JP2003220701A - Method of forming image, drying device for cloth dyed by jetting ink, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of forming an image, a drying device for a cloth dyed by jetting ink, and an image forming system that can solve a problem that staining or color transferring is caused by an ink including a specific solvent having a high boiling point mounted on an inkjet device. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming method comprises a process for forming an image on a cloth by ejecting ink including a solvent having a high boiling point, and a process for removing the solvent by drying the cloth having formed thereon the image in a condition that the cloth is in a reduced pressure. The drying device comprises a chamber 7 for housing the cloth 40 dyed by the ink including the solvent by utilizing an inkjet dyeing apparatus, a decompressing means 5 which is coupled to the chamber 7 and allows the chamber to be in the reduced pressure, and a trap means 6 which is provided to a portion between the chamber 7 and the decompressing means 5 or an exhaust side of the decompressing means 5 and collects the vaporized solvent. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method, a drying device for an ink-jet printed cloth, and an image forming system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a high-quality print that does not cause transfer contamination or color transfer after printing. The present invention relates to an obtainable image forming method, a drying device for an ink-jet printed cloth, and an image forming system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ink jet printing apparatus excellent in small lot production and various kinds of production has been attracting attention in place of various printing machines such as conventional flat screens and rotary screens. This is because in the ink jet printing method, the ink type provided in the apparatus is controlled by a digital signal in comparison with the conventional printing method, and a small droplet of ink is landed and formed on the cloth to directly form an image. It is considered that this is because the screen plate and the printing paste for each color are not required to be prepared, and the number of steps can be significantly reduced.

However, the ink-jet printing method for cloth still has various problems. That is, in the inkjet printing method, the problem of bleeding after printing,
There is a problem of clogging of the head due to ink drying, and a problem of transfer contamination on a part of the cloth which is not printed after printing.

The problem of bleeding after printing can be solved by increasing the viscosity of the ink, but simply increasing the viscosity causes a problem in stable ejection of the ink jet head. Therefore, there is also known a method of preventing the ink from bleeding by performing a water-repellent treatment on the cloth as a pretreatment without increasing the viscosity too much. However, this method is not sufficient because transfer contamination may occur.

In order to prevent clogging of the head due to drying of the ink, it is preferable that the ink contains a high boiling point solvent. However, when a high-boiling point solvent is used, the drying is extremely poor by the usual drying method, and transfer contamination or color transfer may occur.

In Patent Document 1, the water content after printing is 3 to 3
A technique for obtaining a clear image without bleeding by heating and drying to 0% is disclosed. However, this technique is also not effective when a high-boiling solvent is used in the ink, and the problem that transfer contamination occurs on the unprinted fabric portion after printing has not been solved.

[0007]

[Patent Document 1] JP-A-6-23977

[0008]

Therefore, according to the present invention,
An image forming method for solving contamination and color transfer due to ink containing a unique high boiling point solvent mounted on an inkjet,
An object of the present invention is to provide a drying device and an image forming system for inkjet-printed cloth.

[0009]

The above-mentioned problems can be solved by the following inventions.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a step of forming an image by discharging an ink containing a high boiling point solvent onto a cloth, and drying the cloth after the image formation under reduced pressure to remove the high boiling point solvent. And an image forming method.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a step of ejecting an ink containing a high boiling point solvent onto a cloth to form an image, and the cloth after the image formation are wound together with the slip paper to form the cloth and the slip sheet. An image forming method comprising: a step of forming laminated fabric rolls; and a step of drying the fabric rolls under reduced pressure to remove the high boiling point solvent.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the degree of vacuum in the step of removing the high boiling point solvent is 0.01 Pa-100.
The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the image forming method is Pa.

The invention according to claim 4 is the image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the cloth after the image formation is heated in the step of removing the high boiling point solvent.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the high boiling point solvent removed from the cloth in the step of removing the high boiling point solvent is recovered by cooling and is recovered. Image forming method.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chamber for accommodating a fabric printed with an ink containing a high boiling point solvent using an ink jet printing apparatus, and a chamber in communication with the chamber for reducing the pressure inside the chamber. Inkjet printing, characterized by comprising: a depressurizing means, and a trap means provided between the chamber and the depressurizing means or on the exhaust side of the depressurizing means, for collecting the volatilized high boiling point solvent. This is a fabric drying device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, an ink jet printing apparatus having a head for discharging an ink containing a high-boiling point solvent onto a cloth to form an image and a conveying means for conveying the cloth, and the image are formed. A chamber for containing the fabric,
A decompression unit that communicates with the chamber to bring the inside of the chamber into a decompressed state, and is provided between the chamber and the decompression unit or on the exhaust side of the decompression unit to recover the volatilized high boiling point solvent. An image forming system including:

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

The image forming method according to the present invention comprises a step of discharging an ink containing a high boiling point solvent onto a cloth to form an image, and drying the cloth after the image formation under reduced pressure to remove the high boiling point solvent. And a removing step.

