JP2001039006A - Recording method and recorded matter recorded thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] Printing that provides a light-fast, water-resistant, fixing property, and glossiness to a printed matter by forming a transparent top coat layer without requiring a curing / fixing step by color heating, ultraviolet light, or the like. Provided is a method and a printed matter printed by the method. SOLUTION: After printing on a recording medium by an ink jet recording method to form an image, a top coat liquid is sprayed on the entire surface of the image portion by an ink jet recording method to form a uniform transparent top coat layer. A printing method, characterized in that the topcoat liquid contains at least a resin emulsion and water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording method of an ink jet recording system and a recorded matter recorded by the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording is a method of discharging characters as droplets from fine nozzles to record characters and figures on the surface of a recording medium. A method of converting an electric signal into a mechanical signal using an electrostrictive element as an ink jet recording method, intermittently discharging ink stored in a nozzle head portion to record characters and symbols on the surface of a recording medium, a nozzle head A method of rapidly heating a part of the ink stored in a part very close to the discharge part to generate bubbles, and intermittently discharging the ink by volume expansion due to the bubbles, thereby recording characters and symbols on the surface of the recording medium. Have been put to practical use.

[0003] As a recording liquid for ink jet recording, an aqueous liquid is mainly used in view of safety and printing characteristics, and a water-soluble dye is often used as a coloring material. Had poor light and water resistance.

On the other hand, even if a pigment is used as a coloring material in order to obtain the light resistance and water resistance of the recorded matter, the fixation to the recording medium is not sufficient and the paper becomes dirty when rubbed with a finger. When a recorded matter is marked with a pen, there is a problem that the pigment of the ink is easily detached from the surface of the recorded matter, and the glossiness is not sufficient, for example, the recorded portion is stained.

[0005] A method for improving water resistance, fixability, and glossiness by providing a protective coating layer on a recorded matter recorded by an ink jet recording method has been conventionally proposed. As a method for imparting water resistance to a product, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-101482 studies a method in which a hot-melt coating agent is melt-transferred onto a recorded image. Further, JP-A-1-141782 and JP-A-2-80279 propose a method in which a liquid containing an isocyanate compound is applied to a recorded image and cured to form a protective coat layer. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-115066 proposes a method capable of performing high-quality recording with excellent adhesion by forming a transparent top coat layer after recording on an ink absorbing layer by an ink jet method. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-262971 proposes a printer that can obtain a printed material that can withstand outdoor use by jetting and fixing a laminating agent for laminating a printing surface of a recording medium.

However, in these conventional techniques, the laminating apparatus itself is complicated, a curing / fixing step by heat or ultraviolet rays is required when forming the top coat layer, and a step of pressing the film is required. there were.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves such a problem.
The top coat layer is formed without the need for a curing / fixing step by heating or UV rays, etc., to give the recorded material fastness such as light fastness, water fastness and fixability, and good print quality with excellent glossiness. It is to provide a recording method and a recorded matter recorded thereby.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording method of the present invention is to record an image on a recording medium by an ink jet recording method and form an image on the recording medium. A recording method for forming a uniform transparent top coat layer by spraying a top coat liquid by a recording method, wherein the top coat liquid contains at least a resin emulsion and water.

The recording method of the present invention is characterized in that the resin emulsion has a minimum film forming temperature (hereinafter referred to as MFT) of 40 ° C. or less.

The recording method of the present invention is characterized by using a topcoat liquid containing at least a resin emulsion and water and a penetrant selected from ethylene oxide adducts of glycol ethers and / or acetylene glycol ether.

The recording method of the present invention is characterized in that the colorant of the ink jet recording ink to be recorded on the recording medium is a pigment.

Further, the recorded matter of the present invention is a recorded matter recorded by these methods.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the recording method of the present invention, recording is performed on a recording medium by an ink jet recording method to form an image, and then a top coat liquid is jetted on the entire surface of the image portion by an ink jet recording method to obtain a uniform transparent film. Wherein the top coat liquid comprises at least a resin emulsion and water. The inkjet recording method here may be performed by a known method. Further, the inkjet recording device for forming an image and the inkjet recording device for ejecting the top coat liquid may be in the same device, or two inkjet recording devices may be connected in series.

The recording medium is generally a paper, but may be a resin such as plastic or a metal as long as it has a surface treated and has an ink absorbing layer.

[0015] The resin emulsion contained in the topcoat liquid of the present invention is obtained by dispersing a resin in an aqueous medium.

