JP2017222159A - Printing device, program and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device which can improve the printing quality while suppressing reduction in the printing speed.SOLUTION: A printing device comprises: liquid discharge means which has a first nozzle array for discharging the first liquid forming an image and a second nozzle array for discharging the second liquid different from the first liquid; a carriage which is loaded with the liquid discharge means and reciprocally moves in the main-scanning direction; and control means which performs control of discharging the second liquid to a region containing a region discharged with the first liquid with respect to a medium. The control means includes means which performs control of discharging the second liquid from the second nozzle array in two directions of a forward path and a return path of the carriage, and discharging the first liquid from the first nozzle array in any one direction of the forward path and the return path of the carriage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a program, and a printing method.

  As a printing apparatus, for example, a process color image is formed after a white background is printed on a transparent medium, or a white background is printed after an image is formed, or a pre-coating liquid or a post-coating liquid is used. There are some which apply treatment liquid.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a nozzle array in which a background liquid ejecting nozzle array and an image liquid ejecting nozzle array are shifted in the sub-scanning direction is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  An object of the printing apparatus of the present invention is to improve print quality while suppressing a decrease in printing speed.

The printing apparatus of the present invention as means for solving the above problems includes a first nozzle row that ejects a first liquid that forms an image, and a second nozzle row that ejects a second liquid different from the first liquid. A liquid ejecting means including the liquid ejecting means, a carriage mounted with the liquid ejecting means and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction, and ejecting the second liquid to a region including the region from which the first liquid is ejected. Control means for performing control, wherein the control means causes the second liquid to be discharged from the second nozzle row in both directions of the forward path and the return path of the carriage, and any one of the forward path and the return path of the carriage. Means for controlling the ejection of the first liquid from the first nozzle row in the direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus that improves the printing quality while suppressing a decrease in printing speed.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a main part of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of the head of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory block diagram for explaining the outline of the control unit of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the ink used in the printing apparatus and printing method of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the ink used in the printing apparatus and printing method of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the ink used in the printing apparatus and the printing method of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining the ink used in the printing apparatus and printing method of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the ink used in the printing apparatus and printing method of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the flow up to the output of the printing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 16 is an explanatory plan view of another configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 17 is an explanatory front view of another configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 18 is a plan view showing an example of a result of a print image by the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 19 is a plan view showing an example of another result of the printed image by the printing apparatus according to the present invention.

(Printing apparatus and printing method)
The printing apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid ejection unit including a first nozzle row that ejects a first liquid that forms an image, and a second nozzle row that ejects a second liquid different from the first liquid, A carriage mounted with liquid ejecting means and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction; and control means for controlling the medium to eject the second liquid to an area including the area from which the first liquid is ejected. The control means discharges the second liquid from the second nozzle array in both directions of the forward path and the return path of the carriage, and discharges the second liquid from the first nozzle array in one direction of the forward path and the return path of the carriage. A means for controlling the discharge of one liquid is provided, and further means are provided as necessary.
The printing method of the present invention is the printing method for printing using the printing apparatus of the present invention, wherein the first liquid and the second liquid are water, pigment, siloxane compound, compound of the following general formula (1), and polycarbonate An ink containing at least one of a urethane resin and a polyester-based urethane resin is used, and other steps are used as necessary.
(In the general formula ^(1), R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} each represent a an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon ^atoms, R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} are the same May be different)
In the printing apparatus of the present invention, in order to eliminate bidirectional color difference in image formation, when unidirectional printing without bidirectional color difference is performed, a background liquid or a processing liquid is applied to an area that is larger than the image forming area. It is based on the knowledge that there is a problem that the speed at the time also decreases.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The printing method of the present invention is preferably performed by the printing apparatus of the present invention.
First, a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a main part of the printing apparatus, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of a head.

  The printing apparatus is a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, and includes a printing unit (image forming unit) 101 that prints on the medium 2, a transport unit 102 that transports the medium 2, a roll storage unit 103 that stores the medium 2, and a roll of the medium 2. A roll winding unit 104 is provided.

  In the printing apparatus, a roll body 1 in which a medium 2 as a medium is wound in a roll shape is used. The roll body 1 is stored in the roll storage unit 103, and the medium 2 is pulled out from the roll body 1 by the conveying roller pair 31 and sent out.

  The printing unit 101 has a liquid discharge head (hereinafter, referred to as “head”) 11 having a plurality of nozzle rows that discharge liquid mounted on a carriage 12 as liquid discharge means. The carriage 12 is held by a guide member 13 so as to be able to reciprocate in the main scanning direction (in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the head 11 has a plurality of nozzle arrays Na to Ne in which a plurality (m) of nozzles n1 to nm for discharging a liquid are arranged, and the nozzle arrangement direction is set in the medium transport direction ( It is mounted on the carriage 12 in the sub-scanning direction).

