Ink jet recording element

Details Ink jet recording element Ink jet recording element

1998-09-01

2001-05-08

Schwartz, Pamela R. (Department: 1774)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or...

Composite having voids in a component

C347S105000, C428S195100, C428S331000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06228475

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an ink jet image-recording element which yields printed images with high optical densities, excellent image quality, good water fastness, and fast drying.
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, 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-recording 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.
While a wide variety of different types of image-recording elements for use with ink jet devices have been proposed heretofore, there are many unsolved problems in the art and many deficiencies in the known products which have severely limited their commercial usefulness. The requirements for an image recording medium or element for ink jet recording are very demanding.
It is well known that in order to achieve and maintain photographic-quality images on such an image-recording element, an ink jet recording element must:
Be readily wetted so there is no puddling, i.e., coalescence of adjacent ink dots, which leads to nonuniform density
Exhibit no image bleeding
Exhibit the ability to absorb high concentrations of ink and dry quickly to avoid elements blocking together when stacked against subsequent prints or other surfaces
Provide a high level of gloss and avoid differential gloss
Exhibit no discontinuities or defects due to interactions between the support and/or layer(s), such as cracking, repellencies, comb lines and the like
Not allow unabsorbed dyes to aggregate at the free surface causing dye crystallization, which results in bloom or bronzing effects in the imaged areas
Have an optimized image fastness to avoid fade from contact with water or radiation by daylight, tungsten light, or fluorescent light
It is desirable to use a porous material in an ink jet recording element due to its liquid-absorbing capability which yields effective drying. This fast dry-time can enhance the printing efficacy, and in many cases, can improve the printing quality by eliminating the bleeding of two adjacent colors in the print.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,750 relates to a microporous ink jet recording element comprising a support having thereon a solvent-absorbing microporous material layer and an image-recording layer of a porous, pseudo-boehmite.
However, there is a problem using this element in that the printed images obtained on this porous support material are often of low optical density and poor color gamut due to the immersion of the colorants into pores of the support.
EP 813 978 A1 relates to an ink jet recording element wherein a support is coated with an ink absorption layer containing solid fine particles, a hydrophilic binder and oil drops. However, there is no disclosure in this reference of the use of a porous solvent-absorbing underlayer as employed in the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording element comprising the following layers in the order recited:
I) a solvent-absorbing layer of a porous, polyolefin material, and
II) an image-recording layer comprising a polymeric binder and colloidal silica having an attached silane coupling agent.
The porous material employed provides the capability of absorbing liquid from the ink, which ensures fast drying of the ink after printing and eliminates the bleeding between two adjacent colors. Further, the image-recording layer will hold colorants in the top portion of the element to yield a high color density.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the porous, polyolefin material is a microporous material comprising:
(a) a matrix of polyolefin;
(b) finely-divided, substantially water-insoluble filler particles, preferably of which at least about 50 percent by weight are siliceous particles, the filler particles being distributed throughout the matrix and constituting from about 40 to about 90 percent by weight of the microporous material; and
(c) a network of interconnecting pores communicating substantially throughout the microporous material, the pores constituting from about 35 to about 95 percent by volume of the microporous material.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the colloidal silica having an attached silane coupling agent has the formula:
(R
1
)
n
Si(OR
2
)
4−n
wherein:
each R
1
independently represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms with at least one R
1
having at least one amino group, such as NH
2
(CH
2
)
3
, NH
2
(CH
2
)
4
, NH
2
(CH
2
)
2
NH(CH
2
)
2
, NH
2
(CH
2
)
2
NH(CH
2
)
3
, HN
2
(CH
2
)
2
HNCH
2
(C
6
H
4
)(CH
2
)
2
, NH
2
(CH
2
)
6
NH(CH
2
)
3
, NH
2
(CH
2
)
3
OC(CH
3
)
2
CHCH, C
6
H
5
NH(CH
2
)
2
NH(CH
2
)
3
, CH
3
CH
3
N(CH
2
)
3
, CH
3
NH(CH
2
)
3
, or CH
2
CHC
6
H
4
CH
2
N
+
H
2
Cl
−
(CH
2
)
3
;
each R
2
independently represents an alkyl group having from 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, such as methyl, ethyl, etc.; and
n is from 1 to 3.
In yet another preferred embodiment, in the above formula, R
1
is H
2
NCH
2
CH
2
HN(CH
2
)
3
and CH
3
, each R
2
is CH
3
and n is 2.
In still other preferred embodiment, the colloidal silica having an attached silane coupling agent and the polymeric binder are both cationic.
The porous or microporous material may be thick enough to act as a support for the image-recording layer without the need for a separate support.
However, if a thin layer of the porous or microporous material is used, then a support is necessary to provide rigidity and dimensional stability. Good results are obtained when the porous or microporous material is laminated to the support.
The supports or substrates which may be used in the recording elements of the present invention are usually opaque and may include, for example, ordinary plain papers, resin-coated papers, cloth, wood, metal plates, opaque films and otherwise transparent supports such as, for example, films or sheets of polyester resins, diacetate resins, triacetate resins, acrylic resins, polycarbonate resins, polyvinyl chloride resins, polyimide resins, etc., which have fillers added to render them opaque.
The support is suitably of a thickness of from about 50 to about 500 &mgr;m, preferably from about 75 to 300 &mgr;m. Antioxidants, antistatic agents, plasticizers and other known additives may be incorporated into the support, if desired.
In order to improve the adhesion of the image-recording layer to the solvent-absorbing layer, the surface of the solvent-absorbing layer may be subjected to a corona-discharge-treatment prior to applying the image-recording layer.
In addition, a subbing layer, such as a layer formed from a halogenated phenol or a partially hydrolyzed vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer can be applied to the surface of a support if one is used to increase adhesion of the solvent-absorbing layer. If a subbing layer is used, it should have a thickness (i.e., a dry coat thickness) of less than about 2 &mgr;m.
Optionally, an additional backing layer or coating may be applied to the backside of a support (i.e., the side of the support opposite the side on which the solvent-absorbing layer and the image-recording layer are coated) if one is used, for the purposes of improving the machine-handling properties of the recording element, controlling the friction and resistivity thereof, and the like. Typically, the backing layer may comprise a binder and a filler. Typical fillers include

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