JP2011240659A - Ink jet recording apparatus and ink jet recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

In an ink jet recording apparatus, ink physical properties are defined to enable high-speed and high-quality recording, and the order of recording with different types of ink is not restricted.
A nozzle arrangement surface H1100 of a Bk ink recording head includes first and second nozzle rows H2000, third and fourth nozzle rows H2100, fifth and sixth nozzle rows H2200, seventh and eighth nozzles. The rows H2300 are provided so as to be aligned in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. In this way, by using eight nozzle rows for each ink color, it is possible to reduce the ejection amount per nozzle row, and hence the amount of landing ink, in order to record the same number of dots. Thereby, it is possible to ensure a dispersed region of the recording medium in the thickness direction and the surface direction for the ink to penetrate. As a result, the ink ejected from each nozzle row can permeate quickly.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and an ink jet recording method, and more particularly to a configuration for suppressing deterioration in image quality when high speed recording is performed by a single scan of a recording head.

  Conventionally, it has been attempted to improve the recording speed by completing the recording of the scanning area by one scanning of the recording head (Patent Document 1). However, when printing is completed by one scan in this way, in general, different color inks are ejected in adjacent pixels at short time intervals, thereby causing bleeding of ink between adjacent pixels. It becomes easy.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 describes that the physical properties of ink to be used are defined in order to achieve both recording speed and image quality. Specifically, the surface tension between the ink that is ejected first and landed and the ink that is ejected and landed later is defined. As a result, bleeding that may occur when different color inks are ejected between adjacent pixels first is reduced, and high-quality images can be recorded and high-speed recording can be performed.

JP 2000-006389 A Japanese Patent No. 4328670

  However, since the technique described in Patent Document 2 defines the surface tension between the ink that lands first and the ink that lands later, the ink ejection order is limited by the physical properties of the ink. . As a result, the degree of freedom in designing the apparatus is impaired depending on the ink used and the ink ejection order, that is, the arrangement order of the nozzle rows of each color ink or the recording head. Ink physical properties are designed in consideration of color development and robustness in addition to recording reliability, so there are a wide range of combinations, and the ejection order of each color ink requires various combinations in image formation and printer body configuration. Become. For this reason, providing these restrictions impairs the degree of freedom in designing the recording apparatus.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus and an ink jet recording method that allow high-speed and high-quality recording by defining ink physical properties and that do not impair the above-described flexibility in device design. .

  The inventors have made various studies on the ink physical properties, the number of nozzle rows, and the number of scans of the recording head. As a result, in a configuration in which the number of nozzle rows is six or more for one color ink and an image is recorded by one scan, by using the ink in which the relationship of the surface tension between the color inks is adjusted to a certain range, It was clarified that an image with reduced bleeding can be recorded regardless of the ejection order of each color ink.

  That is, the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus that uses a recording head that discharges a plurality of types of ink and performs recording by discharging ink from the recording head onto a recording medium. By using a nozzle row that is equal to or greater than the number of rows and performing a single scan of the print head relative to the print medium, printing is performed. , Δγ = (Surface tension γ of the lower L value ink) − (Surface tension γ of the higher L value ink), the range of 0.1 ≦ Δγ ≦ 7.0 is satisfied. Features.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to obtain an ink jet recording apparatus that enables high-speed and high-quality recording by defining ink physical properties and does not impair the above-described freedom in designing the apparatus.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the nozzle arrangement | sequence of each two recording heads among the six recording heads shown in FIG. With the recording apparatus of this embodiment using the recording head having the eight nozzle rows shown in FIG. 2, ink dots that can be recorded by one scanning of the recording head, that is, one recording medium conveyance to the recording head, It is a figure which shows the relationship with the nozzle (row) which records it. It is a figure which shows a mode that the dot in one pixel is recorded when the image of a low duty (gradation) and a high duty (gradation) is each recorded with the eight nozzle rows of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that the dot in one pixel is related to another form, and when recording a low duty image and a high duty image with 6 nozzle rows, respectively. It is a figure which shows a mode that the dot in one pixel is recorded when an image of a low duty and a high duty is each recorded with four nozzle rows.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1001 denotes six recording heads that eject six colors of ink. The six color inks may be, for example, black (Bk), cyan (Cy), magenta (Mg), yellow (Ye), light cyan (LCy), and light magenta (LMg) inks with low colorant density. it can. Any two of these plural types of ink satisfy the relationship of Δγ described later.