First, the step of forming an image by ejecting an ink containing a high boiling point solvent onto a cloth will be described using an inkjet printing apparatus which is an image forming apparatus suitable for carrying out this.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of an ink jet textile printing apparatus. In the figure, 1 is a print portion, 2 is a cloth, and 20 is an original roll in which the cloth 2 is wound in a roll shape. Reference numeral 3 is an interleaving paper supply device provided so as to be able to supply the interleaving paper 30 wound in a roll shape, 4 is a winding device after performing interleaving paper, and 40 is a stack of the cloth 2 and the interleaving paper 30. It is a fabric roll that has been made.

The cloth 2 is unwound from the original roll 20, and ink droplets are ejected from the head 10 onto the cloth 2 for printing. After printing on the fabric 2, it is sent to the interleaf paper supply device 3 which performs interleaf paper, and the interleaf paper is wound up by the winding device 4 to form the fabric roll 40 in which the fabric 2 and the interleaf paper 30 are laminated. To be done.

The interleaving paper referred to in the present invention means the back surface 30 of the print which is in contact with the print surface 301 shown in FIG.
It refers to the act of inserting the medium 30 for interleaving paper between the two or the medium. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 303 is a print portion. By performing such interleaving paper, it is not necessary to install a drier inside or in the vicinity of the printing unit 1, and the operability and stability of the inkjet textile printing apparatus and the system described later as a whole are improved.

As an example of the medium 30 used for the interleaving paper,
Examples thereof include newspapers, straw paper, toilet paper, and other non-woven fabrics, and non-woven fabrics. Any ink can be used as long as the ink attached to the interleaving paper does not reach the back surface of the print. In particular, in order to easily obtain the effect of the present invention, a non-woven fabric having a surface that is not flat and has irregularities is preferable.

As the ink jet ink used for printing, an ink containing a high boiling point solvent is used. As the ink containing the high boiling point solvent, 5
-60% by weight, preferably 20-50% by weight
It is more preferable to have.

The high boiling point solvent in the present invention refers to a solvent having a boiling point of 150 ° C. or higher under normal pressure. Specifically, glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, propanediol, diproprene glycol, butanediol and hexylene glycol, glycerin, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether. , Lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, amines such as triethanolamine, and pyrrolidones such as 2-pyrrolidone.

The ink jet ink used in the present invention is
One of the above high boiling point solvents may be used, or two or more thereof may be mixed and used.

After forming an image by ejecting the ink containing the high boiling point solvent onto the cloth 2 as described above, in the next step, the cloth on which the image is formed by the ink jet ink containing the high boiling point solvent. A roll (hereinafter referred to as “print cloth roll”) 40 is dried under reduced pressure to remove the high boiling point solvent.

In the step of removing the high-boiling point solvent, there are a mode in which no heating device is used (first mode) and a mode in which a heating device is used (second mode). An example of the device will be described.

The main functions of the drying device used in the first embodiment are at least a depressurizing function for depressurizing and a trap function for trapping and recovering the volatilized high boiling point solvent. The apparatus shown in FIG. 3 includes a decompressor 5 to exert a decompression function for decompressing, and a trapping device 6 to exert a trap function. In FIG. 3, 7 is a chamber of the drying device, 40 is a print cloth roll, and 401 is a print cloth roll.
Is a fixture for the print cloth roll 40.

The degree of vacuum in the present invention
m) means the pressure inside the drying device during drying (when removing the high boiling point solvent). The degree of vacuum during drying is
The range of 0.01 Pa to 100 Pa is preferable, and 0.01
The range of Pa to 10 Pa is more preferable. Further, when the pressure reduction time is long, the pressure in the drying device may be relatively high, and when the pressure reduction time is short, the pressure needs to be made smaller.

As the decompressor 5, an oil rotary vacuum pump,
Examples include a diaphragm type dry vacuum pump and a diffusion pump.

