JP2005288885A - Manufacturing method of glossy inkjet recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method, by which a glossy inkjet recording medium having a high surface gloss is obtained at a high speed. <P>SOLUTION: In the manufacturing of the glossy inkjet recording medium by a casting method, a mirror cylinder or a gloss developing layer or both of them are stuck under pressure after being wetted with a surface-active agent water solution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method capable of manufacturing an inkjet recording medium having a high surface gloss at high speed.

  The ink jet printing method records images, characters, and the like by flying fine ink droplets according to various operating principles and attaching them to a recording sheet such as paper. The recording system has features such as high speed, low noise, easy multi-coloring, large flexibility of recording patterns, no need for development and fixing, and various uses as a printing device for various character graphics and color images. Is rapidly spreading. Furthermore, multi-color ink jet printing makes it possible to obtain prints that are comparable to full-color image recording using the silver salt photographic method, and that the equipment required for printing is small and inexpensive. Therefore, the ink jet recording system is widely applied to the field of full color image recording.

When the inkjet printing method is used in the field of full-color image recording, the recording medium is required to have a surface gloss comparable to that of silver salt photographic printing paper as well as a high ink receiving capacity and color developability for exhibiting excellent printing quality.
As an ink jet recording medium having such a surface gloss, a recording paper, a recording film, or the like in which a polymer that absorbs ink by dissolution / swelling is coated on a support such as paper or a plastic film has been used. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). However, such an ink jet recording medium has a problem that although it has a high surface gloss, the ink absorption / drying speed is slow, and the printed image is liable to bleed or stain due to ink transfer.

  In addition, an ink jet recording medium is also used in which the surface of the glossy layer provided on the support is smoothed using a calendar device such as a super calender or gloss calender to give the surface gloss (for example, see Patent Document 2). ). However, in order to give a surface gloss comparable to silver salt color photographic printing paper by this method, it is necessary to perform a calendar treatment under a high linear pressure. As a result, the coating layer lacks voids and absorbs ink. However, since the ink is slowed and the absorption capacity is insufficient, there is a problem in that the printed image is smudged or stained by ink transfer.

  As a technique for imparting high gloss to the glossy layer without slowing the ink absorption rate, a cast method, that is, a wet glossy layer provided on a support is pressure-bonded to a heated mirror cylinder and the gloss is obtained. An ink jet recording medium manufactured by a method of transferring a mirror surface to the surface of an expression layer and evaporating moisture is used (for example, see Patent Document 3). According to this method, a very high surface gloss and a good ink absorption rate can be obtained.

  When producing a glossy ink jet recording medium by a casting process, it is required to have releasability, that is, a property that the surface of the coated ink layer is quickly peeled off from a mirror cylinder after the coating layer has sufficiently dried. If the releasability is insufficient, part or all of the coating layer sticks to the mirror surface, and the surface of the glossy layer is uneven when peeling from the mirror surface unless the speed in the casting process is slowed down. And an ink jet recording medium having a good surface gloss cannot be obtained.

  On the other hand, in order to obtain a high surface gloss, the recording medium is required to have a property of not peeling from the mirror cylinder while the gloss developing layer is wet so that the mirror surface of the mirror cylinder is sufficiently transferred to the recording medium.

Conventionally, in order to obtain such contradictory properties, a release agent, that is, an agent in which an oily substance is dispersed in water using a dispersant as necessary has been added to the glossy layer ( For example, see Patent Document 4). However, if an appropriate release agent is not added in an appropriate amount, the releasability is too weak to obtain an ink jet recording medium having a good surface gloss unless the operation speed is sufficiently slow, or the releasability is too strong. As a result, the glossy inkjet recording medium having a good surface gloss may not be obtained because the surface of the mirror cylinder is not sufficiently transferred.
Furthermore, the appropriate amount of the release agent is limited to a narrow range that depends on the surface condition of the mirror cylinder, and the surface condition of the mirror cylinder changes every time due to factors such as its usage history, so a high surface gloss is obtained. It was very difficult to stably produce a glossy inkjet recording medium having high speed.
JP 7-156200 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-101142 Japanese Patent No. 3345877 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-337446

  An object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of producing a glossy inkjet recording medium having a high surface gloss at high speed.