  Each recording head is a so-called full-line type recording head in which nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged over the entire width of the recording medium 1002 being conveyed. In each recording head, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, eight nozzle rows are arranged. Corresponding to each nozzle, a heating element is provided, and this heating element discharges ink by applying thermal energy to the ink in accordance with a recording signal. This heating element has a heating part wetted surface containing metal and / or metal oxide, nitride, and carbide. Specific examples of metals and / or metal oxides, nitrides, and carbides that make up the wetted part liquid contact surface include, for example, metals such as Ta, Zr, Ti, Ni, Si, and Al, or oxidation of these metals. Things can be mentioned.

  Ink is supplied to these recording heads through tubes (not shown) from ink tanks containing respective color inks. Each ink tank is detachably attached to the apparatus.

  Reference numerals 1003 and 1004 denote rollers for conveying a recording medium such as recording paper, 1005 denotes a platen, and 1006 denotes a support member for the roller 1003.

  In the above configuration, the recording medium 1002 is transported in the transport direction indicated by the arrow in the drawing, and ink is ejected from each nozzle row of the recording head 1001 for each of the six color inks during the transport according to the recording signal. Images are sequentially recorded on the medium. The arrangement order of these six recording heads in the transport direction is arranged in a predetermined order. However, as described below, any arrangement order may be adopted by applying the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the nozzle arrangement of each of the two recording heads out of the six recording heads shown in FIG. 1, and as an example, two recordings that eject black (Bk) and yellow (Ye) inks. The nozzle arrangement in the head is shown. In FIG. 2, the first and second nozzle rows H2000, the third and fourth nozzle rows H2100, the fifth and sixth nozzle rows H2200, the seventh and eighth nozzles are arranged on the nozzle arrangement surface H1100 of the Bk ink recording head. A row H2300 is provided so as to be aligned in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. Further, on the nozzle arrangement surface H1101 of the Ye ink recording head, the first and second nozzle rows H2400, the third and fourth nozzle rows H2500, the fifth and sixth nozzle rows H2600, the seventh and eighth nozzle rows H2700 are provided. Are arranged in the transport direction. As described above, in the present embodiment, the recording head of any ink color includes eight nozzle rows.

  The density of the nozzle array of each nozzle array is 1200 dpi, and as a result, the density of dots to be recorded is 1200 dpi in the nozzle array direction, as will be described later with reference to FIG. In addition, since the ejection timing from each nozzle row is determined for the recording medium to be transported, the density of dots to be recorded in the transport direction is also set to 1200 dpi.

  3 can be recorded by one relative scanning of the recording head, that is, one conveyance of the recording medium with respect to the recording head, by the recording apparatus using the recording head having the eight nozzle rows shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between an ink dot and the nozzle (column) which records it. The numbers shown in FIG. 3 indicate which nozzle row among the eight nozzle rows.

  In this embodiment, by arranging 0 to 8 ink dots at four positions with a density of 1200 dpi × 1200 dpi in one pixel with a density of 600 dpi × 600 dpi, each pixel expresses a density of 9 gradations. . Further, in the arrangement method of 0 to 8 dots, the dots are arranged so as to be sequentially dispersed at four positions in accordance with the order in which the dots are recorded (recorded by ink ejection). That is, the dots are arranged so that there are as few overlapping dots as possible.

