Image forming method

• US 6,572,228 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2001
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Masaki, Kida, Shuji, Suzuki, Shinichi, Ohya, Hidenobu, Kaga, Makoto, Tomotake, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Do, An H.
• Application Number:
  US09/870,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20020008747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• Field of Search: 347/100, 347/101-103, 347/104-106, 347/96
• US Class Current: 347/102
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/52 Macromolecular coatings
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/529 characterised by the use of fluorine- or silicon-containing organic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 7/00 After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock pre-treatment or treatment during printing B41M5/0011; printers for treating or overcoating copy materials before, during or after printing B41J11/0015

Abstract

An image forming method using an ink jet is disclosed. A pigment ink containing a dispersed pigment is jetted onto an ink jet recording medium. The recording medium support having as the outermost layer an ink receptive layer comprising thermoplastic resinous particles and a pigment ink solvent absorptive layer adjacent to said ink receptive layer. The fine thermoplastic particle ink receptive layer is the outermost layer onto which the ink is jetted. Thereafter, the outermost layer containing the jetted ink is transparentized by simultaneous application of heat and pressure to obtain an image.

Claims

1. An image forming method comprising:

jetting a pigment ink having a pigment dispersion onto an ink jet recording medium by means of an ink jet method, wherein said ink jet recording medium comprises a support, and provided thereon, an ink receptive layer comprising thermoplastic resinous particles farthest from the support and said pigment dispersion has an average particle diameter within the range of 30 to 150 nm; and

thereafter

applying heat and pressure simultaneously to the ink jet recording medium having the jetted ink

wherein the combination of the heat and pressure with the required particle diameter range produces improved glossiness while maintaining good light fastness.

2. The image forming method of claim 1 wherein the ink jet recording medium comprises a pigment ink solvent absorptive layer adjacent to said ink receptive layer.

3. The image forming method of claim 2 wherein the pigment ink comprises a dispersing agent and a solvent.

4. The image forming method of claim 2 wherein the void volume of the ink receiving layer and the pigment ink solvent-absorbing layer is from 20 to 40 ml/m².

5. The image forming method of claim 1, wherein the heat and pressure are applied employing a heating roller.

6. The image forming method of claim 5, wherein the heat and pressure are applied employing heating roller comprising a metallic cylinder and a silicone rubber roller.

7. The image forming method of claim 6, wherein the metallic cylinder contains a heating source inside of the metallic cylinder.

8. The image forming method of claim 6, wherein a nip width, formed by pressure between said metallic cylinder and said silicone rubber roller, is from 1 to 20 mm.

9. The image forming method of claim 8 wherein the linear pressure resulted by said heating roller is from 500 to 3,000 N/m.

10. The image forming method of claim 9, wherein the heating temperature of the ink jet recording medium is from 50 to 150°

C.

11. The image forming method of claim 5 wherein the glass transition point, Tg, of said thermoplastic resinous layer is higher than temperature at which said thermoplastic resinous particles are coated and dried during the production of said ink jet recording material, and is lower than the temperature at which said support is subjected to thermal modification due to said heating.

12. The image forming method of claim 11 wherein the void volume of the ink receiving layer and the pigment ink solvent-absorbing layer is from 20 to 40 ml/m².

13. The image forming method of claim 1, wherein the heating temperature of the ink jet recording medium is from 50 to 150°

C.

14. The image forming method of claim 1

wherein the heat and pressure are applied employing a heating roller, and the linear pressure resulted by said heating roller is from 500 to 3,000 N/m.

15. The image forming method of claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic resinous layer comprises a silicone emulsion in an amount of 0.5 to 10 percent by weight in terms of solid, or a water-soluble silicone compound in an amount of 0.5 to 10 percent by weight, with respect to the thermoplastic resinous particles.

16. The image forming method of claim 15 wherein the void volume of the ink receiving layer and the pigment ink solvent-absorbing layer is from 20 to 40 ml/m².

17. The image forming method of claim 16, wherein the heat and pressure is applied employing a heating roller and a silicon rubber roller, a nip width, formed by pressure between said metallic cylinder and said silicone rubber roller, is from 1 to 20 mm, the heating temperature of the ink jet recording medium is from 50 to 150°

C., and the linear pressure resulted by said heating roller is from 500 to 3,000 N/m.

18. The image forming method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pigment ink comprises latex.

19. The image forming method of claim 18, wherein the latex is selected from the group consisting of styrenebutadiene copolymer, polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer, polyacrylic acid ester, polyurethane, silicone-acryl copolymer and acryl modified fluorine resin.

20. The image forming method of claim 19, wherein the latex is polyacrylic acid esters, polyurethane or silicone-acryl copolymer.

21. The image forming method of claim 18, wherein the latex has an average particle diameter of 10 to 150.

22. The image forming method of claim 18, wherein the solid content ratio of the latex is from 0.1 to 10 percent by weight with respect to the total weight of the pigment ink.

23. An image forming method comprising:

jetting a pigment ink onto an ink jet recording medium comprising a support, and provided thereon, an ink jet receptive layer comprising thermoplastic resinous particles farthest from the support, by means of an ink jet method; and

applying heat and pressure simultaneously to the ink jet recording medium having the jetted ink,

wherein the glass transition point, Tg, of said thermoplastic resinous particles is higher than the temperature at which said thermoplastic resinous particles are coated and dried during the production of said ink jet recording material, and is lower than the temperature at which said support is subjected to thermal modification due to said heating.