  The glossy inkjet recording medium is manufactured by a casting method, that is, a method in which a wet glossy expression layer provided on a substrate is pressure-bonded to a heated mirror cylinder, and the mirror surface is transferred to the surface of the glossy expression layer and moisture is evaporated. A glossy inkjet recording medium having a high surface gloss can be produced at high speed by producing the mirror cylinder by wetting the mirror cylinder with an aqueous surfactant solution and then pressing the glossy layer.

  In such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the amount of the oily substance contained in the surfactant aqueous solution used for wetting the mirror cylinder is 50% by weight or less of the amount of the surfactant. A glossy ink jet recording medium having the above can be produced.

  Further, in such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the amount of the surfactant contained in the surfactant aqueous solution used for wetting the mirror cylinder is set to 0.05% by mass or more, so that the glossy ink jet recording medium is particularly fast. A recording medium can be manufactured.

  Further, in such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the temperature of the surfactant aqueous solution used for wetting the mirror cylinder is set to (surfactant cloud point -15) ° C. or higher, so that the glossy ink jet is particularly fast. A recording medium can be manufactured.

  As another method, in the production of a glossy ink jet recording medium by the casting method, a glossy ink jet recording medium having a high surface gloss can be obtained at a high speed by wetting the gloss developing layer with a surfactant aqueous solution and then pressing it onto a mirror cylinder. Can be manufactured.

  In such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the amount of the oily substance contained in the aqueous surfactant solution used for wetting the glossy developing layer is 50% by mass or less of the amount of the surfactant, so that a particularly high surface is obtained. A glossy inkjet recording medium having gloss can be produced.

  Further, in such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the amount of the surfactant contained in the surfactant aqueous solution used for wetting the glossy layer is 0.05% by mass or more, so that the gloss can be obtained particularly quickly. An ink jet recording medium can be manufactured.

  Further, in such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the temperature of the aqueous surfactant solution used for wetting the glossy layer is set to (surfactant cloud point −15) ° C. or higher, so that the gloss is particularly high. An ink jet recording medium can be manufactured.

  Further, in such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the glossy ink jet recording medium having a particularly high surface glossiness is obtained by wetting the glossy developing layer with an aqueous surfactant solution 0.5 to 2 seconds before pressure-bonding to a mirror cylinder. Can be manufactured at a particularly high speed.

  Further, in such a method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, a glossy ink jet recording medium is produced at a particularly high speed by pressing the glossy layer wetted with the surfactant aqueous solution after the mirror cylinder is wetted with the surfactant aqueous solution. can do.

  According to the present invention, since the surface state of the cast cylinder is constantly changing, which is a conventional problem in producing a glossy inkjet recording medium by the casting method, the problem that the optimum releasability cannot be stably obtained. Therefore, a glossy ink jet recording medium having a high surface gloss can be produced at high speed and stably.

  In the present invention, as a support on which a thermoplastic glossy expression layer is provided on the surface, chemical pulp such as hardwood kraft pulp (LBKP), softwood kraft pulp (NBKP), hardwood sulfite pulp (LBSP), softwood sulfite pulp (NBSP), etc. , Ground pulp (GP), refiner GP (RGP), chemi-ground pulp (CGP), semi-chemical pulp (SCP) and other mechanical pulp, semi-chemical pulp, waste paper pulp (DIP), kenaf, bagasse, straw pulp, etc. Beat one or more kinds of non-wood pulp, add fillers such as kaolin, talc, heavy calcium carbonate, light calcium carbonate, etc., various types such as long net paper machine, circular net paper machine, twin wire paper machine etc. A base paper made by an apparatus is used. Various additives such as a sizing agent, a fixing agent, a yield improving agent, and a paper strength enhancing agent may be added to the base paper, and surface sizing may be performed using starch, polyvinyl alcohol, or the like. .

