JP2009166262A - Image processing liquid and inkjet recording method/device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing liquid which enables preparing of recorded matter with high picture quality and excellent fixing properties without impairing the original texture of paper in the preparation of a simple recorded matter, with regard to the formation of an image under an inkjet recording system, and also an inkjet recording method by which to be able to easily obtain the excellent recorded matter and accomplish ideally saved energy consumption with the help of the image processing liquid. <P>SOLUTION: This image processing liquid is intended for applying to a region including at least, an image given to a recording medium under the inkjet system. Further, the image processing liquid contains at least, a heat-fusing particle which fuses by heating beyond a fusion point after the application. Also, the inkjet recording method uses the image processing liquid. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing liquid used for an image formed on a recording medium by an ink jet method, and an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus using the image processing liquid.

  In recent years, with the improvement in image quality of images obtained by the ink jet method and the speeding up of the ink jet method, ink jet recording methods have been widely used in commercial applications such as business prints, posters, and graphic prints. With such expansion of applications, there is an increasing demand not only for image quality, but also for improving robustness such as image strength and long-term storage stability.

  Inks used in the ink jet recording method are roughly classified into a dye ink containing a dye as a color material and a pigment ink containing a pigment as a color material. Since the dye ink is dissolved in a molecular state in an aqueous medium, a recorded matter formed using the dye ink has characteristics of high transparency and excellent color developability. On the other hand, the recorded matter formed with dye ink tends to fade due to ultraviolet rays or active gas in the air, i.e., it is inferior in light resistance, or when water or the like adheres, it tends to cause blurring on the image, i.e., There is a problem that water resistance is not sufficient.

  On the other hand, since the pigment ink is present in a dispersed state in the aqueous medium, the recorded matter formed using the pigment ink is excellent in fading resistance due to long-term storage. However, since the pigment ink is formed by dispersing pigment particles, an image formed using the pigment ink has a problem that the pigment particles cannot be sufficiently adhered to the recording medium, that is, the fixability is not sufficient. . Examples of fixing problems in images formed with pigment ink include the following. First, there is an offset problem in which ink adheres to a finger when the image is rubbed with a finger, and a smear problem that ink oozes out to a non-recording area. Moreover, there also exists a problem that it is inferior to marker resistance as follows. When marking an image with a highlighter pen or the like, the pen tip rubs the image portion with the marking liquid moistened, so if the ink fixability is poor, the ink tends to exude, Inferior to marker resistance. Furthermore, particularly in the case of a recorded matter in which an image in the presence of pigment particles is formed on a glossy recording medium, the image is peeled off or scratched by a sharp frictional object such as a nail contacting the image. There is also a problem of scratch resistance such that

  According to the study by the present inventors, the above-mentioned problems relating to the fixability in the image formed with the pigment ink are largely related to the position where the pigment particles are fixed on the recording medium. The position where the pigment particles are fixed is a position where the pigment particles are fixed in the direction of the cross section (thickness) of the recording medium. As the pigment particles are localized and fixed near the surface of the recording medium, the image is more likely to cause the above-described offset problem and smear problem, and is considered to be inferior in marker resistance and scratch resistance. . On the other hand, in order to obtain an image having a high image density and excellent color developability, it is necessary to fix the pigment particles more localized near the surface of the recording medium. Thus, obtaining an image with high image density and excellent color developability and improving image fixability in order to obtain an image with excellent marker resistance and scratch resistance are in a trade-off relationship. It has become. On the other hand, in recent years, images with particularly high image quality have been demanded, and the occurrence of various problems as mentioned above must be avoided as much as possible, and in particular, the fixability of images formed with pigment inks has been improved. To do is a big challenge.

  In order to solve these problems, various post-treatment techniques have been conventionally proposed in which a protective liquid containing resin particles is applied to a recorded material and the resin particles are coated by heating (Patent Documents). 1 and 2).

JP 2003-326829 A JP 2004-330554 A

  However, these conventional techniques improve the fixing problem, but cause another problem as described below. Since the resin particles imparted to the image are coated, the surface properties of the recorded matter are changed, the original texture of the paper is impaired, and a large amount of heating energy is required to coat the resin particles. There is a problem that it is not preferable in terms of energy consumption.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to produce a recorded material that has a high quality and excellent fixability with a simple process for producing a recorded material in an ink jet recording system with a simple process of producing the recorded material. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing liquid that makes it possible. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus in which the above-described excellent recorded matter can be easily obtained by using such an image processing liquid and is preferable in terms of energy consumption. There is to do.

  The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention is an image processing liquid for applying to an area including at least an image formed on a recording medium by an ink jet method, and the heat-fusible particles that are melted by being heated to a melting point or higher after being applied. It is an image processing liquid characterized by containing at least.

  Further, another embodiment of the present invention is an ink jet recording method comprising a step of forming an image on a recording medium by an ink jet method, a step of applying an image processing liquid to a region containing at least the image, and a step of heat-treating the image. In the method, the above-described image processing liquid is used as the image processing liquid, and in the step of heat-treating the image, the heat-fusible particles applied to the image are heated to a melting point or higher to be melted. An ink jet recording method characterized by comprising:

  Further, another embodiment of the present invention is an ink jet recording having means for forming an image on a recording medium by an ink jet method, means for applying an image processing liquid to at least a region including the image, and means for heat-treating the image. In the apparatus, the image processing liquid is used as the image processing liquid, and the heat-fusible particles applied to the image are heated and melted at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point by means for heating the image. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that

  According to the present invention, in the image formation in the ink jet recording method, it is possible to produce a recorded material that does not impair the original texture of the paper with a simple process of producing the recorded material, has high image quality, and excellent fixability. An image processing liquid is provided. In addition, according to the present invention, by using such an image processing liquid, the above-described excellent recorded matter can be easily obtained, and an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus that are preferable in terms of energy consumption are provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments.
The present invention relates to a technique for improving the fixability of a recorded matter by applying an image processing liquid to a region including an image formed by an inkjet method and performing a heat treatment. As a result of various investigations on materials used in the image processing liquid, the present inventors have achieved excellent fixability, less damage to the original texture of paper by a simple heating method without requiring a large amount of heat energy, and the image The inventors have found that a recorded matter with a high density can be obtained, and have made the present invention.

  As a result of intensive studies on the thermal characteristics and dispersion state of the resin particles used in the image processing liquid, the present inventors have found that the problems of the present invention can be solved by using the heat-meltable particles. I came to do it. That is, the present invention is an image processing liquid that is applied to an area including at least an image formed on a recording medium by an inkjet method, and includes at least heat-meltable particles that are melted by being heated to a melting point or higher after being applied. An image processing liquid characterized by comprising:

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of an image. FIG. 1A is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of an image formed on a plain paper by an inkjet method using pigment ink. In FIG. 1A, the pigment 1-2 in the pigment ink is attached to the fiber 1-1 existing near the surface of the plain paper. FIG. 1B is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of an image obtained by applying an image processing liquid to the image of FIG. In FIG.1 (b), the heat-meltable particle | grains 1-3 in an image processing liquid have adhered to the surface (fiber 1-1 or the pigment 1-2) of the image in the state of particle | grains. FIG. 1C is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of the image after the image of FIG. The heat-fusible particles 1-3 are heated to the melting point or higher so that they penetrate in the direction of the cross section (thickness) of the recording medium and are fixed to the fibers 1-1 and the pigment 1-2. To settle.

The hot-melt particles that characterize the image processing liquid of the present invention will be described.
In general, resins are roughly classified into thermosetting resins and thermoplastic resins based on thermophysical properties when heated. The thermosetting resin exhibits a property of curing when heated, and the thermoplastic resin exhibits a property of softening when heated. Furthermore, there are thermoplastic resins that gradually soften by heating and those that soften, that is, melt rapidly when a certain temperature is reached. The heat-meltable particles used in the present invention are compounds that exhibit behavior similar to that of the above-described thermoplastic resin, and are preferably present as solid particles in the aqueous medium constituting the image processing liquid.

  Examples of indices indicating the thermal characteristics of thermoplastic resins include glass transition temperature and phase change temperature (melting point in the case of phase change from solid to liquid), and the hot-melt particles used in the present invention are also used in these glasses. The thermal characteristics can be defined by the transition temperature and the melting point. The resin and the heat-meltable particles used in the present invention have both crystalline and amorphous properties due to the regularity of the molecular arrangement in the solid state, so that the size of the glass transition property and the phase change property can be reduced. Different.

  In general, the higher the crystallinity of a resin, the thinner the glass transition property and the stronger the phase change property, so that the resin has a clear melting point. Since the resin having such a melting point clearly shows a phase change from solid to liquid, when the resin exceeds the melting point of the resin, rapid softening, that is, melting occurs. On the other hand, a resin having a high amorphous property has a strong glass transition property, so that rapid softening does not occur. This is because the glass transition phenomenon is not a phase change but a change caused by the magnitude of molecular movement (vibration). The heat-meltable particles used in the present invention have the same phase change property as the above-described highly crystalline resin, have a clear melting point, and when heated above the melting point, It will be in a state of rapidly melting.