  The nozzle array Na of the head 11 includes, for example, a second nozzle array used for discharging a background color liquid such as white (W) as the second liquid. The nozzle rows Nb to Ne of the head 11 are used, for example, to discharge process color liquids for image formation such as black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), which are the first liquid. Including a first nozzle row. In this example, one head has five nozzle rows Na to Ne, but a plurality of heads may have a plurality of nozzle rows.

The adhesion amounts of the first liquid and the second liquid to the recording medium are preferably 1.5 g / cm ² or more and 15 g / cm ² or less from the viewpoint of ensuring print quality.

  The conveyance unit 102 includes a conveyance roller 21 and a counter roller 22 that are conveyance units on the upstream side of the printing unit 101 in the medium conveyance direction (arrow A direction: sub-scanning direction), and conveys the medium 2 therebetween. Further, a platen member 25 that guides the medium 2 is disposed so as to face the printing unit 101.

  The roll take-up unit 104 includes a take-up roll 41 that takes up the medium 2.

  A pre-heater 51, a print heater 52, and a post-heater 53 are arranged along the conveyance direction of the medium 2.

  The pre-heater 51 is a heater that heats the medium 2 before the printing area by the printing unit 101. The print heater 52 is a heater as a heating unit that heats the medium 2 in a printing region by the printing unit 101. The post heater 53 is a heater as a heating unit that heats the medium 2 after printing by the printing unit 101. As the preheater 51, the print heater 52, and the post heater 53, an electric heater using ceramics or nichrome wire can be used.

  A hot air fan 54 that blows hot air onto the medium 2 is provided on the downstream side of the post heater 53. The hot air fan 54 applies the hot air directly to the liquid on the printing surface to reduce the humidity of the atmosphere and dry it completely.

  Since these heaters 51 to 53 and the warm air fan 54 are mounted, printing is possible even on a non-penetrable medium into which liquid such as vinyl chloride, PET, and acrylic does not permeate. For non-penetrating media, good fixability can be obtained by using a solvent-based liquid, an aqueous resin liquid containing a large amount of resin components, or the like.

  The heating temperature in the heating means can be changed according to the type and amount of the organic solvent contained in the first liquid and the second liquid, and the minimum film forming temperature of the resin particles to be added. It can be changed according to the type of medium.

  The heating temperature is preferably high in terms of drying property and film forming temperature, preferably 40 ° C. or higher and 120 ° C. or lower, more preferably 40 ° C. or higher and 100 ° C. or lower, and particularly preferably 50 ° C. or higher and 90 ° C. or lower. .

  Next, the outline of the control unit of this apparatus will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  The control unit 500 includes a CPU 501 that controls the entire apparatus, a program that includes a program according to the present invention for causing the CPU 501 to execute control including control according to the present invention, a ROM 502 that stores other fixed data, and a print A main control unit 500A including a RAM 503 for temporarily storing data and the like is provided.

  The control unit 500 includes a non-volatile memory (NVRAM) 504 for holding data even when the apparatus is powered off. Further, the control unit 500 includes an ASIC 505 that processes image processing for performing various signal processing on image data and other input / output signals for controlling the entire apparatus.

  The control unit 500 includes an I / F 506 for transmitting and receiving data and signals used when receiving print data from the external host device 600.

  The control unit 500 includes an I / O 507 for taking in detection signals of various sensors.

  The control unit 500 includes a head drive control unit 508 that drives and controls the head 11.

  The control unit 500 includes a motor driving unit 510 that drives a main scanning motor 550 that moves the carriage 12 in the main scanning direction, and a motor driving unit 511 that drives a conveyance motor 551 that rotationally drives the conveyance roller 21.

  The control unit 500 includes a fan driving unit 512 that drives the warm air fan 54 and a heater driving unit 513 that drives the heaters 51 to 53.

  The control unit 500 includes a motor drive unit 514 that drives a feeding motor 552 that feeds the medium 2 from the roll body 1 of the roll storage unit 103, and a winding that winds the roll winding unit 104 to the winding roll 41. A motor drive unit 515 for driving the take-off motor 553 is provided.

  An operation panel 522 for inputting and displaying information necessary for this apparatus is connected to the control unit 500.

  Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the embodiment. 5A is an explanatory plan view of the head, and FIG. 5B is an explanatory plan view for explaining the printing process on the medium (the same applies hereinafter).

  Here, the nozzle rows Na to Ne have, for example, 192 (m = 192) nozzles n.