In the present invention, the thickness of the support is not particularly limited, but is preferably 40 to 400 μm from the viewpoint of transportability on the ink jet recording apparatus.
Further, in the present invention, the air permeability resistance measured by JIS P8117-1998 of the support is 40 (s) or less because the evaporation of moisture is performed rapidly and an ink jet recording medium can be produced at a higher speed. preferable.

In the present invention, between the support and the thermoplastic glossy layer provided on the surface, for the purpose of improving ink absorbability, etc., clay such as amorphous silica, bentonite, polyvinyl alcohol, various latexes, etc. It is preferable to provide an intermediate layer composed of a binder, a cationic organic polymer, a fixing agent such as polyaluminum chloride, a bluing agent, and a fluorescent agent.
The glossy expression layer of the present invention may be provided as it is on the surface of the support coated with such a support or intermediate layer, or the glossy expression layer is provided after calendering using a super calender, soft calender or the like. May be.

In the present invention, it is preferable that 60% by mass or more of the gloss developing layer is composed of inorganic fine particles having a particle size of 300 nm or less because high ink absorbability is obtained.
Examples of such pigments include silica sol, cationic silica sol, boehmite sol, pseudoboehmite sol, alumina sol composed of γ-alumina and θ-alumina, titania sol, zirconia sol, antimony oxide sol, and the like. Of these, the use of silica sol, cationic silica sol, pseudoboehmite sol, and alumina sol composed of γ-alumina is particularly preferable because particularly high ink absorbability can be obtained. Also, conjugated diene copolymers such as polystyrene, methyl methacrylate, styrene-butadiene copolymer, methyl methacrylate-butadiene copolymer, polymers or copolymers of acrylate and methacrylate esters, urea resins, melamine, etc. Organic polymer fine particles made of can also be used. These inorganic fine particles and organic polymer fine particles may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  In the present invention, the type and amount of the binder contained in the glossy layer are not particularly limited as long as the appropriate coating layer strength can be maintained and the ink absorption is not hindered. Alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, starch derivatives such as oxidized starch, etherified starch, phosphate esterified starch, water soluble polymers such as casein, gelatin, soybean protein, water soluble melamine resin, water soluble urea resin, polystyrene, styrene Conjugated diene copolymers such as butadiene copolymer and methyl methacrylate-butadiene copolymer, and polymers or copolymers of acrylic acid esters and methacrylic acid esters can be used. These polymers and copolymers may be water-soluble or emulsions, so-called latexes. Among these, those that form a transparent solution or dispersion when dissolved or dispersed in water are particularly preferably used because a high ink jet printing density can be obtained.

  In the present invention, as the pigment contained in the glossy expression layer, polystyrene, styrene-butadiene copolymer, conjugated diene copolymer such as methyl methacrylate-butadiene copolymer, acrylic acid ester and methacrylic acid ester polymer or When a sufficient amount of a pigment having sufficient self-binding property to develop the strength required for the glossy layer, such as a copolymer, is used, a function as a binder can be added to these pigments. In some cases, it is not always necessary to add a binder.

A release agent may be added to the glossy layer of the present invention as long as the high surface gloss of the produced inkjet recording medium is not impaired.
In addition, the glossy expression layer of the present invention includes an ink fixing agent, pigment dispersion, defoaming, antifoaming, penetration, wetting, etc. various surfactants, dyes such as bluing agents, pigments, fluorescent whitening agents, Ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, preservatives, antibacterial agents, crosslinking agents, and the like can be appropriately blended.

