UV-Curable Inkjet Ink Formulation for High-Speed Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current UV-curable inkjet systems face issues with image quality due to dot combining during high-speed printing, leading to reduced image fastness and resolution, as existing solutions inadequately address the curability and stability of ink droplets.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a photopolymerizable compound with a hydroxyl group and another compound having a specific ClogP value into the actinic radiation-curable inkjet ink to enhance gelation stability and curability, ensuring stable gel formation and high-resolution image formation even at high speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If UV-curable inkjet systems are used for high-speed printing, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to dot combining and color blending
Solution Approach 1:
The ink is formulated with specific photopolymerizable compounds (including hydroxyl group-containing compounds and compounds with specific ClogP values) and gelling agents that pre-establish gelation stability and curability characteristics. This preliminary chemical composition design enables the ink to maintain dot integrity and prevent combining even at high printing speeds, resolving the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the chemical parameters of the UV-curable ink by incorporating photopolymerizable compounds with specific molecular weights (300-1,500), specific functional groups (hydroxyl groups), and specific hydrophobicity (ClogP values). These parameter changes optimize the balance between gelation stability (preventing dot combining) and curability (ensuring image fastness), allowing high-speed printing without sacrificing image quality
2Productivity
If UV irradiation amount is reduced for high-speed printing, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to insufficient curability and image fastness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the UV-curable ink, specifically incorporating photopolymerizable compounds with hydroxyl groups and compounds having specific ClogP values (4.0-7.0). These compositional changes enhance the ink's curability characteristics, enabling sufficient crosslinking and image fastness even when UV irradiation amount is reduced during high-speed printing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite UV-curable ink formulation combining multiple photopolymerizable compounds (including hydroxyl group-containing compounds, compounds with specific molecular weights and ClogP values) with gelling agents. This composite material approach synergistically improves both gelation stability and curability, ensuring reliable image fastness under reduced UV irradiation conditions typical of high-speed printing
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 provides stable gelation and high curability, enabling the formation of high-resolution images with improved image fastness and preventing dot combining during high-speed printing.
Implementation Method 1
an actinic radiation-curable inkjet ink that undergoes temperature-induced reversible sol-gel phase transition, the actinic radiation-curable inkjet ink including a colorant, a gelling agent, a photopolymerizable compound, and a photopolymerization initiator
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
AI summary
Provided is an active light-curable inkjet ink that undergoes sol-gel phase transfer and contains a dye, a gelling agent, a photopolymerization compound and a photopolymerization initiator. The active light-curable inkjet ink comprises a photopolymerizable compound A, which is a (meth)acrylate having hydroxyl groups; a photopolymerizable compound B, which is a (meth)acrylate compound having a molecular weight within a range of 300 to 1,500 and an intramolecular structure (-CH2-CH2-O-)m (Where m is an integer between 3 and 14); and a (meth)acrylate compound C, which has a molecular weight within a range of 280 to 1,500 and a ClogP value within a range of 4 to 7. The ink contains, in terms of the mass of the entire ink, 1 to 15 mass% of photopolymerizable compound A, 30 to 70 mass% of photopolymerizable compound B, 10 to 40 mass% of photopolymerizable compound C, and 2 to 10 mass% of gelling agent.