Ink set and media for ink-jet printing

• US 20060181587A1
• Filed: 02/15/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Bauer, Stephen W., Chen, Tienteh, Doumaux, Howard A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,533,980 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/100
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/52 Macromolecular coatings
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/5218 characterised by inorganic additives, e.g. pigments, clays
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/5245 characterised by the use of polymers containing cationic or anionic groups, e.g. mordants
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/5254 characterised by the use of polymers obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. vinyl polymers
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 11/101 Inks specially adapted for printing processes involving curing by wave energy or particle radiation, e.g. with UV-curing following the printing
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 11/40 Ink-sets specially adapted for multi-colour inkjet printing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

An ink set for ink-jet printing includes a medium cyan ink-jet ink, a magenta ink-jet ink, and a gray ink-jet ink. Each of the medium cyan ink-jet ink, the magenta ink-jet ink, and the gray ink-jet ink are configured to have a lightness at a predetermined/given number of drops per unit area of an image-receiving medium such that the lightness of each of the inks are substantially matched.

Claims

1. An ink set for ink-jet printing, comprising:

a cyan ink-jet ink;

a magenta ink-jet ink; and

a gray ink-jet ink;

wherein each of the cyan ink-jet ink, the magenta ink-jet ink, and the gray ink-jet ink are configured to have a lightness at a given number of drops per unit area of an image-receiving medium such that the lightness of each of the inks are substantially matched.

2. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the image-receiving medium comprises an ink receiving layer.

3. The ink set as defined in claim 2 wherein ink receiving layer is porous.

4. The ink set as defined in claim 2 wherein ink receiving layer is swellable.

5. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the magenta ink-jet ink has a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.01 and about 0.06 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

6. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the cyan ink-jet ink has a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.01 and about 0.10 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

7. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the gray ink-jet ink has a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.001 and about 0.05 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

8. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the cyan ink-jet ink is a medium cyan ink having a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.047 and about 0.057 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

9. The ink set as defined in claim 1, further comprising a black ink-jet ink.

10. The ink set as defined in claim 9 wherein a neutral axis is defined by application of the black ink-jet ink and the gray ink-jet ink.

11. The ink set as defined in claim 9 wherein the black ink-jet ink has a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.02 and about 0.75 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

12. The ink set as defined in claim 1, further comprising a second magenta ink-jet ink having a hue that is darker than the magenta ink-jet ink.

13. The ink set as defined in claim 1, wherein light color inks include the cyan ink-jet ink, the magenta ink-jet ink and the gray ink-jet ink and wherein the ink set further comprises dark color inks including a black ink-jet ink and a second magenta ink-jet ink.

14. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the lightness of the cyan ink and the lightness of the magenta ink are within a deviation of ±

5 of the lightness of the gray ink.

15. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the lightness of each of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the gray ink ranges between about 65 and about 95.

16. The ink set as defined in claim 1 wherein the lightness of each of the inks is measured at 279 drops per square millimeter with a drop size of 8 nanograms.

27. A method for printing an image on a recording medium, comprising:

providing a six-pen ink set as defined in claim 14;

preferentially depositing dark color inks on the recording medium, the dark color inks including the black ink-jet ink and the second magenta ink-jet ink; and

preferentially depositing light color inks on the recording medium, the light color inks including the magenta ink-jet ink, the gray ink-jet ink, the medium cyan ink-jet ink, and the yellow ink-jet ink.

28. The method as defined in claim 27 wherein the magenta ink-jet ink, the medium cyan ink-jet ink, and the gray ink-jet ink are configured to have a lightness at a given number of drops per unit area of the recording medium such that the lightness of each of the inks is substantially matched.

29. The method as defined in claim 27 wherein the medium cyan ink-jet ink substantially matches a dot visibility of the gray ink-jet ink and the magenta ink-jet ink.

30. The method as defined in claim 27 wherein a neutral axis is defined by deposition of the black ink-jet ink and the gray ink-jet ink.

31. The method as defined in claim 27 wherein the recording medium comprises:

a substrate; and

an ink receiving layer disposed on the substrate, the ink receiving layer including;

a water soluble polymer;

an amount of a cationic colloidal silica; and

a dye mordant.

32. An image obtained by the printing method as defined in claim 27.

65. An ink-jet recording method, comprising:

preparing an ink set as defined in claim 9;

applying the black ink-jet ink to a recording medium; and

applying the color ink-jet inks to the recording medium, the color ink-jet inks including the magenta ink-jet ink, the cyan ink-jet ink, and the gray ink-jet ink.

