Inkjet Ink Resin Stability on Plasticized Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet prints containing plasticizers tend to dissolve and become blurred over time due to the solubility of resin in the plasticizer, leading to unstable markings without the need for ultraviolet irradiation for curing.
Innovation Solution
An ink composition using a resin with high hydroxyl or carboxyl groups, which are insoluble in plasticizers like DEHP, combined with a conductive agent and a leveling agent, ensuring the ink's stability and adhesion without requiring UV curing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a resin soluble in MEK is used in the ink, then the ink dries quickly after printing, but the resin dissolves in the plasticizer and the printed dots become blurred or lost over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the resin by selecting specific resins with particular solubility characteristics - resins that are soluble in MEK (for quick drying) but insoluble in plasticizers (for long-term stability). This parameter-based selection resolves the contradiction between drying speed and print stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite ink formulations combining specific resins (such as polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, or styrene-acrylic copolymer resins) with pigments and solvents. This composite approach ensures both quick drying through MEK solubility and long-term stability through plasticizer insolubility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If plasticizer is added to the resin material to improve flexibility, then the material becomes flexible, but the plasticizer seeps out and dissolves the ink resin causing print degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of plasticizer migration into a beneficial selection criterion by choosing resins that are specifically insoluble in plasticizers. The plasticizer migration, which would normally harm the print, becomes a test that validates the suitability of the selected resin, ensuring long-term print stability.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional ink formulations are used on plasticized materials, then the printing process is simple, but the prints become blurred and unstable over prolonged periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains printing process simplicity while changing the resin parameter selection - specifically choosing resins with dual solubility characteristics (soluble in MEK, insoluble in plasticizers). This parameter change ensures both ease of manufacture and long-term reliability without complicating the printing process.
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 maintains stable prints over a prolonged period without UV irradiation, preventing ink transfer and maintaining print quality on materials with plasticizers.
Implementation Method 1
a resin with high hydroxyl or carboxyl groups, which are insoluble in plasticizers like DEHP
Data Source
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AI summary
In an ink for an inkjet printer of an electrostatic charging control type, the ink including a resin, a pigment, a conductive agent, and a solvent, for the resin, one that contains carboxyl groups or hydroxyl groups is used. Thus, an ink print applied to a material including a large quantity of a plasticizer can be made stable over a prolonged period of time without subjecting the ink print to an ultraviolet irradiation or other special treatments.