In the present invention, as a method for providing an intermediate layer and a gloss developing layer on a support, usually a pigment, a binder, and an additive are appropriately mixed to form a coating composition, and a blade coater, a rod coater, a roll coater, an air knife coater. Coating is performed using various apparatuses such as a curtain coater, a short dwell coater, and a film transfer coater.
When the intermediate layer is provided, the intermediate layer and the glossy layer may be applied separately or simultaneously.

In the present invention, the higher the coating amount of the gloss developing layer, the higher the gloss tends to be obtained. However, from the viewpoint of economy and the surface strength of the ink jet recording medium to be produced, about 4 to 20 g / m ^2. It is preferable that

  In the present invention, the higher the surface temperature of the mirror cylinder, the faster the drying, so that a glossy inkjet recording medium can be produced at a higher speed. However, if the surface temperature is too high, the drying becomes too fast. Therefore, it is preferable to set the temperature to 80 to 130 ° C. because the vapor cannot be completely removed and the coating layer is peeled off from the base paper or the components contained in the coating layer are thermally decomposed and colored.

  The water-soluble surfactant used in the present invention, which is contained in water used to wet the surface of the mirror cylinder or the gloss developing layer, has a hydrophilic group and a hydrophobic group in the molecule, and is independently 0.05. Various substances that can be stably dissolved and dispersed in water at a concentration of not less than wt%, preferably not less than 0.1 wt%, more preferably not less than 0.2 wt% can be used. When the water solubility of the water-soluble surfactant is too low, there is a problem that the surface gloss of the manufactured inkjet recording medium is lowered. For a surfactant that is stably dissolved or dispersed in water at a concentration of 0.05% by mass or more only in the presence of a specific pH range, temperature range, or counter ion, the specific pH range, temperature range Alternatively, it can be used as a surfactant in the present invention only in the presence of a counter ion.

  Examples of such surfactants include polyethylene glycol oleyl ether, polyethylene glycol alkyl ethers such as polyethylene glycol stearyl ether, polyethylene glycol alkyl phenyl ethers such as polyethylene glycol nonyl phenyl ether, alkyne dialcohols and their polyethylene glycol ethers. Nonionic surfactants such as acetylene surfactants, cationic surfactants such as trimethyl lauryl ammonium chloride, trimethyl stearyl ammonium chloride, dimethyl distearyl ammonium chloride, dimethyl benzyl lauryl ammonium chloride, amphoteric such as lauryl betaine, stearyl betaine Surfactant, potassium oleate, oleic acid Ammonium, and the like anionic surface active agents such as ammonium stearate.

  When a cationic material is used for the glossy layer, it is preferable to use at least one of a nonionic surfactant, a cationic surfactant and an amphoteric surfactant as the surfactant. This is because the anionic surfactant is strongly adsorbed by the cationic material in the glossy layer and the effect of the addition may not be sufficiently obtained.

The oily substance in the present invention is a substance that is liquid at the surface temperature of the mirror roll and does not stably dissolve or disperse in water at a concentration of 0.02% by mass at 20 ° C. unless a chemical for dispersion is used. Examples include various liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, liquid paraffin, paraffin wax, and microcrystalline wax, and solid hydrocarbons. Long chain fatty acids such as oleic acid and stearic acid, oleyl alcohol, various higher alcohols, various long chain fatty acid amines such as amine oleate and amine stearate, various long chain fatty acid amides such as oleic acid amide and stearic acid amide And silicone oil. Some of these substances are used as oil-soluble surfactants, but when they are substances that do not dissolve and disperse stably in water alone at a concentration of 0.05% by mass at 20 ° C. Since an ink jet recording medium having a high surface gloss cannot be obtained, it cannot be used as a water-soluble surfactant in the present invention.
In the present invention, if the surfactant aqueous solution contains a large amount of an oily substance, it is not preferable because the surface gloss of the glossy inkjet recording medium to be produced is lowered. As described above, a small amount of oily components mixed in the surfactant aqueous solution does not become a major obstacle in the production method of the present invention.