  The image processing liquid of the present invention is applied to a region including at least an image formed on a recording medium by an ink jet method, and the heat-fusible particles melted in that state form a film on the surface of the image. Instead, it penetrates and fixes in the direction of the cross section (thickness) of the recording medium. As a result, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that the state change of the image surface can be reduced and the original texture of the paper is less impaired compared with the conventional method of forming a film on the image surface. In addition, since the heat-meltable particles used in the present invention are fixed in a state where they are fixed so as to be entangled with fibers and pigments by heating, the fixability of the image can be particularly improved. The image processing liquid of the present invention, the application method thereof, the subsequent heat treatment method, the ink jet recording method and the ink jet recording apparatus will be described in detail below.

<< Image processing solution >>
Hereinafter, each component constituting the image processing liquid of the present invention will be described.
(Hot-melting particles)
As specific examples of the heat-meltable particles constituting the image processing liquid of the present invention, wax-based particles such as natural wax and synthetic wax described below are suitable. In general, a wax-based compound exhibits clear phase change characteristics, and when it exceeds its melting point, it rapidly melts to lower its viscosity. Therefore, in order to obtain the effects of the present invention, a wax-based compound is used. It is preferable to use it. In order to disperse such a wax compound in the aqueous medium constituting the image processing liquid, a known dispersant or surfactant can be used. Examples of the natural wax include the following. Plant waxes such as candelilla wax, carnauba wax, rice wax, and wax. Animal waxes such as beeswax and lanolin. Mineral waxes such as montan wax and ozokerite. Petroleum waxes such as paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax and petrolatum. Moreover, the following are mentioned as a synthetic wax. Synthetic hydrocarbon waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch wax and polyethylene wax, modified waxes, hydrogenated waxes, fatty acid waxes, amide waxes and ketone waxes.

  In order to improve the fixability of the image without impairing the original texture of the paper by applying the image processing liquid of the present invention and performing the heat treatment, as the heat-meltable particles, when heated above the melting point, It is preferable to use a material that has characteristics of melting rapidly and lowering viscosity. Among the hot-melt particles having such characteristics, among the above-mentioned particles, particles of hydrocarbon waxes such as paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, and synthetic polyethylene wax are particularly preferable.

[Melting point of hot-melt particles]
The hot-melt particles used in the present invention have a clear melting point. As a result of the study by the present inventors, it was found that the melting point of the heat-meltable particles used in the present invention is preferably 40 ° C. or higher and 130 ° C. or lower. When the melting point of the heat-fusible particles is lower than 40 ° C., the state of the particles cannot be sufficiently maintained at room temperature, and the adhesion of the heat-fusible particles to the image when the image processing liquid is applied to the image is also sufficient. In addition, the effect of improving the fixability of the image may not be sufficiently obtained. On the other hand, if the melting point of the heat-meltable particles is higher than 130 ° C., the heat-meltable particles may not be sufficiently melted by the heat treatment, and the effect of improving the image fixability may not be sufficiently obtained. Further, if the melting point of the heat-melting particles is higher than 130 ° C., the amount of the heat-melting particles remaining on the surface of the image (pigment particles) while maintaining the shape of the particles increases. The texture may be impaired. Further, in this case, it is necessary to apply a large amount of heat energy in order to obtain sufficient image fixability while suppressing deterioration of the original texture of the paper, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of energy consumption. In addition, melting | fusing point of the heat-meltable particle used for this invention can be measured using a suggestion scanning calorimeter. In Examples described later, the melting point of the heat-fusible particles was measured using a suggested scanning calorimeter (trade name: EXSTAR 6200S DSC; manufactured by SII Nanotechnology).

[Average particle diameter of heat-meltable particles]
The average particle diameter of the heat-meltable particles used in the present invention is preferably 0.01 μm or more and 1 μm or less, and more preferably 0.05 μm or more and 0.5 μm or less. When the average particle size is smaller than 0.01 μm, the effect of the present invention in which the image fixing property is improved by applying a heat treatment after applying the image processing liquid may not be sufficiently obtained. The reason is considered as follows. When using pigment ink, pigment particles adhere to the vicinity of the surface of the recording medium to form an image. When plain paper or the like is used as a recording medium, since inorganic particles such as fibers and fillers are exposed on the surface, pigment particles adhere to these fibers and inorganic particles. In such a state, when the image processing liquid of the present invention is applied, if the particle size of the heat-fusible particles is extremely smaller than the particle size of the pigment, the heat-fusible particles do not adhere to the pigment surface. In some cases, the fibers penetrate into the fibers constituting the recording medium. As a result, the melted heat-meltable particles cannot be fixed so as to be entangled with the fibers and the pigment particles, so that it is considered that the effect of improving the fixability of the image may not be sufficiently obtained. Since the pigment used for inkjet recording generally has a particle size of about several tens to 150 nm (about 0.01 to 0.15 μm), the average particle size of the hot-melt particles is preferably 0.01 μm or more. Furthermore, it is more preferable that it is 0.05 micrometer or more. On the other hand, if the average particle size is too large, the amount of image processing liquid applied to cover the entire image increases, and as a result, the surface properties of the image may change, so the original texture of the paper is impaired. May be. Further, as the particle diameter increases, the energy required to heat and melt the heat-meltable particles increases, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of energy consumption. Furthermore, when the particle size is increased, the dispersion stability in the image processing liquid is lowered, and the hot-melt particles may be easily settled by long-term storage. For these reasons, the average particle diameter of the heat-meltable particles is preferably 1 μm or less, and more preferably 0.5 μm or less.

  As a suitable form of the image processing liquid of the present invention, there may be mentioned those in which the wax-based particles as mentioned above are dispersed in an aqueous medium with a particle diameter in the above-mentioned range. A commercially available material may be used as long as it satisfies the above characteristics. In addition, the average particle diameter of the heat-meltable particles used in the present invention can be measured using, for example, a dynamic light scattering method.

[Melt viscosity of heat-meltable particles]
The heat-meltable particles used in the present invention have a clear melting point as described above, and are rapidly melted when heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point. An example of such a physical property showing the melting state of a substance when heated to a temperature higher than the melting point is melt viscosity. As a result of the study by the present inventors, it has been found that the effect of the present invention can be obtained more efficiently by setting the melt viscosity of the hot-melt particles to a specific range. Specifically, the melt viscosity of the heat-meltable particles used in the present invention is preferably 10 mPa · s or more and 2000 mPa · s or less at 150 ° C. Here, the temperature at which the melt viscosity is measured is set to 150 ° C., and the melt viscosity is determined as a temperature close to the recording medium when the recording medium to which the image processing liquid containing the heat-fusible particles is applied is heated. This is because it is preferable. If the melt viscosity is less than 10 mPa · s, the meltability after heating becomes too high, so that the permeability in the direction of the cross section (thickness) of the recording medium becomes extremely large, and the effect of improving the fixability of the image. May not be obtained. The reason is considered as follows. When using pigment ink, pigment particles adhere to the surface of the recording medium or in the vicinity thereof to form an image. At this time, when plain paper or the like is used as the recording medium, since the fibers and inorganic particles such as fillers are exposed on the surface, pigment particles adhere to these fibers and inorganic particles. Here, when the melt viscosity is less than 10 mPa · s, the penetration of the heat-meltable particles in the direction of the cross section (thickness) of the recording medium is more than that of the surface of the recording medium to which the pigment particles are adhered or the vicinity thereof. This is considered to occur easily. On the other hand, if the melt viscosity is greater than 2000 mPa · s, the heat-meltable particles do not flow sufficiently, and thus the effect of improving the image fixability may not be sufficiently obtained. Also, if the melt viscosity is greater than 2000 mPa · s, it is necessary to lengthen the heating time for dissolving the heat-meltable particles, which is necessary for decreasing the productivity of the recorded matter and for heat-melting the heat-meltable particles. Since a lot of energy is increased, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of energy consumption. The melt viscosity of the heat-meltable particles used in the present invention can be measured using a viscometer or the like. In Examples described below, the melt viscosity was measured using a viscometer (trade name: Viscometer LVT; manufactured by Brookfield) in a state where the heat-meltable particles were heated to 150 ° C. and melted.

[Ionicity of heat-meltable particles]
Moreover, it is preferable that the heat-meltable particle used in the present invention is ionic in an aqueous medium. The reason is considered as follows. In general, a recording medium for ink jet recording often contains an ionic compound in an ink receiving layer in order to adjust ink absorbability. Specific examples of such a compound include a sizing agent for adjusting the swelling property of pulp fibers and a cationic substance for adjusting the fixing of ink in the ink receiving layer. Therefore, the surface of the recording medium often has either ionic or cationic properties. In order to obtain the effect of improving the fixability of the image particularly effectively, the hot-melt particles used in the present invention are selectively fixed near the surface of the recording medium and further near the ink. It is particularly preferred. For this reason, it is more preferable to have a property of fixing near the surface of the recording medium by a reaction such as ionic interaction immediately after the image processing liquid is applied to the recording medium. In particular, since many recording media for inkjet recording have a cationic property, it is particularly preferable that the image processing liquid of the present invention exhibits anionic property. In order to obtain an anionic image processing liquid, for example, an anionic surfactant or a dispersing agent can be used to disperse the hot-melt particles in an aqueous medium.