  Specifically, as shown in the figure, when the recording medium passes through the point A in the drawing, each dot (1, 2) is not overlapped by the first and second nozzle rows. Can be recorded. Next, when the recording medium passes through the point B, in addition to the above dots, the third and fourth nozzle rows can be recorded so that the dots (3, 4) do not overlap. When the point C is passed, printing is performed by the fifth and sixth nozzle arrays. At this point, dots are already recorded at the four positions of the pixel. In this case, in the order (1, 2) in which the first four dots are recorded, dots (5, 6) are recorded at the same positions as in the respective orders. Similarly, when passing through the point D, the dots (7, 8) can be recorded so as not to overlap each other by the seventh and eighth nozzle rows.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment having the above configuration can perform high-speed and high-quality recording by defining ink physical properties without being restricted by the discharge order of each color ink by satisfying the following conditions. To do.

<Conditions of physical properties of ink and number of nozzle rows>
As a result of the study by the present inventors, the following conditions were obtained. When the ink of this embodiment is used in the recording method described above, the ink is an aqueous ink containing an aqueous medium, a surfactant, and a coloring material, and Δγ = (L value is low) between the two types of ink. The surface tension γ of one of the inks− (the surface tension γ of the one having a higher L value). At this time,
(1) Δγ is
0.1 ≦ Δγ ≦ 7.0
Herein, L value is a value of L ^* at a defined L ^* a ^* b ^* display system by the CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage), for example, a recorded image with ink, a spectrophotometer (trade name: Using Spectrolino (manufactured by Gretag Macbeth), numerical values measured under conditions of a light source: D50 and a visual field: 2 ° can be used.
Meet the scope of
(2) Six or more nozzle rows (8 in this embodiment) are used for each color ink,
(3) When recording an image in one scan,
Bleeding can be reduced regardless of the arrangement order of the nozzle rows of each color ink. This is considered to be because permeation of each color ink is secured in the absorption layer of the recording medium. Ensuring this penetration means securing a region in which the landed ink can penetrate in the thickness direction and surface direction of the recording medium, although there is a limit to the speed and amount of the ink that has landed in the recording medium.

(Ensuring penetration with a multi-row nozzle)
In the present embodiment, by using 8 (6 or more) nozzle rows for each ink color, the same 0 to 8 dots are recorded, so that the ejection amount per nozzle row, and hence the landing ink amount. Can be reduced. Thereby, it is possible to ensure a dispersed region of the recording medium in the thickness direction and the surface direction for the ink to penetrate. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how dots are recorded in one pixel when images of low duty (gradation) and high duty (gradation) are recorded in the eight nozzle rows of the present embodiment, respectively. . As shown in the figure, for example, in the case of recording six dots in low duty recording, the respective timings of the six dots are all different by recording each dot with the first to sixth nozzle arrays. Is recorded. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the amount of ink landed at one time, and it is possible to disperse regions in the thickness direction and the surface direction of the recording medium for the ink to permeate. Also, when printing 8 dots in high duty printing, by recording each dot with the 1st to 8th nozzle rows, the amount of landed ink can be reduced and the ink penetrates. Therefore, the thickness direction and surface direction regions of the recording medium can be dispersed. As a result, the ink ejected from each nozzle row can permeate quickly.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which dots are recorded in one pixel when images of low duty and high duty are recorded by six nozzle rows, respectively, according to another embodiment. When a low-duty image is recorded, it is the same as that shown in FIG. When a high duty image is recorded, as shown in the figure, for the first nozzle row and the sixth nozzle row, ink is ejected from the two nozzles of each row at the same timing to record dots. However, if the number of inks ejected at the same timing is such a number, areas in the thickness direction and the surface direction through which the ink permeates can be secured.