In the present invention, there is no particular limitation on the method of providing a wet glossy expression layer on the surface of the sheet, the so-called direct casting method in which the aqueous composition of the glossy expression layer is applied onto a substrate and directly pressed onto a mirror roll, Applying the aqueous composition of the gloss developing layer on the substrate, drying it once, then applying water and re-wetting, the so-called rewetting method, applying the aqueous composition of the gloss developing layer on the substrate, After semi-drying, applying a deficient amount of water and re-wetting, the so-called pseudo-wetting method, after applying the aqueous composition of the gloss developing layer on the substrate, contacting it with a solution of an appropriate drug A so-called solidification method or the like in which the aqueous composition is immobilized and pressure-bonded to a mirror surface roll can be used.
In the present invention, a surfactant is added to water for rewetting the glossy layer in the case of the rewetting method and the pseudo rewetting method, and to a solution for immobilizing the aqueous composition in the case of the coagulation method. In addition, the step of wetting with the surfactant aqueous solution may not be performed separately.

  In addition, before or after the casting process, or while the recording medium is on the mirror cylinder, or at a plurality of times, the recording medium is sprayed with humidified air or humidified steam, or water is applied to correct the curl. Further, it is also possible to perform calendar processing using various calendar devices such as a super calendar and a soft calendar before or after coating the gloss developing layer.

Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. Note that “parts” and “%” shown in the present examples represent mass parts of solid content and weight% of solid content, respectively, unless otherwise specified.
Further, in this embodiment, when simply “recording medium” is described, the recording medium is completed, and when “recording medium with (process name)” is described, the recording medium is processed up to the described process. The processing halfway is shown.

<Production of support>
100 parts of pulp suspension consisting of 85 parts of LBKP (freeness 400 ml CSF) and 15 parts NBKP (freeness 450 ml CSF), 25 parts talc, 0.10 parts rosin sizing agent, cationic acrylamide paper strength 0.03 part of an enhancer, 0.80 part of cationized starch, and 0.40 part of a sulfuric acid band were blended, and a base paper having a basis weight of 90 g / m ² was made using a long net paper machine. The air resistance measured by JIS P8117-1998 of this base paper was 18 (s).

<Coating of intermediate layer>
An aqueous composition having a solid content concentration of 16% and having the following formulation was prepared.
Sodium hydroxide 1 part Synthetic amorphous silica (Mizukasil P78A manufactured by Mizusawa Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) 100 parts Optical brightener 0.5 parts Silyl-modified polyvinyl alcohol (Kuraray Kuraray R polymer 1130) 30 parts Dye fixing agent (manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) Sumire's Resin 1001) 20 parts This aqueous composition was coated on the support prepared above using a rod coater so that the dry coating amount was 10 g / m ^2, and water was then used using a hot air dryer. Dried until the amount was 8%.

<Coating of glossy layer>
An aqueous composition having a solid content concentration of 21% and having the following formulation was prepared.
Colloidal silica (Snowtex AK manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries) 100 parts Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA117 manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.) 3 parts Water-soluble copolymer of methyl acrylate and dimethylaminopropyl acrylamide quaternized product 10 parts Dye fixing agent (Sumirays manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Industries) Resin 1001) 2 parts This aqueous composition was coated on a recording medium coated with an intermediate layer using a rod coater so that the dry coating amount was 10 g / m ^2. It was dried until the amount of water used reached 8%.