As a trapping method for exhibiting the trap function for holding the high boiling point solvent, for example, there is a method of cooling to liquefy or solidify. As a cooling method, there are ice, dry ice, and the like, and the best one is liquefied nitrogen.

The trap function is a vacuum device in which a solvent (oil or the like) for making a vacuum and a depressurizing gas come into contact with each other, such as an oil rotary vacuum pump or a combination of an oil rotary vacuum pump and a diffusion pump. A trapping device 6 for high boiling point solvent as shown in FIG. 3 is preferably connected between the chamber 7 and the decompressor 5. This is because it is possible to prevent the high boiling point solvent from passing through the vacuum pump constituting the decompressor 5, avoid contamination of the oil, reduce the oil exchange, and create an environment-friendly state.

When the gas to be depressurized does not come into contact, such as when using a diaphragm type dry vacuum pump,
Although good results can be obtained even with the arrangement shown in FIG. 3, the trapping device 6 may be installed behind the pressure reducer 5 (on the exhaust side) as shown in FIG. In this case, a method in which a solution such as water 60 is placed in the trapping device 6 and the solvent is dissolved through the water 60 is also preferable in order that the exhausted gas is not released to the atmosphere and adversely affects the human body. Further, instead of a solution such as water 60, activated carbon may be adsorbed.

Next, the second mode will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the drying device used in this embodiment has a heating device (heater) 8 installed in a chamber 7,
The heater 8 heats and warms the print cloth roll 40, and the decompressor 5 decompresses the high boiling solvent.

In this mode, cooling by the trapper 6 described in FIG. 3 is not always necessary. The reason is that the temperature at the time of vaporization by depressurization is higher than the temperature of the trap portion, and it is substantially cooled and liquefied / solidified in the trap portion. However, if the print cloth roll 40 is heated by the heater 8 and the high boiling point solvent removed from the cloth 2 by the trapping device 6 is cooled, the high boiling point solvent can be recovered more quickly and reliably. Is a more preferable embodiment.

In the image forming method described above, as a preferred example, an ink containing a high boiling point solvent is discharged onto the cloth 2 to form an image, and then dried to remove the high boiling point solvent.
Although an example including a step of forming a fabric roll (printed fabric roll) 40 in which the fabric 2 and the interleaf paper 30 are laminated using the interleaving paper 30 has been described, the fabric is a roll like a sheet-shaped fabric. If it is not necessary to wind it in a roll, insert 30
Alternatively, the ink containing a high-boiling point solvent may be discharged onto the cloth for printing, and after printing, the cloth may be dried under reduced pressure to remove the high-boiling point solvent. In this case, it is preferable to install a hot air dryer or the like in or near the printing unit 1 of the inkjet printing apparatus to dry the cloth to a certain extent after printing and before drying under reduced pressure.

The image forming system according to the present invention comprises the ink jet printing device and the drying device described above. That is, the inkjet printing apparatus includes a head 10 that forms an image by ejecting an ink containing a high boiling point solvent onto the cloth 2, and a conveying unit that conveys the cloth 2.
Further, the drying device includes a chamber 7 for containing the cloth 2 on which an image is formed, a decompressor 5 which is a decompressing means for communicating with the chamber 7 and decompressing the inside of the chamber 7, and the chamber 7. The trapping device 6 is provided between the pressure reducing device 5 and the pressure reducing device 5 or on the exhaust side of the pressure reducing device 5 and is a trap means for collecting the volatilized high boiling point solvent.

[0039]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples.

(Example 1) As an inkjet printing apparatus, Nassenger KS-1600II type (manufactured by Konica) was used. The ink contains 5% or more of glycerin
A dedicated ink for Nassenger (manufactured by Konica) was used. The inks used are disperse dyes yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and light-colored inks of eight colors in total. Polyester decine was used as the cloth medium, and as a pretreatment, a solution having the following constitution was dipped, mangled, and dried.

Gum-based sizing agent = 1% Cationic polymer = 2% Fluorine-based water repellent = 1% Water = 96%

A pretreated cloth is set in an ink jet printing apparatus, and a black solid image having a total ink deposition amount of 50 g / m ² is repeated with a width of 1200 mm, a length of 500 mm, and a non-printing area of 500 mm continuously. Four
Nassenger KS-1600II at the same time while creating 0m
Using a winder for Konica Corp., newspaper was wound on the interleaving paper to make a print cloth roll.

