JP2000335106A - Recording method and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording method, extremely reduced in oozing by ink, and prominent in water resistance as well as paper preservability after printing. SOLUTION: The viscosity of aggregate of powder 3 formed on an intermediate transfer body 1 is increased by contacting with a liquid ejected through an ink jet head 2, and an image 3a, whose viscosity is increased, is formed on the intermediate transfer body 1. The image 3a is transferred on a body 5 to be transferred in a transfer part 4, while only the aggregate powder 3b, whose viscosity has not been increased by the ink, remains on the intermediate transfer body 1 after passing through the transfer unit 4. The intermediate transfer body 1 is moved further, and the aggregate of powder 3 is applied again on the part of the intermediate transfer body 1, which is used for the formation of the image. Substantially one layer of the aggregate powder 3 is formed on the intermediate transfer body 1. According to this method, the scattering of the aggregate 3 from the upper part of the intermediate transfer body 1 is reduced whereby a recording device satisfied in both of a viscosity increasing period of time and an adhering amount can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording method and a recording apparatus for forming an image by ejecting droplets containing a coloring material in accordance with an image signal, as in ink jet head recording. The present invention relates to a technique for forming an image on an intermediate transfer body in a recording method and a recording apparatus for forming an image on a body and transferring the image on the intermediate transfer body to a transfer medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a method of performing recording in accordance with an image signal by using a liquid containing a color material as liquid droplets as in ink jet recording, it is possible to perform recording with little bleeding on plain paper such as high quality paper. This is an important technical issue. For this reason, various inventions have conventionally been proposed. These conventional techniques for plain paper are roughly classified into the following three methods.

(1) When ink is dropped on recording paper,
Alternatively, before and after the method, a method of dropping an ink curing agent at the same place: for example, JP-A-6-92009, JP-A-6-2009
The invention described in Japanese Patent Application No. 92010 discloses a method in which ink is dropped on recording paper only in a region where ink droplets are dropped on plain paper, at the same time as or before and after the ink is dropped, on the same location of recording paper. By doing so, bleeding on the recording paper is prevented. However, in the present invention, means dedicated to the ink curing agent is required, and since it takes time to cure,
There is a disadvantage that the recording time is longer than usual.

(2) A method in which a coating agent for reducing ink bleeding is applied to recording paper in advance, and after recording, the coating agent is fixed on the recording paper. For example, the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-97720 discloses Particles that reduce ink bleeding are applied to plain paper in advance, and after the ink is fixed, the particles are fixed on the paper. However, in the present invention, the particle component is
Since it is a component that shows a reaction such as dissolution with respect to the ink, after fixing the particles, the paper may show a reaction such as dissolution with water or oil as an ink solvent, and storage stability after recording has difficulty. is there.

(3) A method of using an intermediate transfer member to increase the viscosity of ink before transferring it to recording paper: see, for example, JP-A-7-8
The invention described in Japanese Patent No. 9067 is a recording apparatus called an intermediate transfer body type ink jet, in which an ink image is once formed on an intermediate transfer body, and is transferred to a recording paper when a moderate viscosity is reached. It tries to solve ink bleeding and the like. However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
The invention described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7 is to increase the wettability by applying a surfactant to the intermediate transfer member in advance.
Therefore, it takes a considerable time until the viscosity becomes moderate,
For this reason, bleeding occurs on the intermediate transfer member and eventually on the recording paper, which is not suitable for high-speed recording.In particular, the bleeding is large in the case of a solid image. There was a limit to speeding up in that respect.

Further, inventions for solving the problems in these methods have already been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-3592).
08 publication). According to the present invention, high-speed and good images can be obtained using plain paper, but there is a problem in the handling of the powder that has previously adhered to the intermediate transfer member. When the powder is a fine powder, there is a problem such as scattering of the powder. Further, when the particle size is large, there is a problem that it takes a long time to increase the viscosity because the specific surface area is small, and the image becomes blurred in the system. In order to solve such a problem due to the particle size of the powder, the present applicant has already proposed a method using an aggregate of powder, but the present invention uses an aggregate.
An object of the present invention is to provide a recording method and a recording apparatus capable of performing stable application without scattering.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus which uses plain paper, inserts the plain paper into the recording apparatus as it is, and discharges the plain paper inserted after printing from the recording apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording method and a recording apparatus which minimize bleeding, have excellent water resistance, and have excellent paper storability after printing.