<Preparation of aqueous surfactant solution>
Nonionic surfactant polyethylene glycol lauryl ether (HLB = 13.4, cloud point 84 ° C.) 0.2 g, oily substance oleic acid 0.2 g was added with water to 80 g, and uniformly dispersed using a homogenizer . Water was further added to this product to 800 g, and the temperature was adjusted to 25 ° C. The amount of the surfactant contained in the surfactant aqueous solution is 0.025%, and the amount of the oily substance is 0.025% (100% of the amount of the surfactant).
<Cast process>
The surface of the recording medium coated with the glossy layer was wetted by applying 20 g / m ² of water using a kiss coater. Further, 5 g / m ^{2 of} the surfactant aqueous solution prepared above was applied to the surface of the mirror cylinder to wet the surface. Immediately after that, this recording medium was brought into contact with the mirror cylinder, and then immediately pressed with a linear pressure of 70 N / cm using a nip roll, and peeled off from the cylinder at a point of 2.2 m on the circumference from the nip roll to produce a glossy inkjet recording medium. .
This mirror cylinder is a 1 m diameter iron cylinder with a hard chrome-plated surface and a mirror finish. It is heated to a surface temperature of 98 ° C. by a built-in heating device at a set speed. It is rotating.

(Comparative Example 1)
A glossy ink jet recording medium was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 5 g / m ^{2 of} water was applied to the surface of the mirror cylinder instead of the surfactant aqueous solution to wet the surface.

(Comparative Example 2)
A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, except that 2 parts of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether (HLB = 13.4, cloud point 84 ° C.) was added to the aqueous composition of the intermediate layer.

(Comparative Example 3)
A glossy inkjet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 except that 2 parts of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether (HLB = 13.4, cloud point 84 ° C.) was added to the aqueous composition of the glossy layer.

(Comparative Example 4)
Water was added to 4 g of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether (HLB = 13.4, cloud point 84 ° C.) and 6 g of oleic acid to make 100 g, and the mixture was uniformly dispersed using a homogenizer to obtain a release agent.
A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, except that 2 parts of the release agent prepared above was added to the aqueous coating liquid for the glossy layer.

(Comparative Example 5)
A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 4 except that the amount of the release agent added to the aqueous coating liquid for the glossy layer was 1 part.

(Comparative Example 6)
A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 4 except that the amount of the release agent added to the aqueous coating solution for the glossy layer was 0.5 part.

  Example 1 except that the amount of oleic acid used for preparing the surfactant aqueous solution was 0.05 g (the amount of the oily substance contained in the prepared surfactant aqueous solution was 25% of the amount of the surfactant). Similarly, a glossy ink jet recording medium was produced.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that oleic acid was not added to the surfactant aqueous solution.

  The same as in Example 3 except that the amount of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether used for the preparation of the surfactant aqueous solution was 0.8 g (the amount of the surfactant contained in the prepared surfactant aqueous solution was 0.1%). Thus, a glossy ink jet recording medium was produced.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 3 except that the cationic surfactant stearyltrimethylammonium chloride was used instead of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4 except that the cationic surfactant stearyltrimethylammonium chloride was used instead of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 3 except that the prepared surfactant aqueous solution was heated to 74 ° C. and then used to wet the mirror cylinder.

  A glossy inkjet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4 except that the prepared surfactant aqueous solution was heated to 74 ° C. and then used to wet the mirror cylinder.

The surface of the recording medium coated with the glossy layer is wetted by applying 20 g / m ² of the surfactant aqueous solution prepared in Example 1 instead of water, and the surface of the mirror cylinder is surface-active. A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 5 g / m ² of water was applied instead of the aqueous agent solution to wet the surface.

  Example 9 and Example 9 except that the amount of oleic acid used for the preparation of the aqueous surfactant solution was 0.05 g (the amount of the oily substance contained in the prepared aqueous surfactant solution was 25% of the amount of the surfactant) Similarly, a glossy ink jet recording medium was produced.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 9 except that oleic acid was not added to the surfactant aqueous solution.

The same as in Example 11 except that the amount of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether used for the preparation of the surfactant aqueous solution was 0.8 g (the amount of the surfactant contained in the prepared surfactant aqueous solution was 0.1%). Thus, a glossy ink jet recording medium was produced.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 11 except that the cationic surfactant stearyltrimethylammonium chloride was used in place of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was produced in the same manner as in Example 12 except that the cationic surfactant stearyltrimethylammonium chloride was used instead of polyethylene glycol lauryl ether.