  On the other hand, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how dots are recorded in one pixel when images of low duty and high duty are recorded by four nozzle rows, respectively. In the case of printing with four nozzle rows, compared to the case of six nozzle rows or more, particularly when a high duty image is printed, two nozzles in each nozzle row discharge ink at the same timing. For this reason, the amount of ink that permeates at the same timing increases, and the region where ink permeates is not dispersed. As a result, an adverse effect that inhibits or lowers the penetration of the subsequent ink occurs.

  In order to obtain the above-described effect of providing a large number of nozzle rows, it is preferable to use the nozzles in each row evenly and without bias in addition to using six nozzle rows or more in each color recording head. For example, in a recording head having six or more nozzle rows, this effect cannot be obtained if an actual image is formed only by using four rows of nozzles.

(Ensuring penetration by one scan)
The above-described adverse effects of inhibition and reduction of ink penetration also occur when printing is performed by a plurality of scans. That is, the ink that has landed in the previous scan spreads in the thickness direction and the surface direction before the ink landed in the subsequent scan, and as a result, the absorption of the ink that landed in the subsequent scan is inhibited and reduced. . On the other hand, when recording is completed in one scan as in the present embodiment, the ink that has landed in the previous scan does not absorb the ink that landed in the subsequent scan, and the subsequent scan does not. Ensuring the absorption of the landed ink.

  Note that the scanning speed is preferably in the range of 1 inch / sec or more to 30 inches / sec or less in order to exhibit the effect of one-time scanning and keep the recording speed high, and is in the range of 1 inch / sec or more to 20 inches / sec or less. It is particularly preferred.

(Effect of Δγ)
Defining Δγ between the inks means that the permeation speed is different among a plurality of inks to be used, and an ink having a higher γ value has a high penetrating power or a fast penetrating power to the recording medium. For example, in the case of yellow ink with high brightness and low γ value and black ink with low brightness and high γ value, when black ink is ejected first, the black ink penetrates and fixes quickly. The subsequent yellow ink can penetrate due to the above-described multi-row nozzle and the effect of one-time scanning. Accordingly, both inks can penetrate and be fixed without the black ink eroding the yellow ink. On the other hand, when yellow ink is ejected first, the subsequent black is ensured to penetrate due to the effects of the multi-row nozzle and one-time scanning, and the penetration speed is faster than that of yellow. Penetration and fixing in the recording medium without erosion. As a result, both inks can penetrate and be fixed without the black ink eroding the yellow ink. In this way, bleeding can be satisfactorily reduced regardless of the ejection order of different color inks.

  Here, assuming that the penetration speed of the black ink is equal to or slower than that of the yellow ink, a problem occurs particularly when the yellow ink is ejected first. When yellow ink is ejected first, penetration of the subsequent black ink is ensured by the effect of multi-row nozzles and one-time scanning. However, since the permeation speed is equal to or slower than that of the yellow ink, the permeation into the recording medium does not proceed sufficiently, and as a result, the yellow ink is eroded on the surface of the recording medium and bleeding occurs.

Note that the L value of each color ink is related to Δγ. Here, as described above, the L value is L ^* at a defined L ^* a ^* b ^* display system by the CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage), the same recording density of each ink color on the recording medium, preferably Uses the L ^* value when recording with 100% duty or more. The relationship of the L value when a general color material is used for several ink colors is listed below. Of course, this relationship is changed depending on the color material, and the present invention is not limited to this relationship. It is.

L value is low: black, (blue) <(gray) <cyan, magenta, (green) <(red) <light cyan, light magenta <yellow: high L value In the relationship of the above L values, black is all ink. The color corresponds to (ink having a lower L value), and yellow corresponds to (ink having a higher L value) for all inks.

(Other embodiments)
The ink jet recording head according to the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the number of nozzle rows for each color ink is six or more as described above. In this case, in the present invention, it is preferable that the nozzle rows of the respective ink colors are arranged such that the nozzle rows of other ink colors are not sandwiched between the nozzle rows. This is because it is not preferable in terms of the design of the ink supply path to alternate the arrangement of nozzle rows of different ink colors due to the configuration of the recording head. Further, when inks of different colors are mixed, the value of Δγ decreases between different ink colors, and the above-described effect of Δγ may be impaired.

