JP2000190463A - Ink recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an ink from being stained on a surface of a recording medium and to stably obtain a good image even at a high speed, by discharging the ink to the medium in the state that an interior of the medium is moistened more than a surface of the medium to be discharged with the ink. SOLUTION: To discharge an ink to a recording medium 2 in the state that an interior of the medium 2 is moistened more than a surface 2a of the medium 2 to be discharged with the ink, before the ink is discharged from an ink discharge head 1 to the medium 2, a rear surface 2b of the medium 2 is humidified by a humidifier 10. To humidify the rear surface 2b by the humidifier 10, a storage tank 11 for containing humidifying liquid 12 is provided at a position of upstream side of the medium 2 in a moving direction from the head 1, the liquid 12 contained in the tank 11 is evaporated by an ultrasonic oscillator 13 to humidify the surface 2b of the medium 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink recording apparatus which discharges ink onto a recording medium to form an image on the recording medium using ink, and the ink bleeds on the surface of the recording medium. This is characterized in that, in particular, even when an image is formed at high speed, a good image can be stably obtained.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, ink is ejected from an ink ejection head onto a recording medium to form an image on the recording medium using ink.

Here, when the ink is ejected onto the recording medium and the ink is supplied to the recording medium as described above, a certain amount of ink is supplied until the supplied ink permeates into the recording medium and is dried. Time was needed.

[0004] Therefore, there is a problem that before the ink penetrates into the recording medium and dries, the ink bleeds on the recording medium and a phenomenon called bleeding or feathering occurs. When an image is formed on a medium, inks of different colors are mixed and a phenomenon called so-called color bleeding occurs, or before the ink supplied to the previous recording medium dries, The next recording medium is discharged onto the medium, and the ink supplied to the previous recording medium comes into contact with the next recording medium, whereby the ink in the previous recording medium adheres to the back surface of the next recording medium. However, there has been a problem that the ink supplied to the previous recording medium is rubbed by the next recording medium, and the image formed on the previous recording medium is disturbed.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems in the case where ink is ejected onto a recording medium such as paper to form an image on the recording medium using ink. Is what you do.

That is, in the present invention, when the ink is ejected on the recording medium to form an image on the recording medium with the ink as described above, the ink supplied to the surface of the recording medium bleeds. In particular, when image formation is performed at high speed, a phenomenon called color bleeding occurs, ink on the previous recording medium adheres to the back surface of the next recording medium, or ink is supplied to the previous recording medium. It is an object of the present invention to stably obtain a good image even at a high speed without causing the formed ink to be rubbed by the next recording medium and disturbing the image formed on the previous recording medium. Things.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the ink recording apparatus according to the present invention discharges ink in an ink recording apparatus which forms an image by discharging ink on a recording medium. The ink is ejected onto the recording medium while the inside of the recording medium is humidified rather than the surface of the recording medium.

When the inside of the recording medium is humidified more than the surface of the recording medium from which the ink is ejected, as in the ink recording apparatus of the present invention, the inside of the recording medium is liable to penetrate the ink, When ink is ejected onto the surface of the recording medium in this state, the ink supplied to the surface of the recording medium quickly permeates into the inside of the recording medium.

Therefore, the ink is prevented from bleeding on the surface of the recording medium, and when an image is formed at a high speed, a phenomenon called color bleeding may occur, or the ink on the previous recording medium may be transferred to the next recording medium. It is possible to prevent the image formed on the previous recording medium from being disturbed by being attached to the back surface of the medium or rubbing the ink supplied to the previous recording medium by the next recording medium.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Here, in the ink recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, conventionally used inks can be used as inks, for example, an ink in which a water-soluble dye is dissolved in an aqueous medium, In addition, those in which a pigment is dispersed in an aqueous medium and the like can be used, and as the above-mentioned dyes and pigments, known dyes generally used conventionally can be used.

With respect to the amount of the dye or pigment to be added to the aqueous medium, if the amount is too small, a sufficient color is not given to the ink, while if the amount is too large, the dye is not sufficiently dissolved. In addition, these dyes and pigments are generally added in the range of 0.1 to 5% by weight because the pigment cannot be sufficiently dispersed.

In the aqueous medium to which the above-mentioned dye or pigment is added, in order to improve the properties of the ink, in addition to water, for example, a viscosity adjusting agent, a surface tension adjusting agent, a pH adjusting agent, a humectant, a chelating agent , Penetrant, fungicide, quick-drying agent,
It is preferable to add a stabilizer, a fixing agent and the like.