17. A six-pen ink set for ink-jet printing, comprising:

a magenta ink-jet ink having a dye load capable of providing a visible absorbance between about 0.01 and about 0.06 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water;

a gray ink-jet ink having a dye load capable of providing a visible absorbance between about 0.001 and about 0.05 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water;

a medium cyan ink-jet ink having a dye load capable of providing a visible absorbance between about 0.01 and about 0.10 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water;

a black ink-jet ink having a dye load capable of providing a visible absorbance between about 0.02 and about 0.75 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water;

a yellow ink-jet ink having a dye load capable of providing a visible absorbance between about 0.01 and about 0.2 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water; and

a second magenta ink-jet ink having a dye load capable of providing a visible absorbance between about 0.02 and about 0.5 at 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

18. The ink set as defined in claim 17 wherein the inks are configured to have a balanced fade when deposited on a medium.

19. The six-pen ink set as defined in claim 17 wherein the inks are adapted to at least one of substantially reduce and eliminate at least one of humid bleed and humid hue shift when deposited on a medium.

20. The six-pen ink set as defined in claim 17 wherein the inks are adapted to be deposited on a medium, the medium comprising:

a substrate; and

an ink receiving layer disposed on the substrate, the ink receiving layer including;

a water soluble polymer;

an amount of cationic colloidal silica; and

a dye mordant.

21. The six-pen ink set as defined in claim 20 wherein the dye mordant comprises a hydrophobic addition monomer and a cationic addition monomer.

22. The six-pen ink set as defined in claim 20 wherein the dye mordant comprises at least one of a water soluble polymer and a water dispersible polymer having at least one of a primary amino group, a secondary amino group, a tertiary amino group, and a quaternary ammonium salt group attached thereto.

23. The six-pen ink set as defined in claim 20 wherein the ink receiving layer comprises between about 20 wt. % and about 95 wt. % of the water soluble polymer, between about 0 wt. % and about 20 wt. % of the cationic colloidal silica, and between about 2 wt. % and about 20 wt. % of the dye mordant.

24. The six-pen ink set as defined in claim 20 wherein the water soluble polymer comprises at least one of polyvinyl alcohol, a copolymer of polyvinylalcohol with polyethyleneoxide, a copolymer of polyvinylalcohol with polyacrylic or maleic acid, acetoacetylated polyvinylalcohol, polyvinylalcohol with quaternary ammonium functional groups, a copolymer of polyvinylalcohol-polyvinylamine, and mixtures thereof.

25. The six-pen ink set as defined in claim 20 wherein the amount of cationic colloidal silica comprises a plurality of particles, each of which has a diameter ranging between about 5 nm and about 100 nm and a zeta potential of at least about 10 mv at a pH of 3.5.

26. An ink cartridge comprising a plurality of ink tanks accommodating the inks of the six-pen ink set defined in claim 17.

58. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the recording medium is adapted to receive the inks as defined in claim 17 and wherein the inks are configured to have a balanced fade when disposed on the recording medium.

59. The recording medium as defined in claim 58 wherein the inks are adapted to at least one of substantially reduce and eliminate at least one of humid bleed and humid hue shift when disposed on the recording medium.

33. An ink-jet printing method comprising the steps of:

loading a printer that is responsive to digital data signals with an ink-jet recording medium having an image-receiving layer thereon;

loading the printer with an ink set including a medium cyan ink-jet ink, a magenta ink-jet ink, and a gray ink-jet ink, wherein the medium cyan ink-jet ink, the magenta ink-jet ink, and the gray ink-jet ink are configured to yield an essentially balanced dot visibility upon administration on the recording medium; and

dispensing the ink-jet inks from the ink set onto the image-receiving layer of the recording medium in response to the digital data signals.

34. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein the ink set further comprises a black ink-jet ink, a second magenta ink-jet ink, and a yellow ink-jet ink.

35. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein the magenta ink-jet ink has a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.027 and about 0.033 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

36. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein the medium cyan ink-jet ink has a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.047 and about 0.057 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

37. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein the gray ink-jet ink has a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.024 and about 0.029 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

38. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein the ink-jet recording medium comprises:

a substrate; and

an ink receiving layer disposed on the substrate, the ink receiving layer including;

a water soluble polymer;

an amount of a cationic colloidal silica; and

a dye mordant.

39. The method as defined in claim 38 wherein the inks are configured to have a balanced fade when disposed on the ink-jet recording medium.

40. The method as defined in claim 38 wherein the inks are adapted to at least one of substantially reduce and eliminate at least one of humid bleed and humid hue shift when disposed on the ink-jet recording medium.

41. An ink cartridge detachably attachable to a printing apparatus adapted to print an image using at least one ink housed in the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge comprising:

a medium cyan ink reservoir containing a medium cyan ink-jet ink having a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.047 and about 0.057 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water;

a gray ink reservoir containing a gray ink-jet ink having a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.024 and about 0.029 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water; and

a magenta ink reservoir containing a magenta ink-jet ink having a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.027 and about 0.033 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of dye to water;

wherein the medium cyan ink-jet ink substantially matches a dot visibility of the gray ink-jet ink and the magenta ink-jet ink.