  In order to achieve both high-speed recording and recording quality, the nozzle interval in the nozzle row direction is preferably 300 dpi (nozzle pitch: about 85 μm) to 2400 dpi (nozzle pitch: about 11 μm), particularly preferably 600 dpi (nozzle pitch: about 42 μm). ) To 1200 dpi (nozzle pitch: about 21 μm). The image resolution formed is preferably 600 dpi to 9600 dpi in the nozzle row direction and 600 dpi to 9600 dpi in the vertical direction with respect to the nozzle row. Further, the nozzle diameter and the discharge amount are not particularly limited, but it is preferably a nozzle diameter capable of discharging from 0.5 pl to 5 pl per droplet of discharged ink, and capable of discharging from 1 pl to 3 pl. Is particularly preferred.

  Further, the direction of the nozzle array of the recording head used in the present invention can be applied either parallel or perpendicular to the paper transport direction. Note that application to a line head in which nozzle rows are arranged perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction and have a length similar to the width of the recording medium is particularly preferable in terms of a design in which a plurality of nozzle rows are provided for each color.

  The present invention is particularly effective in a portion where the recording density is high. However, the excessive ink ejection amount exceeding the absorption capacity of the recording medium exceeds the limit of the ink absorption amount of the recording medium in the first place, and the effect of the present invention is exhibited. Can not. Further, in the portion where the recording density is low, there is no difference in the ink permeation environment between when the 4-row nozzle is used and when the 6-row nozzle or more is used, so that the effect of the present invention cannot be exhibited effectively. Therefore, the present invention is preferably applied when the maximum recording duty of an image is in the range of 100% to 160% duty in total for all colors.

(Surfactant)
The ink of the present invention preferably contains a surfactant as a penetrating agent. The term “surfactant” as used in the present invention refers to a compound that exhibits surface active ability, and can be equally implemented in the present invention as long as the compound is oriented at the interface to reduce the surface tension. As a means for confirming the presence or absence of the surface activity ability, for example, a commercially available dynamic surface tension measuring device can be used. Specifically, an aqueous solution of about 5% by weight of a compound is measured, and when the difference between the surface tension of 10 milliseconds and the surface tension of 500 milliseconds is significant, It can be determined that the compound has an ability to reduce the surface energy by orienting at the interface. Examples of the surfactant that can be used in the present invention include the following. The surfactants listed below can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[Nonionic surfactant]
Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, polyoxyethylene fatty acid ester, polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene / polyoxypropylene block copolymer, and the like. Fatty acid diethanolamide, acetylene glycol ethylene oxide adduct, acetylene glycol surfactant, and the like.

[Anionic surfactant]
Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfonate, polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether sulfate, polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether sulfonate, and the like. Alpha sulfo fatty acid ester salts, alkylbenzene sulfonates, alkylphenol sulfonates, alkylnaphthalene sulfonates, alkyltetralin sulfonates, dialkylsulfosuccinates and the like.

[Cationic surfactant]
Alkyltrimethylammonium salt, dialkyldimethylammonium chloride and the like.

[Amphoteric surfactant]
Alkyl carboxybetaines and the like.

(Aqueous medium)
In the ink of the present invention, water or an aqueous medium that is a mixed solvent of water and a water-soluble organic compound can be used in a range that can be adjusted to the above-described range of γ. It is preferable to use deionized water (ion exchange water) as the water. The content (% by mass) of water in the ink is preferably 10.0% by mass or more and 90.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the ink.