The objects corresponding to the respective claims are as follows. According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, by forming the agglomerates of the powder on the intermediate transfer body in substantially one layer, the disturbance of the powder on the intermediate transfer body is reduced, and the powder layer is stably formed. Is to do.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the powder agglomerates are formed in substantially one layer on the powder coating means, and then the powder agglomerates formed in one layer are adhered to the intermediate transfer member. Another object of the present invention is to prevent the powder from scattering into the inside of the machine by forming substantially one layer of powder aggregates on the intermediate transfer member.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, after the powder aggregates are adhered on the intermediate transfer member, the powder aggregates on the intermediate transfer member are substantially made into a single layer, so that the powder coating means can be used. It is to enable various configurations.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a powder applying means for adhering an aggregate of powder on an intermediate transfer member, and a powder which is brought into contact with the aggregate of powder adhering on the intermediate transfer member to form a layer. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which has a body layer forming means and can attach an aggregate more on an intermediate transfer member regardless of a powder applying means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the formation of the powder layer for making the aggregates of the powder on the intermediate transfer member substantially one layer is performed by moving the powder applying means at a relative speed with respect to the intermediate transfer member. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which can attach an aggregate to the intermediate transfer member with a simple structure.

According to the present invention, the powder layer forming means is a blade, so that a single layer of the aggregate is applied onto the intermediate transfer member regardless of the powder applying means. is there.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is to facilitate positioning with respect to the intermediate transfer member by using a roller as the powder layer forming means.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for forming a thickened image by adhering a powder which is thickened by contact with a liquid on an intermediate transfer member and contacting the powder with the liquid. And a recording method or apparatus for transferring the image to a transfer medium to obtain an image, wherein an aggregate of the powder is formed on the intermediate transfer body in substantially a single layer.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 3 is an agglomerated powder that is thickened by contact with a liquid, 3a is an agglomerated powder that has been thickened by contact with an ink, 3b is an agglomerated powder that has not been in contact with the ink, that is, an agglomerated powder that has not been thickened. Is a transfer unit, 5 is a medium to be transferred, 6 is a coating device for agglomerated powder, and the intermediate transfer body 1 moves in the direction of the arrow. The agglomerated powder 3 formed on the intermediate transfer body 1 is thickened by contact with the liquid (ink) ejected from the inkjet head 2, and the thickened image 3 a is formed on the intermediate transfer body 1. You. Thickened image 3 formed on intermediate transfer body 1
a is transferred onto the transfer medium 5 by the transfer unit 4. After passing through the transfer section 4, only the aggregated powder 3 b not thickened by the ink remains on the intermediate transfer body 1, and the thickened image 3 a is all transferred to the transfer medium 5. The intermediate transfer body 1 further moves, and the agglomerated powder 3 is applied again to the portion used for image formation by the application device 6.

The ink jet head 2 writes an image by jetting a water-soluble ink onto the agglomerated powder 3, and the ejected ink comes into contact with the agglomerated powder 3 to increase the viscosity,
It becomes image 3a. Agglomerated powder 3 that thickens upon contact with ink
Is an aggregate of powders exhibiting water absorption, such as an acrylic acid resin, an acrylic acid / methacrylic acid copolymer resin, a methacrylic acid resin, a cellulose resin, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and starch.
The aggregate may be one type of resin, or one in which two or more types of resins are aggregated. The particle size of the primary particles of the agglomerated powder affects the specific surface area of the agglomerated powder, and it is sufficient that the viscosity of the agglomerated powder is sufficiently increased from the time of contact with the ink to the time of transfer to the transfer target. If the primary particles are too large, the specific surface area becomes small, and it takes too much time to thicken.

The particle size of the agglomerate 3 is such that the amount of adhesion when formed on the intermediate transfer member 1 is sufficient. In order to obtain an adhesion amount without forming an aggregate, it is essential to attach two or more layers on the intermediate transfer body, and the adhesion between the powder and the intermediate transfer body is compared with the adhesion between the intermediate transfer body and the powder. Was weak and there was a problem of scattering. Similarly, when two or more layers of agglomerated powder are adhered, the adhesion between the agglomerates is weak, and problems such as scattering and spillage from the intermediate transfer member have occurred. It is important to agglomerate to the size and make the agglomerate adhere more to the intermediate transfer member. The adhesive force inside the aggregate is strong, does not collapse under normal external force, and does not cause problems such as scattering.

In the present embodiment, the intermediate transfer member 1 is a belt having a silicone rubber layer formed on a polyimide belt.
At least the surface that comes into contact with the agglomerated powder 3 may be made of a substance that exhibits releasability from the thickener generated when the agglomerated powder and the ink come into contact. Silicone rubber, fluoro rubber, silicone resin, fluorine Base resin, polyimide resin, and the like. In FIG. 1, the intermediate transfer body 1 is a belt, but may be a drum.

