Ink-jet ink recording paper

Details Ink-jet ink recording paper Ink-jet ink recording paper

2000-02-22

2001-12-11

Schwartz, Pamela R. (Department: 1774)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Structurally defined web or sheet

Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond

C427S146000, C428S211100, C428S537500

Reexamination Certificate

active

06329043

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent. Particularly, the present invention relates to an ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent which is applied onto a surface of a recording medium or incorporated into the recording medium for ink-jet printing. The present invention also relates to a recording paper sheet employing the dye-fixing agent.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, computers have become popular not only in enterprises and educational facilities but also in general families. With the popularization of the computer, many kinds of printers have been developed and come to be used for outputting the data. A typical printing system is ink-jet printing, which is increasingly employed in color printing. The dyes for the ink-jet printing are generally water-soluble. The water-solubleness of the dye impairs water resistance of the printed characters and images, causing feathering or color-running by water deposition to render the printed character or picture indecipherable.
Various fixing agents have been reported for fixation of ink-jet printing dyes to improve the water resistance of the dye. For example, JP-A-56-84992 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.) discloses quaternized polyvinylpyridine, JP-A-60-49990 discloses polyalkylenepolyamine-dicyandiamide condensates, and JP-A-6-92012 discloses reaction products of a secondary amine with an epihalohydrin.
Conventional fixing agent for ink-jet printing dyes does not necessarily give sufficient water resistance, or may impair the color development depending on the kind of the dye. No conventional ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent is satisfactory simultaneously for the water resistance and for color development of the dye.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent which gives sufficient water resistance and color developing properties of the dye without the above disadvantages of conventional fixing agents.
After comprehensive investigation on the fixing agent for ink-jet printing dye, it was found by the inventors of the present invention that high water resistance and excellent color development properties in ink-jet printing can be achieved by use of a dye-fixing agent composed of a quaternary cationic polymer having the main chain constituted of quaternized cationic diamine units and aromatic ring units. The present invention has been accomplished based on the above findings.
The present invention provides an ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent, comprising a quaternary cationic polymer having the main chain represented by general formula (1):
where R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, and R
4
are independently an aliphatic alkyl group of 1 or 2 carbons; R is an aliphatic alkylene group of 1-6 carbons, or a phenylene group; and n is an integer of from 3 to 300.
The above ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent may be one in which the aforementioned quaternary cationic polymer is represented by general formulas (1′), (1″), or (1″′):
where R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, and R
4
are independently an aliphatic alkyl group of 1 or 2 carbons; R is an aliphatic alkylene group of 1-6 carbons, or a phenylene group; X is a halogen atom; and n is an integer of from 3 to 300.
Preferably in the aforementioned quaternary cationic polymer, R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, and R
4
are respectively a methyl group; R is a group of ethylene, propylene, or phenylene; and n is an integer of from 3 to 250.
The present invention further provides an ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent comprising a quaternary cationic polymer, which is produced by reacting at least one di-tertiary diamine selected from the group of the di-tertiary diamines represented by general formula (2) with at least one xylylene dihalide (i.e., &agr;,&agr;′-dihalogenoxylene) selected from the group of the xylylene halides represented by general formula (3):
where R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, and R
4
are independently an aliphatic alkyl group of 1 or 2 carbons; R is an aliphatic alkylene group of 1-6 carbons or a phenylene group,
where X is a halogen atom.
In the above fixing agent, preferably, R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, and R
4
are respectively a methyl group; R is a group of ethylene, propylene, or phenylene.
The present invention further provides an ink-jet printing recording paper sheet, which contains the aforementioned ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent on the surface thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent, and the recording paper sheet employing the dye-fixing agent of the present invention are described below in more detail.
(Quaternary Cationic Polymer)
The quaternary cationic polymer used as the ink-jet printing dye-fixing agent of the present invention has a main chain constituted of the unit represented by general formula (1) below composed of a quaternary amine cation and an aromatic ring:
where the group R bonding the quaternary amine cations together is an aliphatic alkylene group having 1-6 carbons or a phenylene group, preferably methylene, ethylene, propylene, or unsubstituted phenylene. The quaternary cationic polymer is quaternized by aliphatic alkyl groups R
1
-R
4
of 1 or 2 carbons, preferably the R
1
-R
4
alkyl groups being methyl respectively. The R
1
-R
4
groups may be the same or different.
The polymerization degree, the molecular weight, and the molecular weight distribution of the above quaternary cationic polymer used in the present invention are not specially limited. However, the polymerization degree, namely n in the general formula (1), is preferably in the range from 3 to 300, more preferably from 3 to 250. The polymer of the polymerization degree of less than 3 can not insolubilize sufficiently the dye as described below, whereas the polymer of the polymerization degree higher than 300 can have a high solution viscosity which may result in inconvenience in coating, and other handling.
The end groups of the quaternary cationic polymer of the present invention are not specially limited, provided that the polymer has the main chain represented by the above general formula (1).
Even the quaternary cationic polymer of relatively low polymerization degree (n is about 3-10) can be used with little influence of the kind of the end groups of the polymer. Therefore, the quaternary cationic polymer may be obtained from various source materials by various polymerization processes. The end groups may be respectively xylylene dihalide as represented below in formula (1″′), may be respectively tertiary amine as in formula (1″), or may be one xylylene dihalide and one tertiary amine as in formula (1′). The group X (halogen) of the end group may be replaced by another group, such as a hydroxyl group or an ester group, by hydrolysis or under the synthesis conditions. The halogen atom is not specially limited, including Cl, Br, I, and F, preferably Cl and Br. The quaternary cationic polymer of the present invention is represented by general formulas (1′), (1″), or (1′″)
where R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, and R
4
are independently an aliphatic alkyl group of 1 or 2 carbons; R is an aliphatic alkylene of 1-6 carbons, or a phenylene group; X is a halogen atom; and n is an integer of from 3 to 300.
The molecular weight (weight-average molecular weight, Mw) of the aforementioned quaternary cationic polymer employed in the present invention is preferably ranges from 1000 to 90000, but is not limited thereto. The molecular weight can be changed by selecting the reaction conditions in the synthesis process as described below. The weight-average molecular weight (Mw) can be measured by gel permeation chromatography, or other methods.
(Synthesis Process for Quaternary Cationic Polymer)
The quaternary cationic polymer of the present invention can be synthesized by any known method (see, for example, Kogyo Kagaku Zasshi, Vol.74, No.4, p.756-763 (1971)). The quaternary cationic polymer having preferred structure for the present invention can be synthesized by polymerization by

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Ink-jet ink recording paper does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Ink-jet ink recording paper, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Ink-jet ink recording paper will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2592109