  A glossy inkjet recording medium was produced in the same manner as in Example 11 except that the prepared surfactant aqueous solution was heated to 74 ° C. and then used to wet the mirror cylinder.

  A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 12, except that the prepared surfactant aqueous solution was heated to 74 ° C. and then used to wet the mirror cylinder.

  A glossy inkjet recording medium was produced in the same manner as in Example 15 except that the recording medium coated with the glossy layer was wetted with an aqueous surfactant solution and contacted with a mirror cylinder after 1 second had passed.

  A glossy inkjet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 15 except that the recording medium coated with the glossy layer was wetted with an aqueous surfactant solution and contacted with a mirror cylinder after 4 seconds had passed.

A glossy ink jet recording medium was prepared in the same manner as in Example 9, except that 5 g / m ^{2 of} an aqueous surfactant solution was applied to the surface of the mirror cylinder instead of water to wet the surface.

<Evaluation>
In each of the above Examples and Comparative Examples, the maximum operating speed (m / min) that could be operated without roughening of the surface that occurred when the recording medium in an adhesive state with the mirror cylinder was peeled off at high speed, and the obtained ink jet Table 1 shows the surface gloss of the recording medium measured by a 60 ° surface gloss meter. In the examples of the present invention, the operation speed is limited to a maximum of 8 m / min because of the drying speed, but at this speed, the separation of the recording medium from the mirror cylinder was particularly stable. Is marked 8+ in the Maximum Operating Speed column.

As can be seen from a comparison between Comparative Example 1 and Example 1, a glossy inkjet recording medium having high surface gloss can be produced at high speed by wetting the mirror cylinder with an aqueous surfactant solution and then pressing the sheet. it can.
As can be seen from a comparison between Comparative Examples 2 and 3 and Example 1, it is effective to use the surfactant to wet the mirror cylinder. Even if it is added to the coating layer, the glossy ink jet recording medium is used. Cannot be manufactured at high speed.

  Further, as can be seen from a comparison between Comparative Examples 4, 5, and 6 and Example 1, a glossy ink jet recording medium can be produced at high speed by adding a release agent to the gloss developing layer, or a glossy ink jet having a high surface gloss. Although it is possible to make a recording medium, it is difficult to produce a glossy inkjet recording medium having a high surface gloss at a high speed.

  As can be seen by comparing Example 1 with Examples 2 and 3, the amount of the oily substance contained in the aqueous surfactant solution used to wet the mirror cylinder is 50% by mass or less of the amount of the surfactant. By doing so, a glossy inkjet recording medium having a particularly high surface gloss can be produced.

  As can be seen from a comparison between Example 3 and Example 4, Example 5 and Example 6, the amount of the surfactant contained in the surfactant aqueous solution used to wet the mirror cylinder was 0.05 mass%. By setting it as the above, a glossy inkjet recording medium can be manufactured especially at high speed.

  As can be seen from a comparison between Example 3 and Example 7 and Example 4 and Example 8, the temperature of the aqueous surfactant solution used to wet the mirror cylinder was set to (cloud point of surfactant: −15) ° C. By setting it as the above, a glossy inkjet recording medium can be manufactured especially at high speed.

As can be seen from a comparison between Comparative Example 1 and Example 9, a glossy ink jet recording medium having a high surface gloss can be produced at high speed by wetting the glossy layer with an aqueous surfactant solution and then pressing the sheet. Can do.
As can be seen from a comparison between Comparative Examples 2 and 3 and Example 9, it is effective to add the surfactant to water that wets the glossy layer, and this is added to the coating composition. However, a glossy ink jet recording medium cannot be produced at high speed.

