Inkjet Printing Backside Heating for Resin Ink Smoothness

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Solution Overview

Problem

Inkjet printing methods using resin-based inks with suspended or emulsionized resins face issues with residual solvent and surface smoothness due to uneven drying, as the solvent evaporates quickly from the surface, leaving behind residual solvent and creating unevenness.

Innovation Solution

An inkjet printing method employing a heating mechanism to warm the recording medium from the backside, combined with a blower to evaporate solvents moving to the surface, ensuring efficient drying and reducing residual solvent, while using a pre-heating and after-heating setup to maintain surface leveling and prevent rapid drying.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the ink is strongly heated and dried from the upper surface, then the drying speed is improved, but the residual solvent increases and surface smoothness deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrying speedVSAvoidsurface smoothness

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of heating from the upper surface (conventional method), the invention heats the recording medium from the back side (lower surface). This inverted heating approach allows the temperature to rise from below, creating a temperature gradient that prevents rapid surface drying while maintaining overall drying efficiency, thereby preserving surface smoothness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The heating direction is changed from the vertical dimension (upper surface) to the horizontal dimension (back side). By applying heat from the back side of the recording medium, the invention creates a different thermal pathway that allows solvent evaporation without compromising the surface quality of the printed material.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Productivity

If the ink is strongly heated and dried from the upper surface, then the drying speed is improved, but the residual solvent increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrying speedVSAvoidresidual solvent

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The heating direction is inverted from upper surface to back side, which changes the evaporation pathway. This allows the solvent to evaporate more completely through the recording medium without creating a rapid surface crust that would trap residual solvent, thereby maintaining high drying speed while reducing residual solvent content.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Manufacturing precision

If the surface is leveled quickly after ink landing, then the surface smoothness is improved, but the solvent evaporation time is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesurface smoothnessVSAvoidsolvent evaporation time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

By heating from the back side instead of the upper surface, the invention creates a temperature gradient that allows the surface to level naturally without rapid evaporation. The heat from below provides sufficient time for surface leveling while still achieving complete drying, thus maintaining both surface smoothness and adequate evaporation time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

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

This approach results in printed materials with improved smoothness and reduced residual solvent levels, achieving efficient drying and power savings through controlled heat conduction and gentle drying techniques.

Implementation Method 1

a heating means for heating the recording medium from a back side of a surface of the recording medium, which faces a surface of the head on which the nozzle is provided

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 2

the solvent is moved smoothly from the recording medium side to the surface side until a coating is formed on the surface of the ink, thus, it is possible to reduce the amount of residual solvent in the printed material

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEvaporation: Evaporation

Data Source

PatentUS9434850B2Ink jet printing method and ink jet printing apparatus

Publication Date: 2016.09.06 MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO LTD

AI summary

A printed material having excellent smoothness is provided even when a resin ink is used. An ink jet printing method uses an ink jet printing apparatus 1 including a head 5, and a printing platen 2 for heating a medium 100 from a back side of a surface of the medium 100, wherein the ink contains a solvent, a colorant and a resin, in which the resin is emulsionized or suspended. The ink jet printing method includes a drying step in which the ink is dried by the printing platen 2 after the ink is landed onto the medium 100.