The dryer A has a length of 200 as a chamber.
0 mm and 700 mm inner diameter were prepared, and an insertion door was attached to one side of the cylinder. The insertion door and the chamber were kept airtight by an O-ring.

As a pressure reducer, the ultimate vacuum is 0.04 Pa.
The oil rotary vacuum pump of No. 1 was used, and the trapper was made to be able to cool the periphery with liquid nitrogen. Styrofoam was used to insulate the outside.

A chamber, a trapping device, and a pressure reducer were connected to these devices in this order with a stainless tube having an inner diameter of 10 mm. A vacuum gauge was connected to the chamber, and an adjusting orifice valve was provided between the chamber and the trapping device.

Insert the print cloth roll into dryer A,
The orifice valve was adjusted so that the degree of vacuum was 0.1 Pa, and the pressure was reduced for 60 minutes.

After that, the interleaving paper is taken and the cloth is folded and the weight is 5
After applying a weight of Kg, color was developed by a continuous high-temperature wet steamer at 170 ° C. to obtain roll sample A.

Example 2 A dryer B was prepared by setting a heater around the chamber and a heater for the print cloth roll support in the dryer A.

The same printed cloth roll as that used in Example 1 was prepared, inserted into the dryer B, the thermocouple was brought into contact with the printed cloth roll, the heater was adjusted so that the temperature became 60 ° C., and left for about 20 minutes. did.

Next, the orifice valve was adjusted so that the degree of vacuum was 0.1 Pa, and the pressure was reduced for 60 minutes.

After that, the interleaving paper is taken and the cloth is folded and the weight is 5
After applying a weight of Kg, a roll sample B was obtained by color development with a continuous high temperature wet steamer at 170 ° C. At this time, water having a temperature of 10 ° C. or lower was used in the trapping device instead of liquid nitrogen.

(Embodiment 3) The pressure reducing device of the dryer A is a diaphragm type dry vacuum pump, the chamber, the pressure reducing device,
The trapper was connected in that order. The orifice valve is
It was set between the chamber and the decompressor to prepare a dryer C.

The same print cloth roll as in Example 1 was prepared, inserted into a dryer C, adjusted to a vacuum degree of 100 Pa, and depressurized for about 180 minutes.

As for the trapper, the exhaust pipe was put in water as shown in FIG. 4 so that the solvent was dissolved in water.

After that, the interleaving paper is taken and the cloth is folded and the weight is 5
After applying a weight of Kg, color was developed by a continuous high-temperature wet steamer at 170 ° C. to obtain a roll sample C.

(Example 4) A dedicated Nasseger ink (manufactured by Konica) was used as the ink. The inks used are representative dye-based inks, which are reactive inks such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, and eight light-colored inks in total.

A cotton plain weave was used as the cloth solvent, and as a pretreatment, a solution having the following constitution was dipped, mangled, and dried.

High viscosity sodium alginate = 1% Sodium hydrogen carbonate = 0.5% Fluorine-based water repellent = 1% Urea = 0.5% Water = 97%

A pretreated cloth is set in an ink jet printing apparatus, and a black solid image with a total ink adhesion amount of 50 g / m ² is repeated with a width of 1200 mm, a length of 500 mm, and a non-printing area of 500 mm continuously. Sas 40m while simultaneously creating Nassenger KS-1600I
A newspaper was used as interleaving paper with an I-type (Konica type) take-up machine to produce a print cloth roll.

After that, the same drying as in Example 1 was carried out, the interleaving paper was taken out, the cloth was folded, a weight of 5 kg was applied, and then 10
Roll sample D was obtained by color development with a continuous atmospheric pressure wet steamer at 5 ° C.

(Example 5) The print cloth roll of Example 4 was dried in the same manner as in Example 2, the interleaving paper was taken out, the cloth was folded, and a weight of 5 kg was applied. Roll sample E was obtained by color development using a pressure wet steamer.

(Example 6) The print cloth roll of Example 4 was dried in the same manner as in Example 3, the interleaving paper was taken out, the cloth was folded, and a weight of 5 kg was applied. Roll sample F was obtained by color development using a pressure wet steamer.

(Comparative Example 1) As a comparative example of Examples 1 to 3, a roll sample comparative A which was not dried under reduced pressure and which was normally dried as follows was obtained.