  The water-soluble organic compound that can be used in the present invention is a compound other than a surfactant, is water-soluble, and alcohol, polyhydric alcohol, polyglycol, glycol ether, nitrogen-containing polar solvent, sulfur-containing polar solvent, or the like is used. it can. The content (% by mass) of the water-soluble organic compound in the ink is 5.0% by mass or more and 90.0% by mass or less, and further 10.0% by mass or more and 50.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the ink. It is preferable that If the content of the water-soluble organic compound is less than the above range, reliability such as ejection stability may not be obtained when the ink is used in an ink jet recording apparatus. Further, when the content of the water-soluble organic compound is larger than the above range, the ink viscosity may increase and ink supply failure may occur.

  Specifically, for example, the following water-soluble organic compounds can be used, but the present invention is not limited to these. Alkyl alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol; Amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide. Ketones or ketoalcohols such as acetone and diacetone alcohol. Ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane. Polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. Glycols such as propylene glycol, butylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, hexylene glycol. Alkylene glycols in which an alkylene group such as 1,2,6-hexanetriol has 2 to 6 carbon atoms; Alkyl ether acetates such as polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate. Alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, diethylene glycol methyl (or ethyl) ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone and the like. Of course, the present invention is not limited to these. These water-soluble organic compounds can be used alone or in combination of two or more as required.

  In addition to the above-described components, the ink of the present invention is a water-soluble solid solution at room temperature, such as polyhydric alcohols such as trimethylolpropane and trimethylolethane, and urea derivatives such as urea and ethyleneurea, if necessary. An organic compound may be contained. Furthermore, the ink of the present invention can be used in various ways such as pH adjusters, rust preventives, antiseptics, antifungal agents, antioxidants, anti-reduction agents, evaporation accelerators, chelating agents, and water-soluble polymers. The additive may be contained.

(Color material)
The color material constituting the ink of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a water-soluble or water-dispersible color material. Specific examples are given below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

C. I. Direct yellow: 8, 11, 12, 27, 28, 33, 39, 44, 50, 58, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 98, 100, 110, 132, 173, etc. I. Acid Yellow: 1, 3, 7, 11, 17, 23, 25, 29, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 76, 98, 99 etc. C.I. I. Food Yellow: 3 etc. C.I. I. Pigment Yellow: 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 73, 74, 75, 83, 93, 95, 97, 98, 114, 128, 138, 180, etc. C.I. I. Direct Red: 2, 4, 9, 11, 20, 23, 24, 31, 39, 46, 62, 75, 79, 80, 83, 89, 95, 197, 201, 218, 220, 224, 225, 226 227, 228, 229, 230 etc. C.I. I. Acid Red: 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 26, 27, 32, 35, 42, 51, 52, 80, 83, 87, 89, 92, 106, 114, 115, 133, 134, 145 158, 198, 249, 265, 289, etc. C.I. I. Food Red: 87, 92, 94, etc. C.I. I. Direct violet: 107 etc. C.I. I. Pigment Red: 2, 5, 7, 12, 48: 2, 48: 4, 57: 1, 112, 122, 123, 168, 184, 202, etc. C.I. I. Direct Blue: 1, 15, 22, 25, 41, 76, 77, 80, 86, 90, 98, 106, 108, 120, 158, 163, 168, 199, 226, 307, etc. C.I. I. Acid Blue: 1, 7, 9, 15, 22, 23, 25, 29, 40, 43, 59, 62, 74, 78, 80, 90, 100, 102, 104, 112, 117, 127, 138, 158 161, 203, 204, 221, 244, etc. I. Pigment Blue: 1, 2, 3, 15, 15: 2, 15: 3, 15: 4, 16, 22, 60, etc. C.I. I. Acid Orange: 7, 8, 10, 12, 24, 33, 56, 67, 74, 88, 94, 116, 142, etc. C.I. I. Acid Red: 111, 114, 266, 374, etc. C.I. I. Direct orange: 26, 29, 34, 39, 57, 102, 118 etc. C.I. I. Food orange: 3 etc. C.I. I. Reactive orange: 1, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 29, 30, 84, 107, etc. C.I. I. Disperse Orange: 1, 3, 11, 13, 20, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 47, 55, 56, etc. C.I. I. Pigment Orange: 43 etc. C.I. I. Pigment Red: 122, 170, 177, 194, 209, 224, etc. C.I. I. Acid Green: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 25, 28, 81, 84, etc. C.I. I. Direct green: 26, 59, 67 etc. C.I. I. Food Green: 3 etc. C.I. I. Reactive Green: 5, 6, 12, 19, 21 etc. C.I. I. Disperse Green: 6, 9 etc. C.I. I. Pigment Green: 7, 36 etc. C.I. I. Acid Blue: 62, 80, 83, 90, 104, 112, 113, 142, 203, 204, 221, 244, etc. C.I. I. Reactive Blue: 49 etc. C.I. I. Acid Violet: 17, 19, 48, 49, 54, 129, etc. C.I. I. Direct violet: 9, 35, 47, 51, 66, 93, 95, 99 etc. C.I. I. Reactive violet: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 22, 34, 36, etc. C.I. I. Disperse violet: 1, 4, 8, 23, 26, 28, 31, 33, 35, 38, 48, 56, etc. C.I. I. Pigment Blue: 15: 6 etc. C.I. I. Pigment Violet: 19, 23, 37 etc. C.I. I. Direct black: 17, 19, 22, 31, 32, 51, 62, 71, 74, 112, 113, 154, 168, 195, etc. C.I. I. Acid Black: 2, 48, 51, 52, 110, 115, 156, etc. C.I. I. Food Black: 1st, 2nd Carbon Black In the present invention, these coloring materials can be used alone or in combination of two or more as required.

