JP2017105159A - Inkjet recording method, inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording method capable of obtaining stable discharge of an ink having a big difference between a dynamic surface tension and a static surface tension, and obtaining a good image.SOLUTION: The inkjet recording method includes applying 1 or 2 or more driving pulses to pressure-generating means of a recording head having a nozzle plate 103 having a nozzle for discharging ink droplets, a liquid chamber 106 communicating with the nozzle, and the pressure-generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber to discharge ink droplets where (1) concerning an ink at 25°C, when the surface life by a maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms, the dynamic surface tension is higher than a static surface tension by 10 mN/m or more, and when the surface tension by a maximum bubble pressure method is 1,500 ms, the dynamic surface tension is higher than a static surface tension by 3 mN/m or more, and (2) in at least 1 driving pulse, the change time of a voltage change part for drawing the ink is 1/3 or more of a resonance cycle of the liquid chamber.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus.

  The ink jet recording method is a recording method in which characters and images are formed by ejecting ink droplets from very fine nozzles and attaching the ink droplets onto a recording medium. This method has been widely used in recent years because it is easier to achieve full color than other recording methods and has an advantage that a high-resolution image can be obtained even with an apparatus having a simple configuration.

  Various characteristics are required for the ink used in such an ink jet recording system. In particular, the ejection stability when ejecting ink from the head affects the image quality and is important.

In the ink jet recording method, ink droplets are ejected by applying pressure fluctuations to the ink.
A meniscus is formed inside the nozzle of the head filled with ink. In a normal state (stationary state), the meniscus forms a bridge on the liquid chamber side with the nozzle edge as a base point. However, if a positive pressure is applied to the ink in the nozzle due to pressure fluctuation during ejection, the meniscus may collapse and the ink may overflow from the ejection port. In addition, the tail of the ejected ink droplets may be torn off, or minute ink mist generated by splashing on the printing material may adhere to the nozzle plate surface. In this way, the ink overflowing from the ejection port and the ink mist adhering to the nozzle plate surface form an ink reservoir on the nozzle plate surface, and when this contacts the ink droplets during ejection, the meniscus becomes uneven. Or the ink droplets are pulled, the ejection direction may be bent. Furthermore, in the case of an ink using a pigment as a coloring material, since the solid content of the pigment is dispersed in the solvent, when the ink attached to the nozzle plate surface is dried, the solid content is fixed to the nozzle plate surface, Eventually, there was a problem of clogging the nozzle.

  As described above, in the ink jet recording method, it is important to keep the periphery of the nozzles clean in order to ensure stable ejection performance. Therefore, in order to prevent contamination of the nozzle plate surface due to ink, a water repellent film is formed on the nozzle plate surface to make it easier to repel ink, or the nozzle plate surface is wiped periodically to remove ink on the nozzle plate surface. Work is generally done.

However, it is known that such a water repellent film is peeled off little by little from the surface of the nozzle plate due to the influence of wiping and the like.
In the place where the water-repellent film is peeled off, the ink is liable to adhere, the ejection is disturbed, the nozzle is bent or streaks are generated on the printed matter, and the image quality is lowered. Also, depending on the nature of the ink, there is a problem that the ink is not easily peeled from the surface of the nozzle plate, and the ink cannot be removed sufficiently even by wiping. In particular, when ink having a low static surface tension is ejected from the head, there is a problem in that, where the water-repellent film is peeled off, nozzle bending or streaks occur in the printed matter and image quality is degraded.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, as an inkjet recording method capable of stably ejecting and obtaining a good image, (1) at 25 ° C., when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms. A water-based ink having a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension and a dynamic surface tension of 5 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface life is 1500 ms; However, an ink jet recording method has been proposed in which a drawing pulse is included in one printing cycle, and the meniscus of the water-based ink in the nozzle is drawn into the nozzle in two stages by the drawing pulse.

However, when the water-repellent film formed on the nozzle plate surface deteriorates, there is still room for improvement in the conventional method in order to stably eject ink having a large difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension. It was.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording method capable of stably ejecting ink having a large difference between dynamic surface tension and static surface tension and obtaining a good image.

Means for solving the problems are as follows. That is,
The ink jet recording method of the present invention includes a nozzle plate having a nozzle for ejecting ink droplets, a liquid chamber to which the nozzle communicates, and a pressure generating means for the recording head having a pressure generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber. On the other hand, an ink jet recording method for ejecting ink droplets by applying one or two or more drive pulses satisfies the following requirements (1) and (2).
(1) The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. This is an ink whose dynamic surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) At least one drive pulse has a change time of a voltage change portion that draws the ink equal to or more than 1/3 of a resonance period of the liquid chamber.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording method capable of stably ejecting ink having a large difference between dynamic surface tension and static surface tension and obtaining a good image.

FIG. 1 is an SEM image showing a state in which the water-repellent film on the surface of the nozzle plate has deteriorated. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a normal meniscus state. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating meniscus overflow that occurs immediately after droplet ejection. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which droplet bending occurs. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a meniscus overflow state in conventional ejection. FIG. 5B is a graph showing drive pulses in the state shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which ink overflowed in conventional ejection remains on a deteriorated water-repellent film. FIG. 6B is a graph showing drive pulses in the state shown in FIG. 6A. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which droplet bending occurs in conventional ejection. FIG. 7B is a graph showing drive pulses in the state shown in FIG. 7A. FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which meniscus overflow has occurred. FIG. 8B is a graph showing drive pulses in the state shown in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the ink 202 in the nozzle and the ink 202 on the deteriorated water repellent film 200 are both drawn into the nozzle. FIG. 9B is a graph showing drive pulses in the state shown in FIG. 9A. FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the meniscus is drawn into the nozzle. FIG. 10B is a graph showing drive pulses in the state shown in FIG. 10A. FIG. 11A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where the ink 202 is ejected. FIG. 11B is a graph showing drive pulses in the state shown in FIG. 11A. FIG. 12 is a graph showing a profile of the dynamic surface tension with respect to the surface lifetime. FIG. 13 is a side view for explaining the overall configuration of an example of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a plan view of an essential part for explaining the overall configuration of an example of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view in the longitudinal direction of the liquid chamber showing an example of the liquid discharge head constituting the recording head of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view in the lateral direction of the liquid chamber showing an example of the liquid discharge head constituting the recording head of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a block explanatory diagram showing an outline of an example of a control unit of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a print control unit and a head driver of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 19 is a graph showing an ejection waveform having a driving signal for drawing a meniscus in two stages. FIG. 20 is a graph showing an ejection waveform having a drive signal for drawing a meniscus in one stage. FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining one printing unit cycle. FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an ink container. FIG. 23 is a schematic view including the case of the ink container of FIG.

(Inkjet recording method and inkjet recording apparatus)
The ink jet recording method of the present invention includes a nozzle plate having a nozzle for ejecting ink droplets, a liquid chamber to which the nozzle communicates, and a pressure generating means for the recording head having a pressure generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber. On the other hand, an inkjet recording method for ejecting ink droplets by applying one or more drive pulses, which satisfies the following requirements (1) and (2) It is a recording method.
(1) The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. This is an ink whose dynamic surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) At least one drive pulse has a change time of a voltage change portion that draws the ink equal to or more than 1/3 of a resonance period of the liquid chamber.

An ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention includes a nozzle plate having a nozzle for ejecting ink droplets, a liquid chamber in communication with the nozzle, a recording head having pressure generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber, and the pressure generation A drive waveform generation unit that generates a drive waveform including one or more drive pulses applied to the means, and discharges ink droplets by the pressure generated by the pressure generation means. The inkjet recording apparatus satisfies the following requirements (1) and (2).
(1) The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. This is an ink whose dynamic surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) At least one drive pulse has a change time of a voltage change portion that draws the ink equal to or more than 1/3 of a resonance period of the liquid chamber.

The recording head (hereinafter also referred to as a liquid ejection head or head) is formed by laminating a flow path plate, a vibration plate bonded to the lower surface of the flow channel plate, and a nozzle plate bonded to the upper surface of the flow channel plate. Thus, a nozzle (nozzle opening) having an opening for discharging a droplet (ink droplet) is formed. The nozzles for discharging the droplets (ink droplets) are a nozzle communication passage and a liquid chamber which is a pressure generation chamber, and an ink communicating with a common liquid chamber for supplying ink to the liquid chamber through a fluid resistance portion (supply path). It is connected to the supply port.
In other words, the liquid ejection head includes a nozzle plate, a liquid chamber communicated with a nozzle opening for ejecting ink droplets, and a pressure generating means for causing a pressure fluctuation in the liquid chamber.
In the nozzle plate, nozzles (nozzle openings) are formed corresponding to the respective liquid chambers. The nozzle plate is preferably made of a nozzle forming member such as a metal member, and a water repellent layer (water repellent film) is formed on the ink ejection side surface of the nozzle forming member. That is, it is preferable that the ink discharge side surface of the nozzle (nozzle opening) is subjected to water repellent treatment.

In the ink jet recording method of the present invention, an ejection pulse corresponding to the size of the ink droplet is generated by a print control unit described later. The ejection pulse is configured by selecting a drive pulse from a drive waveform including one or more drive pulses in time series.
The “driving pulse” is a term indicating a pulse as an element constituting a driving waveform, and the “ejection pulse” is a pulse that is applied to a liquid ejection head having a pressure generating unit to eject an ink droplet. Used as a terminology.
As the drive pulse, a waveform element (expansion waveform element) that expands the liquid chamber by falling from a reference potential to a predetermined hold potential, a waveform element (holding element) that holds the falling potential (hold potential), It comprises a waveform element (contraction waveform element) that rises from the hold potential and contracts the liquid chamber.
Depending on the size of the ink droplet, an ejection pulse is generated by selecting a drive pulse from a drive waveform including one or more drive pulses in time series. For example, it is possible to select a driving waveform that ejects droplets of three types of sizes, large droplets, medium droplets, and small droplets.

  FIG. 1 shows an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) image of the nozzle. As shown in FIG. 1, the nozzle water-repellent film on the surface of the nozzle plate opposite to the liquid chamber gradually deteriorates due to a physical load due to maintenance.

  A meniscus is originally formed in the nozzle of the head filled with the ink. In a normal state (stationary state), the meniscus forms a bridge on the liquid chamber side with the nozzle edge as a base point. The influence of deterioration is small (see FIG. 2). In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 indicates a deteriorated water repellent film, reference numeral 201 indicates a water repellent film, and reference numeral 202 indicates ink. The same applies to FIGS. 3 to 11. In the graphs of FIGS. 5B to 11B, the portion indicated by the thick line in the drive pulse (ejection pulse) means a waveform element. 5B to 11B, the unit of the horizontal axis is time, and the unit of the vertical axis is voltage.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when a state in which the ink protrudes to the outside of the nozzle, such as a meniscus overflow or a meniscus overflow immediately after high-frequency driving, occurs after the ink 202 droplets are ejected, the deteriorated nozzle repellency. The water film forms an asymmetrical meniscus (see FIG. 3). When a droplet is ejected from a state where the meniscus is asymmetric, droplet bending occurs (see FIG. 4).
Here, “the meniscus overflow” and “the meniscus overflow immediately after high-frequency driving” mean the following phenomenon.
(Meniscus overflow)
A phenomenon in which ink meniscus overflow occurs in the nozzles excessively because the inflow of ink from the common liquid chamber that occurs with the outflow from the nozzles does not stop immediately when the droplets are ejected.
In particular, the meniscus overflow increases as there is a waveform that discharges a large droplet within one printing unit cycle (a waveform with a large ejection amount per unit time).
(A meniscus overflow immediately after high-frequency driving)
A phenomenon in which the inflow of ink from the common liquid chamber, which occurs as a large amount of ink flows out of the nozzles by high-frequency driving, does not stop immediately but causes the meniscus overflow of the nozzles. A phenomenon having a refill cycle Rf different from the natural vibration cycle Tc of the liquid chamber.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B to FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, in the conventional ejection pulse, the ink overflowing on the deteriorated water-repellent film is not sufficiently pulled back when ejected from the state where the meniscus overflow has occurred. For this reason, ink overflow remains even in the state immediately before droplet ejection, and droplet bending occurs.
5B, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 7B show drive pulses in the states shown in FIGS. 5A, 6A, and 7A, respectively.
Further details will be described. When the meniscus is drawn into the nozzle by a pulse in a state where the meniscus overflow has occurred (see FIG. 5A), a part of the ink 202 remains on the deteriorated water repellent film 200 as shown in FIG. 6A. When the ink 202 is ejected from the nozzle by the ejection pulse for ejecting the ink 202 from the nozzle while the ink 202 remains on the degraded water-repellent film 200, the ink remaining on the degraded water-repellent film 200 202 and the ejected ink 202 are combined to cause droplet bending as shown in FIG. 7A.