  In the present embodiment, among the nozzles n1 to n192 constituting the nozzle row Na, the portions of the nozzles n1 to n96 on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction are used as background ink (for example, white ink and background ink) as the second liquid. Is used as the second nozzle row N2 for discharging. That is, the head 11 has a nozzle row Na including a plurality of nozzles that are used as the second nozzle row N2 that ejects a second liquid that is at least partially different from the first liquid.

  On the other hand, among the nozzles n1 to n192 constituting the nozzle rows Nb to Ne, the nozzle n97 to the nozzle n192 in the downstream region in the sub-scanning direction are ejected with the image forming liquid (for example, YMCK ink) as the first liquid. Used as the first nozzle row N1.

  When the second liquid is used, the nozzles not included in the second nozzle row N2 and the first nozzle row N1 become unused nozzles. When the second liquid is not used, all the nozzles in the nozzle rows Nb to Ne are set. Used for discharging image forming liquid.

  Next, background color printing and image printing control in this embodiment will be described.

  Here, in the bidirectional movement of the carriage 12 in the forward path and the backward path, white ink is ejected onto the medium 2 using the second nozzle array N2, and the background of the white ink is printed. The background area that discharges the white ink is an area that includes all of the area where the image is printed, and performs so-called solid printing.

  Then, the image forming liquid is ejected using the first nozzle array N1 to form an image in one-way movement of either the forward path or the backward path of the carriage 12 with respect to the area where the background is completed.

  In this way, the background is formed by bidirectional printing, and the image is formed by unidirectional printing.

  In other words, when bi-directional printing is performed, the print quality is degraded, such as color boundary bleeding and bi-directional color differences, and the printing speed is reduced in unidirectional printing. Therefore, the background color, which is a single color, performs bidirectional printing to suppress a decrease in printing speed, and the image is unidirectionally printed to improve print quality.

Here, the mechanism for improving the print quality will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
6 to 9 show inks 71 and 72 landed on the recording medium 70. As shown in FIG. 6, when the adjacent ink 71 has landed after the ink 71 that has landed first on the recording medium 70 has been dried, the ink 71 has a high viscosity or a semi-cured state. Even if the ink 72 lands in the vicinity thereof, the ink droplets do not mix. If the ink droplets do not mix with each other, the shape of the ink droplets remains, and irregularities are formed on the surface of the ink layer as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, when the adjacent ink 72 lands before the ink 71 that has landed in advance does not dry, the ink droplets of the ink 71 and the ink 72 are mixed. When ink droplets are mixed with each other, the shape of the ink droplets does not remain as shown in FIG. 7, the surface of the ink layer becomes smooth as shown in FIG. 9, and the glossiness can be improved.
When ink with good drying properties is used, the smoothness (glossiness) tends to decrease. However, since the second liquid is ejected by bidirectional printing, the smoothness decreases even when ink with high drying properties is used. Can be suppressed.

  Thereby, even when the background is printed, it is possible to improve the print quality while suppressing a decrease in the printing speed.

  Also, by printing the background in both directions, the amount of white ink attached can be increased compared to printing in one direction. For example, if 1/4 interlace printing is performed, the image is printed with 16 scans in one direction, and the background is printed with 32 scans in both directions.

  As described above, when the amount of white ink attached increases, the density increases and, for example, the background color concealment improves.

  In other words, when a solid white background is formed with a white ink on a transparent medium and illuminated with a backlight or the like, if the density of the solid white is low, the concealment of the white background is reduced and the shape of the backlight can be seen through. A malfunction occurs.

  Therefore, as in this embodiment, white ink is ejected in both directions to increase the amount of white ink adhered, thereby increasing the density of white solids and improving the concealment of white background.

  Since the white ink is ejected bidirectionally to print the background, the number of nozzles can be reduced even at the same printing speed as when the background is printed in one direction as long as the background having the same density is formed. As a result, the size of the carriage can be reduced.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the embodiment.

  Since the nozzle rows Na to Ne of the head 11 have the same length (number of nozzles), in order to shift the first nozzle row N1 and the second nozzle row N2 in the sub-scanning direction to a position where they do not overlap in the main scanning direction. The relationship is that as the number of nozzles used as the first nozzle row N1 increases, the number of nozzles used as the second nozzle row N2 decreases.

  In the present embodiment, the number of nozzles used as the first nozzle row N1 is larger than the number of nozzles used as the second nozzle row N2.

  Thereby, the number of nozzles that can be used as the first nozzle row N1 is larger than that in the first embodiment, and the image forming speed can be improved.