(Coloring material content)
The content (% by mass) of the color material and the compound of the general formula (I) in the ink is preferably 1% by mass or more and 10.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the ink.

<Ink set>
In order to form a full-color image or the like, the ink of the present invention can be used in a plurality of different combinations of hues. The ink of the present invention is preferably used together with at least one kind of ink selected from, for example, black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, red ink, green ink, blue ink, and gray ink. Further, a so-called light ink having substantially the same color tone as these inks, for example, a light cyan ink or a light magenta ink may be used in combination. The color material of these inks or light inks can be a known color material or a newly synthesized color material.

(Example)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail using Examples and Comparative Examples. However, the present invention is not limited in any way by the following examples. Unless otherwise specified, the ink components in Examples and Comparative Examples mean “parts by mass”. In the description, “parts” and “%” are based on mass unless otherwise specified.

<Preparation of coloring material>
As the color material Bk, a lithium salt type of the following compound was synthesized and used with reference to the publication of JP-A-2005-139427 and the like.

  The exemplified compound II-66 described was used as the color material Cy with reference to JP-A-2009-057540.

  The following compounds were synthesized and used for the colorant Ye with reference to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-297541.

<Examples 1-7, Comparative Examples 1-4>
Using the color materials obtained above, inks Bk-1 to Bk-3, Cy-1 to Cy-3, and Ye were prepared as shown in Table 1 below. First, in addition to the components shown in the upper part of Table 1 below, a deficient amount of pure water was added to a total of 100 parts, and each was mixed and sufficiently stirred. Thereafter, pressure filtration was performed with a filter having a pore size of 0.2 μm to prepare each ink. The lower part of Table 1 also shows the surface tension value γ of each ink.