As a drying method, as shown in FIG.
Instead of the interleaf paper feeding device and the winding device in the device shown in FIG. As the drying condition, the experiment was conducted at the temperature of the cloth after printing (the portion indicated by A in FIG. 5) being 40 ° C., 120 ° C. and 180 ° C.

(Comparative Example 2) As a comparative example of Examples 4 to 6, a normally dried roll sample comparison B which was not dried under reduced pressure was obtained in the same manner as the drying method shown in Comparative Example 1 above.

(Evaluation) As evaluation, transfer contamination on the back surface,
Transfer contamination to the surface can be checked visually and with a colorimeter SP62 (X-Rite
(Manufactured by the company) was used to evaluate the state according to the following evaluation criteria. In addition, smoke and odor were also evaluated. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

Evaluation Criteria <Measurement Method with Colorimeter> Colorimetric values (L ₁ ^* , a ₁ ^* , b ₁ ^* ) of the fabric itself before printing and measurement of the unprinted portion of the fabric after printing. Color value (L ₂ ^* , a ₂ ^* , b ₂
^* ) Was compared and indicated as δE. δE can be obtained by the following formula.

[0068]

[Equation 1]

<Visual measurement> ◯: No stain is recognized. Δ: It is not possible to determine whether it is dirty. X: Stain is clearly observed.

<Comprehensive Evaluation> If δE ≦ 2.0, most people do not notice the color abnormality. Therefore, δE ≦ 2.
When it is 0 and the visual observation is Δ or ○, it is “good”. Others were "problematic". Also, smoke / foul odor was judged to be “problematic” if it occurred due to environmental problems.

[0071]

[Table 1]

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An image forming method that eliminates the poor drying due to the high boiling point solvent peculiar to inkjet, yields a good image without stains with improved yield, and enables high-quality printing, an apparatus for drying an inkjet printed fabric, and an image A forming system can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of an inkjet printing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state of interleaving paper.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an inkjet drying device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of an inkjet drying device.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an inkjet printing device used in a comparative example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Print department 10: Head 2: cloth 3: Interleaf paper feeder 30: Slip sheet 301: Print surface 302: Back side of print 303: Printed part 4: Winding device 40: Printed fabric roll 401: Fixing tool 5: Pressure reducer 6: Trapper 60: Water 7: Chamber 8: Heating device (heater)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) D06P 5/20 B41J 3/04 101Z F term (reference) 2C056 EA04 FB03 HA46 KD10 3B154 AB20 BA09 BA19 BB05 BB15 BB34 BB47 BB72 BC01 BC08 BC15 BC47 BD15 BF02 DA13 DA30 4H057 AA02 FA16 FA18 FA26 GA06 GA13 GA20 HA01 JA10 JA14 JB03

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A step of discharging an ink containing a high boiling point solvent onto a cloth to form an image, and a step of drying the cloth after the image formation under reduced pressure to remove the high boiling point solvent. And an image forming method. 2. A step of discharging an ink containing a high boiling point solvent onto a cloth to form an image, and a cloth roll in which the cloth and the slip paper are laminated by winding the cloth after the image formation together with the slip paper. An image forming method comprising: a forming step; and a step of drying the cloth roll under reduced pressure to remove the high boiling point solvent. 3. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the degree of vacuum in the step of removing the high boiling point solvent is 0.01 Pa to 100 Pa. 4. The cloth after the image formation is heated in the step of removing the high boiling point solvent.
The image forming method described in 2 or 3. 5. The image forming method according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the high boiling point solvent removed from the cloth in the step of removing the high boiling point solvent is recovered by cooling. 6. A chamber for accommodating a fabric printed with an ink containing a high-boiling-point solvent using an inkjet printing apparatus, a decompression means for communicating with the chamber to decompress the inside of the chamber, An apparatus for drying an ink-jet printed cloth, comprising: a trap means provided between the chamber and the depressurizing means or on the exhaust side of the depressurizing means, for collecting the volatilized high boiling point solvent. 7. An ink jet printing apparatus having a head for forming an image by ejecting an ink containing a high boiling point solvent on a cloth, and a conveying means for conveying the cloth, and a chamber for containing the cloth on which the image is formed. A decompression unit communicating with the chamber for decompressing the inside of the chamber, and provided between the chamber and the decompression unit or on the exhaust side of the decompression unit, and recovers the volatilized high boiling point solvent. An image forming system comprising: a drying device having: