Metallic Ink Glossiness via Sequential Scanning Curing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming technologies face challenges in achieving high glossiness with metallic inks due to immediate curing after discharge, which limits the ink's ability to spread and orient metal particles effectively, resulting in suboptimal reflectivity and image quality.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus that includes a liquid discharge head for metallic and color inks, an irradiation unit, and a moving unit, which alternately performs main scanning and sub-scanning movements to ensure a prolonged time between ink discharge and curing, allowing the metallic ink to spread and orient before being cured with ultraviolet light, thereby enhancing glossiness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the metallic ink is discharged and immediately cured, then the curing process is efficient, but the ink cannot spread and orient metal particles effectively, resulting in suboptimal glossiness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing the main scanning movement (ink discharge) before the sub-scanning movement (curing). This temporal separation allows the metallic ink to spread and orient metal particles on the recording medium before curing occurs, improving glossiness while maintaining curing efficiency through the sequential processing of different regions.
2Productivity
If the carriage moves quickly to maintain productivity, then production speed is high, but the ink has insufficient time to spread and orient before curing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scanning process into two distinct phases: main scanning for ink discharge and sub-scanning for curing. This segmentation allows each phase to be optimized independently - the main scanning can move quickly for productivity while the sub-scanning provides the necessary time for ink spreading and orientation, resolving the contradiction between speed and quality.
Solution Approach 2:
By performing ink discharge in the main scanning movement before curing in the sub-scanning movement, the system creates a time window where the ink can spread and orient metal particles effectively, even though the overall process maintains high productivity through efficient sequential processing.
3Device complexity
If the metallic ink is discharged in a single pass, then the process is simple, but the ink cannot achieve proper spreading and metal particle orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ink formation process into two sequential scanning movements: first discharging the metallic ink in the main scanning direction, then curing it in the sub-scanning direction. This segmentation enables proper metal particle orientation during the intermediate time window, achieving high manufacturing precision while keeping the overall process relatively simple through automated sequential execution.
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 solution significantly improves the glossiness of images by allowing the metallic ink to spread and orient on the recording medium before curing, resulting in a more reflective and glossy finish without compromising productivity.
Implementation Method 1
The liquid includes a metallic ink and a color ink. The irradiation unit irradiates the liquid on the recording medium with light
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a liquid discharge head, an irradiation unit, a carriage, and a moving unit. The liquid discharge head discharges a liquid onto a recording medium. The liquid includes a metallic ink and a color ink. The irradiation unit irradiates the liquid on the recording medium with light. The liquid discharge head and the irradiation unit are mounted on the carriage. The moving unit alternately perform a main scanning movement and a sub-scanning movement. The liquid discharge head discharges the metallic ink in a region of the recording medium in a former main scanning movement and discharges the color ink in the region in which the metallic ink has been discharged, in a latter main scanning movement after the former main scanning movement. The irradiation unit irradiates the region in which the color ink has been discharged with the light.