On the other hand, in the present invention, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B to FIGS. 11A and 11B, the meniscus is slowly drawn, so that the ink 202 does not remain on the deteriorated water repellent film 200. Therefore, it is possible to prevent droplet bending. The reason why the droplet bending can be prevented will be described in detail. In the state where meniscus overflow has occurred (see FIG. 8A), when the meniscus is drawn into the nozzle by a pulse, the waveform element has a period (time) that is 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber and is relatively slow to change ( The meniscus is drawn into the nozzle by the falling voltage change portion in FIG. 9B. That is, an expansion waveform element (voltage change portion that draws ink) having a voltage change time (also referred to as transition time) having a length of 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber is applied to the pressure generating means to expand the liquid chamber. As a result, the ink overflowing from the nozzle is drawn into the nozzle.
As a result, the ink 202 remaining on the deteriorated water repellent film 200 has a long pull-in time and moves slowly. Therefore, the ink 202 does not remain on the deteriorated water repellent film 200 and the meniscus is removed. It can be pulled into the nozzle (see FIG. 10A). Then, when the ink 202 is ejected by a waveform element that rises from that state (a waveform element that contracts the liquid chamber) (see FIG. 11B), it is possible to prevent droplet bending (see FIG. 11A).
In this specification, the “pulse” is also a signal that changes sharply in a short time.
In addition, each of the pulses in FIG. 6B and FIG. 9B is a lead-in pulse.

  In addition, when using the conventional ejection pulse, if the difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension of the ink is small, the surface tension between the ink remaining on the nozzle surface and the next ejection ink droplet is reduced. Since the difference is small, the influence on discharge is reduced. However, when the difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension of the ink is large, the surface tension of the ink remaining on the nozzle surface starts to decrease greatly immediately after it has stopped on the nozzle surface. A difference in surface tension occurs between the discharged ink droplets. Then, when the residual ink and the ejected ink droplet are combined, the surface tension becomes non-uniform, and the surface shape of the droplet is collapsed, resulting in ejection bend.

The ink used in the present invention has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension at 25 ° C. when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms and a dynamic life when the surface life is 1500 ms. The surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension. In the case where the difference between the dynamic surface tension of the ink and the static surface tension is large, particularly when the dynamic surface tension of the ink is within the above range, the influence of the residual ink described above appears strongly. This effect is significant when the ink is large droplets.
The dynamic surface tension is a surface tension in a very short time, and a maximum bubble pressure method, a vibration jet method, a meniscus method, a dropping method and the like are generally known as measurement methods. In this invention, it measured by the maximum bubble pressure method which can be measured easily in a short time.
The static surface tension of the ink in the present invention is a value at 25 ° C. measured by a platinum plate method.

With the recent development of high-speed printing technology, the printing speed of inkjet printers has been increasing year by year, and now continuous printing at a speed of several tens of meters / minute is possible. In order to enable this high-speed printing, the ink meniscus on the nozzle surface of the inkjet printer vibrates with a period of 10 ⁴ to 10 ⁶ Hz, and ink droplets continue to be formed with the same period. For this reason, the dynamic surface tension at the time of ink ejection needs to measure the surface tension in a minute time on the order of microseconds, but it is difficult to measure this easily. Here, when the profile of the dynamic surface tension with respect to the surface life time is seen, it can be seen that the surface life time increases and decreases monotonously as shown in FIG. Therefore, in the present invention, the dynamic surface tension near 15 ms close to the measurement limit by the maximum bubble pressure method is obtained, and an approximate value of the dynamic surface tension of the ink at the time of actual ejection is obtained.
On the contrary, the permeation process for the recording medium after ejection is performed on the order of milliseconds or more, and it is related to bleeding and bleeding. For this reason, dynamic surface tension or static surface tension having a surface life of 1000 ms or more affects the image quality. Therefore, in the present invention, attention is paid to the dynamic surface tension around 1500 ms.

  According to the present invention, by applying an expansion waveform element (voltage change portion for drawing ink) having a voltage change time of 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber, the meniscus is slowly drawn into the nozzle as described above. Residual ink that has spread far away from the nozzle opening and cannot be recovered by the short time expansion waveform element can also be drawn into the meniscus during a long draw time. For this reason, the overflowed ink is almost recovered and the influence on the ejection can be almost eliminated. Therefore, a good image can be obtained. Slowly pulling the meniscus into the nozzle is advantageous for damping with large droplets compared to pulling the meniscus in multiple steps. In the case of large droplets, the number of pulses in one printing cycle is large, and residual vibration tends to be strong. In order to suppress this, it is very effective to slowly draw the meniscus into the nozzle.

According to the present invention, when the expansion waveform element (the voltage change portion that draws ink) is set to have a voltage change time of 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber in the head, stable meniscus formation is achieved. It is possible to achieve both discharge stability.
Preferably, it is 1/3 to 1/1 of the resonance period of the liquid chamber in the head, and particularly preferably 1/1 of the resonance period of the liquid chamber in the head.

  The reason why it is preferable to set the voltage change time of the expansion waveform element (the voltage change portion that draws ink) as described above is that when it is equal to 1/4 of the acoustic resonance period of the liquid chamber in the head, This is because the residual vibration of the pulse and the phase of the pressure wave of the expansion waveform element are in opposite phases, the superposition of the pressure waves is suppressed, and the required discharge speed cannot be obtained in the next discharge pulse. . The above-mentioned state is improved as the voltage change time of the expansion waveform element becomes longer than 1/4 of the acoustic resonance period of the liquid chamber in the head. If the voltage change time is 1/3 or more, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

By the expansion waveform element, ink positioned in the vicinity of the nozzle discharge port is drawn into the nozzle, and a meniscus is formed at a predetermined position.
The “near nozzle discharge port” means the peripheral edge of the nozzle opening.
The “predetermined position” when the meniscus is formed at the predetermined position means a normal position where the meniscus is formed, and when the opening of the nozzle plate is viewed in cross section, it becomes a recess from the reference surface of the nozzle plate. It means a state where a meniscus is formed at the position of the state. In the present invention, when meniscus overflow occurs, it is not said that a meniscus is formed at a predetermined position.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording method capable of stably ejecting ink having a large difference between dynamic surface tension and static surface tension and obtaining a good image. This effect is particularly remarkable when the water-repellent film on the nozzle plate is deteriorated.

According to the present invention, one or two or more driving pulses are applied to the pressure generating means within one printing unit period, and one or two or more ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles to form the first droplet. The voltage change time of the expansion waveform element (the voltage change portion that draws ink) is preferably 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber.
Here, the “one printing unit cycle” is, for example, a time interval for each actuator to form each dot on the medium.
The “one printing unit cycle” includes an ejection pulse (drive pulse).
The “one printing unit cycle” is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-146011, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-81012, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-062821, and the like.
For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-81012, a plurality of ink droplets are ejected from each nozzle of an inkjet head during one printing unit cycle for forming one dot on a recording medium. An ink jet recording apparatus that forms one dot is described.

The ink jet recording apparatus applies a pressure to ink in a liquid chamber so that an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle by a piezoelectric effect of a piezoelectric element and a nozzle plate having a liquid chamber containing ink and a nozzle communicating with the liquid chamber. An inkjet head having an actuator (pressure generating means), a drive waveform generating unit that generates a drive waveform including a drive pulse, a head driver that generates a discharge pulse by selecting a drive pulse from the drive waveform, and applies it to the actuator; And a relative moving means for relatively moving the inkjet head and the recording medium.
As shown in FIG. 21, when the ink jet head and the recording medium are relatively moved by the relative moving means, one or a plurality of drive pulses (one or two or more during the one printing unit period) with respect to the actuator. 1 or 2 or more ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle.
The plurality of ink droplets ejected in this way forms one ink dot on the recording medium.
A plurality of such dots are aligned on the recording medium, whereby a predetermined image is formed on the recording medium.
Then, by adjusting the number of ink droplets ejected during the one printing unit cycle, the density and size of the dots are adjusted, and so-called multi-tone printing becomes possible.

In the present invention, the droplets included in the one printing unit cycle are integrated in the air and then adhered to the recording medium, and the droplets included in the one printing unit cycle are deposited on the recording medium in the discharge order. Either a configuration or a configuration in which only a single droplet is deposited is possible. When the ink lands on the recording medium, the droplets included in the one printing unit period are in the air because the ink shape is almost circular or the position where the ink lands on the recording medium does not shift. The structure is preferably attached to the recording medium after being integrated in step (b).
At this time, the expansion waveform element of the ejection pulse (driving pulse) that forms the first droplet (the voltage change portion that draws ink in the nozzle) is set on the nozzle plate surface by using the long voltage change time described above. The residual ink can be collected to make uniform the meniscus formation of the first drop, and the influence on the meniscus formation after the second drop (within the same one printing unit cycle) formed immediately thereafter can be eliminated. The reason why the expansion waveform element having the long voltage change time is applied is that a sufficient effect can be obtained with only the ejection pulse forming the first droplet. Although it is possible to include a specific expansion waveform element in the ejection pulses after the second drop, the speed of the waveform cannot be gained due to the characteristic of slowly pulling in the meniscus, which is not practical. I can't say that.

(ink)
The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C. and the dynamic life when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. The surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.

As described above, a large difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension is advantageous in terms of prevention of bleeding on the recording medium and ejection stability.
The dynamic surface tension can be measured by a maximum bubble pressure method using, for example, a dynamic surface tension meter SITA DynaTester (manufactured by SITA Messtechnik).
The static surface tension can be measured, for example, by a platinum plate method using a fully automatic surface tension meter (CBVP-Z, manufactured by Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd.).
The method for bringing the surface tension of the ink within the above range is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, the amount of the surfactant and penetrant added to the ink, the type of the surfactant, etc. Can be adjusted.

The ink contains, for example, an organic solvent, water, a coloring material, and a surfactant, and further contains other components as necessary.
The organic solvent is added for the purpose of preventing the ink from drying and improving the dispersion stability. In addition, the organic solvent in the present invention includes those classified as functional penetrants and foam suppressors.
As said water, pure water, such as ion-exchange water, ultrafiltration water, reverse osmosis water, distilled water, or ultrapure water can be used, for example.
As the surfactant, a combination with the kind of the color material, the organic solvent and the like does not impair the dispersion stability of the color material, has a low surface tension, and has a high permeability and leveling property.
Hereinafter, these ink components will be further described.

<Organic solvent>
The organic solvent used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and a water-soluble organic solvent can be used. Examples thereof include ethers such as polyhydric alcohols, polyhydric alcohol alkyl ethers and polyhydric alcohol aryl ethers, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, amides, amines and sulfur-containing compounds.
Specific examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include, for example, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, and 1,4-butane. Diol, 2,3-butanediol, 3-methyl-1,3-butanediol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, 1,2-pentanediol, 1,3-pentanediol, 1,4-pentanediol 2,4-pentanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,2-hexanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,3-hexanediol, 2,5-hexanediol, 1,5-hexanediol, Glycerin, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, 2-ethyl-1,3-he Polyhydric alcohols such as sundiol, ethyl-1,2,4-butanetriol, 1,2,3-butanetriol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol, petriol, ethylene glycol mono Polyhydric alcohol alkyl ethers such as ethyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, tetraethylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monophenyl ether, ethylene glycol mono Polyhydric alcohol aryl ethers such as benzyl ether, 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-hydroxyethyl- -N-containing heterocyclic compounds such as pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, ε-caprolactam, γ-butyrolactone, formamide, N-methylformamide, N, N-dimethylformamide, 3-methoxy-N, Amides such as N-dimethylpropionamide and 3-butoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide, amines such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethylamine, sulfur-containing compounds such as dimethylsulfoxide, sulfolane and thiodiethanol, propylene carbonate, Examples thereof include ethylene carbonate.
In addition to functioning as a wetting agent, it is preferable to use an organic solvent having a boiling point of 250 ° C. or lower because good drying properties can be obtained.