<Evaluation>
Each of the inks obtained above was used with a recording head that ejects ink using thermal energy. Evaluation patterns were formed by one-time scanning and two-time scanning under the recording conditions of temperature 23 ° C., relative humidity 55%, recording density 1200 dpi × 1200 dpi, ejection amount 2.5 pl, and recording speed 20 inch / sec. Glossy paper GL-101 (manufactured by Canon) was used as the recording medium. The evaluation pattern is a recording section in which any one of Bk-1 to Bk-3, Cy-1 to Cy-3 and Ye are overprinted with a 60% duty and a total of 120% duty, respectively, and an interval of 1000 μm is provided. Then, a pattern in which Ye is recorded with a width of 1000 μm with a duty of 120% adjacent to the overlap recording portion is used in the interval portion of the overlap recording. The recorded image was naturally dried for 24 hours at a temperature of 23 ° C. and a relative humidity of 55%, and the personal image quality evaluation system Personal IAS (Quality Engineering Associates) was used for the recording of the Ye recording section at the time of one-time scanning recording and two-time scanning recording. Measure line width and ruggedness,
ΔLine width = (Line width at one time scanning recording) − (Line width at two time scanning recording)
Δ Ladderness = (Ruggetness during one-time scanning recording) − (Ruggetness during two-time scanning recording)
As an evaluation.

  Here, “Ruggetness” is the ruggedness of a line defined by ISO 13660, and a rugged line indicates a state in which it is wavy with respect to an ideal line edge that should be smooth and straight. is there.

  (Evaluation criteria)

(Evaluation results)
In Examples 1 to 7, the line width and the radiance of the one-time scan recording are first compared to the case of the two-time scan recording under the condition of 0.1 ≦ Δγ ≦ 7.0 using 6 to 8 row nozzles. Regardless of whether it was discharged or not, the evaluations were A to C, indicating good results.

  On the other hand, Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are the results when using a four-nozzle array, and the D or E evaluation exists at the time of one-time scanning recording as compared with the case of two-time scanning recording depending on the ejection order, which is not preferable.

  Comparative Examples 3 to 4 are conditions of Δγ <0, and depending on the ejection order, there is a D evaluation due to the droplet ejection order at the time of one-time scanning recording as compared with the case of two-time scanning recording, which is not preferable.

  From the above results, the present invention can achieve both high-speed recording and good image quality. As shown in Table 2, when “Δγ” is 0.1 or more and 7.0 or less, “evaluation” can obtain C or more. Further, when Δγ is 1.4 or more and 7.0 or less, the “evaluation” can be about B or more.

1001 Recording head 1002 Recording medium H2000, H2100, H2200, H2300, H2400, H2500, H2600, H2700 Nozzle array

Claims (4)

An inkjet recording apparatus that uses a recording head that discharges a plurality of types of ink and performs recording by discharging ink from the recording head to a recording medium,
For each of the plurality of types of ink, using six or more nozzle rows,
Recording is performed by scanning the recording head relative to the recording medium once.
Between any two types of the plurality of types of ink, Δγ = (surface tension γ of the lower L value ink) − (surface tension γ of the higher L value ink). Sometimes satisfies the range 0.1 ≦ Δγ ≦ 7.0,
An ink jet recording apparatus. An ink jet recording apparatus that uses a recording head that discharges a plurality of types of ink and performs recording by discharging ink supplied from an ink tank to a recording medium from the recording head,
The ink tank containing each of the plurality of types of ink is detachably mounted,
For each of the plurality of types of ink, using six or more nozzle rows,
Recording is performed by scanning the recording head relative to the recording medium once.
Between any two types of the plurality of types of ink, Δγ = (surface tension γ of the lower L value ink) − (surface tension γ of the higher L value ink). Sometimes satisfies the range 0.1 ≦ Δγ ≦ 7.0,
An ink jet recording apparatus.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a range of 1.4 ≦ Δγ ≦ 7.0 is satisfied between any two types of inks among the plurality of types of ink. An inkjet recording method for performing recording by using a recording head that discharges a plurality of types of ink and discharging ink from the recording head onto a recording medium,
For each of the plurality of types of ink, using six or more nozzle rows,
Recording is performed by scanning the recording head relative to the recording medium once.
Between any two types of the plurality of types of ink, Δγ = (surface tension γ of the lower L value ink) − (surface tension γ of the higher L value ink). Sometimes satisfies the range 0.1 ≦ Δγ ≦ 7.0,
An ink jet recording method.

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