UV-Curable Toner Fixation Without Mechanical Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high-speed image formation, existing printers using UV curing agents face issues with toner image fixation on recording media, resulting in insufficient lightness and chroma due to the flattening of toner particles under pressure from heat rolls.
Innovation Solution
A recorded material and image forming method that utilize a UV-curable liquid developer, where toner particles are dispersed in a binder resin and an energy-curable liquid, allowing fixation without pressure, using UV light to cure the energy-curable liquid and maintain the shape of toner particles for enhanced lightness and chroma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pressure/heat is applied to a recording liquid using a heat roll to improve fixation property, then the fixation property improves, but the toner particle shape is flattened causing insufficient lightness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical pressure/heat fixation system with a UV light-based chemical curing system. The energy-curable liquid contains photopolymerization initiators that trigger polymerization when exposed to UV light, fixing the toner image without applying mechanical pressure that would flatten particles. This substitution of mechanical fixation with photochemical fixation resolves the contradiction between achieving good fixation and maintaining particle shape for lightness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fixation mechanism from thermal-mechanical parameters (heat and pressure) to photochemical parameters (UV light wavelength, irradiation intensity, and photopolymerization initiator concentration). By controlling these photochemical parameters, the system achieves effective fixation while preserving the spherical shape of toner particles, thereby maintaining sufficient lightness.
2Productivity
If UV light is used to cure the UV curing agent for high-speed image formation, then delivery time is reduced, but the fixation property may deteriorate depending on recording medium or image forming conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite energy-curable liquid system combining multiple photopolymerization initiators with different absorption characteristics, along with specific resin components. This composite formulation ensures broad-spectrum UV responsiveness and reliable fixation across various recording media and imaging conditions, while maintaining the fast curing speed required for high-productivity printing.
3Stress or pressure
If toner particles are dispersed in energy-curable liquid for UV fixation, then fixation can be achieved without pressure, but the dispersibility and distribution of pigments must be optimized to maintain chroma
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the chemical composition parameters of the energy-curable liquid, including the molecular weight and functional groups of the resin, the concentration and type of photopolymerization initiators, and the viscosity of the liquid vehicle. These parameter optimizations ensure uniform pigment dispersion and distribution within the cured resin matrix, maintaining high chroma while enabling pressureless fixation through UV curing.
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 method ensures satisfactory fixation of toner images with sufficient lightness and chroma, even at high speeds, by preventing toner particle deformation and optimizing the dispersibility of pigments within the cured resin.
Implementation Method 1
irradiates the UV curing agent with UV light to cure the UV curing agent
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a recorded material in which a recording liquid is satisfactorily fixed to a recording medium and which has a sufficient chroma and a sufficient lightness, in high-speed printing. The recorded material comprises a recording medium, a toner particle including colorant particles, and a cured resin including the toner particle and fixing a toner image formed of the toner particle onto the recording medium, wherein an average circularity of the toner particle is not less than 0.70 and not more than 0.99, the toner particle is not exposed from a surface of the cured resin, and an average distance between wall surfaces of the adjacent toner particles is not less than 10 nm and less than 125 nm.