A polyol compound having 8 or more carbon atoms and a glycol ether compound are also preferably used. Specific examples of the polyol compound having 8 or more carbon atoms include 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol, and the like.
Specific examples of glycol ether compounds include polyhydric alcohol alkyls such as ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, tetraethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and propylene glycol monoethyl ether. Examples of ethers include polyhydric alcohol aryl ethers such as ethylene glycol monophenyl ether and ethylene glycol monobenzyl ether.

  A polyol compound having 8 or more carbon atoms and a glycol ether compound can improve ink permeability when paper is used as a recording medium.

  The content of the organic solvent in the ink is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose, but is preferably 10% by mass or more and 60% by mass or less from the viewpoint of the drying property and ejection reliability of the ink, 20 mass% or more and 60 mass% or less are more preferable.

<Water>
The water content in the ink is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose, but is preferably 10% by mass or more and 90% by mass or less, and 20% by mass from the viewpoint of ink drying property and ejection reliability. % To 60% by mass is more preferable.

<Color material>
The color material is not particularly limited, and pigments and dyes can be used.
An inorganic pigment or an organic pigment can be used as the pigment. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. A mixed crystal may be used.
As the pigment, for example, a black pigment, a yellow pigment, a magenta pigment, a cyan pigment, a white pigment, a green pigment, an orange pigment, a glossy pigment such as gold or silver, a metallic pigment, or the like can be used.
Carbon black produced by known methods such as contact method, furnace method, thermal method in addition to titanium oxide, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, barium yellow, cadmium red, chrome yellow as inorganic pigments Can be used.
Organic pigments include azo pigments, polycyclic pigments (eg, phthalocyanine pigments, perylene pigments, perinone pigments, anthraquinone pigments, quinacridone pigments, dioxazine pigments, indigo pigments, thioindigo pigments, isoindolinone pigments, and quinofullerone pigments). Dye chelates (for example, basic dye type chelates, acidic dye type chelates), nitro pigments, nitroso pigments, aniline black, and the like can be used. Of these pigments, those having good affinity with the solvent are preferably used. In addition, resin hollow particles and inorganic hollow particles can also be used.
Specific examples of pigments include black for carbon black (CI pigment black 7) such as furnace black, lamp black, acetylene black, channel black, or copper, iron (CI pigment black 11). And metal pigments such as titanium oxide, and organic pigments such as aniline black (CI Pigment Black 1).
Further, for color use, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 1, 3, 12, 13, 14, 17, 24, 34, 35, 37, 42 (yellow iron oxide), 53, 55, 74, 81, 83, 95, 97, 98, 100, 101, 104 , 108, 109, 110, 117, 120, 138, 150, 153, 155, 180, 185, 213, C.I. I. Pigment orange 5, 13, 16, 17, 36, 43, 51, C.I. I. Pigment Red 1, 2, 3, 5, 17, 22, 23, 31, 38, 48: 2, 48: 2 (Permanent Red 2B (Ca)), 48: 3, 48: 4, 49: 1, 52: 2, 53: 1, 57: 1 (Brilliant Carmine 6B), 60: 1, 63: 1, 63: 2, 64: 1, 81, 83, 88, 101 (Bengara), 104, 105, 106, 108 ( Cadmium red), 112, 114, 122 (quinacridone magenta), 123, 146, 149, 166, 168, 170, 172, 177, 178, 179, 184, 185, 190, 193, 202, 207, 208, 209, 213, 219, 224, 254, 264, C.I. I. Pigment violet 1 (rhodamine lake), 3, 5: 1, 16, 19, 23, 38, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 1, 2, 15 (phthalocyanine blue), 15: 1, 15: 2, 15: 3, 15: 4 (phthalocyanine blue), 16, 17: 1, 56, 60, 63, C.I. I. Pigment Green 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 36, etc.
The dye is not particularly limited, and an acid dye, a direct dye, a reactive dye, and a basic dye can be used. One kind may be used alone, or two or more kinds may be used in combination.
Examples of the dye include C.I. I. Acid Yellow 17, 23, 42, 44, 79, 142, C.I. I. Acid Red 52, 80, 82, 249, 254, 289, C.I. I. Acid Blue 9, 45, 249, C.I. I. Acid Black 1, 2, 24, 94, C.I. I. Food Black 1, 2, C.I. I. Direct Yellow 1, 12, 24, 33, 50, 55, 58, 86, 132, 142, 144, 173, C.I. I. Direct Red 1, 4, 9, 80, 81, 225, 227, C.I. I. Direct Blue 1, 2, 15, 71, 86, 87, 98, 165, 199, 202, C.I. I. Directed Black 19, 38, 51, 71, 154, 168, 171, 195, C.I. I. Reactive Red 14, 32, 55, 79, 249, C.I. I. Reactive black 3, 4, and 35 are mentioned.

  The content of the color material in the ink is preferably 0.1% by mass or more and 15% by mass or less, more preferably 1% by mass or more and 10% by mass from the viewpoints of improvement in image density, good fixability and ejection stability. It is as follows.

In order to disperse the pigment in the ink, a method of introducing a hydrophilic functional group into the pigment to form a self-dispersing pigment, a method of dispersing the pigment surface by coating with a resin, a method of dispersing using a dispersant, Etc.
Examples of a method for introducing a hydrophilic functional group into a pigment to form a self-dispersing pigment include a self-dispersing pigment that can be dispersed in water by adding a functional group such as a sulfone group or a carboxyl group to the pigment (for example, carbon) Can be used.
As a method for coating the surface of the pigment with a resin and dispersing it, a method in which the pigment is included in microcapsules and can be dispersed in water can be used. This can be paraphrased as a resin-coated pigment. In this case, it is not necessary that all pigments blended in the ink are coated with a resin, and within a range where the effects of the present invention are not impaired, uncoated pigments and partially coated pigments are dispersed in the ink. It may be.
Examples of the method of dispersing using a dispersant include a method of dispersing using a known low-molecular type dispersant or high-molecular type dispersant represented by a surfactant.
As the dispersant, for example, an anionic surfactant, a cationic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant, a nonionic surfactant, or the like can be used depending on the pigment.
RT-100 (nonionic surfactant) manufactured by Takemoto Yushi Co., Ltd. and naphthalenesulfonic acid Na formalin condensate can also be suitably used as a dispersant.
A dispersing agent may be used individually by 1 type, or may use 2 or more types together.

<Pigment dispersion>
An ink can be obtained by mixing a material such as water or an organic solvent with a color material. Further, it is also possible to produce an ink by mixing a pigment, other water, a dispersant, and the like into a pigment dispersion and mixing a material such as water or an organic solvent.
The pigment dispersion is obtained by dispersing water, a pigment, a pigment dispersant, and other components as required, and adjusting the particle size. For dispersion, a disperser is preferably used.
The particle size of the pigment in the pigment dispersion is not particularly limited, but the maximum frequency is 20 nm or more in terms of maximum number because the pigment dispersion stability is good and the image quality such as ejection stability and image density is also high. 500 nm or less is preferable and 20 nm or more and 150 nm or less are more preferable. The particle size of the pigment can be measured using a particle size analyzer (Nanotrack Wave-UT151, manufactured by Microtrack Bell Co., Ltd.).
The content of the pigment in the pigment dispersion is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. However, from the viewpoint of obtaining good ejection stability and increasing the image density, 0.1% by mass. % To 50% by mass is preferable, and 0.1% to 30% by mass is more preferable.
The pigment dispersion is preferably degassed by filtering coarse particles with a filter, a centrifugal separator or the like, if necessary.

  In the ink used in the present invention, polymer fine particles containing a hydrophobic dye or a pigment can be used as the coloring material in order to improve printing density and printing durability. The polymer fine particles are used as a dispersion, but a dispersion of polymer fine particles containing a pigment, particularly an organic pigment or carbon black is more preferable. Examples of the polymer used in the dispersion of polymer fine particles containing the pigment include a vinyl polymer, a polyester polymer, and a polyurethane polymer. Among these, vinyl polymers are preferable.

  Examples of the vinyl polymer include (a) one or more vinyl monomers selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid esters, methacrylic acid esters, and styrene monomers, and (b) a polymerizable unsaturated monomer having a salt-forming group. And (c) a polymer obtained by copolymerizing a monomer composition containing a vinyl monomer and a polymerizable unsaturated monomer having a salt-forming group and a copolymerizable component is preferable.

  Examples of the vinyl monomer (a) include methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, acrylic acid-n-butyl, acrylic acid-t-butyl, acrylic acid isobutyl, acrylic acid-n-amyl, Acrylic acid esters such as acrylic acid-n-hexyl, acrylic acid-n-octyl, dodecyl acrylate; methyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, n-butyl methacrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, methacryl Examples thereof include methacrylic acid esters such as acid-n-amyl, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate and lauryl methacrylate; and styrene monomers such as styrene, vinyltoluene and 2-methylstyrene. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

Examples of the polymerizable unsaturated monomer (b) having a salt-forming group include a cationic monomer having a salt-forming group and an anionic monomer having a salt-forming group.
Examples of the cationic monomer having a salt-forming group include tertiary amine-containing unsaturated monomers and ammonium salt-containing unsaturated monomers. Preferred examples thereof include, for example, N, N-diethylaminoethyl acrylate, N- (N ′, N′-dimethylaminoethyl) acrylamide, vinylpyridine, 2-methyl-5-vinylpyridine, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, diethylaminoethyl. And methacrylate.
Examples of the anionic monomer having a salt-forming group include an unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer, an unsaturated sulfonic acid monomer, and an unsaturated phosphoric acid monomer. Preferable examples thereof include acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid and the like.

Examples of the component (c) that can be copolymerized with the vinyl monomer and the polymerizable unsaturated monomer having a salt-forming group include an acrylamide monomer, a methacrylamide monomer, a hydroxyl group-containing monomer, and a polymerizable functional group at one end. And macromers having
The macromer having a polymerizable functional group at one end is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, silicone macromer, styrene macromer, polyester macromer, polyurethane macromer, polyalkyl ether Macromer, general formula: CH ₂ ═C (R ⁵ ) COO (R ⁶ O) _p R ⁷ (wherein R ⁵ is a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group, and R ⁶ has a hetero atom. Or a divalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, R ⁷ is a monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms which may have a hydrogen atom or a hetero atom, and p is 1 to 60. Macromers represented by the following integers). These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.
Examples of the lower alkyl group in the general formula include an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

Examples of the hydroxyl group-containing monomer include 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate.
Macromers represented by the general formula: CH ₂ = C (R ⁵ ) COO (R ⁶ O) _p R ⁷ include polyethylene glycol (2 to 30) (meth) acrylate and methoxypolyethylene glycol (1 to 30). ) (Meth) acrylates are preferred. In the present specification, “(meth) acrylate” refers to acrylate or methacrylate.
Among the copolymerizable components, macromers are preferable, and silicone macromers, styrenic macromers, and polyalkyl ether macromers are more preferable.

  The content of the vinyl monomer in the monomer composition is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. From the viewpoint of improving the dispersion stability of the polymer emulsion, it is 1% by mass or more and 75% by mass. Or less, more preferably 5% by mass or more and 60% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 10% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less.

  The content of the polymerizable unsaturated monomer having a salt-forming group in the monomer composition is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose.From the viewpoint of improving the dispersion stability of the polymer emulsion, 2 mass% or more and 40 mass% or less are preferable, and 5 mass% or more and 20 mass% or less are more preferable.

  The content of the monomer that can be copolymerized with the vinyl monomer and the polymerizable unsaturated monomer having a salt-forming group in the monomer composition is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected according to the purpose. From the viewpoint of improving the dispersion stability of the emulsion, it is preferably from 5% by weight to 90% by weight, more preferably from 10% by weight to 85% by weight, and particularly preferably from 20% by weight to 60% by weight.