  Further, as can be seen from a comparison between Comparative Examples 4, 5, 6 and Example 9, a glossy ink jet recording medium can be produced at a high speed by adding a release agent to the gloss developing layer, or a glossy ink jet having a high surface gloss. Although it is possible to make a recording medium, it is difficult to produce a glossy inkjet recording medium having a high surface gloss at a high speed.

  As can be seen from a comparison between Example 9 and Examples 10 and 11, the amount of the oily substance contained in the surfactant aqueous solution used to wet the glossy layer is 50% by mass or less of the amount of the surfactant. By doing so, a glossy inkjet recording medium having a particularly high surface gloss can be produced.

  As can be seen from a comparison between Example 11 and Example 12, Example 13 and Example 14, and in the method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, the aqueous surfactant solution used for wetting the glossy layer is used. By making the amount of the surfactant contained 0.05% by mass or more, a glossy ink jet recording medium can be produced particularly at high speed.

  As can be seen from a comparison between Example 11 and Example 15 and Example 12 and Example 16, the temperature of the aqueous surfactant solution used to wet the glossy layer in the method for producing the glossy ink jet recording medium was determined. , (Clouding point of surfactant: −15) By setting the temperature to higher than or equal to 0 ° C., a glossy inkjet recording medium can be produced particularly at high speed.

  As can be seen from a comparison between Examples 15 and 18 and Example 17, a particularly high surface gloss was obtained by wetting the gloss developing layer with the surfactant aqueous solution 0.5 to 2 seconds before pressure-bonding to the mirror cylinder. A glossy ink jet recording medium having the above can be produced particularly at high speed.

  Further, as can be seen from comparison between Comparative Example 1, Examples 1 and 9 and Example 19, the mirror cylinder was wetted with the surfactant aqueous solution and then the glossy expression layer wetted with the surfactant aqueous solution was applied. By pressing the recording medium, a glossy ink jet recording medium can be produced particularly at high speed.

  In addition, when the image for evaluation was printed and compared using the color inkjet printer (Pixus 850i made by Canon) on the glossy inkjet recording medium obtained in each Example and Comparative Example, all the recording media showed good print quality. Indicated.

Claims (10)

  Production of glossy ink jet recording medium by a casting method, that is, a method in which a wet glossy layer provided on a substrate is pressure-bonded to a heated mirror cylinder, the mirror surface is transferred to the glossy layer and water is evaporated. A method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, characterized in that the mirror cylinder is wetted with an aqueous surfactant solution and then the glossy layer is pressure-bonded.   2. The method for producing an ink jet recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the oily substance contained in the aqueous surfactant solution is 50% by mass or less of the amount of the surfactant.   3. The method for producing an ink jet recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the surfactant contained in the aqueous surfactant solution is 0.05% by mass or more.   The method for producing an ink jet recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the temperature of the aqueous surfactant solution is (surfactant cloud point -15) ° C or higher.   Production of glossy ink jet recording medium by a casting method, that is, a method in which a wet glossy layer provided on a substrate is pressure-bonded to a heated mirror cylinder, the mirror surface is transferred to the glossy layer and water is evaporated. A method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium, characterized in that the glossy layer is wetted with an aqueous surfactant solution and then pressed onto the mirror cylinder.   6. The method for producing an ink jet recording medium according to claim 5, wherein the amount of the oily substance contained in the aqueous surfactant solution is 50% by weight or less of the amount of the surfactant.   The method for producing an inkjet recording medium according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the amount of the surfactant contained in the aqueous surfactant solution is 0.05% by weight or more.   The method for producing an inkjet recording medium according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the temperature of the surfactant aqueous solution is (surfactant cloud point -15) ° C or higher.   The glossy ink jet recording medium according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the glossy developing layer is wetted with the surfactant aqueous solution 0.5 to 2 seconds before being pressed onto the mirror cylinder. Method.   The method for producing a glossy ink jet recording medium according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the glossy layer is pressure-bonded after the mirror cylinder is wetted with an aqueous surfactant solution.