JPS62105691A - Recording method and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an image which prevents discoloring and endures for long preservation by containing a color image containing dye and/or pigment formed on a material to be recorded with ultraviolet ray curable resin, then emitting ultraviolet ray to cure it to form a transparent protecting layer. CONSTITUTION:In a color recorder using an ink jet recording type, a recording head unit 6 having yellow 6Y, magenta 6M and cyan 6C is placed on a carriage 5, repeatedly reciprocated perpendicularly to the feeding direction of a recording sheet on guide rails 7 to record a color image on the entire recording sheet 1. The printed sheet 1 is coated entirely with ultraviolet curable resin by an ink jet type head 12. Thereafter, recording sheet is emitted by an ultraviolet lamp14, cured, to form a uniform and homogeneous protecting film on the color image printed on the sheet with ink.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Technical Field to which the Invention Pertains] The present invention relates to a recording method and apparatus using an inkjet recording method, a thermal transfer method, an electrophotographic method, etc. Prevents image fading due to inferior color ink and color toner,
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing images that can be stored for a long period of time.

[Description of prior art]

In recent years, with the remarkable growth of the information society, recording methods have diversified, and various methods such as inkjet recording methods, thermal transfer methods, and electrophotographic methods have been developed, and many devices have been proposed and improved. Nowadays, such recording methods and equipment have entered the age of colorization, using three colors of yellow, magenta, and sheer, or four colors of color ink or color toner, which are the three colors plus black. Color copiers and color printers that can produce full-color images are becoming popular.

However, the dyes and pigments used as colorants for the three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, especially the dyes, have poor light resistance and are said to fade if exposed to fluorescent lights or external light for long periods of time. This fading is caused not only by ultraviolet rays contained in fluorescent lamps and outside light, but also by temperature, humidity, and even small amounts of ultraviolet rays contained in the air.
C is also produced by ozone and various ions.

Conventionally, in order to prevent such fading, color recording images were printed using transparent materials that did not allow much ultraviolet rays to pass through and had almost no ventilation, for example f? A method of laminating 1llx film of ethylene/polypropylene is used.

However, such a method requires a large and expensive laminator in addition to a recording device such as a copier or printer, and the processing speed of the laminator is extremely slow compared to the recording speed. What are you doing? Especially records]
・■ Currently, the speed of 4-transformation has become significantly faster, and the problem of slow lamination processing speed is fatal, and methods that rely on lamination should only be used when storage for a particularly long time is required. This is the current situation.

However, with the rapid spread of color copiers and color printers, the color fades quickly.

The demand for K is also increasing, and there is a need for a method and device for preventing fading that is simple and has a high processing speed.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording method and apparatus that overcome the problems described above in conventional recording methods and apparatuses.

That is, the main object of the present invention is to provide a recording method and apparatus that can obtain color images that do not fade even after long-term storage.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for preventing fading of color images, which is simple and has a high processing speed.

[Structure of the invention]

In order to overcome the topography problems in conventional recording methods and devices, the inventor of the present invention continued to conduct intensive research and found that a transparent protective film was formed by applying an ultraviolet curable resin onto a color image and curing it with ultraviolet rays. Color painting r'R
Preventing fading is simple and quick: (I have learned that it is easy to achieve this.)

The recording method and apparatus of the present invention have been completed based on the above-mentioned knowledge, and are made by applying an ultraviolet curable resin to a color image containing dyes and/or pigments formed on a recording material. The basic idea is to form a transparent protective layer by applying ultraviolet rays and curing the coating.

As the ultraviolet curable resin used in the present invention, known ones can be used, such as monomers having Lanocal crosslinkable ethylenic double, alignment, and/or pre-7I5?
A reamer with a photo-heavy autoinitiator and/or a sensitizer added, or a mixture of other stiff polymer compounds as a bonding All is used. Epokino sugar beet contains urethane resin and a photopolymerization initiator as the main ingredient, and 1 Seiryoku Beam manufactured by Dainichiseika Chemical Co., Ltd. is used.

The present invention can be applied to a recording method such as an inkjet recording method, a thermal transfer method, an electrophotographic method, etc., and is applied to a color image formed on a recording material and having a dye or /face t+ as a coloring agent. After the above-mentioned ultraviolet/gland-curing resin is uniformly applied, ultraviolet rays are irradiated with an ultraviolet lamp or the like. The ultraviolet curable resin on the color image is cured 7 by the irradiation, forming a uniform and uniform protective film. The protection III
! For example, it functions as an effective film to prevent color images from fading due to ultraviolet rays and ozone and ions contained in the outside air.
Since it is formed by the simple and quick method of t, it is possible to solve the problems of the conventional laminating method.