The content of the polymer fine particles is preferably 10% by mass or more and 40% by mass or less with respect to the total amount of ink formulation.
The average particle size of the polymer fine particles is preferably 20 nm or more and 200 nm or less from the viewpoint of dispersion stability.
The average particle diameter is, for example, a sample diluted with pure water so that the pigment concentration in the measurement sample becomes 0.01% by mass using Microtrack UPA-150 manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd., and the particle refractive index is 1.51. It is a 50% average particle diameter (D50) measured at 23 ° C. using a particle density of 1.4 g / cm ³ and a pure water parameter as a solvent parameter.

<Surfactant>
As the surfactant, any of silicone surfactants, fluorine surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, nonionic surfactants and anionic surfactants can be used.
There is no restriction | limiting in particular in silicone type surfactant, According to the objective, it can select suitably. Among them, those that do not decompose even at high pH are preferable, and examples thereof include side chain modified polydimethylsiloxane, both terminal modified polydimethylsiloxane, one terminal modified polydimethylsiloxane, and side chain both terminal modified polydimethylsiloxane. Those having an oxyethylene group or a polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene group are particularly preferred because they exhibit good properties as an aqueous surfactant. In addition, as the silicone surfactant, a polyether-modified silicone surfactant can be used, and examples thereof include a compound in which a polyalkylene oxide structure is introduced into the side chain of the Si portion of dimethylsiloxane.
Examples of the fluorosurfactant include a perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acid compound, a perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acid compound, a perfluoroalkyl phosphate compound, a perfluoroalkyl ethylene oxide adduct, and a perfluoroalkyl ether group in the side chain. Polyoxyalkylene ether polymer compounds are particularly preferred because of their low foaming properties. Examples of the perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acid compound include perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acid, perfluoroalkyl sulfonate, and the like. Examples of the perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acid compound include perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acid and perfluoroalkylcarboxylate. Examples of the polyoxyalkylene ether polymer compound having a perfluoroalkyl ether group in the side chain include a sulfate ester salt of a polyoxyalkylene ether polymer having a perfluoroalkyl ether group in the side chain and a perfluoroalkyl ether group in the side chain. Examples thereof include salts of polyoxyalkylene ether polymers. As counter ions of the salts in these fluorosurfactants, Li, Na, K, NH ₄ , NH ₃ CH ₂ CH ₂ OH, NH ₂ (CH ₂ CH ₂ OH) ₂ , NH (CH ₂ CH ₂ OH) ₃ etc. are mentioned.
Examples of amphoteric surfactants include lauryl aminopropionate, lauryl dimethyl betaine, stearyl dimethyl betaine, and lauryl dihydroxyethyl betaine.
Nonionic surfactants include, for example, polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene alkyl ester, polyoxyethylene alkylamine, polyoxyethylene alkylamide, polyoxyethylene propylene block polymer, sorbitan fatty acid ester, polyoxyethylene sorbitan Examples include fatty acid esters and ethylene oxide adducts of acetylene alcohol.
Examples of the anionic surfactant include polyoxyethylene alkyl ether acetate, dodecylbenzene sulfonate, laurate, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate salt, and the like.
These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The silicone surfactant is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, side chain modified polydimethylsiloxane, both terminal modified polydimethylsiloxane, one terminal modified polydimethylsiloxane, side Since both ends of the chain are modified with polydimethylsiloxane, a polyether-modified silicone surfactant having a polyoxyethylene group or a polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene group as a modifying group exhibits good properties as an aqueous surfactant. preferable.
As such a surfactant, an appropriately synthesized product or a commercially available product may be used. Commercially available products can be obtained from, for example, Big Chemie Co., Ltd., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd., Nippon Emulsion Co., Ltd., and Kyoeisha Chemical Co., Ltd.
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said polyether modified silicone surfactant, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, the polyalkylene oxide structure represented by a general formula (S-1) type | formula is dimethylpolyethylene. Examples thereof include those introduced into the side chain of Si part of siloxane.
(In the general formula (S-1), m, n, a, and b represent integers. R and R ′ represent an alkyl group and an alkylene group.)
A commercial item can be used as said polyether modified silicone type surfactant, For example, KF-618, KF-642, KF-643 (Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.), EMALEX-SS-5602, SS- 1906EX (Japan Emulsion Co., Ltd.), FZ-2105, FZ-2118, FZ-2154, FZ-2161, FZ-2162, FZ-2163, FZ-2164 (Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.), BYK-33, BYK-387 (Bic Chemie Co., Ltd.), TSF4440, TSF4452, TSF4453 (Toshiba Silicon Co., Ltd.), etc. are mentioned.

As the fluorine-based surfactant, a fluorine-substituted compound having 2 to 16 carbon atoms is preferable, and a fluorine-substituted compound having 4 to 16 carbon atoms is more preferable.
Examples of the fluorosurfactant include perfluoroalkyl phosphate compounds, perfluoroalkylethylene oxide adducts, and polyoxyalkylene ether polymer compounds having a perfluoroalkyl ether group in the side chain. Among these, a polyoxyalkylene ether polymer compound having a perfluoroalkyl ether group in the side chain is preferable because of its low foaming property, and in particular, fluorine-based compounds represented by the general formulas (F-1) and (F-2) A surfactant is preferred.
In the compound represented by the general formula (F-1), m is preferably an integer of 0 to 10 and n is preferably an integer of 0 to 40 in order to impart water solubility.
Formula (F-2)
_{C n F 2n + 1 -CH 2} CH (OH) CH 2 -O- (CH 2 CH 2 O) a -Y
In the compound represented by the general formula (F-2), Y is H, or C _n F _{2n + 1,} n is an integer of 1 to 6, or _{CH 2 CH (OH) CH 2} -C n F 2n + _1, n is 4-6 integer, or p in C _p H _{2p + 1} is an integer of 1 to 19. a is an integer of 4-14.
A commercial item may be used as said fluorosurfactant. As this commercial item, for example, Surflon S-111, S-112, S-113, S-121, S-131, S-132, S-141, S-145 (all manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.); Fullrad FC-93, FC-95, FC-98, FC-129, FC-135, FC-170C, FC-430, FC-431 (all manufactured by Sumitomo 3M Limited); Megafac F-470, F -1405, F-474 (all manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc.); Zonyl TBS, FSP, FSA, FSN-100, FSN, FSO-100, FSO, FS-300, UR (all FT-110, FT-250, FT-251, FT-400S, FT-150, FT-400SW (all are corporations) (Manufactured by Male), Polyfox PF-136A, PF-156A, PF-151N, PF-154, PF-159 (Omnova), Unidyne DSN-403N (Daikin Industries, Ltd.), and the like. Among these, FS-300 manufactured by Du Pont, FT-110, FT-250 manufactured by Neos Co., Ltd., and the like, have excellent print quality, particularly color developability, paper permeability, wettability, and leveling. FT-251, FT-400S, FT-150, FT-400SW, Polyfox PF-151N manufactured by Omninova, and Unidyne DSN-403N manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd. are particularly preferable.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as content of surfactant in an ink, Although it can select suitably according to the objective, From the point which is excellent in wettability and discharge stability, and image quality improves, it is 0.001 mass. % To 5% by mass is preferable, and 0.05% to 5% by mass is more preferable.

<Other ingredients>
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said other component, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, a foam suppressor (antifoamer), antiseptic / antifungal agent, a rust preventive agent, a pH adjuster, a chelating reagent etc. Is mentioned.

<Foam suppressor (antifoaming agent)>
The antifoaming agent (antifoaming agent) is added to prevent foaming of the ink or to break the generated bubbles. Examples of the antifoaming agent (antifoaming agent) include those represented by the following general formula.
In the general formula, R ₁ and R ₂ are each independently an alkyl group having 3 to 6 carbon atoms, R ₃ and R ₄ are each independently an alkyl group having 1 to 2 carbon atoms, m Is an integer from 1 to 6.
Among the compounds represented by the above general formula, 2,4,7,9-tetramethyldecane-4,7-diol is preferable because it exhibits an excellent antifoaming effect.

Moreover, as said antifoamer, a silicone antifoamer is preferable. Examples of the silicone antifoaming agent include an oil type silicone antifoaming agent, a compound type silicone antifoaming agent, a self-emulsifying type silicone antifoaming agent, an emulsion type silicone antifoaming agent, and a modified silicone antifoaming agent.
Commercially available products may be used as the antifoaming agent. Examples of the commercially available products include silicone antifoaming agents (KS508, KS531, KM72, KM72F, KM85, KM98, etc.) manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. Silicone antifoaming agent (Q2-3183A, SH5500, SH5510, SM5571, SM5571 EMULSION etc.) manufactured by Dow Corning Co., Ltd. Silicone antifoaming agent (SAG30 etc.) manufactured by Nihon Unicar Co., Ltd. And foaming agents (Adecanate series, etc.).

<Antiseptic and fungicide>
The antiseptic / antifungal agent is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one.

<Rust preventive>
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as a rust preventive agent, For example, acidic sulfite, sodium thiosulfate, etc. are mentioned.

<PH adjuster>
The pH adjuster is added for the purpose of stabilizing the dispersion state by keeping the ink alkaline and stabilizing ejection. However, when the pH is 11 or more, the amount of the ink jet head and the ink supply unit that melts out is large, and depending on the material of the head and unit, problems such as ink deterioration, leakage, and defective discharge are likely to occur when used for a long time. . In the case of a pigment, it is more preferable to add a pH adjuster when kneading and dispersing the pigment in water together with the dispersant than adding with an additive such as a wetting agent after kneading and dispersing. This is because the dispersion may be destroyed by addition depending on the pH adjusting agent.
The pH adjuster preferably contains one or more alcohol amines, alkali metal hydroxides, ammonium hydroxides, phosphonium hydroxides, and alkali metal carbonates.
Examples of the alcohol amines include diethanolamine, triethanolamine, 2-amino-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol, and the like.
Examples of the alkali metal hydroxide include lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and the like.
Examples of the ammonium hydroxide include ammonium hydroxide and quaternary ammonium hydroxide.
Examples of the phosphonium hydroxide include quaternary phosphonium hydroxide.
Examples of the alkali metal carbonate include lithium carbonate, sodium carbonate, and potassium carbonate.

<Chelating reagent>
Examples of the chelating reagent include sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate, sodium nitrilotriacetate, sodium hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetate, sodium diethylenetriaminepentaacetate, sodium uramil diacetate, and the like.

The physical properties of the ink are not particularly limited except for the surface tension, and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. For example, the viscosity, surface tension, pH and the like are preferably in the following ranges.
The viscosity at 25 ° C. of the ink is preferably 3 mPa · s or more and 30 mPa · s or less, and preferably 3 mPa · s or more and 25 mPa · s or less from the viewpoint of improving the printing density and character quality and obtaining good discharge properties. More preferred. Here, for the viscosity, for example, a rotary viscometer (RE-80L manufactured by Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) can be used. Measurement conditions are 25 ° C., standard cone rotor (1 ° 34 ′ × R24), sample liquid amount 1.2 mL, rotation speed 50 rpm, and measurement is possible for 3 minutes.
The viscosity of the ink can be adjusted by balancing the amount and type of various solvents and activators, and the amount of water. The method for reducing the viscosity is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. Examples thereof include decreasing the amount of ink solvent added and increasing the amount of water added.
The pH of the ink is preferably 7 to 12 and more preferably 8 to 11 from the viewpoint of preventing corrosion of the metal member in contact with the liquid.

(Colorization)
The color of each ink used in the present invention is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. Examples thereof include black, yellow, magenta, and cyan. A multicolor image can be formed by recording using an ink set in which two or more of these inks are used in combination, and a full color image can be formed by recording using an ink set in which all colors are used in combination. can do.

<Ink set>
The ink used in the inkjet recording method of the present invention may be an ink of an ink set composed of two or more colors including black ink and other color inks in addition to the single color ink. All inks in the set had a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method was 15 ms at 25 ° C. and the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method was 1500 ms. The dynamic surface tension at the time is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension, and the difference in static surface tension at 25 ° C. between the black ink and the other color ink (the static surface of the black ink) The tension-static surface tension of the inks of other colors is preferably 0 mN / m or more and 4 mN / m or less.

