Radiation-Curable Yellow Inkjet Ink for Stable Pigment Dispersion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Yellow actinic radiation-curable inkjet inks suffer from low dispersion stability and low lightfastness due to the interaction between the yellow pigment and the gelling agent, leading to image quality deterioration and formation failures.
Innovation Solution
An actinic radiation-curable inkjet ink formulation containing a photopolymerizable compound, photoinitiator, gelling agent, pigment, dispersion aid, and pigment-dispersing agent, where the dispersion aid and pigment have specific structural commonalities that enhance their coordination, improving dispersion stability and lightfastness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a gelling agent is added to enhance pinning property and suppress dot coalescence, then image quality improves, but pigment dispersion stability deteriorates due to strong interaction between yellow pigment and gelling agent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specific dispersing agent as an intermediary substance between the yellow pigment and gelling agent. This dispersing agent has a chemical structure that includes both a polar group (for interacting with the gelling agent) and a non-polar group (for interacting with the pigment), thereby mediating the interaction and preventing direct strong bonding between pigment and gelling agent that would cause aggregation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the chemical parameters of the dispersing system by selecting a dispersing agent with specific functional groups (polar and non-polar) that can adjust the interaction parameters between pigment and gelling agent. This parameter change allows the system to maintain both pinning property and dispersion stability simultaneously.
2Reliability
If pigment and gelling agent interact strongly to enhance pinning, then dot coalescence is suppressed, but lightfastness deteriorates due to insufficient pigment-dispersing agent function
Solution Approach 1:
The dispersing agent serves as a protective intermediary layer between the pigment and gelling agent, ensuring that the pigment remains accessible to the dispersing agent's protective functions while still achieving sufficient pinning through the dispersing agent-gelling agent interaction. This intermediary role preserves lightfastness while maintaining pinning property.
3Ease of manufacture
If yellow pigment is used in ink formulation, then yellow color is achieved, but dispersion stability and lightfastness deteriorate due to lack of stable bonding groups in the pigment structure
Solution Approach 1:
The dispersing agent acts as a bridge that compensates for the lack of stable bonding groups in the yellow pigment structure. By providing both polar and non-polar interaction capabilities, the dispersing agent creates stable pigment dispersion even though the pigment itself lacks inherent stable bonding groups.
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 formulation achieves high-definition and high-quality printed products with enhanced pigment dispersion stability and lightfastness, preventing pigment aggregation and fading.
Implementation Method 1
irradiation with active rays to cure the ink droplet
Implementation Method 2
adding a gelling agent to an ink to cause a sol-gel phase transition by temperature
Data Source
AI summary
An object of the present invention is to provide an actinic radiation-curable inkjet ink containing a gelling agent and capable of obtaining satisfactory dispersion stability of a pigment and a high lightfastness of an obtained printed product. An actinic radiation-curable inkjet ink that achieves the object is an actinic radiation-curable inkjet ink containing a photopolymerizable compound, a photoinitiator, a gelling agent, a pigment, a dispersion aid, and a pigment-dispersing agent, and the dispersion aid contains a compound having a specific structure, and the pigment contains a compound having a specific structure.