[Content of heat-meltable particles]
The content (% by mass) of the heat-meltable particles in the image processing liquid of the present invention is preferably 2.0% by mass or more and 15.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the image processing liquid. On the other hand, if it is less than 2.0% by mass, it may be difficult to provide sufficient heat-meltable particles for improving the fixability of the image. This is presumably because, when applied to an image, a part of the heat-meltable particles enter the inside of the recording medium, so that a certain amount of heat-meltable particles is required. On the other hand, when the amount is more than 15.0% by mass, the viscosity of the image processing liquid increases, and it may be difficult to uniformly apply the image processing liquid.

(Thermoplastic resin)
In the image processing liquid of the present invention, a thermoplastic resin can be used in combination with the heat-meltable particles described above. As described above, the heat-meltable particles are preferably fixed near the surface of the recording medium. Here, by using the heat-meltable particles and the thermoplastic resin in combination, the fixing position of the heat-meltable particles on the recording medium can be accurately controlled by the mechanism described below. The thermoplastic resin exists in a dissolved state in an aqueous medium or as a micelle state in which a plurality of thermoplastic resin molecules are associated. For this reason, immediately after the image processing liquid is fixed on the recording medium, a part of the thermoplastic resin forms a film, and at this time, the thermoplastic resin adheres to the heat-fusible particles. The hot-melt particles can be fixed in the vicinity of the surface.

  In the case where the heat-fusible particles and the thermoplastic resin are used in combination in the image processing liquid, it is preferable to appropriately determine their contents as described below. The content A (mass%) of the heat-meltable particles in the image processing liquid is preferably 2.0% by mass or more and 12.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the image processing liquid. Further, the content B (mass%) of the thermoplastic resin in the image processing liquid is preferably 0.50 mass% or more and 5.0 mass% or less based on the total mass of the image processing liquid. The total A + B (mass%) of the content A (mass%) of the heat-meltable particles in the image processing liquid and the content B (mass%) of the thermoplastic resin is 2 based on the total mass of the image processing liquid. It is preferable that they are 5 mass% or more and 15.0 mass% or less. Furthermore, the content B (mass%) of the thermoplastic resin is more than 0.00 in terms of mass ratio (B / A) with respect to the content A (mass%) of the heat-fusible particles in the image processing liquid. It is preferably 0.50 or less, more preferably 0.20 or more and 0.50 or less. If the value of the mass ratio B / A is greater than 0.5, the thermoplastic resin present in the vicinity of the heat-meltable particles becomes relatively large, and the flow of the heat-meltable particles melted by heating is suppressed. As a result, the effect of improving the fixability of the image may not be sufficiently obtained.

  Specific examples of the thermoplastic resin that can be used in the image processing liquid of the present invention include acrylic resins, urethane resins, polyester resins, olefin resins, and composite resins thereof. Among these thermoplastic resins, it is particularly preferable to use a thermoplastic resin that can be dissolved or emulsified in an aqueous medium constituting the image processing liquid because the molecular chain of the thermoplastic resin has a polar group. Specific examples of such polar groups include anionic groups such as carboxylic acid groups, sulfonic acid groups, and phosphoric acid groups, and cationic groups such as amino groups. A thermoplastic resin that can be dissolved or emulsified in an aqueous medium is particularly suitable because it is suitable for forming the above-described film. In the present invention, as described above, it is preferable to use anionic particles as the heat-meltable particles. In this case, it is preferable that the ionicity of the thermoplastic resin is also anionic from the viewpoint of improving the stability of the image processing liquid by making the heat-meltable particles and the thermoplastic resin the same ionicity.

  The formation of the thermoplastic resin film on the recording medium can be more effectively caused depending on the properties of the thermoplastic resin. For this reason, in this invention, it is preferable to determine suitably the acid value (neutralization equivalent per gram of resin) of a thermoplastic resin, and a glass transition temperature. The acid value of the thermoplastic resin is preferably 5 mgKOH / g or more and 150 mgKOH / g or less. When the acid value is less than 5 mgKOH / g, the property of dissolving or emulsifying is remarkably low, so that it may be difficult to use in consideration of the stability of the image processing solution. If the acid value is greater than 150 mgKOH / g, the water solubility of the resin becomes too high, so the ability to form the coating described above is low, and the effect of fixing the heat-meltable particles near the surface of the recording medium is sufficiently obtained. It may not be possible.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the glass transition temperature of a thermoplastic resin is 30 degreeC or more and 100 degrees C or less. If the glass transition temperature is lower than 30 ° C., the fluidity remains even after the film is formed, so that the stable film cannot be maintained and the effect of fixing the heat-meltable particles near the surface of the recording medium cannot be obtained sufficiently. There is a case. If the glass transition temperature exceeds 100 ° C, the film structure of the film formed from the thermoplastic resin becomes stiff and brittle, and fine cracks and the like occur in the film due to deformation such as rolling the recorded material produced. In some cases, image quality cannot be sufficiently obtained.

  Further, in order to keep the film stable after the thermoplastic resin forms a film, it is also preferable to appropriately determine the molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin in addition to the glass transition point. Specifically, the molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin is preferably 5,000 or more and 200,000 or less in terms of polystyrene-equivalent weight average molecular weight (Mw). This is because the strength of the coating is greatly affected by the degree of entanglement of the thermoplastic resin molecular chains. When the weight average molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin is less than 5,000, the strength of the coating film is lowered, and the effect of using the thermoplastic resin may not be sufficiently obtained. On the other hand, if the weight average molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin is greater than 200,000, the viscosity of the image processing solution increases, and it may be difficult to form a uniform film.

(Aqueous medium)
In the image processing liquid of the present invention, it is preferable to use water or an aqueous medium containing water and a water-soluble organic solvent as a medium for dispersing the heat-meltable particles described above. It is preferable to use ion-exchanged water (deionized water) instead of ordinary water containing various ions. The content (% by mass) of water in the image processing solution is 40.0% by mass or more and 90.0% by mass or less, further 50.0% by mass or more and 90.0% by mass based on the total mass of the image processing solution. The following is preferable. The content (% by mass) of the water-soluble organic solvent in the image processing liquid is preferably 10.0% by mass or more and 50.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the image processing liquid.

  As the water-soluble organic solvent, specifically, for example, the following can be used. Alkyl alcohols having 1 to 6 carbon atoms such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, propanediol, butanol, isobutanol, butanediol, pentanol, pentanediol, 1,2- or 1,6-hexanediol; Polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, glycerin and hexanetriol. Polyhydric alcohol ethers such as ethylene glycol monoethyl ether and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether. And amines such as ethanolamine and triethanolamine.

(Other ingredients)
In addition to the components described above, the image processing liquid of the present invention may contain a moisturizing solid content such as urea, urea derivatives, trimethylolpropane, trimethylolethane and the like in order to maintain the moisturizing property. Furthermore, a surfactant, a rust inhibitor, an antifoaming agent, an antiseptic, an antifungal agent, an antioxidant, an anti-reduction agent, and an evaporation accelerator are used in order to obtain an image processing liquid having desired physical properties as required. In addition, various additives such as a viscosity modifier, a film forming aid, a dispersant, and an ultraviolet absorber may be contained.

  As the surfactant that can be used in the image processing solution of the present invention, an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant, and an amphoteric surfactant are used as long as they do not affect the storage stability of the image processing solution. Any agent can be used. Specific examples of the anionic surfactant include fatty acid salts, higher alcohol sulfate esters, liquid fatty oil sulfate esters, alkylallyl sulfonates, and the like. Specific examples of the nonionic surfactant include polyoxyethylene alkyl esters, polyoxyethylene sorbitan alkyl esters, acetylene alcohol, and acetylene glycol. The content (mass%) of the surfactant is preferably 0.10 mass% or more and 5.0 mass% or less based on the total amount of the image processing liquid.

(Image processing solution application method)
The image processing liquid of the present invention is for applying to an area containing at least an image formed by using ink on a recording medium by an inkjet method, but the applying method is not particularly limited. According to the study by the present inventors, in order to sufficiently obtain the effect of using the image processing liquid of the present invention when forming an image, the image of the present invention is formed on the outermost surface of the pigment layer constituting the image. It is particularly preferable to ensure that the treatment liquid can be applied. Accordingly, any application method can be used as long as the image processing liquid can be applied to the outermost surface of the pigment layer. For example, known methods such as a roll coater method, a bar coater method, a blade coater method, and a gravure coater method can be used. Further, a non-contact method such as a spray method or an ink jet method can also be used.

  In order to obtain the effect of the present invention more reliably, the image processing liquid of the present invention is applied to the region of the recording medium containing the image formed with the ink by the ink jet method by the ink jet method. It is preferable to configure. In this way, the time limit from image formation to application of the image processing liquid can be reduced, the area to which the image processing liquid is applied can be appropriately controlled, and the image is configured. It is easier to reliably apply the image processing liquid to the outermost surface of the pigment particles. The application of the image processing liquid of the present invention can also be performed in a favorable state by a roll coater type roll coater using a roller having a structure as described later.