(Inventions of Claims 1 and 2) Claims 1 and 2
According to the invention, a powder which is thickened by being brought into contact with a liquid is adhered to the intermediate transfer body 1, a liquid is brought into contact with the powder 3 to form a thickened image, and the image is transferred to a transfer medium. A recording method or a recording apparatus for obtaining an image, wherein as shown in FIG. 1, an agglomerate 3 of the powder is formed on the intermediate transfer body 1 in substantially one layer, By forming an aggregate and forming an approximately one aggregate layer on the intermediate transfer member, scattering of the aggregate 3 from the intermediate transfer member 1 is reduced, and a thickening time,
A recording device that satisfies both the adhesion amount and the recording amount was formed.

(Example 1) An experiment was conducted using the apparatus shown in FIG. Polyacrylic acid is used as the agglomerated powder 3 that is thickened by contact with the ink, and particles of primary particles (individual particles that form the agglomerated powder 3, shown by circles in the figure) An aggregate having a diameter of 0.2 μm and a size of about 2 μm was obtained. The linear speed of the system (intermediate transfer member) is 100 mm /
s, the distance from the ink printing section to the transfer section is about 1
00 mm. Forming a single aggregate on the intermediate transfer member,
When the image was taken out, a good image was obtained without bleeding and characters were not cut off. Also, there were no problems such as scattering of powder into the machine and powder spilling at a bent portion of the belt. When this aggregate was attached to two or more layers, powder scattering occurred. When a single particle of polyacrylic acid having a particle size of 2 μm was applied on the intermediate transfer member and an image was similarly produced,
The transferred image is blurred. This is due to insufficient thickening within the time of the system.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of the arrangement of an apparatus for forming an aggregate 3 of powder on the intermediate transfer body 1 in a substantially single layer. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes an application roller of silicone rubber. Sponge, 12 is a urethane blade, 3 is an aggregate of polyacrylic acid, 1 is an intermediate transfer belt made of silicone rubber. The intermediate transfer belt 1 and the application roller 11 are moving in the direction of the arrow, and with the rotation of the application roller 11, the aggregate 3 is supplied onto the intermediate transfer member 1 and the surface of the silicone rubber of the intermediate transfer member 1 is removed. It adheres to the intermediate transfer member 1 with adhesive force. The blade 12 is disposed so as to be in contact with the intermediate transfer body 1. The aggregate 3 supplied on the intermediate transfer member 1 moves with the movement of the intermediate transfer member 1 and the blade 1
2 and the intermediate transfer member 1. At this time, the agglomerates are rubbed by the blade 12 and are separated from each other because the agglomerates have low adhesion, and the smoothed agglomerates adhere to the surface where the agglomerates are not attached, and a uniform agglomerate layer forms 1 formed. The aggregate was not broken by the force rubbed with the blade 12.

(Inventions of Claims 3 and 4) According to the invention of Claim 3, an aggregate of powder is formed on the powder coating means in substantially a single layer,
Then, the powder aggregate formed on the single layer is adhered onto the intermediate transfer body to form substantially a single layer of the powder aggregate on the intermediate transfer body. Is formed in a substantially single layer, and then the powder aggregate formed in the single layer is deposited on the intermediate transfer member, thereby forming a substantially single layer of the powder aggregate on the intermediate transfer member. is there. In the step of forming a substantially single layer, some scattering is unavoidable because scraping and leveling are performed. In the present invention, since the powder aggregates are substantially made into a single layer on the coating means, scattering of the powder aggregates outside the intermediate transfer body coating device is avoided.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an agglomerate of powder is placed on a powder applying roller. It shows a powder coating device that forms a layer and attaches it on the intermediate transfer body,
Reference numeral 13 denotes an application roller for applying the powder aggregate on the intermediate transfer member 1, and reference numeral 14 denotes a replenishing brush for further adhering the powder aggregate on the application roller 13. The replenishing brush 14 rotates in a direction (counterclockwise in the drawing) serving as a counter with the application roller 13, and causes the powder aggregate to adhere to the application roller 13. The application roller 13 is made of conductive silicone rubber, and its surface is sticky of the rubber itself, so that agglomerates of powder adhere thereto. The powder agglomerate is supplied onto the application roller 13 by the replenishing brush 14, and the replenishment brush 14 rubs on the coating roller 13. A single powder agglomerate layer is formed. Next, the aggregate of the powder on the application roller 13 adheres to the intermediate transfer body 1. The intermediate transfer member 1 is made of silicone rubber. It is a material having a stronger adhesive force to the aggregate of powder than the application roller 13. With the rotation of the application roller 13, the aggregate of the powder on the application roller 13 moves to the vicinity of the intermediate transfer body 1, contacts the intermediate transfer body 1, and adheres to the intermediate transfer body 1. Since the supply brush 14 forms a single layer of powder aggregate on the application roller 13, a single layer of powder aggregate is formed on the intermediate transfer member 1. With this apparatus, it was possible to prevent the powder from being scattered and to form a layer of good aggregates of the powder.

