Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Medium and processing means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-17
2003-07-01
Gordon, Raquel Yvette (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Medium and processing means
C347S101000, C347S106000, C347S107000, C428S195100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06585369
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is drawn to ink-jet ink printing systems and methods for printing on typical household surfaces. More particularly, the present invention is drawn to the preparation of household or office surfaces for ink-jet printing such that good ink adhesion, lightfastness, and lack of bleed can be achieved.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, computer printer technology has evolved to a point where very high-resolution images can be transferred to various types of media, including paper. One particular type of printing involves the placement of small drops of a fluid ink onto a media surface in response to a digital signal. Typically, the fluid ink is placed or jetted onto the surface without physical contact between the printing device and the surface. Within this general technique, the specific method that the ink-jet ink is deposited onto the printing surface varies from system to system, and can include continuous ink deposit and drop-on-demand ink deposit.
Essentially, continuous printing systems function as a stream of ink droplets are ejected and directed by a printer nozzle. The ink droplets are directed additionally with the assistance of an electrostatic charging device in close proximity to the nozzle. If the ink is not used on the desired printing surface, the ink is recycled for later use. With regard to drop-on-demand printing systems, the ink-jet inks are typically based upon water and glycols. Essentially, with these systems, ink droplets are propelled from a nozzle by heat or by a pressure wave such that all of the ink droplets ejected are used to form the printed image.
There are several reasons that ink-jet printing has become a popular way of recording images on various media substrates such as paper. Some of these reasons include low printer noise, capability of high-speed recording, and multi-color recording. Additionally, these advantages can be obtained at a relatively low price to consumers. However, though there has been great improvement in ink-jet printing, accompanying this improvement are increased demands by consumers in this area, e.g., higher speeds, higher resolution, full color image formation, increased stability, new applications, etc. As new ink-jet inks are developed, there have been several traditional characteristics to consider when evaluating the ink in conjunction with a printing surface or substrate. Such characteristics include edge acuity and optical density of the image on the surface, dry time of the ink on the substrate, adhesion to the substrate, lack of deviation of ink droplets, presence of all dots, resistance of the ink after drying to water and other solvents, long term storage stability, and long term reliability without corrosion or nozzle clogging. Though the above list of characteristics provides a worthy goal to achieve, there are difficulties associated with satisfying all of the above characteristics. Often, the inclusion of an ink component meant to satisfy one of the above characteristics can prevent another characteristic from being met. Thus, most commercial inks for use in ink-jet printers represent a compromise in an attempt to achieve at least an adequate response in meeting all of the above listed requirements.
In general, ink-jet inks are either dye- or pigment-based inks. Dye-based ink-jet inks generally use a soluble colorant that is usually water-based to turn the media a specific color. Alternatively, pigmented inks typically use a dispersed colorant to achieve color. In many cases, the line quality and accuracy of plots produced by pigment-based inks can be superior to that of dye-based inks. However, certain challenges exist with pigments because the colorant is present as a dispersion. With pigmented inks, solid particles are jetted with a vehicle and the solid particles adhere to the surface of the substrate. Once the water in the solution has evaporated, the particles will generally not redisperse, thereby producing a dried image.
Existing inking techniques, such as those used to print on the side of a semi-truck trailer, employ a solvent-based ink delivery system. Solvents evaporate more quickly in those systems than water in water-based ink-jet printer inks. This renders the substrate material properties to be less important. For example, with solvent-based systems, bleed and wicking are typically an order of magnitude less than in water-based ink-jet systems simply because the colorant does not have time to move much before the ink dries. One major disadvantage of these existing systems is that the solvents are undesirable to work with. For example, methyl-ethyl ketone (MEK) which is often used, is flammable, and in vapor form, is highly toxic.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has been recognized that it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for preparing common household or office substrates such that water-based ink-jet printing can effectively occur thereon.
With this in mind, a method of printing on a household surface can comprise the steps of selecting a household surface for ink-jet printing; preparing the household surface by applying a pre-coat material to the household surface, wherein the pre-coat material can be configured to adhere to the household surface and accept a water-based ink-jet ink composition to a degree greater than the household surface in an uncoated condition; optionally, allowing the pre-coat material to substantially dry on the household surface; and ink-jet printing a color-containing ink-jet ink onto the pre-coat material after the pre-coat material has substantially dried on the household surface. The household surface is preferably rigid and substantially flat, though this is not strictly required. To illustrate, household surfaces that can be used including those selected from the group consisting of walls, flooring, ceilings, countertops, cabinets, appliances, fixtures, glass, and tables.
The coating material that can be used includes pre-coat materials selected from the group consisting of gelatin coatings, porous silica coatings, and polymeric coatings. The step of allowing the pre-coat material to substantially dry can be carried out at room temperature, or can be carried out using forced air and/or gentle heat at from 30° C. to 50° C. in one embodiment.
The step of ink-jet printing color-containing ink-jet ink onto the pre-coat material can be carried out using an ink-jet printer configured for printing on a fixed substrate. For example, an ink-jet printer having an ink-jet pen configured for jetting the pre-coat material onto a horizontal or vertical household surface can be used. In one embodiment, the pre-coat can be applied only to areas where color-containing ink-jet ink is to be applied. In another embodiment, the pre-coat can be applied to a more general printing area. The pre-coat can be applied in either case by an ink-jet printer, or by a more conventional coating method such as those selected from the group consisting of air knife coating, blade coating, gate roll coating, doctor blade coating, Meyer rod coating, roller coating, reverse roller coating, gravure coating, slot dye coating, curtain coating, brush coating, sprayer coating, and combinations thereof. Optionally, an overcoat can be applied to a household surface printed image to protect the image. The pre-coat and overcoat can preferably be substantially clear once dry, though this is not required, particularly with respect to the pre-coat.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of reducing color to color bleed when ink-jet printing on a household surface can comprise the steps of providing a digital image having a first color pixel pattern and a second color pixel pattern; digitally masking the first color pixel pattern by removing pixels and causing the first color pixel pattern and the second color pixel pattern to be separated by at least one pixel, thereby forming a modified digital image; and ink-jet printing the modified digital image. In this embodiment, similar aspects as described above can be implemented such
Emmenegger Stephan W.
Sievert Otto K
Tribolet David C
Gordon Raquel Yvette
Hewlett--Packard Development Company, L.P.
Shah Manish
LandOfFree
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