42. The ink cartridge as defined in claim 41, further comprising a black ink reservoir containing a black ink having a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.072 and about 0.088 at a 1:

10,000 dilution of dye to water.

43. The ink cartridge as defined in claim 41, further comprising a storage device adapted to store information regarding a quantity of ink in each of the ink reservoirs in at least one of a readable, writeable, and volatile manner.

44. The ink cartridge as defined in claim 41 wherein the storage device has an ink quantity information storage area, which is accessed to be written first by the printing apparatus and in which the information regarding the quantity of ink in each of the ink reservoirs is stored.

45. A recording unit, comprising:

a plurality of ink tanks, each of the tanks housing one of a black ink-jet ink, a medium cyan ink-jet ink, a light magenta ink-jet ink, a dark magenta ink-jet ink, a gray ink-jet ink, and a yellow ink-jet ink; and

a plurality of ink-jet heads discharging the respective ink-jet inks.

46. An ink composition, comprising:

an ink vehicle; and

a medium cyan colorant dispersed in the ink vehicle, the medium cyan colorant having a visible absorbance at peak maxima ranging between about 0.047 and about 0.057 at a 1;

10,000 dilution of the medium cyan colorant to the ink vehicle.

47. An ink system, comprising:

a light gray ink-jet ink;

a light magenta ink-jet ink; and

a medium cyan ink-jet ink;

wherein each of the medium cyan ink-jet ink, the light magenta ink-jet ink, and the light gray ink-jet ink are configured to have a lightness at a given number of drops per unit area of an image-receiving medium such that the lightness of each of the inks are substantially matched.

48. A recording medium, comprising:

a substrate; and

a swellable ink receiving layer disposed on the substrate, the ink receiving layer including;

a water soluble polymer;

an amount of cationic colloidal silica; and

a dye mordant.

49. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the amount of the cationic colloidal silica in the swellable ink receiving layer ranges between about 2 wt. % and about 15 wt. %.

50. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the dye mordant comprises a hydrophobic addition monomer and a cationic addition monomer.

51. The recording medium as defined in claim 50 wherein the hydrophobic addition monomer comprises at least one of C₁-C₁₂ alkyl acrylates, C₁-C₁₂ alkyl methacrylates, aromatic monomers, hydroxyl containing monomers, carboxylica containing monomers, vinyl ester monomers, C₁-C₁₂ alkyl acrylamides, C₁-C₁₂ alkyl methacrylamides, crosslinking monomers, and mixtures thereof.

52. The recording medium as defined in claim 50 wherein the hydrophobic addition monomer comprises at least one of methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-propyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, sec-butyl acrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, octyl arylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, n-propyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, n-butyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, sec-butyl methacrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, styrene, phenyl methacrylate, o-tolyl methacrylate, m-tolyl methacrylate, p-tolyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, hydroxyethylacrylate, hydroxyethylmethacrylate, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinylbenzoate, vinylpivalate, vinyl-2-ethylhexanoate, vinylversatate, t-butyl acrylamide, sec-butyl acrylamide, N,N-dimethylacrylamide, divinyl benzene, ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate, bis(acryloylamido)methylene), and mixtures thereof.