  In order to achieve the application of the image processing liquid to the outermost surface of the pigment particles constituting the image, specifically, the following is preferable. When the image processing liquid is applied by an inkjet method, it is preferable to apply the image processing liquid after forming an image with pigment ink. More specifically, the arrangement order of the recording heads that discharge the pigment ink and the image processing liquid can be configured such that the pigment ink is discharged first and the image processing liquid is discharged later. Further, the operation of the recording head or the like may be controlled so that the image processing liquid is ejected to the unit area where the image formation with the pigment ink has been completed. When applying an image processing liquid using a roll coater type roll coat coating apparatus, it is preferable to apply the image processing liquid by a roll coater method after forming an image with pigment ink.

<< Inkjet recording method >>
The ink jet recording method of the present invention includes a step of forming an image on a recording medium by an ink jet method, a step of applying an image processing liquid to a region including at least the image, and a step of heat-treating the image. In addition, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention includes means for forming an image on a recording medium by an ink jet method, means for applying an image processing liquid to at least the region including the image, and means for heating the image. Then, the image processing liquid of the present invention is used as the image processing liquid, and in the step of heat-treating the image, the heat-fusible particles imparted to the image are heated to the melting point or higher to be melted. And Hereinafter, the application amount of the image processing liquid, the ink and ink jet recording method used for image formation, the heat treatment method, and the ink jet recording apparatus will be described.

  In the ink jet recording method of the present invention, the amount of the image processing liquid to be applied to the recording medium varies depending on the formed image region and is not particularly limited, but is preferably set as follows. Specifically, the application amount of the image processing liquid per unit area is 0.10 or more and 10.0 or less, and further 0.50 or more and 5.0 or less in mass ratio with respect to the ink application amount. It is preferable. The image processing liquid of the present invention may be applied to the entire surface of the recorded matter, but it may be applied to at least the region containing the image, and the improvement in image fixability targeted by the present invention can be achieved.

<Ink>
As described above, since the image processing liquid of the present invention can exhibit an excellent effect in improving the fixability of an image formed with a pigment ink, the ink used for the ink jet recording method of the present invention. Is preferably a pigment ink. Below, each component etc. which comprise the ink which can be used for the inkjet recording method of this invention are demonstrated.

(Color material)
Any colorant can be used as long as it is a pigment or dye used in inks conventionally used for inkjet recording. Specifically, for example, selected from inorganic pigments such as carbon black and titanium white, organic pigments such as phthalocyanine, monoazo, disazo, and quinacridone, or anionic water-soluble dyes such as acid dyes and direct dyes Can be used. When a pigment is used as the color material, the content (% by mass) of the pigment in the ink is 1.0% by mass or more and 20.0% by mass or less, and further 2.0% by mass or more and 12% by mass based on the total mass of the ink. It is preferable to make it 0.0 mass% or less. When a dye is used as the color material, the content (% by mass) of the dye in the ink is preferably 0.1% by mass or more and 10.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the ink. Furthermore, pigments and dyes can be used in combination as coloring materials for the purpose of adjusting the color tone.

[Pigment]
In the case of black ink, it is preferable to use carbon black such as furnace black, lamp black, acetylene black and channel black as a pigment. More specifically, the following commercially available products can be used. Ray Van: 7000, 5750, 5250, 5000 ULTRA, 3500, 2000, 1500, 1250, 1200, 1190 ULTRA-II, 1170, 1255 (above, manufactured by Colombian Chemical). Black Pearls L, Legal: 330R, 400R, 660R, Mogul L, Monak: 700, 800, 880, 900, 1000, 1100, 1300, 1400, 2000, Vulcan XC-72R, Stirling: MS, NSX76 (above, manufactured by Cabot ). Color Black: FW1, FW2, FW2V, FW18, FW200, S150, S160, S170, Printex: 35, U, V, 140U, 140V, Special Black: 4, 4A, 5, 6 (above, manufactured by Degussa). No. 25, no. 33, no. 40, no. 45, no. 47, no. 52, no. 900, no. 2200B, no. 2300, MCF-88, MA7, MA8, MA77, MA100, MA600 (above, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical).

  Carbon black newly prepared for the present invention can also be used as a pigment. Of course, the present invention is not limited to these, and any carbon black can be used. Further, the material is not limited to carbon black, and magnetic fine particles such as magnetite and ferrite, titanium black, and the like may be used as a pigment for black ink.

  As the organic pigment, for example, the following can be used. Water-insoluble azo pigments such as Toluidine Red, Toluidine Maroon, Hansa Yellow, Benzidine Yellow, and Pyrazolone Red. Water-soluble azo pigments such as Ritolol Red, Helio Bordeaux, Pigment Scarlet, and Permanent Red 2B. Derivatives from vat dyes such as alizarin, indanthrone and thioindigo maroon. Phthalocyanine pigments such as phthalocyanine blue and phthalocyanine green. Quinacridone pigments such as quinacridone red and quinacridone magenta. Perylene pigments such as perylene red and perylene scarlet. Isoindolinone pigments such as isoindolinone yellow and isoindolinone orange. Imidazolone pigments such as benzimidazolone yellow, benzimidazolone orange, and benzimidazolone red. Pilanthrone pigments such as pyranthrone red and pyranthrone orange. Indigo pigments, condensed azo pigments, thioindigo pigments, diketopyrrolopyrrole pigments. Flavanthrone yellow, acylamide yellow, quinophthalone yellow, nickel azo yellow, copper azomethine yellow, perinone orange, anthrone orange, dianthraquinonyl red, dioxazine violet, etc. Of course, the present invention is not limited to these.

  Moreover, when an organic pigment is shown by a color index (CI) number, the following can be used, for example. C. I. Pigment Yellow: 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 24, 74, 75, 83, 86, 93, 95, 97, 98, 109, 110, 114, 117, 120, 125 . In addition, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow: 128, 129, 137, 138, 147, 148, 150, 151, 153, 154, 166, 168, 180, 185 and the like. C. I. Pigment Red: 5, 7, 9, 12, 48 (Ca), 48 (Mn), 49, 52, 53, 57 (Ca), 97, 112, 122, 123, 149, 168, 175, 176, 177, 180, 184, 192, 202, 207, etc. In addition, C.I. I. Pigment Red: 215, 216, 217, 220, 223, 224, 226, 227, 228, 238, 240, 254, 255, 272, etc. C. I. Pigment Blue: 1, 2, 3, 4, 15, 15: 1, 15: 2, 15: 3, 15: 4, 15: 6, 16, 22, 60, 64, and the like. C. I. Bat Blue: 4, 6, 19, 23, 42, etc. Of course, the present invention is not limited to these.

[Pigment dispersion method]
The pigment ink used in the present invention is obtained by dispersing the pigment as described above in an aqueous medium. In the present invention, a resin dispersion type pigment (resin dispersion type pigment) in which a pigment is dispersed using a dispersant, or a self dispersion type pigment (self dispersion type pigment) in which a hydrophilic group is introduced on the surface of pigment particles is used. By using it, the pigment can be favorably dispersed in the aqueous medium.

<Self-dispersing pigment>
The self-dispersing pigment is produced by a general method such as ozone treatment, plasma treatment, liquid phase oxidation treatment, or a method of generating a diazonium salt from an aromatic amine having an acidic group and reacting the diazonium salt with the pigment. be able to.

  The self-dispersing pigment preferably has an ionic group bonded directly or via another atomic group. The other atomic group is preferably an alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted phenylene group, or a substituted or unsubstituted naphthylene group. In particular, a substituted or unsubstituted phenylene group is preferable. Examples of the counter ion of the ionic group include alkali metal ions, ammonium ions, and organic ammonium ions.

  In the present invention, in particular, a carboxyl group is bonded to the surface of the pigment via an aromatic ring, which is produced by a method in which a diazonium salt is generated from an aromatic amine having an acidic group and the diazonium salt is reacted with the pigment. It is preferable to use a self-dispersing pigment. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this.

<Resin dispersion type pigment>
As the dispersant for dispersing the pigment as described above in the aqueous medium, any water-soluble resin can be used. Specifically, the dispersant used for the ink can be appropriately selected in consideration of the ink dispersion stability and storage stability, as well as ink jet characteristics such as ejection performance and ejection stability. The content (% by mass) of the water-soluble resin used as the pigment dispersant is preferably 0.1% by mass or more and 5.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the ink.

  As the dispersant, a hydrophilic resin or a salt thereof obtained by copolymerizing two or more monomers (of which at least one of them is a hydrophilic monomer) consisting of the following groups can be used. Specific examples of the monomer include styrene, a styrene derivative, vinyl naphthalene, a vinyl naphthalene derivative, and an aliphatic alcohol ester of an α, β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid. Further, acrylic acid, acrylic acid derivatives, maleic acid, maleic acid derivatives, itaconic acid, itaconic acid derivatives, fumaric acid, fumaric acid derivatives, and the like can be given.