Here, the viscosity adjuster is used to adjust the viscosity of the ink to improve the ink ejection property and to adjust the permeability of the ink into a recording medium such as plain paper. Polyalkylene glycols such as glycol and polypropylene glycol can be used, and polyethylene glycol is particularly preferable. When the viscosity modifier is added to the ink, the amount of the viscosity modifier is 0 to 10% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 8% by weight, more preferably 1 to 10% by weight.
It should be in the range of 5% by weight.

The surface tension adjusting agent is used for adjusting the surface tension of the ink to improve the ejection property of the ink and for adjusting the permeability of the ink to the recording medium. Agents, various surfactants such as silicon-based, fluorine-based, and acetylene-based surfactants, and anionic and cationic surfactants can be used. Preferably, nonionic surfactants are used.
When the surface tension adjuster is added to the ink, the amount of addition is in the range of 0.1 to 5% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 3% by weight, more preferably 0.2 to 1% by weight. To be.

Also, the pH adjuster adjusts the pH of the ink to an appropriate value.
The dispersion stability of the pigment is maintained by changing the pH.
It is used to suppress the decrease, for example, NaH
CO _Three, Na_TwoB_FourO₇, Na_TwoCO_Three, KHCO_Three,
K_TwoCO_Three, NaOH, CH _ThreeCOONa, N (CH_Two
CH_TwoOH)_ThreeEtc., and particularly, NaHC
O_ThreeIt is preferable to use And such pH
When adding a modifier to the ink, the amount
Is 0.1 to 1% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 0.5% by weight
%, More preferably in the range of 0.2-0.5% by weight
To do.

The humectant is used to prevent the concentration, viscosity, etc. of the ink from changing due to evaporation of water, which is a main component of the aqueous medium, and to prevent the ejection stability of the ink from deteriorating. 1,2-ethanediol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 2,3-butanediol, , 5-pentanediol, 1,7-heptanediol, 2-methyl-
2,4-pentanediol, 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol, glycerin, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol 200, dipropylene glycol, 2,2′-thiodiethanol, 1,2,2 Alkylene glycols such as 6-hexanetriol; 1,2-dimethoxyethane, 1,2-diethoxyethane, 1,2-
Dibutoxyethane, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, diethylene glycol diethyl ether, diethylene glycol dibutyl ether, 2-methoxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, 2- (methoxymethoxy) ethanol, 2-butoxyethanol, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether , Triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monoethyl ether, 1-
Use of lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as methoxy-2-propanol, 1-ethoxy-2-propanol, dipropylene glycol, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, dipropylene glycol monoethyl ether, and tripropylene glycol monomethyl ether. In particular, it is preferable to use diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, glycerin and the like. When such a humectant is added to the ink, the added amount is 1 to 10% by weight,
It is preferably in the range of 3 to 10% by weight, more preferably 5 to 8% by weight.

The chelating agent is used to capture metal ions present in the ink and prevent the metal ions from losing the dispersion stability of carbon black. , Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, sodium nitrile triacetate, sodium hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetate, sodium diethylenetriaminepentaacetate, sodium uramil diacetate, and the like. When such a chelating agent is added to the ink, the added amount is 0.1 to 1% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 0.5% by weight, more preferably 0.2 to 0.5% by weight.
% By weight.

The penetrating agent is used to enhance the permeability of the ink into the recording medium, and includes, for example, lower alkyne ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as diethylene glycol monobutyl ether and triethylene glycol monobutyl ether. Can be used. When such a penetrant is added to the ink, the amount added is 1 to 10% by weight, preferably 3 to 10% by weight.
%, More preferably in the range of 4 to 8% by weight.

The antifungal agent is used to prevent the occurrence of mold and the like in the ink. Examples of the antifungal agent include imidazole based agents such as thiabenzol (manufactured by Merck) and Mergar (manufactured by Hoechst). Or isothiazoline-based ones such as Proxel (manufactured by Zeneca) and Amorden (manufactured by Daiwa Chemical Industry), Preventol series (manufactured by Bayer), sodium omazine, dioxin, sodium dihydroacetate, water glass, etc. be able to. When the antifungal agent is added to the ink, the amount of the antifungal agent is 0.01 to 0.5% by weight, preferably 0.05 to 0.4% by weight, and more preferably 0.1 to 0% by weight. To be in the range of 4% by weight.