Static surface tension is involved in the permeation process of each ink into the recording medium in the ink set. For this reason, when creating a color image using multiple colors of ink, if these values are different for each ink, there will be a difference in the permeation status at the part where the ink of different colors is in contact, resulting in image quality. Will lead to a decline.
In particular, since black ink is excellent in visibility, the outline can be clearly seen even with thin lines or dots, and image disturbance is easily noticeable. For example, if the dots of black ink with high penetrability, that is, low static surface tension, and dots of other color inks with low penetrability, that is, high static surface tension, are adjacent, Since the black ink is pulled to the other high color ink side, the black ink is mixed into the other color ink side, and a bleed phenomenon in which the contour portion becomes unclear occurs. This phenomenon is particularly likely to occur on a recording medium with poor permeability, and is also likely to occur during high-speed printing where the penetration time cannot be long.

To prevent this, the static surface tension of black ink can be increased and the static surface tension of other color inks can be decreased. However, if the difference is too large, other color inks are mixed into the black ink side. However, the black characters are thinned, and bleeding occurs at the boundary, leading to a decrease in image quality.
If the static surface tension difference is small, the bleed does not occur or is slight even if it occurs, and there is little influence on the image quality due to the mixing with the black ink with low brightness. In the present invention, at 25 ° C. The bleeding problem can be avoided by setting the static surface tension of the black ink to be 0 mN / m or more and 4 mN / m or less higher than the static surface tension of the other color inks.

According to the ink jet recording method of the present invention using the ink set, the water repellent film is formed by a physical load accompanying maintenance work for keeping the surface of the nozzle plate on which the nozzles constituting the droplet discharge head are clean. Even if it deteriorates little by little, it is possible to stably discharge an ink set composed of two or more colors including black (ejection stability: no streaks, white spots, ejection disturbance), and good Can be obtained (uniformity of solid printing portion, no bleeding between black ink and color ink).

Each ink in the ink set preferably contains water, an organic solvent, a coloring material, and a surfactant, and further contains other components as necessary.
The water, the organic solvent, the color material, the surfactant, and the other components in each ink of the ink set can be the same as those of the ink.

As described above, as the ink used in the ink jet recording method of the present invention, an ink set composed of two or more colors including black ink and other color inks is used, and the surface by the maximum bubble pressure method is used at 25 ° C. The dynamic surface tension when the lifetime is 15 ms is 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension, and the dynamic surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms is 3 mN / m than the static surface tension. The difference in static surface tension between black ink and other color inks, that is, (static surface tension of black ink) − (static surface tension of ink of other colors) is 25 ° C. It is preferable that the requirement of 0 mN / m or more and 4 mN / m or less is satisfied. If the static surface tension is too high, the penetration of the ink into the media will be slow, causing beading and set-off. On the other hand, if it is too low, the penetrability becomes too high, and ink breakthrough occurs.
In order to satisfy these conditions, the amount of each component added can be appropriately adjusted. For example, as a method for lowering the static surface tension, there are the following methods.
・ Increase the amount of compounds used as surfactants and organic solvent penetrants.
・ Change the surfactant to one that has a stronger ability to reduce surface tension.
-Lower the water repellency of the water repellent film on the nozzle plate.

(Ink container)
The ink container used in the present invention is a container in which each ink of the ink or ink set used in the ink jet recording method of the present invention is stored in a container. That is, the ink storage container stores each ink in the container, and includes other members appropriately selected as necessary.
The container is not particularly limited, and its shape, structure, size, material, and the like can be selected as appropriate according to the purpose. Things.

  Specific examples include those shown in FIGS. 22 and 23. FIG. 22 is a view showing an example of the ink storage container, and FIG. 23 is a view including the case (exterior) of the ink storage container of FIG.

After the ink is filled into the ink container 241 from the ink inlet 242 and exhausted, the ink inlet 242 is closed by fusion. In use, ink is supplied to the apparatus by inserting a needle of the apparatus main body into the ink discharge port 243 made of a rubber member. The ink containing portion 241 is formed of a packaging member such as an aluminum laminate film having no air permeability. As shown in FIG. 23, the ink storage unit 241 is normally stored in a plastic storage container case 244, and is used as an ink storage container 240 that is detachably mounted on various ink jet recording apparatuses. Yes.
This ink storage container stores each ink of the ink or the ink set and can be used by being detachably attached to various ink jet recording apparatuses, and can also be used by being detachably attached to an ink jet recording apparatus described later. Is particularly preferred.

  Next, the ink jet recording method and the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

An example of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a side view for explaining the overall configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus, and FIG. 14 is a plan view of the main part.
This ink jet recording apparatus is a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, and a carriage 33 is slidable in the main scanning direction by main and sub guide rods 31 and 32 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 21A and 21B of the apparatus main body 1. The main scanning motor (not shown) moves and scans in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction) in FIG. 14 via the timing belt.

  The carriage 33 is provided with recording heads 34a and 34b composed of liquid ejection heads for ejecting ink droplets of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). The “recording head 34” is arranged in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and the ink droplet ejection direction is directed downward.

  Each of the recording heads 34 has two nozzle rows. One nozzle row of the recording head 34a has black (K) droplets, the other nozzle row has cyan (C) droplets, and the recording head 34b has one nozzle row. One nozzle row ejects magenta (M) droplets, and the other nozzle row ejects yellow (Y) droplets. In addition, as the recording head 34, what has the nozzle row | line | column of each color which arranged the several nozzle on the surface of one nozzle board can also be used.

  Further, the sub tanks 35a and 35b, which are sub tanks as the second ink supply unit for supplying ink of each color corresponding to the nozzle row of the recording head 34, are referred to as the “sub tank 35” when they are not distinguished. ) Is installed. From the ink storage containers (main tanks) 10y, 10m, 10c, and 10k of the respective colors that are detachably attached to the storage container loading unit 4 to the sub tank 35, the supply pump unit 24 via the supply tubes 36 of the respective colors. The recording liquid of each color is replenished and supplied.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the papers 42 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 41 of the paper feeding tray 2, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the papers 42 one by one from the paper stacking unit 41. The separation pad 44 is made of a material having a large friction coefficient, and is opposed to the sheet feeding roller 43. The separation pad 44 is urged toward the sheet feeding roller 43 side.

  In order to feed the paper 42 fed from the paper feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 34, a guide member 45 for guiding the paper 42, a counter roller 46, a conveyance guide 47, and a tip pressure roller 49. And a conveying belt 51 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 42 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 34.

  The transport belt 51 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the transport roller 52 and the tension roller 53 and circulate in the belt transport direction (sub-scanning direction). Further, a charging roller 56 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 51 is provided. The charging roller 56 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the transport belt 51 and to rotate following the rotation of the transport belt 51. The transport belt 51 rotates in the belt transport direction of FIG. 14 when the transport roller 52 is rotationally driven through timing by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 42 recorded by the recording head 34, a separation claw 61 for separating the paper 42 from the conveying belt 51, a paper discharge roller 62, and a spur 63 that is a paper discharge roller. And a paper discharge tray 3 below the paper discharge roller 62.

  A duplex unit 71 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The duplex unit 71 takes in the paper 42 returned by the reverse rotation of the conveyance belt 51, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 46 and the conveyance belt 51. The upper surface of the duplex unit 71 is a manual feed tray 72.

  Further, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 34 is disposed in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 33 in the scanning direction. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes cap members (hereinafter referred to as “caps”) 82a and 82b (hereinafter referred to as “caps 82” when not distinguished from each other) for capping the surface of the nozzle plates of the recording head 34, and nozzles. A wiper member (wiper blade) 83 for wiping the plate surface, and an empty discharge receiver 84 for receiving droplets when performing an empty discharge for discharging droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the thickened recording liquid And a carriage lock 87 for locking the carriage 33. A waste liquid tank 100 for storing waste liquid generated by the maintenance recovery operation is mounted on the lower side of the head recovery mechanism 81 in a replaceable manner with respect to the apparatus main body.

  Further, in the non-printing area on the other side of the carriage 33 in the scanning direction, there is an empty space for receiving liquid droplets when performing empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. A discharge receiver 88 is disposed, and the idle discharge receiver 88 includes an opening 89 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 34.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 42 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feeding tray 2, and the sheet 42 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 45, and the transport belt 51 and the counter roller 46, and the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 47 and pressed against the conveying belt 51 by the leading end pressing roller 49, and the conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, a voltage is applied to the charging roller 56 so that a positive output and a negative output are alternately repeated, and the conveying belt 51 is charged with an alternating charging voltage pattern, and the sheet 42 is placed on the charged conveying belt 51. When fed, the paper 42 is attracted to the transport belt 51, and the paper 42 is transported in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the transport belt 51.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 34 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 33, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 42 to record one line, and after the paper 42 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 42 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 42 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3.

  When performing the maintenance and recovery of the nozzles of the recording head 34, the nozzle 33 performs the suction from the nozzles by moving the carriage 33 to a position facing the maintenance and recovery mechanism 81 which is the home position and performing capping by the cap member 82. By performing a maintenance and recovery operation such as an empty discharge operation for discharging droplets that do not contribute to image formation, it is possible to perform image formation by stable droplet discharge.

  Next, an example of the liquid discharge head constituting the recording head 34 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the longitudinal direction of the liquid chamber of the head, and FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the short side of the liquid chamber (nozzle arrangement direction) of the head.

  The liquid discharge head is formed by bonding and laminating a flow path plate 101, a vibration plate 102 bonded to the lower surface of the flow path plate 101, and a nozzle plate 103 bonded to the upper surface of the flow path plate 101. A nozzle communication path 105 that is a flow path through which a nozzle 104 that discharges droplets (ink droplets) communicates, a liquid chamber 106 that is a pressure generation chamber, and an ink for supplying ink to the liquid chamber 106 through a fluid resistance portion (supply path) 107. An ink supply port 109 and the like communicating with the common liquid chamber 108 are formed.

  In addition, two (as shown in FIG. 15, only one row) stacked type electromechanical conversion elements, which are pressure generating means (actuator means) for pressurizing the ink in the liquid chamber 106 by deforming the diaphragm 102. A piezoelectric member 121 and a base substrate 122 to which the piezoelectric member 121 is bonded and fixed are provided. A plurality of piezoelectric element columns 121A and 121B are formed in the piezoelectric member 121 by forming grooves by slit processing that is not divided. In this example, the piezoelectric element column 121A is a driving piezoelectric element column that applies a driving waveform, and the piezoelectric element column 121B is a non-driving piezoelectric element column that does not apply a driving waveform. Further, an FPC cable 126 equipped with a drive circuit (drive IC) is connected to the drive piezoelectric element column 121A of the piezoelectric member 121.

  The peripheral edge of the diaphragm 102 is joined to the frame member 130, and the frame member 130 serves as a through-hole 131 and a common liquid chamber 108 that house an actuator unit composed of the piezoelectric member 121 and the base substrate 122. A recess and an ink supply hole 132 which is a liquid supply port for supplying ink from the outside to the common liquid chamber 108 are formed.

  Here, the flow path plate 101 is formed by, for example, subjecting the single crystal silicon substrate having the crystal plane orientation (110) to anisotropic nozzle etching using an alkaline etching solution such as an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution (KOH), thereby the nozzle communication path 105. However, the liquid chamber 106 is formed with a recess or a hole, but is not limited to a single crystal silicon substrate, and other stainless steel substrates, photosensitive resins, and the like can also be used.

  The diaphragm 102 is formed of a nickel metal plate, and is manufactured by, for example, an electroforming method (electroforming method). Alternatively, a metal plate or a joining member between a metal and a resin plate may be used. it can. The piezoelectric element columns 121 </ b> A and 121 </ b> B of the piezoelectric member 121 are bonded to the diaphragm 102 with an adhesive, and the frame member 130 is further bonded with an adhesive.

  The nozzle plate 103 forms a nozzle 104 having a diameter of 10 μm or more and 30 μm or less corresponding to each liquid chamber 106 and is bonded to the flow path plate 101 with an adhesive. The nozzle plate 103 is preferably formed by forming a water repellent film on the outermost surface on the ink ejection side through a required layer on the surface of a nozzle forming member made of a metal member.