(Invention of claim 5) According to the invention of claim 5, after the powder aggregates are adhered on the intermediate transfer body, the powder aggregates on the intermediate transfer body are substantially reduced. The invention according to claims 6, 8, and 9 provides an apparatus embodying the invention according to claim 5, and forms substantially one layer of powder aggregates on the intermediate transfer member. At this time, after the powder aggregates are attached to the intermediate transfer body, the powder aggregates are formed in substantially one layer on the intermediate transfer body. Regardless of the state of adhesion of the powder on the intermediate transfer member, the powder becomes substantially more thick before it comes into contact with the liquid and thickens. It is possible.

(Embodiment 4) FIG.
9 is a view showing a main part of a structure for explaining an embodiment of the invention 9, wherein 15 is a powder coating device, 16 is a blade, 3 is a powder aggregate, and 1 is an intermediate transfer member. At the lower part of the powder coating device 15, there is provided a mesh on which the powder agglomerates can be dropped. The powder coating device 15 vibrates, and a certain amount of the powder agglomerates 3 is placed on the intermediate transfer body 1. To fall. In the present embodiment, the diameter of the powder aggregate is about 1 μm, and the aperture diameter of the mesh is 20 μm. The powder aggregate 3 that has fallen on the intermediate transfer member 1 comes into contact with the blade 16 as the intermediate transfer member 1 moves in the direction of the arrow. By contact with the blade 16, the powder aggregate 3 adhering to the surface of the intermediate transfer member 1 adheres as it is, but the laminated portion is flattened.

The blade 16 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer member under a slightly applied pressure.
It is preferable to hit the belly. As described above, it is important that the contact of the blade 16 does not remove the aggregates 3 of the powder directly adhered to the intermediate transfer body 1. Because there is. In this embodiment, a urethane blade having a thickness of 4 mm is used. By such a method, a good substantially single powder aggregate layer was obtained. Although not shown, a good one-layered powder aggregate layer was obtained by applying the blade of the present example to the powder layer applied by another powder coating device. In the case of a blade, there is an advantage that a powder layer can be formed with a simple configuration.

Although not shown, even when a rubber roller is configured to be in contact with the layer of the powder aggregate on the surface of the intermediate transfer member instead of the blade, the rubber roller can be further formed as in the case of the blade. did it. Although the roller can be rotated, it is more effective to rotate the roller in a fixed state or in the counter direction with respect to the intermediate transfer member. A rubber roller is more expensive than a blade, but has advantages such as easy positioning and resistance to contamination when rotated.

(Invention of claim 7) The invention of claim 7 is a method for forming a powder layer for making the aggregates of powder on the intermediate transfer member substantially one layer by using a powder coating means at a relative speed to the intermediate transfer member. This is characterized in that it is carried out by holding the powder, and as a layer forming apparatus for adhering a layer of powder agglomerates substantially on the intermediate transfer body, a powder coating means on the intermediate transfer body is used as an intermediate. The transfer member is moved at a relative speed to the transfer member.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 5 is a view showing the construction of a main part of a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes an intermediate transfer drum, and reference numeral 17 denotes a powder coating means. Roller, 1
Reference numeral 8 denotes a supply roller for supplying powder to the application roller. The intermediate transfer member 1 has a fluorine film formed on an aluminum drum, and the aluminum drum is grounded. The application roller 17 is made of a conductive urethane sponge, and is configured to bite into the intermediate transfer body 1. A voltage of +200 V is applied to the conductive urethane sponge when the powder aggregate is applied. The pore size of the sponge is about 20 μm. A larger amount of the powder agglomerate is transported by the urethane sponge to a region to be applied on the intermediate transfer member, and adheres to the intermediate transfer member 1 by the action of an electric field. At this time, when the intermediate transfer body 1 and the application roller 17 are moving at substantially the same speed, a larger amount of the aggregate of the powder is applied to the intermediate transfer body as it is. In this embodiment, the surface of the application roller 17 is set to have a linear velocity ratio of 1.2 to 3 times the surface of the intermediate transfer body 1. As a result, a coating amount of 80 μg / cm ² , which is considered to be a single-layer coating of the aggregate, was obtained at any magnification. When the linear velocity ratio was approximately 1, the amount of adhesion was 200 μg / cm ² , and the aggregated powder was scattered in the apparatus.