The quick-drying agent is used to prevent the ink from quickly drying or penetrating after the ink has adhered to the recording medium, thereby preventing the ink from adhering to another recording medium and becoming dirty. For example, lower alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, and 2-butanol are used.

The stabilizer is used to prevent the dispersion stability of the pigment from decreasing in an aqueous medium, and includes, for example, alcohol amines such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine; 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone,
Cyclic amide compounds such as 1,3-dimethylimidazolidinone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, sulfolane, dimethyl sulfoxide, ε-caprolactam; imide compounds such as succinimide; formamide;
Sorbit, 1,3-bis (β-hydroxyethyl) urea and the like are used, and preferably triethanolamine is used. When such a stabilizer is added to the ink, the amount of the stabilizer is 0.1 to 1% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 0.5% by weight, more preferably 0.2 to 0.5% by weight. % Range.

The fixing agent improves the fixability of the ink to the recording medium. Examples of the fixing agent include water-soluble polyesters, polyurethanes, polyamides, polyimides, polyacryls, and polyvinyl alcohols. Preferably, poly (meth) acrylates are used. When the fixing agent is added to the ink, the amount of the fixing agent is 0.1 to 1
It should be in the range of 5% by weight, preferably 1-10% by weight, more preferably 4-8% by weight.

In the ink recording apparatus according to this embodiment, when the ink is ejected onto the recording medium in a state where the inside of the recording medium is humidified rather than the surface of the recording medium from which the ink is ejected, as shown in FIG. Before the ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 to the recording medium 2 such as paper, the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2 is humidified by the humidifying device 10, or as shown in FIG. Before discharging the recording medium 2 from 1 onto the recording medium 2 such as paper, the surface 2 a of the recording medium 2 from which the ink is discharged can be dried by the drying device 20.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, before the ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 to the recording medium 2 such as paper, the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2 is humidified by the humidifier 10 before the ink is ejected. At a position upstream of the head 1 in the movement direction of the recording medium 2, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a storage tank 11 in which a humidifying liquid 12 is stored is provided, and the humidifying liquid 12 stored in the storing tank 11 is evaporated by an ultrasonic oscillator 13 to form a recording medium 2. The back surface 2b of the recording medium 2 is humidified, or the humidifying liquid 12 stored in the storage tank 11 is evaporated by the heater 14 as shown in FIG.
The back surface 2b of the humidifying liquid 12 or the humidifying liquid 12 stored in the storage tank 11 as shown in FIG.
Is applied to the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2 by the roller 15, so that the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2 is humidified. Further, the humidifying liquid 1 stored in the storage tank 11 is used.
For evaporating 2, a microwave generator or the like can be used in addition to the above-described ultrasonic oscillator 13 and heater 14, and the humidifying liquid stored in the storage tank 11 is not shown. In applying the recording medium 12 to the recording medium 2, a blade, a spraying device, or the like may be used in addition to the roller 15, or the back surface of the recording medium may be brought into contact with a humidifying liquid.

As the humidifying liquid 12 used to humidify the recording medium 2 as described above, in addition to water, for example, methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n
-Propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-
Alcohols such as butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, t-butyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol; ketones and keto alcohols such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone and diacetone alcohol; tetrahydrofuran and dioxane Ethers; esters such as ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate; ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, glycerol, 2-methyl-2,4-pentadiol , 1,2,6-hexanetriol, polyhydric alcohols such as thioglycol; ethylene glycol monomethyl ether Lower alkyl ethers such as ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monoethyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and diethylene glycol diethyl ether Pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,
Nitrogen-containing cyclic compounds such as 3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone; sulfur-containing compounds such as dimethylsulfoxide and tetramethylenesulfonic acid; amides such as formamide, N-methylformamide, N, N-dimethylformamide; formic acid, acetic acid And carboxylic acids such as oxalic acid; and amines such as triethanolamine, diethanolamine, monoethanolamine, ethylamine, diethylamine, and triethylamine. When the recording medium 2 is humidified by evaporating the humidifying liquid 12, waste ink can be used as the humidifying liquid 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, before the ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 to the recording medium 2 such as paper,
The surface 2a of the recording medium 2 from which the ink is ejected is
When drying the recording medium 2 at a position upstream of the ink discharge head 1 in the moving direction of the recording medium 2,
For example, as shown in FIG.
The infrared lamp 21 is provided on the side a.
The surface 2a of the recording medium 2 is heated by the
The surface 2a of the recording medium 2 is dried, or as shown in FIG.
3, the surface of the recording medium 2 can be dried by heating at least the roller 22 that is in contact with the surface 2a of the recording medium 2. Note that the means for heating and drying the surface 2a of the recording medium 2 is not limited to the above, and for example, a thermal head, a Peltier element, or the like may be used.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail, and when an image is formed on a recording medium by the ink recording apparatus of this embodiment,
The comparative example shows that the ink quickly penetrates into the recording medium, thereby improving the print quality of the formed image and suppressing the image formed on the recording medium from being disturbed by contact. To reveal.