  The piezoelectric member 121 is a stacked piezoelectric element (here, PZT) in which piezoelectric materials 151 and internal electrodes 152 are alternately stacked. An individual electrode 153 and a common electrode 154 are connected to each internal electrode 152 drawn out to different end faces of the piezoelectric member 121. In this embodiment, the ink in the liquid chamber 106 is pressurized using the displacement in the d33 direction as the piezoelectric direction of the piezoelectric member 121, but the liquid chamber is used by using the displacement in the d31 direction as the piezoelectric direction of the piezoelectric member 121. A configuration may also be adopted in which the ink in 106 is pressurized.

  In the liquid ejection head configured in this way, for example, the drive piezoelectric element column 121A contracts by lowering the voltage applied to the piezoelectric member 121 from the reference potential Ve, the diaphragm 102 is lowered, and the volume of the liquid chamber 106 is reduced. By expanding, the ink flows into the liquid chamber 106, and then the voltage applied to the driving piezoelectric element column 121A is increased to extend the driving piezoelectric element column 121A in the stacking direction, and the diaphragm 102 is deformed in the nozzle 104 direction. By contracting the volume of the liquid chamber 106, the ink in the liquid chamber 106 is pressurized, and ink droplets are ejected (jetted) from the nozzle 104.

  Then, by returning the voltage applied to the drive piezoelectric element column 121A to the reference potential, the diaphragm 102 is restored to the initial position, and the liquid chamber 106 expands to generate a negative pressure. At this time, from the common liquid chamber 108, The liquid chamber 106 is filled with ink. Therefore, after the vibration of the meniscus surface of the nozzle 104 is attenuated and stabilized, the operation proceeds to the next droplet discharge.

  Note that the driving method of the head is not limited to the above-described example (drawing-pushing), and it is also possible to perform striking or pushing depending on the direction to which the drive waveform is given.

In ink-jet recording, it is known that the shape and accuracy of nozzle formation and the surface characteristics of a nozzle plate greatly affect the ejection characteristics of ink droplets. If ink adheres to the vicinity of the nozzles on the surface of the nozzle plate, problems such as bending of the ink droplet ejection direction and unstable flying speed occur. In order to prevent such problems due to ink adhesion, a water repellent film is formed on the surface of the nozzle plate (the surface on which ink is ejected) to impart water repellency, thereby improving ink droplet ejection stability. ing.
However, by wiping off ink adhering to the water-repellent film by a maintenance operation such as suction, the water-repellent film is gradually peeled off and the water repellency of the nozzle plate is deteriorated. In order to deal with such problems, attempts have been made to improve the adhesion between the water repellent film and the nozzle plate, but it is not easy to prevent deterioration of the water repellent film.

  The recording head used in the present invention preferably has a nozzle plate provided with nozzles, and the nozzle plate preferably has a water-repellent film provided on the surface on the ink ejection side. Before providing the water repellent film on the surface of the nozzle plate, an underlayer made of an inorganic oxide may be provided as the underlayer of the water repellent film.

The water repellent film may be a general known water repellent film, and preferably contains a polymer having a perfluoroalkyl chain. As a method for forming the water repellent film, the following method is preferably applied.
(1) Sol-gel method: At least one of a polymer and an oligomer (A) having at least one perfluoroalkyl group and at least one alkoxysilyl group on the ink ejection side surface of the nozzle plate, and the following general formula ( After applying a water repellent treatment agent solution in which the silane compound (B) represented by II) is dissolved in a solvent, it is reacted to form a water repellent film and adhere.
Si (Y) (OR) ₃ ... General formula (II)
[In the general formula (II), R represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, and Y represents an alkyl group which may have a substituent or an aryl group which may have a substituent, or It represents an OR group (as defined above) in the general formula (II). Each R may be the same or different. ]

(2) Vapor deposition method: At least one of a polymer and an oligomer having an SiO ₂ film formed on the discharge side surface of the ink droplet and having at least one perfluoroalkyl group and at least one alkoxysilyl group on the SiO ₂ film. The vapor deposition using (A) as a vapor deposition source and the vapor deposition using the silane compound (B) represented by the general formula (II) as a vapor deposition source are repeated individually in different zones in a vacuum chamber, and vapor deposited. A water repellent film is formed by reacting (A) and (B), and is fixed.

Next, an outline of the control unit of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the figure is a block explanatory drawing of the control part.
The control unit 500 includes a CPU 501 that also functions as a unit for controlling the idle ejection operation according to the present invention that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 502 that stores programs executed by the CPU 501 and other fixed data, and image data. RAM 503 for temporary storage, rewritable non-volatile memory 504 for holding data while the apparatus is powered off, image processing for performing various signal processing and rearrangement on image data, and other entire apparatus And an ASIC 505 for processing input / output signals for control.

  Further, a print control unit 508 including a data transfer unit for driving and controlling the recording head 34 and a signal generating unit, a head driver (driver IC) 509 for driving the recording head 34 provided on the carriage 33 side, and a carriage A motor control unit for driving a main scanning motor 554 that moves and scans 33, a sub-scanning motor 555 that moves the conveyor belt 51 in a circular motion, and a maintenance and recovery motor 556 that moves the cap 82 and the wiper member 83 of the maintenance and recovery mechanism 81 510, an AC bias supply unit 511 for supplying an AC bias to the charging roller 56, and the like.

  The control unit 500 is connected to an operation panel 514 for inputting and displaying information necessary for the apparatus.

  The control unit 500 has an I / F 506 for transmitting and receiving data and signals to and from the host side, an information processing device such as a personal computer, an image reading device such as an image scanner, an imaging device such as a digital camera, and the like. From the host 600 side via the cable or network via the I / F 506.

  The CPU 501 of the control unit 500 reads and analyzes the print data in the reception buffer included in the I / F 506, performs necessary image processing, data rearrangement processing, and the like in the ASIC 505, and prints the image data. The data is transferred from the unit 508 to the head driver 509. Note that generation of dot pattern data for image output is performed by the printer driver 601 on the host 600 side.

  The print control unit 508 transfers the above-described image data as serial data, and outputs a transfer clock, a latch signal, a control signal, and the like necessary for transferring the image data and confirming the transfer to the head driver 509. Including a drive signal generation unit including a D / A converter for converting D / A conversion of drive pulse pattern data stored in a ROM, a voltage amplifier, a current amplifier, and the like, and a specific signal used in the present invention as a head Output to the driver 509.

  The head driver 509 generates a pull-in pulse and a discharge pulse by selecting a drive pulse constituting a drive waveform supplied from the print control unit 508 based on image data corresponding to one line of the recording head 34 input serially. Then, the recording head 34 is driven by being applied to a piezoelectric element as pressure generating means for generating energy for discharging the droplets of the recording head 34. At this time, by selecting a part or all of the driving pulse constituting the driving waveform and all or part of the waveform element forming the driving pulse, for example, a large droplet, a medium droplet, a small droplet, etc. Different dots can be distinguished.

  The I / O unit 513 acquires information from various sensor groups 515 mounted on the apparatus, extracts information necessary for controlling the printer, a print control unit 508, a motor control unit 510, and an AC bias supply unit. Used to control 511. The sensor group 515 includes an optical sensor for detecting the position of the paper, a thermistor for monitoring the temperature in the machine, a sensor for monitoring the voltage of the charging belt, an interlock switch for detecting opening and closing of the cover, and the like. The I / O unit 513 can process various sensor information.

Next, an example of the print control unit 508 and the head driver 509 will be described with reference to FIG.
The print control unit 508 generates a drive pulse in which the voltage change time of the expansion waveform element (the voltage change portion that draws ink at the nozzle) is 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber within one print cycle during image formation. A drive waveform generation unit 701 that generates and outputs a drive waveform, a 2-bit image data (gradation signals 0 and 1) corresponding to a print image, a clock signal, a latch signal (LAT), and droplet control signals M0 to M0. A data transfer unit 702 that outputs M3 and an idle ejection drive waveform generation unit 703 that generates and outputs an idle ejection drive waveform are provided.

  The droplet control signal is a 2-bit signal that instructs each droplet to open and close the analog switch 715 that is the switch means of the head driver 509, and is a driving pulse or waveform element to be selected in accordance with the printing cycle of the common driving waveform. The state transitions to H level (ON) at, and when not selected, the state transitions to L level (OFF).

  The head driver 509 receives a transfer clock (shift clock) from the data transfer unit 702 and serial image data (gradation data: 2 bits / 1 channel (1 nozzle)), and register values of the shift register 711. Is latched by a latch signal, a decoder 713 that decodes gradation data and control signals M0 to M3 and outputs the result, and a logic level voltage signal of the decoder 713 is a level at which the analog switch 715 can operate. A level shifter 714 that performs level conversion to an analog switch, and an analog switch 715 that is turned on / off (opened / closed) by an output of a decoder 713 provided via the level shifter 714.

<Recording medium>
The recording medium used for recording is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include plain paper, glossy paper, special paper, cloth, film, OHP sheet, and general-purpose printing paper.

<Recorded material>
The ink recorded matter of the present invention has an image formed using the ink of the present invention on a recording medium.
Recording can be performed by recording with an inkjet recording apparatus and an inkjet recording method.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples. In the following, “part” means “part by mass” unless otherwise specified. “%” Represents “% by mass” unless otherwise specified.

(Production Example 1 of Pigment Dispersion)
-Production of cyan dispersion-
After sufficiently replacing the inside of the 1 L flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, thermometer, nitrogen gas introduction tube, reflux tube and dropping funnel with nitrogen gas, 11.2 g of styrene, 2.8 g of acrylic acid, 12.0 g of lauryl methacrylate, 4.0 g of polyethylene glycol methacrylate, 4.0 g of styrene macromer (manufactured by Toa Gosei Co., Ltd., trade name: AS-6) and 0.4 g of mercaptoethanol were charged and heated to 65 ° C. Next, 100.8 g of styrene, 25.2 g of acrylic acid, 108.0 g of lauryl methacrylate, 36.0 g of polyethylene glycol methacrylate, 60.0 g of hydroxyethyl methacrylate, styrene macromer (trade name: AS-6, manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd.) A mixed solution of 36.0 g, mercaptoethanol 3.6 g, azobisdimethylvaleronitrile 2.4 g and methyl ethyl ketone 18 g was dropped into the flask over 2.5 hours.
After completion of dropping, a mixed solution of 0.8 g of azobisdimethylvaleronitrile and 18 g of methyl ethyl ketone was dropped into the flask over 0.5 hours. After aging at 65 ° C. for 1 hour, 0.8 g of azobisdimethylvaleronitrile was added, and further aging was performed for 1 hour. After completion of the reaction, 364 g of methyl ethyl ketone was added to the flask to obtain 800 g of a polymer solution having a concentration of 50% by mass.
Next, a part of the polymer solution was dried and measured by gel permeation chromatography (standard: polystyrene, solvent: tetrahydrofuran), and the weight average molecular weight was 15,000.

28 g of the polymer solution, 26 g of Pigment Blue 15: 3 (manufactured by Dainichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd., Chromofine Blue A-220JC), 13.6 g of 1 mol / L potassium hydroxide aqueous solution, 20 g of methyl ethyl ketone, and 30 g of ion-exchanged water are sufficiently stirred. did.
Thereafter, the mixture was kneaded 20 times using a three-roll mill (manufactured by Noritake Company, trade name: NR-84A). The obtained paste was put into 200 g of ion-exchanged water, and after sufficiently stirring, methyl ethyl ketone and water were distilled off using an evaporator to obtain 160 g of a blue polymer fine particle dispersion having a solid content of 20.0% by mass. .
When the obtained polymer fine particles were measured with Microtrac UPA (Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), the average particle size (D50%) was 98 nm.

(Production Example 2 of Pigment Dispersion)
-Production of magenta dispersion-
Manufacture of the pigment dispersion except that Pigment Blue 15: 3, which is a copper phthalocyanine pigment, was changed to Pigment Red 122 (Chromofine Magenta 6886, manufactured by Dainichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd.). In the same manner as in Example 1, a red-violet polymer fine particle dispersion was obtained.
When the obtained polymer fine particles were measured with Microtrac UPA (manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), the average particle size (D50%) was 124 nm.

