Plasma Surface Acidification for High-Speed Inkjet Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inkjet recording apparatuses face challenges in achieving high-speed printing while maintaining image quality due to ink-droplet interference, which affects the throughput and quality of printouts.
Innovation Solution
A processing object modifying apparatus that includes a conveying unit, a plasma processing unit, and a controlling unit to adjust the conveying speed based on pH measurements, using plasma processing to acidify the surface of the recording medium, thereby improving ink droplet behavior and preventing coalescence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If one-pass printing is used to improve printing speed, then productivity increases, but ink-droplet interference occurs and manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameter (pH) of the recording medium surface through plasma processing. By acidifying the surface to pH 3.0 or lower, the patent modifies how ink droplets interact with the medium, preventing coalescence even at high printing speeds where droplets are ejected in quick succession. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by enabling high productivity while maintaining manufacturing precision.
2Productivity
If ink droplets are ejected at short time intervals to achieve high-speed printing, then productivity increases, but coalescence of adjacent dots occurs and manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies plasma processing to acidify the recording medium surface before ink droplet ejection. This preliminary action creates a surface condition (pH 3.0 or lower) that prevents ink droplet coalescence, allowing subsequent high-speed printing with short time intervals between droplet ejections without sacrificing dot separation quality.
3Manufacturing precision
If plasma processing is applied to modify the processing object, then manufacturing precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces plasma processing as an intermediary step between the recording medium and ink ejection. The plasma processing unit acts as a mediator that modifies the medium's surface properties (pH, wettability) to enable better ink droplet behavior. While this adds a device component, it resolves the manufacturing precision issue through chemical modification rather than complex mechanical control of the printing process itself.
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 enhances the circularity and sharpness of ink dots, reduces image defects like beading and bleeding, and results in high-quality printouts with improved pigment agglomeration and ink viscosity, leading to more efficient ink usage and reduced drying time.
Implementation Method 1
a plasma processing unit that performs plasma processing onto a surface of the processing object
Data Source
AI summary
A processing object modifying apparatus includes a conveying unit that conveys a processing object; a plasma processing unit that performs plasma processing onto a surface of the processing object while the processing object is being conveyed by the conveying unit; a measuring unit that measures a pH value of the processing object to which the plasma processing has been applied; and a controlling unit that controls the conveying unit to change a conveying speed of the processing object on the basis of a measurement result of the measuring unit, the processing object to which the plasma processing is being applied.