Ink-jet Printer Clear Ink Gloss Control and Nozzle Clogging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional clear inks used in ink-jet printers contain high amounts of resin, leading to undesirable nozzle clogging due to firm adhesion to the discharge head, and existing methods for gloss control in ink-jet printing rely on color inks, which are not effective for achieving matte or glossy tones without surface unevenness.
Innovation Solution
An ink-jet printer and printing method utilizing a clear ink with a resin, where the temperature of the heater is controlled to either prevent wetting and spreading for matte gloss or enhance wetting and coalescence for glossy gloss, using a wiper with specific porosity and layer structure to manage ink adhesion and cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high resin content clear ink is used to achieve gloss control, then matte or glossy tones can be obtained, but nozzle clogging occurs due to firm adhesion to the discharge head
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameter during the printing process. By heating the printing material to a temperature higher than the resin's glass transition temperature, the resin becomes more fluid and less adhesive to the nozzle, preventing clogging while still allowing gloss control through controlled wetting and spreading.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary heating to the printing material before and during the ink discharge process. This preliminary action ensures the resin remains in a less adhesive state, preventing firm adhesion to the nozzle formation surface before the ink can be properly deposited and controlled for gloss effects.
2Reliability
If heater temperature is increased to prevent resin adhesion, then nozzle clogging is reduced, but wetting and spreading of ink dots is inhibited affecting matte gloss formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic temperature control where the heater temperature is adjusted during different phases of the printing process. The temperature is raised during ink discharge to prevent adhesion, then controlled to allow proper wetting and spreading for matte gloss formation, creating a dynamic balance between preventing clogging and achieving the desired surface effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic heating cycles where the heater temperature is periodically increased to prevent resin adhesion during critical discharge moments, then allowed to decrease to enable proper ink wetting and spreading. This periodic action alternates between preventing clogging and facilitating matte gloss formation.
3Productivity
If conventional color inks are used for gloss control, then printing can be performed, but surface unevenness occurs and matte or glossy tones cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the coloring components from the ink system and uses only clear ink containing resin. By removing the colorants that cause surface unevenness and interfere with gloss control, the patent achieves both productivity through clear ink printing and manufacturing precision through controlled wetting and spreading that produces uniform matte or glossy surfaces.
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 method effectively controls gloss to achieve either matte or glossy tones by managing dot formation and surface smoothness, while the wiper efficiently removes adherent ink, preventing nozzle clogging and ensuring printer performance.
Implementation Method 1
a heater configured to heat the printing material
Implementation Method 2
a cleaner including a wiper configured to wipe a nozzle formation surface of the discharge head
Data Source
AI summary
An ink-jet printer is provided. The ink-jet printer includes: an ink container containing an ink, where the ink being a clear ink containing a resin; a discharge head having a nozzle configured to discharge the ink to a printing material; a heater configured to heat the printing material; and a cleaner including a wiper configured to wipe a nozzle formation surface of the discharge head. The ink-jet printer has a matte gloss printing mode imparting a matte gloss and a glossy gloss printing mode imparting a glossy gloss, and the ink-jet printer satisfies a formula below:Tmatte>Tgloss where Tmatte represents a temperature (° C.) of the heater during printing in the matte gloss printing mode; and Tgloss represents the temperature (° C.) of the heater during printing in the glossy gloss printing mode.