  In addition, a dispersant having a cationic property such as an acrylic copolymer containing a monomer obtained by quaternizing the following compound with methyl chloride, dimethyl sulfate, benzyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, or the like can also be used. Specific examples of the compound include N, N-dimethylaminoethyl (meth) methacrylate, N, N-dimethylamino (meth) acrylamide, N, N-dimethylaminopropyl (meth) acrylamide and the like.

  In the pigment ink used in the present invention, it is particularly preferable to use a water-soluble resin having a structure such as a block copolymer or a graft copolymer as a dispersant. These resins have distinctly separated hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts in their molecular structure, and these resins exhibit strong adsorptive power to hydrophobic pigments, so the dispersibility of pigments in aqueous media is very good. Can be.

〔dye〕
When an anionic water-soluble dye that can be used as a coloring material of the ink used in the present invention is indicated by a color index (CI) number for each hue, for example, the following can be used.

<Cyan dye>
C. I. Direct blue: 1, 15, 22, 25, 41, 76, 77, 80, 86, 90, 98, 106, 108, 120, 158, 163, 168, 199, 226, 307, etc. C. I. Acid Blue: 1, 7, 9, 15, 22, 23, 25, 29, 40, 43, 59, 62, 74, 78, 80, 90, 100, 102, 104, 112, 117, 127, 138, 158 161, 203, 204, 221, 244, etc.

<Magenta dye>
C. I. Direct Red: 2, 4, 9, 11, 20, 23, 24, 31, 39, 46, 62, 75, 79, 80, 83, 89, 95, 197, 201, 218, 220, 224, 225, 226 227, 228, 229, 230, etc. C. I. Acid Red: 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 26, 27, 32, 35, 42, 51, 52, 80, 83, 87, 89, 92, 106, 114, 115, 133, 134, 145 158, 198, 249, 265, 289, etc. C. I. Food Red: 87, 92, 94, etc. C. I. Direct violet 107 and the like.

<Yellow dye>
C. I. Direct yellow: 8, 11, 12, 27, 28, 33, 39, 44, 50, 58, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 98, 100, 110, 132, etc. C. I. Acid Yellow: 1, 3, 7, 11, 17, 23, 25, 29, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 76, 98, 99, etc. C. I. Reactive yellow: 2, 3, 17, 25, 37, 4 etc. C. I. Food yellow: 3 etc.

<Black dye>
C. I. Direct black: 17, 19, 22, 31, 32, 51, 62, 71, 74, 112, 113, 154, 168, 195, etc. C. I. Acid Black: 2, 48, 51, 52, 110, 115, 156, etc. C. I. Food black: 1, 2, etc.

(Aqueous medium)
For the ink used in the present invention, it is preferable to use water or an aqueous medium containing water and a water-soluble organic solvent. It is preferable to use ion-exchanged water (deionized water) instead of general water containing various ions. The water content (% by mass) in the ink is 10.0% by mass or more and 90.0% by mass or less, and more preferably 30.0% by mass or more and 80.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the ink. Is preferred. The content (% by mass) of the water-soluble organic solvent in the ink is 3.0% by mass or more and 50.0% by mass or less, and further 3.0% by mass or more and 40.0% by mass based on the total mass of the ink. % Or less is preferable.

  Specific examples of the water-soluble organic solvent used in the ink include the following. Alkyl alcohols having 1 to 6 carbon atoms such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, sec-butanol, tert-butanol, pentanol and hexanol. C3-C6 diols such as propanediol, butanediol, pentanediol, and hexanediol. Amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide. Ketones or ketoalcohols such as acetone and diacetone alcohol. Ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane. Polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. Alkylene glycols having 2 to 6 carbon atoms such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, hexylene glycol and diethylene glycol; Thiodiglycol. Alkyl ether acetates such as polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate. Glycerin. Alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, diethylene glycol methyl (or ethyl) ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone and the like. Among these, it is particularly preferable to use polyhydric alcohols such as diethylene glycol, alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, and the like.

(Other ingredients)
In addition to the components listed above, the ink may contain a moisturizing solid content such as urea, urea derivatives, trimethylolpropane, trimethylolethane, etc. in order to maintain the moisturizing property. Furthermore, in order to obtain an ink having a desired physical property value as required, a surfactant, a rust inhibitor, an antifoaming agent, an antiseptic, an antifungal agent, an antioxidant, an anti-reduction agent, an evaporation accelerator, etc. Various additives may be contained.

  The pH of the ink is preferably adjusted to neutral or alkaline. This is because the solubility of the resin can be improved, and the ink can be made more excellent in long-term storage stability. However, the pH of the ink is preferably 7.0 or more and 10.0 or less because it may cause corrosion in the members constituting the ink jet recording apparatus. In order to bring the pH of the ink into the range described above, it is preferable to use the following pH adjuster. Specifically, for example, organic amines such as diethanolamine and triethanolamine, inorganic alkali agents represented by alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide, organic acids, and mineral acids Etc.

  Any surfactant such as an anionic surfactant, nonionic surfactant, and amphoteric surfactant may be used as long as it does not affect the storage stability of the ink. be able to. Specific examples of the anionic surfactant include fatty acid salts, higher alcohol sulfate esters, liquid fatty oil sulfate esters, and alkyl allyl sulfonates. Specific examples of the nonionic surfactant include polyoxyethylene alkyl esters, polyoxyethylene sorbitan alkyl esters, acetylene alcohol, and acetylene glycol. The surfactant content (% by mass) is preferably 0.01% by mass or more and 5.0% by mass or less based on the total amount of the ink, although it varies depending on the type of the dispersant in the ink.

(Ink preparation method)
When the ink used in the present invention is a pigment ink, it can be prepared as follows. First, a pigment is added to an aqueous solution containing at least a dispersion resin and water, and the mixture is sufficiently stirred. Then, dispersion is performed using a dispersion means described later, and centrifugation is performed as necessary to obtain a desired dispersion. Next, the ink constituents listed above are added to the obtained dispersion, and then sufficiently stirred to obtain ink.

  At this time, it is preferable to perform premixing for 30 minutes or more before dispersing the liquid to which the pigment has been added. This is because the premixing operation can improve the wettability of the pigment surface and promote the adsorption of the dispersant onto the pigment surface. Here, any apparatus that performs distributed processing can be used as long as it is a commonly used disperser. Specifically, a ball mill, a roll mill, a sand mill, etc. are mentioned, for example. Among these, it is preferable to use a high-speed sand mill as listed below. Examples thereof include a super mill, a sand grinder, a bead mill, an agitator mill, a glen mill, a dyno mill, a pearl mill, and a cobol mill (all are trade names). The pigment particle size in the dispersion prepared by the above method is particularly preferably 0.05 to 0.3 μm from the viewpoint of ejection stability.

  In the present invention, methods for obtaining a pigment having a specific particle size distribution include the following (1) to (5). Of course, these methods can be appropriately combined. For example, (1) reduce the size of the grinding media of the disperser, (2) increase the filling rate of the grinding media, (3) increase the processing time, (4) slow the discharge speed, (5) grinding Thereafter, classification may be performed by a filter or centrifugation.

<Inkjet recording apparatus and inkjet recording method>
In the inkjet recording method of the present invention, the image processing liquid of the present invention is applied to a region containing an image formed with the ink as described above, and the image is further heated to heat the hot-melt particles to the melting point or higher. It is characterized by melting. The method for applying the image processing liquid to the recording medium at this time may be any method as described above, but in the present invention, it is particularly preferable to use an inkjet method or a roll coater method. . It is particularly preferable to use an ink jet method from the viewpoint of reliably applying to an area including an image and reducing the amount of image processing liquid used. Further, there is no particular limitation on the method for melting the heat-meltable particles imparted to the image by heating to the melting point or higher. For example, a roller heating method, a film heating method, a hot air heating method, an infrared heating method, a microwave heating method, a semiconductor laser heating method, or the like may be used. In particular, it is preferable to use a film heating method or an infrared heating method. . These will be described later.

  Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus and an ink jet recording method that can be used when an image is formed on a recording medium or when an image processing liquid is applied to at least an area including an image will be described. Note that the description is given by taking as an example the case of using it in a process of forming an image on a recording medium by an inkjet method. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording using an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head). The ink jet recording apparatus has the following configuration. The carriage 11 detachably mounts a head cartridge in which a recording head and an ink cartridge containing ink are integrated.

  The carriage 11 is reciprocated by a carriage motor 12 (this moving direction is referred to as a main scanning direction). The driving force of the carriage motor 12 is transmitted to the carriage 11 by the belt 4. The movement of the carriage 11 in the main scanning direction is supported by the guide shaft 6. The flexible cable 13 transfers an electrical signal from the control unit to the recording head. The cap 141 and the wiper blade 143 are used for performing a recovery operation of the recording head. The cassette 15 stores recording media in a stacked state. The encoder sensor 16 optically reads the position of the carriage 11.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration in the vicinity of the carriage in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 2 in more detail. Here, black (K), light cyan (LC), dark cyan (C), light magenta (LM), dark magenta (M) and yellow (Y An example of an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with six types of inks) will be described. The recording head 22 includes recording heads 22K, 22LC, 22C, 22LM, 22M, and 22Y that discharge the six types of ink described above.