53. The recording medium as defined in claim 50 wherein the cationic addition monomer comprises at least one of N-(2-aminoethyl)methacrylamide, N-(2-aminoethyl)acrylamide, N-(3-aminopropyl)methacrylamide, N-(3-aminopropyl)acrylamide, p-vinylbenzylamine, m-vinylbenzylamine, methylaminoethyl methacrylate, ethylaminoethyl methacrylate, n-propylaminoethyl methacrylate, isopropylaminoethyl methacrylate, n-butylaminoethyl methacrylate, sec-butylaminoethyl methacrylate, isobutylaminoethyl methacrylate, tert-butylaminoethyl methacrylate, methylaminoethyl acrylate, ethylaminoethyl acrylate, n-propylaminoethyl acrylate, isopropylaminoethyl acrylate, n-butylaminoethyl acrylate, sec-butylaminoethyl acrylate, isobutylaminoethyl acrylate, tert-butylaminoethyl acrylate, methylaminopropyl methacrylate, ethylaminopropyl methacrylate, n-propylaminopropyl methacrylate, isopropylaminopropyl methacrylate, n-butylaminopropyl methacrylate, sec-butylaminopropyl methacrylate, isobutylaminopropyl methacrylate, tert-butylaminopropyl methacrylate, methylaminopropyl acrylate, ethylaminopropyl acrylate, n-propylaminpropyl acrylate, isopropylaminopropyl acrylate, n-butylaminopropyl acrylate, sec-butylaminopropyl acrylate, isobutylaminopropyl acrylate, tert-butylaminopropyl acrylate, N-(methylaminoethyl)methacrylamide, N-(ethylaminoethyl) methacrylamide, N-methyl-N-(p-vinylbenzyl)amine, N-methyl-N-(m-vinylbenzyl)amine, N-ethyl-N-(p-vinylbenzyl)amine, N-ethyl-N-(m-vinylbenzyl)amine, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, diethylaminoethyl acrylate, dimethylaminopropyl methacrylate, diethylaminopropyl methacrylate, N-(dimethylaminoethyl) methacrylamide, N-(diethylaminoethyl)methacrylamide, N-(dimethylaminoethyl)acrylamide, N-(diethylaminoethyl)acrylamide, N-(dimethylaminopropyl) methacrylamide, N-(diethylaminopropyl)methacrylamide, N-(dimethylaminopropyl)acrylamide, N-(diethylaminopropyl)acrylamide, N-ethyl-N-methylaminoethyl methacrylate, N-ethyl-N-methylaminopropyl acrylate, N,N-dimethyl-N-(p-vinylbenzyl)amine, N,N-dimethyl-N-(m-vinylbenzyl)amine, N,N-diethyl-N-(p-vinylbenzyl)amine, N,N-diethyl-N-(m-vinylbenzyl)amine, N-ethyl-N-methyl-N-(p-vinyl benzyl)amine, 4-vinylbenzyltrimethylammoniumchloride, methyl-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethylammonium salt, ethyl-2-(methacryloyloxy) ethylammonium salt, n-propyl-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethylammonium salt, 2-(methacryloylamino)ethylammoniumchloride salt, 2-(acryloylamino) ethylammoniumachloride salt, 3-(methacryloylamino)propyl ammoniumchloride salt, methyl-p-vinylbenzylammonium salt, methyl-m-vinylbenzylammonium salt, ethyl-p-vinylbenzylammonium salt, ethyl-m-vinylbenzylammonium salt, trimethyl-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethylammonium salt, triethyl-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethylammonium salt, trimethyl-2-(acryloyloxy)ethylammonium salt, triethyl-2-(acryloyloxy)ethylammonium salt, and mixtures thereof.

54. The recording medium as defined in claim 50 wherein the hydrophobic addition monomer and the cationic addition monomer are present in a ratio ranging between about 95:

5 and about 50;

50.

55. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the dye mordant is present in the swellable ink receiving layer in an amount ranging between about 2 wt. % and about 20 wt. %.

56. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the swellable ink receiving layer has a coat-weight ranging between about 10 grams per square meter and about 35 grams per square meter.

57. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the water soluble polymer comprises polyvinyl alcohol, a copolymer of polyvinylalcohol with polyethyleneoxide, a copolymer of polyvinylalcohol with polyacrylic, a copolymer of polyvinylalcohol with maleic acid, acetoacetylated polyvinylalcohol, polyvinylalcohol with quaternary ammonium functional groups, a copolymer of polyvinylalcohol-polyvinylamine, and mixtures thereof.

60. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the swellable ink receiving layer further comprises an additive comprising at least one of polyethyleneimines;

polyallylamines;

polyvinylamines;

a dicyandiamide-polyalkylenepolyamine condensate;

a polyalkylenepolyamine-dicyandiamideammonium condensate;

a dicyandiamide-formalin condensate;

a polymer of epichlorohydrin-dialkylamine;

a polymer of diallyldimethylammoniumchloride;

a copolymer of diallyidimethylammoniumchloride-SO₂;

polyvinylimidazole;

polyvinypyrrolidone;

a copolymer of vinylimidazole;

polyamidine;

chitosan;

cationized starch;

polymers of vinyl benzyltrimethylqammoniumchloride;

(2-methacryloyloxyethyl)trimethyl-ammoniumchloride;

polymers of dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate;

a polyvinylalcohol with a pendant quaternary ammonium salt; and

mixtures thereof.

61. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the substrate comprises at least one of papers, polymeric materials, metals, swellable photopapers, porous photopapers, and mixtures thereof.

62. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the dye mordant comprises at least one of a water soluble polymer and a water dispersible polymer having at least one of a primary amino group, a secondary amino group, a tertiary amino group, and a quaternary ammonium salt group attached thereto.

63. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the swellable ink receiving layer comprises between about 20 wt. % and about 95 wt. % of the water soluble polymer, between about 0 wt. % and about 20 wt. % of the cationic colloidal silica, and between about 2 wt. % and about 20 wt. % of the dye mordant.

64. The recording medium as defined in claim 48 wherein the amount of cationic colloidal silica comprises a plurality of particles each of which has a diameter ranging between about 5 nm and about 100 nm and a zeta potential of at least about 10 mv at a pH of 3.5.