Next, the apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings in the case of an inkjet printer/printer type color recording apparatus, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a color recording apparatus using an inkjet recording method embodying the present invention. The recording paper 1 wound into a roll is transported by a conveyance guide roll 2.3.
and is conveyed in the direction of the arrow by a pair of conveying rollers 4.

On the other hand, a recording head unit 6 consisting of four color recording heads, namely yellow 6Y, magenta 5M, cyan 6C, and black 6B, is mounted on the carriage 5,
A reciprocating motion (main scanning) is made on the top in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the recording paper.

In the main scanning direction, there is a timing index (
A linear scale) 8 is arranged, and a detector 9 for reading information on the index 8 is fixed on the carriage 5.

In response to the recording start signal, a main scanning direction drive section (for example, a servo motor, a step motor, etc.) not shown in the figure operates, and moves the carriage 5 from the left to the right in the figure. At this time, the timing detector 9 reads information corresponding to the recording pitch of the timing index 8 and issues a timing pulse for recording. This? Recording head, 6Y, 6M
, 60.68 K, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are recorded. When recording of the recording paper '@ (m bit string) is completed, the right side position detector IO is activated by the projection on the right side of the carrier recorder 5, and the output of the detector 10 causes the main scanning direction drive unit to move in the reverse direction from right to left in the figure. At the same time, the recording paper conveyance roll 4 is rotated by a recording paper drive unit (not shown) K (such as a Q-rush motor) to perform a first sub-scan. Left side position detector 11 after main scanning backward motion is completed
is activated, the main scanning drive changes to the forward direction, and the sub-scanning recording paper transport roll rotates to perform the second sub-scanning. By repeating this process, it is possible to record a color image over the entire area of the recording paper.

The recording head 6 described above may be of a type using a piezoelectric element or of a bubble jet type. Incidentally, ink is supplied from an ink tank via a pump by a Q-ve (not shown).

Also, the paper feeding method may be continuous paper in roll form, but
Cut sheets may be sent intermittently.

In addition, it is desirable that the surface of inkjet paper be coated with a material that absorbs well so that it can absorb ink quickly.

In the figure, reference numeral 12 denotes an inkjet head for applying ultraviolet curing resin, and this head 2 is driven left and right on a rail 13 by a wire (not shown). Further, the ultraviolet curing resin is supplied from a tank to the head by a 7Q eve (not shown). The ultraviolet curing resin is uniformly applied onto the printed recording paper using an inkjet head.

Thereafter, the recording paper is irradiated with an ultraviolet irradiation lamp 14, and the ultraviolet curable resin is cured to form a uniform protective film on the color image printed on the recording paper with ink.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, printing was performed on the recording using an ink jet head, and a protective layer was formed after the ink was absorbed by the recording paper. However, the ink drying means for drying the ink absorbed by the paper after printing was performed using ultraviolet rays. It may be provided before the means for applying the curable resin.

As described above, in the method and apparatus of the present invention, a transparent protective film is applied to the surface of a color image that easily fades due to ultraviolet rays, temperature, humidity, etc., such as toner or ink that uses dyes and/or pigments as a coloring agent. By coating the color image, fading of the color image can be greatly improved.

Further, by covering the printer with a transparent protective film immediately after printing as in the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size without taking up much space, and it is also possible to speed up continuous processing.

As another example, in the case of a thermal method, after printing is completed, an ultraviolet curable resin is uniformly applied over the entire width of the recording material, and then the resin is cured by an ultraviolet irradiation lamp. As a method for uniformly applying this resin, in addition to using an inkjet head as described above, it is also possible to spray the It III liquid through a number of thin holes.

In the case of the electrophotography A method, it is also possible to uniformly spread the resin liquid onto the recording material coming out of the fixing device in the same manner as described above, and then harden the resin liquid.

[Summary of effects of the invention]

In the recording method and apparatus of the present invention, an ultraviolet curable resin is applied onto a color image containing dye and/or pigment formed on a recording material, and then cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays to form a transparent protective layer. By doing so, the fading prevention layer of the dye or/and pigment can be formed simply and quickly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the entirety of a color inkjet recording apparatus, which is an example of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A transparent protective layer is formed by coating an ultraviolet curable resin on a color image containing dye and/or pigment formed on a recording material and then curing it by irradiating it with ultraviolet rays. Characteristic recording method. (2) A recording device that forms a color image containing a dye and/or pigment on a recording material, which includes a means for applying an ultraviolet curable resin onto the color image after forming the color image, and a means for applying an ultraviolet curable resin onto the color image, and 1. A recording device comprising a means for irradiating ultraviolet rays onto an ultraviolet curable resin. (3) The recording device according to claim (2), wherein the recording device uses an inkjet recording method. (4) The recording apparatus according to claim (3), wherein the means for applying the ultraviolet curable resin is an inkjet recording head.