In this embodiment, the intermediate transfer member is a drum, but the same result is obtained with a belt. The same applies to the case where no electric field is applied at the time of applying the powder.
Good results are obtained when the setting is made to be 3 times to 3 times.

[0032]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the powder agglomerates are formed on the intermediate transfer member in substantially one layer, so that the powder is less disturbed on the intermediate transfer member, and The body layer stabilizes.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the powder agglomerates are formed in substantially one layer on the powder applying means, and then the powder agglomerates formed in one layer are adhered to the intermediate transfer member. By forming the aggregate of the powder on the intermediate transfer member substantially in a single layer, the scattering of the powder into the machine can be prevented.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, after the powder aggregate on the intermediate transfer member is made to adhere to the intermediate transfer member, the powder aggregate on the intermediate transfer member is substantially made into a single layer. Various configurations are possible.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the powder application means for adhering the powder aggregate on the intermediate transfer member, and the powder aggregate adhering on the intermediate transfer member are contacted to form a layer. By having the powder layer forming means, the aggregate can be further attached regardless of the powder applying means.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the formation of the powder layer for making the agglomerates of the powder on the intermediate transfer member substantially single is performed by moving the powder applying means at a relative speed with respect to the intermediate transfer member. Thereby, it is possible to attach the aggregate to the layer with a simple structure.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the powder layer forming means is blade-shaped, it is possible to apply substantially one layer of agglomerates regardless of the powder applying means with the simplest structure.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the powder layer forming means is roller-shaped, positioning with respect to the intermediate transfer member becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main part of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an apparatus that forms an aggregate of powder in a substantially single layer on an intermediate transfer member.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another configuration example of an apparatus for forming an aggregate of powder on the intermediate transfer member in a substantially single layer.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another configuration example of an apparatus for forming an aggregate of powder in a substantially single layer on an intermediate transfer member.

FIG. 5 is a view showing still another configuration example of an apparatus for forming an aggregate of powder in a substantially single layer on an intermediate transfer member.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Intermediate transfer body, 2 ... Ink jet head, 3 ... Aggregated powder, 3a ... Thickened aggregated powder, 3b ... Aggregated powder not thickened, 4 ... Transfer part, 5 ... Transfer medium, 6 ... Coating device for agglomerated powder, 11, 13, 17 ... coating roller, 12,
Reference numeral 16: blade, 14: supply brush, 15: powder coating device, 18: supply roller.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A powder which is thickened by contact with a liquid is attached to an intermediate transfer member, a liquid is brought into contact with the powder to form a thickened image, and the image is transferred to a transfer medium. A recording method for obtaining an image, wherein an agglomerate of the powder is formed in substantially a single layer on the intermediate transfer member. 2. A powder, which is thickened by contact with a liquid, is attached to an intermediate transfer body, and a liquid is brought into contact with the powder to form a thickened image, and the image is transferred to a transfer medium. A recording apparatus for obtaining an image, comprising: a powder layer forming apparatus for forming an aggregate of the powder in substantially one layer on the intermediate transfer body. 3. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a powder aggregate is formed on the powder coating means in a substantially single layer.
A recording method, comprising: adhering the powder aggregate formed in the substantially single layer on the intermediate transfer member; and forming the powder aggregate in substantially the single layer on the intermediate transfer member. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the powder applying means for attaching the powder aggregate to the intermediate transfer member substantially in a single layer is formed on the powder applying means. A recording apparatus having powder layer forming means for forming a substantially single layer. 5. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein after the powder aggregates are attached to the intermediate transfer member, the powder aggregates on the intermediate transfer member are substantially reduced. Characteristic recording method. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a powder application unit for adhering the aggregate of the powder on the intermediate transfer member, and the powder application unit contacts the aggregate of the powder adhered on the intermediate transfer member. And a powder layer forming means for making the aggregate substantially one layer. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the powder layer forming means for forming substantially one layer of powder aggregates on the intermediate transfer body is provided with a relative speed of the powder coating means to the intermediate transfer body. A recording apparatus characterized in that the recording apparatus is moved by holding. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said powder layer forming means is a blade. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said powder layer forming means is a roller.