Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Medium and processing means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-26
2003-04-08
Hess, Bruce H. (Department: 1774)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Medium and processing means
C428S195100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06543891
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. Patent Applications:
Ser. No. 09/770,814 by Bermel et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Recording Element”;
Ser. No. 09/771,191 by Bermel et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Recording Element”;
Ser. No. 09/770,429 by Bermel et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Recording Element”;
Ser. No. 09/771,189 by Bermel et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/770,807 by Bermel et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/770,728 by Bermel et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/770,128 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/770,127 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/770,781 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/771,251 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/770,122 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/772,097 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”;
Ser. No. 09/772,782 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Recording Element”; and
Ser. No. 09/770,431 by Lawrence et al., filed Jan. 26, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Printing Method”.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for using a porous ink jet recording element.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a typical ink jet recording or printing system, ink droplets are ejected from a nozzle at high speed towards a recording element or medium to produce an image on the medium. The ink droplets, or recording liquid, generally comprise a recording agent, such as a dye or pigment, and a large amount of solvent. The solvent, or carrier liquid, typically is made up of water and an organic material such as a monohydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol or mixtures thereof.
An ink jet recording element typically comprises a support having on at least one surface thereof an ink-receiving or image-receiving layer, and includes those intended for reflection viewing, which have an opaque support, and those intended for viewing by transmitted light, which have a transparent support.
An important characteristic of ink jet recording elements is their need to dry quickly after printing. To this end, porous recording elements have been developed which provide nearly instantaneous drying as long as they have sufficient thickness and pore volume to effectively contain the liquid ink. For example, a porous recording element can be manufactured by cast coating, in which a particulate-containing coating is applied to a support and is dried in contact with a polished smooth surface.
When a porous recording element is printed with dye-based inks, the dye molecules penetrate the coating layers. However, there is a problem with such porous recording elements in that the optical densities of images printed thereon are lower than one would like. The lower optical densities are believed to be due to optical scatter which occurs when the dye molecules penetrate too far into the porous layer.
EP 1,002,660 relates to a porous ink jet recording element comprising fine particles, hydrophilic binder and a water-soluble, cationic polymer. However, there is a problem with this element in that the density of an image printed on such an element using a water-soluble cationic polymer is lower than one would like.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,704 relates to a nonporous ink jet recording element comprising cationic polymeric vinyl latex and a hydrophilic polymer. However, there is a problem with this nonporous recording element in that it images printed thereon dry too slowly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,469 relates to an ink jet recording element comprising mesoporous particles dispersed in an organic binder. In column 8, it is disclosed that the organic binder can be a cationic latex polymer “having less than 10 mole percent of a copolymerizable monomer having a tertamino or quaternary ammonium functionality.” However, there is a problem with this element in that the density of an image printed on such an element with a binder having less than 10 mole percent of a cationic mordant functionality is lower than one would like.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method for using a porous ink jet recording element that, when printed with dye-based inks, provides superior optical densities, good image quality and has an excellent dry time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the invention which comprises an ink jet printing method, comprising the steps of:
A) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals;
B) loading the printer with an ink jet recording element comprising a support having thereon a porous image-receiving layer comprising:
(a) particles having a primary particle size of from about 7 to about 40 nm in diameter which may be aggregated up to about 300 nm; and
(b) water insoluble, cationic, polymeric particles comprising at least about 20 mole percent of a cationic mordant moiety;
C) loading the printer with an ink jet ink composition; and
D) printing on the image-receiving layer using the ink jet ink composition in response to the digital data signals.
By use of the process of the invention, a porous ink jet recording element is obtained that, when printed with dye-based inks, provides superior optical densities, good image quality and has an excellent dry time.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Examples of (a) particles useful in the invention include alumina, boehmite, clay, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide, calcined clay, aluminosilicates, silica, barium sulfate, or polymeric beads. The particles may be porous or nonporous. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the particles are metallic oxides, preferably fumed. While many types of inorganic and organic particles are manufactured by various methods and commercially available for an image-receiving layer, porosity of the ink-receiving layer is necessary in order to obtain very fast ink drying. The pores formed between the particles must be sufficiently large and interconnected so that the printing ink passes quickly through the layer and away from the outer surface to give the impression of fast drying. At the same time, the particles must be arranged in such a way so that the pores formed between them are sufficiently small that they do not scatter visible light.
The (a) particles may be in the form of primary particles, or in the form of secondary aggregated particles. The aggregates are comprised of smaller primary particles about 7 to about 40 nm in diameter, and being aggregated up to about 300 nm in diameter. The pores in a dried coating of such aggregates fall within the range necessary to ensure low optical scatter yet sufficient ink solvent uptake.
Preferred examples of fumed metallic oxides which may be used in the invention as the (a) particles include silica and alumina fumed oxides. Fumed oxides are available in dry form or as dispersions of the aggregates mentioned above.
The (b) water insoluble, cationic, polymeric particles comprising at least about 20 mole percent of a cationic mordant moiety useful in the invention can be in the form of a latex, water dispersible polymer, beads, or core/shell particles wherein the core is organic or inorganic and the shell in either case is a cationic polymer. Such particles can be products of addition or condensation polymerization, or a combination of both. They can be linear, branched, hyper-branched, grafted, random, blocked, or can have other polymer microstructures well known to those in the art. They also can be partially crosslinked. Examples of core/shell particles useful in the invention are disclosed and claimed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/772,097, of Lawrence et al., Ink Jet Printing Method, filed Jan. 26, 2001, the disclosure of which i
Bermel Alexandra D.
Shaw-Klein Lori J.
Cole Harold E.
Grendzynski Michael E.
Hess Bruce H.
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