(Production Example 3 of Pigment Dispersion)
-Preparation of yellow dispersion-
Pigment Blue 15: 3, which is a copper phthalocyanine pigment, was changed to Pigment Yellow 74 (Daiichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd., First Yellow 531) in Production Example 1 of the pigment dispersion. In the same manner as in Example 1, a yellow polymer fine particle dispersion was obtained.
When the obtained polymer fine particles were measured with Microtrac UPA (Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), the average particle size (D50%) was 78 nm.

(Production Example 4 of Pigment Dispersion)
-Preparation of black dispersion-
In Production Example 1 of the pigment dispersion, a black phthalocyanine pigment, Pigment Blue 15: 3, was changed to carbon black (FW 100, manufactured by Degussa). A polymer fine particle dispersion was obtained.
When the obtained polymer fine particles were measured with Microtrac UPA (manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), the average particle size (D50%) was 110 nm.

(Ink Preparation Examples 1 to 12)
Using each pigment dispersion produced in Production Examples 1 to 4 of the Pigment Dispersion, each ink of Preparation Examples 1 to 12 of the ink was prepared by a conventional method with the formulations shown in Tables 1 and 2 below, and the pH was adjusted. Was adjusted with a 10% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide.
Specifically, a water-soluble organic solvent, a surfactant, an antifungal agent, an antifoaming agent, an antifoaming agent, a penetrating agent, and ion-exchanged water are prepared in this order and stirred for 30 minutes. Then, the pigment dispersion obtained in Production Examples 1 to 4 of the pigment dispersion was added and stirred for 30 minutes, and then filtered through a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.8 μm. Each ink was obtained. The unit of numerical values in Tables 1 and 2 is “mass%”.

The meanings of the abbreviations in Tables 1 and 2 are as follows.
・ Surfactant A: Fluorosurfactant (Unidyne DSN-403N (with perfluoroalkyl polyethylene oxide)
Reaction mixture and polyethylene glycol), Daikin Industries, Ltd.)
Surfactant B: Fluorosurfactant (FS-300, manufactured by DuPont)
-Surfactant C: Polyether-modified silicone surfactant (BYK-349, manufactured by Big Chemie Japan, Inc., 100% by mass)
Surfactant D: Polyoxyethylene (3) sodium tridecyl ether acetate (ECTD-3NEX, manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Corporation)
-KM-72F: self-emulsifying type silicone antifoaming agent (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd., 100% by mass)
Proxel LV: Antifungal agent (Abyssia)

<Ink physical properties>
About each ink of the said ink preparation examples 1-12, the viscosity, static surface tension, and dynamic surface tension were measured as follows. The results are shown in Table 3.
In addition, when the difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension of each ink satisfies both of the following (1) and (2), the evaluation result is also indicated as “◯”, otherwise the evaluation result is “x”.
(1) At 25 ° C., the dynamic surface tension when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms is 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) At 25 ° C., the dynamic surface tension when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.

-Viscosity-
The viscosity (mPa · s) of each ink at 25 ° C. was measured at an appropriate rotational speed of 10 to 100 rpm using an R-type viscometer (RC-500, manufactured by Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.).

-Static surface tension-
The static surface tension (mN / m) of each ink at 25 ° C. was measured by a platinum plate method using a fully automatic surface tension meter (CBVP-Z, manufactured by Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd.).

-Dynamic surface tension-
The dynamic surface tension (mN / m) of each ink at 25 ° C. was measured by a maximum bubble pressure method using a dynamic surface tension meter SITA DynaTester (manufactured by SITA Messtechnik).

(Examples 1-16 and Comparative Examples 1-20)
The evaluation of each ink will be described below.
<Preparation before printer evaluation>
In an environment adjusted to a temperature of 25 ° C. ± 0.5 ° C. and 50 ± 5% RH, an ink jet printer (IPSio GXe3300, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) is used, and ink is ejected most stably at the viscosity of each ink. Waveforms were selected and used for all print evaluations.
The ink jet printer used includes a nozzle plate having a nozzle for discharging ink droplets, a liquid chamber in which the nozzle communicates, and a recording head including a pressure generating element that is a pressure generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber; A drive waveform including one or more drive pulses in time series and a head driver, wherein the head driver selects a drive pulse from the drive waveforms including one or more drive pulses in time series to determine the size of an ink droplet An ejection pulse corresponding to this is generated, and an ejection pulse is applied to the pressure generating element to eject ink droplets from the nozzle openings, thereby forming an image on a recording medium.
A nozzle plate having a water-repellent film on the ink discharge side surface was used.

When an ink droplet is ejected from a nozzle opening and an image is formed on a recording medium by the ink jet recording method of the present invention, the nozzle is generated by a driving waveform including one or a plurality of driving pulses existing in one printing unit cycle. From one to a plurality of ink droplets. Generally, the size of one drop of ink liquid is controlled by the difference in the image to be formed. When a droplet is formed, one drive pulse is included, and when a medium droplet and a large droplet are formed, a plurality of drive pulses are included.
At this time, the ejection pulse (drive pulse) that forms the first droplet within one printing unit cycle expands for a time (voltage change time) that is 1/1 of the resonance cycle of the liquid chamber in the head as shown in FIG. The discharge waveform that draws the meniscus at the waveform element (falling voltage change portion in the figure) is “waveform 1”, and similarly the expansion waveform element (falling voltage change portion in the figure) is 1/3 time (voltage change time). The discharge waveform that draws the meniscus is “waveform 2”, and the discharge waveform that draws the meniscus in a short time (voltage change time) of ¼ of the resonance period as shown in FIG.
When “Waveform 1” is used, the ink discharge results of Ink Preparation Examples 1 to 8 were set as Examples 1 to 8, and the ink discharge results of Ink Preparation Examples 9 to 12 were set as Comparative Examples 1 to 4.
Similarly, when “Waveform 2” is used, the ink discharge results of Ink Preparation Examples 1 to 8 are Examples 9 to 16, and the ink discharge results of Ink Preparation Examples 9 to 12 are Comparative Examples 5 to 8.
When “Waveform 3” is used, the ink discharge results of Ink Preparation Examples 1 to 8 are Comparative Examples 9 to 16, and the ink discharge results of Ink Preparation Examples 9 to 12 are Comparative Examples 17 to 20.
Before the evaluation, the process of attaching ink to the surface of the nozzle plate and wiping it with a wiper blade was repeated 4,000 times to create a state where the water-repellent film on the surface of the nozzle plate was intentionally deteriorated.

<Discharge stability>
Using the inkjet printer (manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd., IPSio GXe3300), printing is performed on My Paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh Co., Ltd.), and the printing pattern is a chart in which each color printing area is 5% of the total area of the paper surface, Yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks were printed at 100% duty. Printing conditions were a recording density of 600 dpi, one-pass printing, and print samples with three waveforms, waveforms 1 to 3, were produced. At this time, intermittent printing was performed. After the chart is printed continuously for 20 sheets, it is put into a resting state in which ejection is not performed for 20 minutes. This is repeated 50 times, and after printing a total of 1,000 sheets, the same chart is printed again. The presence or absence of streaks, white spots and jet disturbance was visually observed and evaluated. The evaluation criteria at this time were as follows. A was accepted and B and C were rejected.
〔Evaluation criteria〕
A: There are no streaks, white spots, or jet turbulence observed in the solid part.
B: Slight streaks, white spots, and jet turbulence are observed in the solid portion within two places.
C: Streaks, white spots, and jet turbulence are observed throughout the solid portion.

<Uniformity of solid printing part (solidity of solid part)>
Printing was performed on Ricoh Business Coat Gloss 100 (manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) using the inkjet printer (IPSio GXe3300 manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.). As a print pattern, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks were printed at 100% duty. At this time, print samples with three waveforms, waveforms 1 to 3, were prepared.
The solid part uniformity of the obtained sample was visually observed and evaluated. The evaluation criteria at this time were as follows. A was accepted and B and C were rejected.
〔Evaluation criteria〕
A: Almost no spots are observed in the solid part.
B: Some spots are observed in the solid part.
C: Spots are observed throughout the solid portion.

  These evaluation results are shown in Tables 4 to 6. The same applies to the case where the difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension of each ink satisfies the aforementioned conditions.

(1) Evaluation of ejection stability: According to Examples 1 to 16, a drive pulse having an expansion waveform element (falling voltage change portion) for a time (voltage change time) of 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber ( It was found that by using the (ejection pulse), good ejection stability can be obtained even with ink having a low static surface tension.
(2) Evaluation of ejection stability: According to a comparison between Examples 1 to 16 and Comparative Examples 9 to 16, ink having a large difference between dynamic surface tension and static surface tension has a resonance period of 1 in the liquid chamber. It has been found that good ejection stability can be obtained for the first time by using a drive pulse (ejection pulse) having an expansion waveform element (falling voltage variation portion) of / 3 or more time (voltage variation time). (3) Solid part uniformity evaluation: When Examples 1 to 16 are compared with Comparative Examples 1, 2, 5, and 6, the dynamics of the ink when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C. Even when the condition that the surface tension is 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension is satisfied, the dynamic surface tension is 3 mN higher than the static surface tension at 25 ° C. when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. It was found that when the condition of higher than / m was not satisfied, the solid portion uniformity was inferior even though the ejection stability was good. When the difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension does not satisfy the conditions of the present invention, there is almost no difference in the surface tension between the ink droplet landed on the recording medium and the ink droplet just before landing. No state. For this reason, when a subsequent ink droplet lands adjacent to the previously landed ink droplet, the ink droplet remaining adjacent to it touches and coalesces. For this reason, deviation of the landing position and beading occur, and the print quality deteriorates. This becomes more conspicuous on a recording medium with poor ink absorbability. When the difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension satisfies the conditions of the present invention, immediately after ejection from the head, stable liquid droplets are formed due to the high dynamic surface tension. Penetration proceeds rapidly due to the surface tension and beading is less likely to occur.

(Ink Preparation Examples 13 to 34)
Using the pigment dispersions produced in Production Examples 1 to 4 of the pigment dispersion, the inks of Preparation Examples 13 to 34 of Ink were prepared in the same manner as Ink Preparation Example 1 with the formulations shown in Tables 7 to 9 below. It was prepared and adjusted with a 10% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide so that the pH was 9.
The unit of numerical values in Tables 7 to 9 is “mass%”, and the meaning of the abbreviation is the same as in Table 1.

<Ink physical properties>
For each of the ink preparation examples 13 to 34, the viscosity, static surface tension, and dynamic surface tension were measured in the same manner as the ink of ink preparation example 1. The results are shown in Table 10.

Ink sets 1 to 7 having the combinations shown in Table 11 below were produced using the inks obtained in Ink Preparation Examples 13 to 34.

(Examples 17-22 and Comparative Examples 21-35)
Evaluation of the recording method using the produced ink sets 1 to 7 will be described below.
Evaluation was performed by the same recording method as in Example 1 except that the following was performed using the same ink jet printer as in Example 1.

Before the ejection pulse for forming the first drop within one printing unit cycle, an expansion waveform element (falling edge) for a time (voltage change time) of 1/1 of the resonance cycle of the liquid chamber in the head as shown in FIG. The discharge waveform that draws the meniscus at the voltage change portion) is “waveform 1”, and similarly, the discharge waveform that draws the meniscus at the expansion waveform element (falling voltage change portion) for 1/3 time (voltage change time) is “waveform 2”. As shown in FIG. 20, the discharge waveform that draws the meniscus with the expansion waveform element (falling voltage change portion) of a short time (voltage change time) of ¼ of the resonance period is “waveform 3”.
When “Waveform 1” is used, the discharge results of ink sets 1 to 3 were set to Examples 17 to 19, and the discharge results of ink sets 4 to 7 were set to Comparative Examples 21 to 24. Similarly, when “Waveform 2” is used, the discharge results of ink sets 1 to 3 were set to Examples 20 to 22, and the discharge results of ink sets 4 to 7 were set to Comparative Examples 25 to 28. When “Waveform 3” is used, the discharge results of the ink sets 1 to 3 are set as Comparative Examples 29 to 31, and the discharge results of the ink sets 4 to 7 are set as Comparative Examples 32-35. Before the evaluation, the process of attaching ink to the surface of the nozzle plate and wiping it with a wiper blade was repeated 4,000 times to create a state where the water-repellent film on the surface of the nozzle plate was intentionally deteriorated.