Examples of the resin component in the resin emulsion include homopolymerized or copolymerized resins of vinyl acetate type, acrylic type, styrene type and olefin type.

The addition amount of the resin emulsion used in the top coat liquid of the present invention can sufficiently coat an image on a recording medium when ejected by an ink jet recording method, and can cause clogging of a nozzle when performing ink jet recording. If the above problem does not occur, the appropriate amount of the resin solid content in the top coat liquid is 1 to 40%, and preferably 5 to 20%. More preferably, it is 8 to 15%.

The thickness of the top coat layer after drying may be any thickness that can sufficiently coat the recorded image, and is 0.1 to 100.
Although μm is appropriate, it is preferably 0.5 to 20 μm, more preferably 1 to 10 μm.

In order to further improve the fixability of the top coat layer, it is preferable to improve the permeability of the top coat liquid to the paper. For this purpose, Surfynol 465 and Surfynol STG, both of which are glycol ethers such as diethylene glycol monobutyl ether and triethylene glycol monobutyl ether and / or acetylene glycol-based ethylene oxide adducts, are added to the top coat liquid. It is preferable to add a penetrant selected from the above.

Since the recording method of the present invention forms the top coat layer without requiring a curing / fixing step by heating or ultraviolet rays, the MFT of the resin emulsion used in the top coat liquid must be 40 ° C. or less. But preferably 20 ° C. or lower, more preferably 0 to 15 ° C.
° C.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that a pigment is used as a coloring material of an ink jet recording ink to be recorded on a recording medium. As the pigment used here, those conventionally used in the composition of the ink for inkjet recording can be used. For example, inorganic pigments such as titanium oxide and iron oxide, and carbon black can be used. Further, organic compounds such as azo pigments (eg, azo lakes, insoluble azo pigments, or condensed azo pigments), polycyclic pigments (eg, phthalocyanine pigments, quinacridone pigments, or thioindigo pigments), nitro pigments, nitroso pigments, and aniline black Pigments can be utilized. Further, it is preferable to add a dispersant such as a surfactant or a resin to the inkjet recording liquid in order to improve the dispersion stability of the pigment.

The addition amount of the pigment as a coloring material may be arbitrarily used, but is preferably 0.5 to 20% by weight, more preferably 2 to 10% by weight in the recording liquid.

In general, recorded matter recorded by an ink-jet method using a pigment as a coloring material of a recording liquid tends to have high light resistance, but does not have sufficient fixability and has a gloss higher than that using a dye as a coloring material. Although the inferior feeling has been a problem, the fixability is dramatically improved by forming a top coat layer after forming an image by the inkjet recording method as in the present invention, and imparting glossiness to the image By doing so, the printing quality can also be improved.

The recorded matter recorded using the above method is as follows:
Compared with conventional recordings recorded by the inkjet recording method, the printed materials have good light fastness, water resistance, and fixing properties on the recording material, and good print quality with excellent glossiness can be obtained. Useful for outdoor posters and signboards.

[0025]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following Examples, but it should not be construed that the present invention is limited thereto. In the examples below, all parts and percentages are by weight.

Example 1 In Example 1, the present invention was applied to a dye-based ink for ink jet recording.

(1) Preparation of inkjet recording liquid for image formation Direct Black # 154 5.0% Glycerin 5.0% 2-Pyrrolidone 5.0% Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether 5.0% Surfynol STG 1.0% Triethanol Amine 0.8% Potassium hydroxide 0.1% Ion-exchanged water 78.1% The above components were thoroughly mixed and stirred in a container, and filtered with a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.5 μm to obtain an inkjet recording liquid for image recording. Produced.

(2) Preparation of Top Coat Solution Resin emulsion (acrylstyrene-based emulsion, MFT = 40 ° C.) 10% (as solid content) 1,5-pentanediol 8% Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether 5% Surfynol STG 8% Deionized water 86.2% The above components were sufficiently mixed and stirred in a container, and filtered with a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.5 μm to prepare a top coat liquid.

(3) Preparation of recorded matter Recording medium: 4024 paper manufactured by Xerox Printer: Two MJ-930 manufactured by EPSON are used. A recording liquid for image formation is mounted on one printer, and the other printer is topped. The coating solution was attached. After an image was recorded by one printer, it was immediately coated with a printer for jetting a top coat liquid.

Further, Comparative Example 1 having no top coat layer was formed.

Example 2 In Example 2, the present invention was applied to a pigment-based ink for ink jet recording.