  The ink cartridge 21 includes ink cartridges 21K, 21LC, 21C, 21LM, 21M, and 21Y that respectively store ink supplied to the recording heads. The cap 141 caps each ink discharge port of the recording head, and includes six caps 141K, 141LC, 141C, 141LM, 141M, and 141Y. In addition, when these recording heads and ink cartridges are individually shown, they are indicated by using numbers assigned thereto, but when these are indicated comprehensively, the recording head is “22” as a generic number. The ink cartridge is indicated by using “21” and a cap “141”.

  Here, the description has been given using an example in which the head cartridge is configured by the recording head and the ink cartridge. In the present invention, the head cartridge may be configured such that the recording head and the ink cartridge are integrated, or each may be configured to be separable.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a carriage motor 12 is connected to the carriage 11 via a belt 4 and pulleys 5a and 5b. Then, the carriage 11 is reciprocated along the guide shaft 6 by driving the carriage motor 12.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the recording head 22 as viewed from the discharge port side. The recording heads 22K, 22LC, 22C, 22LM, 22M, and 22Y have 1280 ejection ports arranged at a density of 1200 dpi to form ejection port arrays. These six recording heads are arranged in the main scanning direction. The ink ejected from one ejection port 23 is about 4 ng. The opening area of the discharge port 23 is adjusted in order to reduce the discharge amount as much as possible and perform high-quality recording.

  Hereinafter, a recording operation in the ink jet recording apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. A plurality of recording media 1 stacked in a cassette 15 are supplied one by one by a paper feed roller (not shown). In the recording operation area, the recording medium 1 is transported between the recording head 22 and a platen (not shown) to the transport roller pair 3 by the operation of auxiliary transport rollers (not shown) such as other spurs and rollers.

  Ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 21. The recording head 22 performs recording on the recording medium 1 with a width corresponding to the number of ejection ports of the recording head 22 according to the image signal while moving in the arrow B direction (forward scanning direction) in FIG. Specifically, in accordance with the reading timing of the encoder sensor 16, driving is performed based on the image signal, and an image is formed by ejecting and applying ink to the recording medium 1.

  When printing for one scan in the direction of arrow B (forward scan direction) is completed, the order of Y, M, LM, C, LC, and K moves while moving in the arrow B direction (return scan direction) toward the home position. Record with. In this way, reciprocal recording is performed. After one recording operation (one scan) in one direction is completed and before the next recording operation is started, the conveyance roller pair 3 is driven to intermittently move the recording medium 1 in the direction of arrow A by a predetermined amount. Transport it. In this manner, recording is performed on the recording medium 1 by repeating the recording operation for one scan and the conveyance of a predetermined amount of the recording medium.

  When the recording head 22 returns to the home position, the recovery mechanism can eliminate clogging of the discharge port 23 as necessary. The cap 141 caps the ejection port 23 of the recording head 22 in order to prevent ink from being sucked when the ejection port 23 is recovered or dried when left. The wiper blade 143 wipes the surface having the ejection port 23 of the recording head 22 while moving in the direction of arrow C to remove ink and the like.

  Next, a control configuration for executing recording control of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining a control system of the ink jet recording apparatus. Reference numeral 1700 denotes an interface for inputting a recording signal from a host device such as a microcomputer. Reference numeral 1701 denotes a CPU for controlling each part of the recording device. Reference numeral 1702 denotes a ROM for storing a control program executed by the CPU 1701, an error processing program, and the like.

  Reference numeral 1703 denotes a RAM for temporarily storing various data (such as recording signals and recording data supplied to the recording head 22). Reference numeral 1704 denotes a gate array that controls supply of print data to the print head 22 and also controls data transfer among the interface 1700, the CPU 1701, and the RAM 1703. Reference numeral 12 denotes a carriage motor for moving the recording head 22, and 1709 denotes a conveyance motor for conveying the recording medium 1. Reference numeral 1705 denotes a head driver for driving the recording head 22, and 1706 and 1707 denote motor drivers for driving the transport motor 1709 and the carriage motor 12.

  A recording signal input through the interface 1700 is converted into recording data by the gate array 1704 and the CPU 1701. Then, the motor drivers 1706 and 1707 are driven, and the recording head 22 is driven based on the recording data sent to the head driver 1705 to perform recording.

  The temperature control of the recording head 22 is performed based on the detected temperature of the environment where the ink jet recording apparatus is installed. The recording head 22 is provided with a discharge heater as discharge energy generating means, and a heat retaining heater 1710 for controlling the temperature of the ink is provided near the discharge port array. The CPU 1701 performs ON / OFF control of the heat retaining heater 1710 according to the environmental temperature detected by the thermistor 1708, whereby the recording head 22 is controlled to an optimum temperature. The temperature of the recording head 22 can also be controlled by monitoring the temperature inside the recording head output from the temperature sensor 1711 provided in the recording head 22.

<Reaction solution>
The inkjet recording method of the present invention is particularly effective as a method for solving the problem of fixability in an image formed on a recording medium by an inkjet method using pigment ink. At the same time, in order to obtain a high-quality image with higher image density, it is preferable to form an image using a reaction liquid that reacts with the pigment ink.

  The reaction liquid that reacts with the pigment ink is preferably one containing a reactive agent having reactivity with the pigment or its dispersant. By using the image processing liquid of the present invention in combination with the reaction liquid and the pigment ink, the reaction liquid and the pigment ink react with each other to aggregate the pigment and its dispersing agent, resulting in a higher-quality image with higher image density. Therefore, the fixability of the image can be remarkably improved.

(Reactant)
Examples of the reactants mentioned above include polyvalent metal ions. In this case, as the pigment ink to be reacted with the reaction liquid, it is preferable to use a pigment in which an anionic group is bonded to the surface of the pigment, or a pigment dispersed with an anionic dispersant.

In order to contain the polyvalent metal ion in the reaction solution, it is preferable to add it to the reaction solution in the form of a polyvalent metal salt in which a divalent or higher polyvalent metal ion and an anion are combined. If the polyvalent metal salt added to the reaction solution in this way is water-soluble, it will dissociate into polyvalent metal ions and anions in the reaction solution. Specific examples of polyvalent metal ions include divalent metal ions such as Ca ²⁺ , Cu ²⁺ , Ni ²⁺ , Mg ²⁺ and Zn ^2+, and trivalent metals such as Fe ³⁺ and Al ^3+. Ions. Specific examples of anions include Cl ⁻ , NO ₃ ⁻ , SO ₄ ^{2− and the} like.

  The content (% by mass) of the polyvalent metal ion in the reaction solution is 0.01% by mass or more and 10.0% by mass or less, and further 1.0% by mass or more and 5.0% by mass based on the total mass of the reaction solution. % Or less, and particularly preferably 2.0% by mass or more and 4.0% by mass or less. If the content of the polyvalent metal ion is less than 0.01% by mass, the reaction may not occur sufficiently, and the effect of using the reaction solution in some cases may not be obtained. Moreover, it is also possible to contain polyvalent metal ion exceeding 10.0 mass% in a reaction liquid. However, even if a polyvalent metal ion exceeding 10.0% by mass is used, a remarkable improvement in the function of improving the reactivity with ink cannot be expected. An amount of polyvalent metal ions may not be included in the reaction solution. In the present invention, when the pigment ink and the reaction liquid come into contact with each other on the recording medium, the total charge concentration of the polyvalent metal ions in the reaction liquid is the reverse polarity ion in the pigment ink. The total charge concentration is preferably 2 times or more.

(Aqueous medium)
For the reaction solution used in the present invention, it is preferable to use water or an aqueous medium containing water and a water-soluble organic solvent. It is preferable to use ion-exchanged water (deionized water) instead of general water containing various ions. The content (% by mass) of water in the reaction solution is 10.0% by mass or more and 90.0% by mass or less, further 30.0% by mass or more and 80.0% by mass or less based on the total mass of the reaction solution. It is preferable to do. Moreover, content (mass%) of the water-soluble organic solvent in a reaction liquid is 5.0 mass% or more and 60.0 mass% or less, Furthermore, 5.0 mass% or more and 40. The content is preferably 0% by mass or less.

  Specific examples of the water-soluble organic solvent used in the reaction solution include the following. Amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide. Ketones such as acetone. Ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane. Polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. Alkylene glycols such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, thiodiglycol, hexylene glycol, and diethylene glycol; Alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol methyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and triethylene glycol monomethyl ether. Monohydric alcohols such as ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol and isobutyl alcohol; Glycerin, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, triethanolamine, sulfolane, dimethylsulfoxide and the like.

(Other ingredients)
The reaction solution may contain various additives such as a viscosity adjuster, a pH adjuster, a preservative, and an antioxidant, as necessary, in addition to the components listed above. However, it is preferable to appropriately determine the type and amount of the surfactant that functions as a penetration enhancer in order to control the permeability of the reaction liquid to the recording medium.

