigment dispersed by a dispersant resin
Data Source
AI summary
An aqueous ink jet ink composition according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an ink jet ink composition including a pigment, a sparingly water-soluble low-molecular-weight organic compound, and a nonionic water-soluble resin, in which the pigment is a self-dispersion pigment or a resin dispersion pigment dispersed by a dispersant resin, and the nonionic water-soluble resin has a weight-average molecular weight of 2000 or greater, and a content of the nonionic water-soluble resin is 1% by mass or less with respect to a total mass of the ink composition.