Pigment Ink Composition for High Density and Wetting Spread
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inkjet inks face a trade-off between achieving high image density and wide line width due to the use of highly hydrophobic solvents, as surfactants cannot reduce surface tension effectively, leading to poorer wetting spread.
Innovation Solution
An ink formulation comprising a specific nonionic surfactant with a butylene oxide chain, a water-soluble solvent with an octanol/water partition coefficient of -1.0 to 0.4, and a pigment, which reduces dynamic surface tension while maintaining high image density and wetting spread.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If highly hydrophobic solvents are used to achieve high image density, then image density is improved, but wetting spread deteriorates due to inability to reduce surface tension with surfactants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the surfactant by introducing a butylene oxide chain segment into the polyoxyethylene structure. This specific structural modification enables the surfactant to effectively reduce surface tension of highly hydrophobic solvent formulations, allowing both high image density and good wetting spread to be achieved simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite surfactant structure combining polyoxyethylene chains with butylene oxide segments and hydrocarbon chains. This composite molecular structure provides both hydrophilic (polyoxyethylene) and hydrophobic (hydrocarbon chain + butylene oxide) characteristics, enabling effective surface tension reduction while maintaining compatibility with highly hydrophobic solvents and pigments
2Quantity of substance
If highly hydrophobic solvent formulations are used to aggregate pigments, then image density is improved, but surface tension reduction capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the surfactant's hydrophobic segment by incorporating butylene oxide chains with specific carbon chain lengths (C12-C18). This parameter change optimizes the surfactant's ability to interact with highly hydrophobic solvents and pigments while maintaining surface tension reduction capability, ensuring reliable performance in dense pigment formulations
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 achieves both high image density and wide line width simultaneously by optimizing surfactant and solvent properties, ensuring dynamic surface tension is within a suitable range.
Implementation Method 1
a surfactant represented by the following general formula (1); ... reduces dynamic surface tension while maintaining high image density and wetting spread
Implementation Method 2
a water-soluble solvent having a log Kow of -1.0 or more and 0.4 or less; a pigment ... capable of printing with high image density and a wide line width
Data Source
AI summary
An ink includes: a surfactant represented by the following general formula (1); a water-soluble solvent having a log Kow of -1.0 or more and 0.4 or less; a pigment; and water, a content of the water-soluble solvent being 30 mass% or more and 50 mass% or less. (In the general formula (1), m and n indicate integers whose sum is 12 or more and 14 or less, x indicates an integer of 1 or more and 20 or less, and y indicates an integer of 1 or more and 10 or less.)