(Physical properties of the reaction solution)
The reaction liquid preferably contains no color material and is colorless and transparent. However, the reaction liquid may be light-colored so as not to change the color tone of the ink when mixed with the ink on the recording medium. Specifically, it is preferable that the difference between the image density of the recorded material to which the reaction liquid is applied and the image density of the recorded material to which the reaction liquid is not applied is 0.3 or less, more preferably 0.1 or less. The viscosity of the reaction solution at 25 ° C. is preferably 1 mPa · s or more and 10 mPa · s or less.

<Roll coat application device>
Hereinafter, a roll coat coating apparatus that can be used in the step of applying the image processing liquid will be described.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a roll coat coating apparatus. The image processing liquid 110 is stored in the cartridge 103 and supplied to the porous body 100 via the supply pump 106, the supply path 102, and the image processing liquid holding tank 101. In the application processing unit, the application roller 71A and the pressure conveyance roller 71B are rotatable. The regulation blade 111 is in contact with the application roller 71A.

  A coating roller drive motor (not shown) is driven to rotate at a predetermined value, whereby the image processing liquid 110 is pumped from the porous body 100 to the coating roller 71A. The application amount of the image processing liquid 110 pumped up on the application roller 71A can be adjusted by adjusting the pressing pressure of the regulating blade 111 and the rotation speed of the application roller 71A. The recording medium is conveyed in the direction of the arrow L1 and enters the nip between the application roller 71A and the pressure conveyance roller 71B, so that the image processing liquid is applied to the recording medium and then discharged from the roll coat application device. The

<Heat treatment method and heat treatment apparatus>
Hereinafter, a heat treatment method and a heat treatment apparatus used in the step of heat-treating the image for heating and melting the heat-fusible particles imparted to the image to the melting point or higher will be described.
The heating means for melting the heat-fusible particles after applying the image processing liquid to the recording medium includes contact-type or non-contact-type heating methods as described below, and any of these can be used. Examples of the contact heating method include a roller heating method and a film heating method. Examples of the non-contact heating method include a hot air heating method, an infrared heating method, a microwave heating method, and a semiconductor laser heating method. In the present invention, the remarkable effect of the present invention can be obtained by using an image processing liquid containing heat-fusible particles, heating the image above the melting point of the heat-fusible particles, and melting the heat-fusible particles. It has gained. For that purpose, it is more preferable to use a heating method capable of heating an image in a short time, such as a film heating method or an infrared heating method.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a film heat treatment apparatus suitable for the ink jet recording method of the present invention. The film-type heat treatment apparatus includes a heating roller having a built-in ceramic heater and a pressure roller that drives the heating roller. The power consumption is about 100 (W) on average. The rise time of the heater is made possible by determining the thermal design and control conditions so that the desired temperature is reached in about several seconds by a control means (not shown). Furthermore, the heating of the recording medium can increase efficiency by using heat conduction from both the upper surface and the lower surface of the recording medium.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a roller heat treatment apparatus suitable for the ink jet recording method of the present invention. The roller heat treatment apparatus includes a fixing roller incorporating a halogen heater and a pressure roller that drives the fixing roller.

  Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples. The present invention is not limited by the following examples unless it exceeds the gist. In the text, “parts” and “%” are based on mass unless otherwise specified.

<Preparation of ink>
(Preparation of pigment dispersion)
A normal liquid phase oxidation treatment using sodium hypochlorite was performed using acidic carbon black (MA-77; manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, pH 3). The reaction was carried out by appropriately adjusting the reaction time and reaction temperature, the resulting slurry was filtered, and the pigment particles were sufficiently washed with water to obtain a pigment wet cake. This pigment wet cake was redispersed in water and desalted with a reverse osmosis membrane until the conductivity reached 0.2 μs. Further, this pigment dispersion (pH = 8.5) was concentrated so that the pigment concentration became 10%. By the above method, a pigment dispersion liquid in which the self-dispersing carbon black was dispersed in water was obtained.

(Preparation of pigment ink)
The components shown below were mixed and sufficiently stirred, and then pressure filtered through a membrane filter having a pore size of 1.2 μm to prepare a pigment ink.
-40% pigment dispersion containing self-dispersing carbon black
・ Glycerin 15%
・ Acetylenol EH (trade name; manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 0.15%
・ Ion exchange water 44.85%

<Preparation of image processing solution>
Each component shown in the following Table 1 was mixed and sufficiently stirred to prepare each image processing solution. In addition, content of a thermomeltable particle and a thermoplastic resin shows content in solid content.

  The thermoplastic resin 1 used for the image processing liquid was prepared as follows. A reaction vessel equipped with a stirrer, a reflux condenser, a thermometer, and a nitrogen blowing tube was charged with propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PMA) as a solvent and azobisisobutylnitrile as a polymerization initiator. To this, a solution containing methyl methacrylate (MMA), normal butyl acrylate (nBA), and methacrylic acid (MAA) was added dropwise under a nitrogen gas atmosphere, and a radical polymerization reaction was performed while heating. MMA-nBA- An MAA copolymer was obtained. Thereafter, PMA as a solvent was removed by drying under reduced pressure to obtain a resin as a solid. This resin was neutralized with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution to obtain an aqueous solution having a thermoplastic resin 1 solid content concentration of 20%. The polystyrene equivalent weight average molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin 1 was 12,000, and the glass transition temperature was 80 ° C. Moreover, the acid value of the thermoplastic resin 1 measured by the neutralization titration method was 60 mgKOH / g.

<Preparation of recorded matter of Examples and Comparative Examples>
Example 1
[Image formation]
The ink cartridge filled with the pigment ink obtained above was set at the position of the pigment mat black of an ink jet recording apparatus (trade name: imagePROGRAF iPF500; manufactured by Canon) that ejects ink by the action of thermal energy. Further, a recording medium (PB PAPER GF-500; manufactured by Canon, A4 size cut paper) was set in the media cassette of the ink jet recording apparatus. The recording conditions were four-pass bidirectional recording in which an image was formed by four-pass reciprocating scanning. Then, with the recording duty set to 100%, recorded materials including images (a) to (c) of the following three types of patterns were prepared using pigment ink. The amount of ink applied at this time was 8.9 × 10 ⁻⁴ g / cm ² .
Image (a): 2 cm × 2 cm square solid image Image (b): 2 cm × 2 cm square solid image centered with a circular (diameter 0.5 mm) white area Image (c) : An image of a stripe in which 16 ruled lines having a width of 0.4 mm and a length of 20 mm are arranged at intervals of 0.4 mm.

(Application of image processing solution)
Using the roll coat coating apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the image processing liquid 1 prepared above was filled in a cartridge, and the image processing liquid was applied to the entire area of the A4 paper including the image formed on the recording medium. The application amount of the image processing liquid was 0.5 gram / A4, that is, 8.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ gram / cm ² . Therefore, the applied amount of the image processing liquid was 0.90 in terms of mass ratio with respect to the applied amount of ink.

(Heat treatment)
Immediately after applying the treatment liquid to the recorded matter to which the image processing liquid was applied, heat treatment was performed using a film heating type heat treatment unit having the configuration shown in FIG. 7 to obtain a recorded matter. The heat treatment was performed such that the treatment speed was 100 mm / sec and the treatment temperature was 150 ° C. (the surface temperature of the recording medium).

(Example 2)
A recorded matter of Example 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the image processing liquid 2 was used instead of the image processing liquid 1.

(Example 3)
A recorded matter of Example 3 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the image processing liquid 3 was used instead of the image processing liquid 1.

Example 4
The pigment ink and the image processing liquid 4 obtained above were filled in the ink cartridge, respectively. Each of the obtained ink cartridges was set as an image processing liquid 4 at the position of pigment ink and dye black at the position of pigment mat black in an ink jet recording apparatus (trade name: imagePROGRAF iPF500; manufactured by Canon Inc.). The recording conditions were 4-pass bidirectional recording in which an image was formed by reciprocating scanning with a resolution of 1200 dpi and 4 passes. In order to apply the image processing liquid on the image, among the four-pass reciprocating scan, the pigment ink used a mask pattern that forms an image with a 100% duty in the first to third passes. The image processing liquid used was a mask pattern that formed a 100% duty image in the final pass, that is, the fourth pass, without recording in the first pass to the third pass. A 100% duty input signal was sent to each of the pigment ink and the image processing liquid, and recording was performed on the recording medium, thereby obtaining a recorded matter in which the image processing liquid 4 was applied to the image surface. The recorded matter was heat-treated in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain the recorded matter of Example 4. In this case, the applied amounts of the ink and the image processing liquid were both 8.9 × 10 ⁻⁴ g / cm ² . Therefore, the application amount of the image processing liquid was 1.0 as a mass ratio with respect to the application amount of the ink.

(Example 5)
A recorded matter of Example 5 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the image processing liquid 5 was used instead of the image processing liquid 1.

(Example 6)
A recorded matter of Example 6 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the image processing liquid 6 was used instead of the image processing liquid 1.

