Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser – Synthetic resins – Processes of preparing a desired or intentional composition...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-26
2004-05-18
Shosho, Callie (Department: 1714)
Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser
Synthetic resins
Processes of preparing a desired or intentional composition...
C106S031270, C106S031600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06737450
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
A novel, easy, and efficient manner of toning shades of toluene-based gravure inks is provided, particularly through the incorporation of certain polymeric colorannts therein said gravure ink formulations. In addition, such toner additives provide toning capabilities of carbon black-based gravure inks that provides jetter black appearances with lower degrees of redness and bronzing on various types of printing substrates than other toner formulations with standard alkali blue types of toning additives. Such printed substrates and methods of printing utilizing such novel gravure toner additives are also encompassed within this invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART
All U.S. and foreign patents cited within this specification are hereby incorporated by reference.
The nature of the gravure process imposes certain fundamental requirements on the chemical, physical and strength characteristics of the required inks. Toners are necessary to provide jet black appearances of inks containing standard black pigments, such as, carbon black, as one prominent example. Such a toner must be compatible in gravure ink vehicles, must not alter the mobility, the low viscosity, and the fundamental fast drying properties of the ink necessary for the Gravure process. Currently, alkali blue, from BASF, known as Pigment 61 (Colour Index # 42765:1) is utilized as the most prevalent black pigment toner in such gravure ink operations. Unfortunately, although such a toner meets the required solubility properties, the toning effects provided thereby simultaneously are less than satisfactory due to an excessive reddening and/or bronzing of the black printed image. An improved toner reducing such unwanted effects is thus highly desired within the black Gravure ink industry and market. To date, there are no teachings or fair suggestions of such needed improvements provided by and within the pigment for gravure ink prior art. It is believed that certain chromophores with an appropriate pendant group system may not only provide such desired solvent (toluene, ketones, etc) solubility, but may also provide effective toning with low-reddening and low-bronzing levels within such black gravure inks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,865, to lyengar, discloses a process for preparing a soft textured, high strength Alkali Blue pigment composition which comprises insolubilized amines. This composition is made by mixing a solution of alkali blue crude first with an alkaline solution of an alkyl aryl sulfonic acid, then with an acidic solution having from 3 to 36 carbon atoms, following which the pigment composition is recovered. In the '865 patent the preferred group of alkyl aryl sulfonic acids has from 1 to 14 carbon atoms. The most preferred alkyl aryl sulfonic acid appears to be dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid.
The closest related art of which applicants are aware includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,026,627; 4,456,485; 4,383,865; 4,032,357. U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,627 discloses a particular combination of surfactants, when incorporated with an Alkali Blue Pigment 61, produce a pigment product having the desirable characteristic of exhibiting high strength when used in either water flexo or oil ink end uses. The surfactants utilized are (1) di- and tri- decyl phosphate esters of free acids, together with (2) dehydroabietyl amine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,485, to Iyengar, discloses a process for preparing easily dispersible high color strength powdered alkali blue pigments by precipitating the pigment in the presence of various acids and/or amines, and/or esters, and/or alcohols, etc., as well as the product of these processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,357, assigned to Sherwin-Williams Company, disclosees a substantially anhydrous, free-flowing alkali blue pigment composition having an organic anionic dispersant coprecipitated therewith. Furthermore, the pigment and dispersant are admixed with an oil phase in order to reduce the hydrophilic aggregation of the coprecipitated pigment and dispersant. The specific organic dispersants used in the '357 patent are Gafac.RTM. RS-710 and Gafac.RTM. RS-610.
A colorant compound having polymer or pre-polymer substituent groups may be synthesized by the reaction of a colorant and a polyisocyanate as disclosed in Cross et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,729; Krutak et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,463; and Beckmann et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,678.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,627 disclose a particular combination of surfactants when incorporated with an alkali blue pigment, produce a pigment toner exhibiting high strength when used in toluene-based inks (as one example of gravure types). While the pigment is widely used throughout the industry, they have serious drawbacks (as discussed above) in that they arc difficult to handle, they are not conducive to post addition, provide a reddish tone to carbon black and causes bronzing of the printed image.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a toluene-soluble colorant. Another object of the invention is to provide a colorant that can be used as a toner for toluene-based (gravure) inks. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a colorant that can tone carbon black based inks to give a jet-black image without an appreciable degree of noticeable reddening and/or bronzing. Still another object of the invention is to provide a colorant that can tone carbon black based inks to give a glossier image. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a colorant that can tone carbon black based inks to give an image with substantially reduced bronzing. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a colorant that can tone carbon black based inks and that is easy to handle. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a colorant that can tone carbon black-based gravure inks at any stage of the ink manufacturing process.
It is thus a further object of the invention to provide a colorant with an ability to tone shades of toluene-based (gravure) inks. The colorants according to the invention are notable for very wide compatibility with the binder and printing ink systems customary for printing processes, such as Gravure, in single-color or multi-color printing. They are, for example, easily incorporated in binder systems for toluene-based inks. The printing inks with the colorants according to the invention are satisfactorily printable and produce strong bright prints. The colorants according to the invention are also suitable for mixing with carbon black in order to produce printing inks that; upon printing, produce an excellent brightening and jetting effect on the target substrate. The colorants are also suitable for producing printing inks for copy papers and ink ribbons, and as coloring agents in toners for electrophotographic printing.
Accordingly, then, this invention encompasses a gravure ink solution comprising at least one polymeric colorant toner component, at least one coloring component selected from the group consisting of at least one pigment, at least one dyestuff, and a mixture of both, at least one solvent, and at least one resin component. Also encompassed within this invention is black gravure ink composition comprising at least one coloring agent selected from the group consisting of at least one black pigment, at least one black dyestuff, and a mixture of both, at least one solvent, at least one resin, and at least one toner component, wherein, when measured under CIELAB and CMC standards, and at a brightness level (L*) of at least 26, said inkexhibits a hue angle (h) of at most 42. Additionally encompassed within this invention is black gravure ink composition comprising at least one coloring agent selected from the group consisting of at least one black pigment, at least one black dyestuff, and a mixture of both, at least one solvent, at least one resin, and at least one toner component, wherein when measured under CIELAB (and/or CMC) standards, and at a brightness level (L*) of at least 26, said ink exhibits an a* level of at most 1.4, a b* level of at most
Milliken & Company
Moses Thomas L.
Moyer Terry T.
Shosho Callie
LandOfFree
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