Processes for preparing ink jet inks

Details Processes for preparing ink jet inks Processes for preparing ink jet inks

1999-08-02

2001-01-30

Jagannathan, Vasu (Department: 1714)

Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser

Synthetic resins

Processes of preparing a desired or intentional composition...

C524S517000, C524S556000, C524S802000, C526S273000, C526S319000, C526S317100, C523S412000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06180691

ABSTRACT:

PENDING APPLICATIONS AND PATENTS
Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,043 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,695, the disclosures of each application being totally incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, are inks with certain surfactants. More specifically, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,695, there is disclosed an ink jet ink and imaging process which comprises the development of an image with an aqueous ink jet ink composition comprised of colorant, water, and a polyhydroxy alcohol surfactant present in an amount of from about 2 to about 10 weight percent.
The following applications, the disclosures of each being totally incorporated herein by reference, relate to ink jet inks:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,026 relating to an aqueous ink containing a dissipatable polymer, colorant and a zwitterionic component like betaine;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,209 relating to an ink containing a colorant, polymer, such as a dissipatable polymer, vehicle, and a salt of polyacrylic, a salt of polyamic acid, a salt of alginic acid, or mixtures thereof;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,003 relating to an ink containing a resin of a dissipatable sulfonated polyester terminated with acrylic or methacrylic acid groups; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,827 relating to an ink containing a mixture of two black colorants, betaine, and N,N′-bis(3-aminopropyl) ethylenediamine.
Emulsion/aggregation/coalescence processes for the preparation of toners are illustrated in a number of Xerox patents, the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,654, U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,020, U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,734, U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,963, U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,738, U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,693, U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,108, U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,729, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,797; and also of interest may be U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,348,832; 5,405,728; 5,366,841; 5,496,676; 5,527,658; 5,585,215; 5,650,255; 5,650,256 and 5,501,935.
The appropriate components and processes of the above applications and patents may be selected for the present invention in embodiments thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is generally directed to ink compositions, and processes thereof, and more specifically, the present invention is directed to processes for the preparation of colored aqueous ink compositions particularly suitable for use in ink jet printing processes, and especially thermal ink jet processes, and other similar processes, and wherein there is permitted minimal or no koagation, inks with suitable particle sizes, minimal intercolor bleed for the images developed, and wherein paper curl is minimized and image smearing is minimal, or avoided. The inks in embodiments of the present invention are comprised of an ink vehicle, colorant, and additives, and wherein the inks can be prepared by blending and optionally heating an epoxy monomer latex and preferably a copolymer of unsaturated epoxide monomers and ethylenically unsaturated monomers, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated monomers are ethylenically unsaturated esters, styrene functional monomers or olefinic acids, and a colorant dispersion, and wherein the latex can be prepared by emulsion polymerization using two surfactants of for example an anionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant.
PRIOR ART
Ink jet printing can be considered a non-impact method that produces droplets of ink that are deposited on a substrate, such as paper or transparent film, in response to an electronic digital signal. Thermal or bubble jet drop-on-demand ink jet printers are useful as outputs for personal computers in the office and in the home.
In existing thermal ink jet printing, the print head typically comprises one or more ink jet ejectors, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,359, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, each ejector including a channel communicating with an ink supply chamber, or manifold, at one end and having an opening at the opposite end, referred to as a nozzle. A thermal energy generator, usually a resistor, is located in each of the channels a predetermined distance from the nozzles. The resistors are individually addressed with a current pulse to momentarily vaporize the ink and form a bubble which expels an ink droplet. As the bubble grows, the ink rapidly bulges from the nozzle and is momentarily contained by the surface tension of the ink as a meniscus. As the bubble begins to collapse, the ink remaining in the channel between the nozzle and bubble starts to move toward the collapsing bubble, causing a volumetric contraction of the ink at the nozzle and resulting in the separation from the nozzle of the bulging ink as a droplet. The feed of additional ink provides the momentum and velocity for propelling the droplet towards a print sheet, such as a piece of paper. Since the droplet of ink is emitted only when the resistor is actuated, this type of thermal ink jet printing is known as “drop-on-demand” printing. Other types of ink jet printing, such as continuous-stream or acoustic, are also known.
Ink jet inks, and processes thereof are illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,840,674; 5,021,802; 5,041,161; 4,853,036; 5,124,718; 5,065,167 and 5,043,084, the disclosures of which are totally incorporated herein by reference.
In a single-color ink jet printing apparatus, the printhead typically comprises a linear array of ejectors, and the printhead is moved relative to the surface of the print sheet, either by moving the print sheet relative to a stationary printhead, or vice-versa, or both. In some systems, a relatively small printhead moves across a print sheet numerous times in swathes, much like a typewriter. Alternatively, a printhead, which consists of an array of ejectors and extends the full width of the print sheet, may be passed once down the print sheet to give full-page images in what is known as a “full-width array” (FWA) printer. When the printhead and the print sheet are moved relative to each other, imagewise digital data is used to selectively activate the thermal energy generators in the printhead to permit the desired image to be created on the print sheet.
With the demand for higher resolution printers, the nozzles in ink jet printers are decreasing in size. Nozzle openings are typically about 50 to about 80 micrometers in width or diameter for 300 spi printers. With the advent of 600 spi printers, these nozzle openings are typically about 10 to about 40 micrometers in width or diameter. These small dimensions normally require inks that do not plug the small openings.
An important requirement for ink jet ink is the ability of the ink to remain stable with minimal or no settling, the ability of the ink to remain in a fluid condition in a printhead opening on exposure to air, and moreover wherein when the inks are selected for ink jet printing there is minimized paper curl, or wherein paper curl can be controlled. Also of importance is the latency or decap time, which is the length of time over which an ink remains fluid in a printhead opening or nozzle when exposed to air and, therefore, is capable of firing a drop of ink at its intended target. Latency is considered, for example, the maximum idling times allowed for ink to be jetted by a printer with a speed equal to or greater than about 5 m/s (equivalent to an ink traveling a distance of 0.5 millimeters in less than 100 &mgr;s) without a failure. This measurement can be accomplished with the printhead or nozzles uncovered or decapped and generally at a relative humidity of about 15 percent. The time interval is the longest length of time that the printhead, uncovered, will still fire or eject a specified drop without drop displacement or loss of density. The longer the latency time rating, the more desirable the ink. The inks of the present invention possess many of these characteristics in embodiments thereof.
Moreover, an important requirement for ink jet inks, especially for pigment, such as carbon black, based inks, is for the pigment dispersion to remain stable throughout the life of the ink jet cartridge. Dye-based ink jet inks suffer fr

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