(Example 7)
A recorded matter of Example 7 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the image processing liquid 7 was used instead of the image processing liquid 1.

(Example 8)
First, each component shown below was mixed and stirred sufficiently to prepare a reaction solution.
・ Diethylene glycol 10.0%
・ Methyl alcohol 5.0%
・ Magnesium nitrate 3.0%
・ Acetylenol EH (trade name; manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 0.1%
・ Ion exchange water 81.9%

The pigment ink, the image processing liquid 8 and the reaction liquid obtained above were filled in an ink cartridge. Each of the obtained ink cartridges was used as a pigment ink at the pigment mat black position of the ink jet recording apparatus (trade name: imagePROGRAF iPF500; manufactured by Canon), an image processing liquid 8 at the dye black position, and a reaction liquid at the dye cyan position. I set it. The recording conditions were four-pass bidirectional recording in which an image was formed by unidirectional scanning with a resolution of 1200 dpi and four passes. In order to apply the image processing liquid on the image, among the four-pass scanning, the pigment ink and the reaction liquid used a mask pattern that forms a 100% duty image in the first to third passes. The image processing liquid used was a mask pattern that formed a 100% duty image in the final pass, that is, the fourth pass, without recording in the first pass to the third pass. A 100% duty input signal is sent to each of the pigment ink and the image processing liquid, and a 25% duty input signal is sent to the reaction liquid to perform recording on the recording medium, and the image processing liquid 8 is applied to the outermost surface of the image. A given record was obtained. Note that the reaction liquid is applied before the pigment ink is applied because of the arrangement of the ejection port arrays that eject each ink of the recording head. The recorded matter was heat-treated in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain the recorded matter of Example 8. In this case, the applied amounts of the ink and the image processing liquid were both 8.9 × 10 ⁻⁴ g / cm ² . Therefore, the application amount of the image processing liquid was 1.0 as a mass ratio with respect to the application amount of the ink.

Example 9
The components shown below were mixed and sufficiently stirred, and then pressure filtered through a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.2 μm to prepare a dye ink.
・ C. I. Food Black 2 6%
・ Glycerin 15%
・ Acetylenol EH (trade name; manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 0.15%
・ Ion exchange water 78.85%

  A recorded matter of Example 9 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 6 except that the dye ink obtained above was used instead of the pigment ink.

(Comparative Example 1)
A recorded matter of Comparative Example 1 was obtained in the same manner as Example 1 except that no image processing solution was used.

(Comparative Example 2)
A recorded matter of Comparative Example 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 9 except that no image processing solution was used.

(Comparative Example 3)
In Example 1, a recorded matter of Comparative Example 3 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the image processing liquid 9 was used instead of the image processing liquid 1.

<Evaluation>
(Image density)
For the recorded matter obtained in Examples and Comparative Examples, the image density of a 2 cm × 2 cm square solid image (a) in each recorded matter was measured with a reflection densitometer (500 Series Spectrodensitometer; manufactured by X-Rite). The image density was evaluated. The image density evaluation criteria are as follows. The evaluation results are shown in Table 2.
○: Image density is 1.4 or more.
Δ: Image density is 1.3 or more and less than 1.4.
X: The image density is less than 1.3.

(Marker resistance)
For the recorded matter obtained in Examples and Comparative Examples, an image (b) including a circular (diameter 0.5 mm) white area at the center of a solid image in each recorded matter is displayed as a yellow bold fluorescent marker pen. (BEAM LINER-S; made by ZEBRA). The degree of ink flow to the white areas was measured with a reflection densitometer (500 Series Spectrodensitometer; manufactured by X-Rite) to evaluate the marker resistance. The evaluation criteria for marker resistance are as follows. The evaluation results are shown in Table 2. The load applied to the marker pen was about 500 g.
A: The increase amount of the image density in the white area is 0.05 or less.
A: The increase amount of the image density in the white area is more than 0.05 and 0.1 or less.
Δ: The increase amount of the image density in the white area is more than 0.1 and 0.2 or less.
X: The increase amount of the image density in the white area is larger than 0.2.

(water resistant)
With respect to the recorded matter obtained in the examples and comparative examples, striped images (c) in which 16 ruled lines having a width of 0.4 mm and a length of 20 mm in each recorded matter were arranged at intervals of 0.4 mm were respectively added with pure water. Or 10 microliters of alkaline artificial sweat was dripped respectively. One minute later, Sylbon paper was lightly pressed against the image (c), and the dripped drops were sucked up. The state of bleeding of the ruled line in the region where the drop of pure water or alkaline artificial sweat was dropped was visually confirmed. Moreover, about the recorded matter obtained by the Example and the comparative example, 10 microliters of pure water or alkaline artificial sweat was dripped at the solid solid image (a) of 2 cm x 2 cm in each recorded matter, respectively. One minute later, the Sylbon paper was lightly pressed against the image (a), and the dripped drops were sucked up. The image density of the blotted portion of the wiped Sylbon paper was measured with a reflection densitometer (500 Series Spectrodensitometer; manufactured by X-Rite).
Then, water resistance was evaluated from the state of blurring of ruled lines visually confirmed and the measured image density. The evaluation criteria for water resistance are as follows. The evaluation results are shown in Table 2.
(Double-circle): The blur of ruled lines cannot be confirmed visually, and the image density of the wiped portion of the Sylbon paper is 0.1 or less.
◯: The bleeding of the ruled lines cannot be visually confirmed, and the image density of the wiped portion of the Sylbon paper is 0.2 or less.
Δ: There is some blurring of the ruled line that can be visually confirmed, and the ruled line is about twice as thick.
X: The bleeding of the ruled line spreads over the whole dripped drop.

It is the figure which showed the state of the cross section of an image typically. 1 is an external perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration in the vicinity of a carriage in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the recording head 22 as viewed from the discharge port side. It is a block block diagram of the control system of an inkjet recording device. It is a schematic diagram of a roll coat application device. It is the schematic of a film type heat processing apparatus. It is the schematic of a roller-type heat processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1-1: Fiber 1-2: Pigment 1-3: Heat-meltable particles 1-4: Heat-meltable particles in a fixed state 1: Recording medium 3: Conveying roller pair 4: Belt 5a: Pulley 5b: Pulley 6: Guide shaft 11: Carriage 12: Carriage motor 13: Flexible cable 15: Cassette 16: Optical position sensor (encoder sensor)
21: Ink cartridge 22: Recording head 23: Ejection port 141: Cap 143: Wiper blade 1700: Interface 1701: CPU
1702: ROM
1703: RAM
1704: Gate array 1705: Head driver 1706: Motor driver 1707: Motor driver 1708: Thermistor 1709: Conveyor motor 1710: Insulating heater 1711: Temperature sensor 71A: Application roller 71B: Pressure conveying roller 100: Porous body 101: Image processing Liquid holding tank 102: Supply path 103: Cartridge 106: Supply pump 110: Image processing liquid 111: Regulation blade

Claims (13)

An image processing liquid for applying to an area containing at least an image formed on a recording medium by an inkjet method,
An image processing liquid comprising at least heat-fusible particles that are melted by being heated to a melting point or higher after being applied.   The image processing liquid according to claim 1, wherein the melting point of the heat melting particles is 40 ° C. or higher and 130 ° C. or lower.   The image processing liquid according to claim 1, wherein an average particle diameter of the heat-meltable particles is 0.01 μm or more and 1 μm or less.   The image processing liquid according to claim 1, wherein the melt viscosity of the heat-fusible particles is 10 mPa · s or more and 2000 mPa · s or less.   The image processing liquid according to claim 1, wherein the heat-meltable particles are natural wax or synthetic wax particles.   The image processing liquid according to claim 1, wherein the heat-fusible particles are hydrocarbon wax particles.   The image processing liquid according to claim 1, wherein the image processing liquid further contains a thermoplastic resin. An ink jet recording method comprising a step of forming an image on a recording medium by an ink jet method, a step of applying an image processing liquid to at least the region containing the image, and a step of heat-treating the image.
The image processing liquid according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used as the image processing liquid, and
An ink jet recording method, wherein in the step of heat-treating the image, the heat-fusible particles imparted to the image are heated to a melting point or higher to be melted.   The inkjet recording method according to claim 8, wherein pigment ink is used in the step of forming an image on a recording medium by the inkjet method.   The inkjet recording method according to claim 9, wherein a reaction liquid that reacts with pigment ink is used in the step of forming an image on a recording medium by the inkjet method.   The ink jet recording method according to claim 8, wherein in the step of applying the image processing liquid, the image processing liquid is applied by an ink jet method.   The heating of the image is performed by any method selected from a roller heating method, a film heating method, a hot air heating method, an infrared heating method, a microwave heating method, and a semiconductor laser heating method. 11. The ink jet recording method according to any one of 11 above. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: means for forming an image on a recording medium by an ink jet method; means for applying an image processing liquid to at least a region including the image; and means for heat-treating the image.
The image processing liquid according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used as the image processing liquid, and
An ink jet recording apparatus, characterized in that the heat-fusible particles imparted to the image are heated to a melting point or higher by means for heat-treating the image.

Images