Here, in the following Examples and Comparative Examples, 82.5% by weight of distilled water, 4.6% by weight of a black dye (B / BK-SP, manufactured by Bayer), and diethylene glycol were used as inks. 3.0% by weight, glycerin is 5.
3% by weight, 4.0% by weight of triethylene glycol monobutyl ether, 0.2% by weight of a surfactant (Olfin E1010 manufactured by Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), 0.2% by weight of NaHCO _{3 as} a pH adjuster As the recording medium 2, a commercially available A4 size recording paper (EP paper, manufactured by Minolta Co.) may be used. I made it.

(Embodiment 1) In the ink recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 3A, a humidifying member is located at a position upstream of the ink ejection head 1 in the moving direction of the recording medium 2. A storage tank 11 in which water 12 is stored as a liquid 12 is provided, and the water 12 stored in the storage tank 11 is evaporated by an ultrasonic oscillator 13 to humidify the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2, and then the recording is performed. The ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 to the surface 2a of the medium 2.

(Embodiment 2) In the ink recording apparatus of Embodiment 2, as shown in FIG. 3B, a humidifying member is located at a position upstream of the ink ejection head 1 in the moving direction of the recording medium 2. A storage tank 11 containing waste ink 12 as liquid 12 is provided, and waste ink 1 stored in storage tank 11 is provided.
2 is evaporated by the heater 14 so that the back surface 2 of the recording medium 2
After humidifying b, the ink was ejected from the ink ejection head 1 onto the surface 2a of the recording medium 2.

(Embodiment 3) In the ink recording apparatus according to Embodiment 3, as shown in FIG. 3C, a humidifying member is located at a position upstream of the ink ejection head 1 in the moving direction of the recording medium 2. A storage tank 11 in which water 12 is stored as a liquid 12 is provided.
4 to the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2
After the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2 is humidified,
The above-described ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 at a time.

(Embodiment 4) In the ink recording apparatus of Embodiment 4, as shown in FIG. 4A, the recording medium is located at a position upstream of the ink ejection head 1 in the moving direction of the recording medium 2. An infrared lamp 21 is provided on the surface 2a side of the recording medium 2 and the infrared lamp 21
Is heated to dry only the surface 2a of the recording medium 2, and then the above-described ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 to the surface 2a of the recording medium 2.

(Embodiment 5) In the ink recording apparatus of Embodiment 5, as shown in FIG. 4B, the recording medium is located at a position upstream of the ink ejection head 1 in the moving direction of the recording medium 2. And a pair of rollers 22 and 23 sandwiching the recording medium 2. The pair of rollers 22 and 23 is heated to dry the front surface 2 a and the back surface 2 b of the recording medium 2 more than the inside of the recording medium 2. The above-described ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 at a time.

(Comparative Example 1) In the ink recording apparatus of Comparative Example 1, as shown in FIG. 5, the recording medium 2 is guided to the ink ejection head 1 as it is, and the surface 2a of the recording medium 2 is
The above-described ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 at a time.

(Comparative Example 2) In the ink recording apparatus of Comparative Example 2, as shown in FIG. 6, both surfaces 2a, 2a of the recording medium 2 are located at a position upstream of the ink discharge head 1 in the moving direction of the recording medium 2. After humidifying the ink 2b by the humidifiers 10, 10, the ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 1 to the surface 2a of the recording medium 2.

Then, an image was formed on the surface 2a of the recording medium 2 using the ink recording apparatus shown in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, and the print quality and image quality of the formed image were The concentration, strikethrough and offset resistance were evaluated, and the results are shown in Table 1 below.