(1) Preparation of Pigment Dispersion Styrene-acrylic acid copolymer resin (weight average molecular weight =
25000; acid value = 200) 4 parts, triethanolamine 2.7 parts, isopropyl alcohol 0.4 parts, ion-exchanged water 72.9 parts were completely dissolved under heating at 70 ° C., and then carbon black MA7 ( Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 2
0 parts were added, mixed and stirred, and dispersed with an Eiger mill (manufactured by Eiger Japan) until the average particle diameter of the pigment became 100 nm (bead filling rate 70%, media diameter 0.7 m).
m).

(2) Preparation of inkjet recording liquid for image recording Next, an inkjet recording liquid for image recording was prepared with the following composition using the above-mentioned pigment dispersion.

The pigment dispersion 20% glycerin 10% diethylene glycol 3% triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 8% Surfynol 465 1% potassium hydroxide 0.2% ion-exchanged water 57.8% The mixture was stirred and filtered with a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.5 μm to prepare an inkjet recording liquid for image recording.

(3) Preparation of Top Coat Solution Resin emulsion (vinyl acetate emulsion, MFT = 5 ° C.) 10% (as solid) Triethylene glycol 8% Glycerin 2% Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 5% Surfynol 465 1% triethanolamine 0.5% ion-exchanged water 73.5% The above components were sufficiently mixed and stirred in a vessel, and filtered with a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.5 μm to prepare a top coat liquid.

(4) Preparation of Recorded Material Recording medium: Photo print paper 2 manufactured by EPSON Printer: MJ-930 manufactured by EPSON MJ-930 An ink jet recording liquid for image formation and a top coat liquid are mounted on the MJ-930, respectively. The printed matter was obtained by two scans of the print head, that is, the scan for forming the ink and the scan for ejecting the top coat liquid.

In addition, Comparative Example 2 in which the top coat layer was not formed was used.

(Evaluation) Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were evaluated by the following methods.

Light resistance evaluation: An exposure test was performed by fixing the recorded matter to be evaluated to a window facing northward with the recording surface facing the outdoors and from the inside of the room. The leaving period was 30 days. The light resistance was evaluated by the color difference (ΔE) between before and after exposure of the recorded matter. A: ΔE = 5 or less. B: 5 <ΔE <10. C: ΔE = 10 or more.

Water resistance evaluation: The recorded matter was immersed in water for 5 minutes,
Observe the outflow of ink. A: No ink leakage. B: Slight ink leakage is observed. C: An image can be read although there is ink leakage. NG: Ink spilled out, making it impossible to read an image.

Evaluation of fixability: Rubbing with the edge of paper after 3 seconds, 6 seconds and 12 seconds after recording. A: No rubbing / tailing after 3 seconds. B: No rubbing / tailing after 6 seconds. C: No rubbing / tailing after 12 seconds. NG: After 12 seconds, there was rubbing and tailing.

Evaluation of glossiness: Evaluated visually. A represents the best glossiness, and worsens in the order of B and C. C is the worst level.

(Results) The results are shown in Table 1.

As is evident from Table 1, the recorded matter of the present invention exhibited good light fastness, water fastness, fixability and glossiness.

[0045]

[Table 1]

[0046]

As described above, according to the recording method of the present invention and the recorded matter recorded by the method, the top coat layer, which has been conventionally regarded as a problem, can be cured without a curing / fixing step by heating or ultraviolet rays. In addition, it is possible to provide the recorded matter with fastness such as fixability, water resistance and light resistance, and good print quality excellent in glossiness.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Katsumori Takei 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Seiko Epson Corporation F-term (reference) 2C056 EA13 FC01 HA44 2H086 BA05 BA55 4J039 AD03 AD09 AE07 BC13 BE01 BE22 CA06 EA33 EA35 EA38 EA43 EA48 GA24

Claims (5)

[Claims] An image is formed by recording on a recording medium by an ink jet recording method, and then a uniform top coat layer is formed by spraying a top coat liquid on the entire recording surface of the recording medium by an ink jet recording method. A recording method for forming, wherein the topcoat liquid contains at least a resin emulsion and water. 2. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a minimum film forming temperature of the resin emulsion is 40 ° C. or less. 3. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a topcoat liquid containing at least a resin emulsion, water and a penetrant selected from water and an ethylene oxide adduct of glycol ethers and / or acetylene glycol ether is used. . 4. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein the colorant of the ink jet recording ink to be recorded on the recording medium is a pigment. 5. A recorded matter recorded by the recording method according to claim 1.