<Discharge stability>
Printing was performed on my paper (manufactured by NBS Ricoh Co., Ltd.) using the inkjet printer (IPSio GXe3300 manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.). The print pattern was a chart in which each color print area was 5% of the total area of the paper, and each ink of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black was printed at 100% duty. Printing conditions were a recording density of 600 dpi, one-pass printing, and print samples with three waveforms, waveforms 1 to 3, were produced. At this time, intermittent printing was performed. After the chart is printed continuously for 20 sheets, it is put into a resting state in which ejection is not performed for 20 minutes. This is repeated 50 times, and after printing a total of 1,000 sheets, the same chart is printed again. The presence or absence of streaks, white spots and jet disturbance was visually observed and evaluated. The evaluation criteria at this time were as follows. A was accepted and B and C were rejected.
〔Evaluation criteria〕
A: There are no streaks, white spots, or jet turbulence observed in the solid part.
B: Slight streaks, white spots, and jet turbulence are observed in the solid portion within two places.
C: Streaks, white spots, and jet turbulence are observed throughout the solid portion.

<Uniformity of solid printing part (solidity of solid part)>
Printing was performed on Ricoh Business Coat Gloss 100 (manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) using the inkjet printer (IPSio GXe3300 manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.). As a print pattern, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks were printed at 100% duty. At this time, print samples with three waveforms, waveforms 1 to 3, were prepared.
The solid part uniformity of the obtained sample was visually observed and evaluated. The evaluation criteria at this time were as follows. A was accepted and B and C were rejected.
〔Evaluation criteria〕
A: Almost no spots are observed in the solid part.
B: Some spots are observed in the solid part.
C: Spots are observed throughout the solid portion.

<Bleed evaluation between black ink and color ink>
This evaluation was performed only on “Waveform 1” and “Waveform 2”.
Using the inkjet printer (Ricoh Co., Ltd., IPSio GXe3300), printing was performed on My Paper (NBS Ricoh Co., Ltd.). As a printing pattern, each color ink was printed at 100% duty. The printing conditions were one-pass printing with a recording density of 600 dpi. At this time, the samples were prepared using only “Waveform 1” and “Waveform 2”.
Black ink characters were printed in each color ink solid image portion, and bleed between the color ink and the black ink was visually evaluated according to the following criteria. A was accepted and B and C were rejected.
〔Evaluation criteria〕
A: There is no occurrence of bleeding, black characters can be clearly recognized, and bleeding is not recognized.
B: Slight bleeding occurs and black characters blur slightly.
C: Bleed occurs and it is difficult to recognize black characters.

These evaluation results are shown in Tables 12 to 15. The same applies to the case where the difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension of each ink satisfies the aforementioned conditions.
Further, the difference between the static surface tension of the black ink and the static surface tension of the other color ink [(static surface tension of the black ink) − (static surface tension of the other color ink)] is 0 mN / m. When it is 4 mN / m or less, “◯”, the difference [(static surface tension of black ink) − (static surface tension of ink of other colors)] is less than 0 mN / m and exceeds 4 mN / m In this case, “x” was used.

(1) Discharge stability evaluation: According to Examples 17 to 22, it has an expansion waveform element (falling voltage change portion) having a time (voltage change time, transition time) of 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber. It was found that by using the driving pulse, good ejection stability can be obtained even with ink having a large difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension.
(2) Evaluation of ejection stability: According to the comparison between Examples 17-22 and Comparative Examples 29-31, ink having a large difference between the dynamic surface tension and the static surface tension is 1 in the resonance period of the liquid chamber. It has been found that good ejection stability can be obtained for the first time by using a drive pulse having an expansion waveform element (falling voltage change portion) of / 3 or more (voltage change time, transition time).
(3) Bleed evaluation between black ink and color ink: When Examples 17 to 22 and Comparative Examples 21 to 23 and 25 to 27 are compared, the condition of difference in static surface tension [(static surface tension of black ink )-(Static surface tension of ink of other colors): 0 mN / m or more and 4 mN / m or less], it can be seen that bleeding and bleeding occur. This is because the balance of the static surface tension between the black ink and the color ink is poor when the ink penetrates into the paper surface, and the black characters are thinned or blurred.

Other aspects of the invention are described below. (Aspect A)
One aspect of the present invention includes a nozzle plate 103 having nozzles that eject ink droplets, a liquid chamber 106 that communicates with the nozzles, and a recording head that includes pressure generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber 106; By an ink jet recording apparatus having signal generating means (driving waveform generating unit 701, head driver 509) for generating a signal (driving waveform including one or more driving pulses (discharge pulses)) applied to the pressure generating means 121. An ink jet recording method that is performed and ejects ink droplets with the pressure generated by the pressure generating means according to the signal, and satisfies the following requirements (1) and (2).
(1) The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. This is an ink whose dynamic surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) The signal has at least one drawing pulse within one printing unit cycle, and the cycle of the drawing pulse is 1/3 or more of the resonance cycle of the liquid chamber.

(Aspect B)
In one aspect of the present invention, in the aspect A, the signal supplies a driving signal including one or a plurality of driving pulses within one printing unit cycle,
A signal for ejecting one or a plurality of ink droplets from a nozzle, and having a drawing pulse with a period of 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber 106 before the ejection pulse for forming the first droplet. And

(Aspect C)
One aspect of the present invention is a recording head having a nozzle plate 103 having nozzles for discharging ink droplets, a liquid chamber 106 with which the nozzles communicate, and a pressure generating means 121 for generating pressure in the liquid chamber; Signal generating means (driving waveform generating unit 701, head driver 509) for generating a signal (driving waveform including one or two or more driving pulses (ejection pulses)) applied to the pressure generating means; Therefore, an ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink droplets with the pressure generated by the pressure generating means, which satisfies the following requirements (1) and (2).
(1) The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. This is an ink whose dynamic surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) The signal has at least one drawing pulse within one printing unit cycle, and the cycle of the drawing pulse is 1/3 or more of the resonance cycle of the liquid chamber.

(Aspect D)
One aspect of the present invention is the signal according to the aspect C, wherein the signal supplies a drive signal including one or more drive pulses within one printing unit period, and causes one or more ink droplets to be ejected from the nozzle. And a pull-in pulse having a period of 1/3 or more of the resonance period of the liquid chamber is provided before the ejection pulse for forming the first drop.

(About FIGS. 2 to 11B)
200 Water-repellent film deteriorated 201 Water-repellent film 202 Ink

(About FIGS. 13 to 18)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 2 Paper feed tray 3 Paper discharge tray 4 Storage container loading part 10 Ink storage container 10y Ink storage container (main tank)
10m ink container (main tank)
10c Ink container (main tank)
10k ink container (main tank)
21A Side plate 21B Side plate 24 Supply pump unit 31 Guide rod 32 Guide rod 33 Carriage 34, 34a, 34b Recording head (liquid ejection head)
35, 35a, 35b Sub tank 36 Supply tube 41 Paper stacking section (pressure plate)
42 paper 43 half moon roller (paper roller)
44 Separating Pad 45 Guide Member 46 Counter Roller 47 Conveying Guide 48 Pressing Member 49 Tip Pressure Roller 51 Conveying Belt 52 Conveying Roller 53 Tension Roller 56 Charging Roller 61 Separation Claw 62 Discharge Roller 63 Spur 71 Duplex Unit 72 Manual Tray 81 Maintenance Recovery Mechanism 82a Cap member 82b Cap member 83 Wiper member (wiper blade)
84 Empty discharge receiver 87 Carriage lock 88 Empty discharge receiver 89 Opening 100 Waste liquid tank 101 Flow path plate 102 Vibration plate 103 Nozzle plate 104 Nozzle 105 Nozzle communication path 106 Liquid chamber 107 Fluid resistance section (supply path)
108 Common Liquid Chamber 109 Ink Supply Port 121 Piezoelectric Member 121A Piezoelectric Element Column 121B Piezoelectric Element Column 122 Base Substrate 126 FPC Cable 130 Frame Member 131 Through Portion 132 Ink Supply Hole 151 Piezoelectric Material 152 Internal Electrode 153 Individual Electrode 154 Common Electrode 500 Control Unit 501 CPU
502 ROM
503 RAM
504 Rewritable non-volatile memory 505 ASIC
506 I / F
508 Print control unit 509 Head driver (driver IC)
510 Motor control unit 511 AC bias supply unit 513 I / O unit 514 Operation panel 515 Sensor group 554 Main scanning motor 555 Sub scanning motor 556 Maintenance / recovery motor 600 Host 601 Printer driver 701 Drive waveform generation unit 702 Data transfer unit 703 Empty ejection drive Waveform generator 711 Shift register 712 Latch circuit 713 Decoder 714 Level shifter 715 Analog switch

(About FIGS. 22 to 23)
240 Ink container 241 Ink container 242 Ink inlet 243 Ink outlet 244 Container case

JP 2014-195986 A

Claims (12)

One or more for the pressure generating means of the recording head having a nozzle plate having nozzles for ejecting ink droplets, a liquid chamber communicating with the nozzles, and a pressure generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber An ink jet recording method for ejecting ink droplets by applying the driving pulse, which satisfies the following requirements (1) and (2):
(1) The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. This is an ink whose dynamic surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) At least one drive pulse has a change time of a voltage change portion that draws the ink equal to or more than 1/3 of a resonance period of the liquid chamber. The ink is an ink of an ink set comprising two or more inks including black ink and other color inks;
All the inks in the ink set have a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is The dynamic surface tension at 1500 ms is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension,
The difference in static surface tension between the black ink and the other color ink at 25 ° C. (static surface tension of the black ink−static surface tension of the other color ink) is all from 0 mN / m to 4 mN / m The inkjet recording method according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording method is m or less. 3. The ink jet recording method according to claim 1, wherein one or two or more driving pulses are applied to the pressure generating unit within one printing unit period to discharge one or two or more ink droplets from the nozzle. And
The ink jet recording method according to claim 1, wherein the drive pulse for forming the first droplet has a change time of a voltage change portion that draws the ink being １ ／ or more of a resonance period of the liquid chamber.   The inkjet recording method according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle plate has a water-repellent film on an ink discharge side surface.   The ink jet recording method according to claim 1, wherein the ink contains water, a coloring material, a surfactant, and an organic solvent.   The ink jet recording method according to claim 1, wherein the ink has a viscosity at 25 ° C. of 3 mPa · s to 30 mPa · s. A nozzle plate having nozzles for discharging ink droplets, a liquid chamber in communication with the nozzles, a recording head having pressure generating means for generating pressure in the liquid chamber, and a drive pulse applied to the pressure generating means. An inkjet recording apparatus that discharges ink droplets by pressure generated by the pressure generating unit, and includes the following (1) and (2) The ink jet recording apparatus satisfying the requirements of
(1) The ink has a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface lifetime by the maximum bubble pressure method is 1500 ms. This is an ink whose dynamic surface tension is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension.
(2) At least one drive pulse has a change time of a voltage change portion that draws the ink equal to or more than 1/3 of a resonance period of the liquid chamber. The ink is an ink of an ink set comprising two or more inks including black ink and other color inks;
All the inks in the ink set have a dynamic surface tension of 10 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension when the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is 15 ms at 25 ° C., and the surface life by the maximum bubble pressure method is The dynamic surface tension at 1500 ms is 3 mN / m or more higher than the static surface tension,
The difference in static surface tension between the black ink and the other color ink at 25 ° C. (static surface tension of the black ink−static surface tension of the other color ink) is all from 0 mN / m to 4 mN / m The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus is m or less. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein one or two or more drive pulses are applied to the pressure generating unit within one printing unit period to discharge one or more ink droplets from the nozzle. And
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive pulse for forming the first droplet has a change time of a voltage change portion for drawing the ink of 1/3 or more of a resonance period of the liquid chamber.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the nozzle plate has a water repellent film on an ink discharge side surface.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the ink contains water, a coloring material, a surfactant, and an organic solvent. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the viscosity of the ink at 25 ° C is 3 mPa · s or more and 30 mPa · s or less.