Here, regarding the print quality, a straight line having a width of 3 dots is printed on the surface 2a of the recording medium 2 and TEP (Tange) indicating the rattling degree of the straight line is printed.
The neutral edge profile was examined using a dot analyzer DA-5000S (manufactured by Oji Scientific Instruments), and the results were indicated by ○ when TEP was less than 60 μm and by X when TEP was 60 μm or more. Note that TEP indicates the backlash of a straight line as the amount of displacement from the originally expected straight line, and indicates the standard deviation value.

Regarding the image density, a solid image is printed on the surface 2a of the recording medium 2, and the image density (ID) of the solid image is determined by a Sakura densitometer PD.
It was measured by A65 (manufactured by Konica Corporation), and the case where the image density in this solid image portion was 1.4 or more was indicated by ○, and the case where it was less than 1.4 was indicated by ×.

Regarding strikethrough, 85 μm dots having a dot diameter of 100 μm were formed on the surface 2 a of the recording medium 2.
Printed at a pitch of m, and the reflection optical density on the back surface of the printed portion was measured with a reflection optical densitometer (PDA, manufactured by Konica Corporation). If the value is higher and less than 0.3, Δ, 0.
The case of 3 or more was indicated by x.

Regarding the offset resistance, dots having a dot diameter of 100 μm are printed at a pitch of 85 μm on the surface 2 a of the recording medium 2, and 10 cm is printed on the printed portion.
A paper piece of the recording medium 2 cut in all directions is placed, a load of 100 g is applied on the paper piece, and the reflection optical density of the ink transferred to the paper piece is measured with a reflection optical densitometer (manufactured by Konica: PD
A) When the reflection optical density of the ink transferred to the paper piece was 0.2 or less,
The case of less than is indicated by Δ, and the case of 0.3 or more is indicated by ×.

[0042]

[Table 1]

As is apparent from the result, the recording medium 2
In contrast, in the case of Comparative Example 1 in which the ink was ejected as it was, the ink ejected on the surface 2a of the recording medium 2 did not immediately penetrate into the inside of the recording medium 2, resulting in poor print quality and anti-offset properties. In the case of the comparative example 2 in which the ink is ejected by humidifying both surfaces 2a and 2b of the recording medium 2, the ink bleeds on the surface 2a of the recording medium 2 or the ink , The print quality and offset resistance deteriorated, and strikethrough occurred.

On the other hand, in the above-described first to fifth embodiments in which the ink is ejected while the inside of the recording medium 2 is humidified rather than the surface 2a, the ejection is performed on the surface 2a of the recording medium 2. As a result of the permeated ink quickly penetrating into the recording medium 2, the print quality and rub resistance are improved, and the permeation of the ink to the back surface 2b of the recording medium 2 is suppressed, and strikethrough occurs. There was no such thing.

[0045]

As described in detail above, in the ink recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink is ejected onto the recording medium while the inside of the recording medium is humidified rather than the surface of the recording medium from which the ink is ejected. As a result, the ink supplied to the surface of the recording medium quickly permeates into the inside of the recording medium, which has been humidified and the ink easily penetrates.

As a result, when the ink recording apparatus of the present invention is used, the ink is prevented from bleeding on the recording medium, and even when an image is formed at high speed, a phenomenon called color bleeding may occur. The ink on the previous recording medium may adhere to the back of the next recording medium,
The ink supplied to the previous recording medium is not rubbed by the next recording medium, and the image on the previous recording medium is not disturbed, and a good image can be stably obtained even at a high speed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing a state in which a back surface of a recording medium is humidified by a humidifying device before ink is ejected from an ink ejection head to a recording medium in an ink recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the surface of a recording medium from which ink is ejected is dried by a drying device before the ink is ejected from the ink ejection head to the recording medium in the ink recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing an example in which the back surface of the recording medium is humidified by a humidifier before the ink is ejected from the ink ejection head to the recording medium in the ink recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in which a surface of a recording medium from which ink is ejected is dried by a drying device before the ink is ejected from an ink ejection head to the recording medium in the ink recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing an ink recording apparatus of Comparative Example 1.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view showing an ink recording apparatus of Comparative Example 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink ejection head 2 Recording medium 2a Front surface of recording medium 2b Back surface of recording medium 10 Humidifier 20 Dryer

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takamasa Ueda 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tokiyoshi Osawa 2-3-1, Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2C056 EA05 HA41 HA42

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an ink recording apparatus that forms an image by discharging ink onto a recording medium, the ink is discharged onto the recording medium while the inside of the recording medium is humidified more than the surface of the recording medium onto which the ink is discharged. An ink recording apparatus characterized in that the recording is performed.