  In this case, by setting the length (number of nozzles) of the second nozzle row N2 to ½ times the length (number of nozzles) of the first nozzle row N1, the printing speed is 1 as compared to the first embodiment. Can be multiplied by 5 times. That is, a decrease in printing speed due to unidirectional printing can be suppressed.

  On the other hand, since the background is bi-directional printing, the background can be printed with the same amount of adhesion as the amount of ink for image formation, and the decrease in background color concealment when the number of nozzles used is reduced is suppressed. Can do. In this case, the background color concealment can be further ensured by using the background liquid which is the second liquid having a high concentration.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the second nozzle row N2 and the first nozzle row N1 are assigned separately in the sub-scanning direction. For example, the nozzle n between 1/4 of the nozzle length from the most upstream side in the sub-scanning direction is assigned to the second nozzle row N2, and the first nozzle row N1 has ½ of the nozzle length from the most downstream side in the sub-scanning direction. Nozzle n in between is assigned. In this case, unused nozzles corresponding to ¼ of the nozzle length are interposed between the second nozzle row N2 and the first nozzle row N1.

  As a result, there is a period of time from when the background is completed in one direction with the second nozzle array N2 to when an image is formed with the first nozzle array N1. This time is the drying time of the background ink.

  In other words, for example, when the image forming ink is ejected onto a white solid, if the white ink is not sufficiently dried, the image forming ink struck on the white ink sinks into the white ink, or bleeding occurs. Such a problem can be solved by providing a drying time.

  Here, in this case, unused nozzles corresponding to 1/4 of the nozzle length are interposed between the second nozzle row N2 and the first nozzle row N1, but for example, 1/3 of the nozzle length. By interposing a considerable amount of unused nozzles, the drying time can be extended.

  In the case of the one-way printing, when white ink is ejected to print the background, white ink is not ejected on the return path, so that the return path travel time can be set as the drying time. On the other hand, in the case of bi-directional printing, white ink is ejected even in the return path, so that the drying of the white ink becomes insufficient unless the drying time is increased compared to unidirectional printing, and the image forming ink sinks into the color ink. Or bleeding may occur.

  Examples of the method for increasing the drying time include a method in which the unused nozzles in bidirectional printing are made longer (the number of unused nozzles is larger) than the length of the unused nozzles in the case of unidirectional printing. . More specifically, for example, even in the case of unidirectional printing, it is sufficient to interpose unused nozzles equivalent to 1/5 of the nozzle length, but in bidirectional printing, the equivalent of 1/4 of the nozzle length. Depending on the case, there may be mentioned a method of increasing the drying time by interposing unused nozzles corresponding to 1/3.

  In the case of multi-scanning, there are a plurality of return paths, and the drying time is generated according to the number of scans in the drying time for one-way printing and two-way printing. For example, if the difference in drying time between unidirectional printing and bidirectional printing in a single scan is calculated by the length of unused nozzles, the equivalent of unused nozzles during bidirectional printing (1/4) is calculated. This corresponds to 1/20 equivalent of the used nozzle equivalent (1/5 equivalent). In the case of multi-scan with n scans (n = 2 or more), an unused nozzle that is n times the 1/20 equivalent of the single scan n = 1 is required. When n = 2, equivalent to 7/20 by adding nozzles equivalent to 1/10 (twice 1/20 equivalent) to the unused nozzle equivalent (1/4) during single scan bidirectional printing By making the nozzles unused for a minute, it is possible to avoid insufficient drying of the white ink.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the head 11 has six nozzle rows Na to Nf. Then, the nozzle rows including nozzles used for the second nozzle row N2 that ejects the background ink (white ink) that is the second liquid from the nozzle rows Na and Nb, and the image formation that uses the nozzle rows Nc to Nf as the first liquid The nozzle row includes nozzles used for the first nozzle row N1 that discharges the ink for use.

  In this case, the allocation of the first nozzle row N1 and the second nozzle row N2 is the same as that in the third embodiment.

  Thereby, compared with 3rd Embodiment, the adhesion amount of a white ink can be doubled, a background density can be made high and the concealment property of a white ink can be made high. If the concentration of the contained pigment is increased to increase the concentration of the white ink, problems such as the viscosity of the ink itself becoming higher and the pigment settling in the liquid cartridge or supply path are likely to occur, making it difficult to handle. Sometimes. Even in such a case, by increasing the number of nozzle rows that discharge white ink, it is possible to increase the concealment of the white background without increasing the pigment concentration.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the embodiment.

  Also in this embodiment, the head 11 has six nozzle rows Na to Nf. The nozzle rows Na and Nb are nozzle rows including nozzles used for the second nozzle row N2 that discharges the white ink that is the second liquid, and the nozzle rows Nc to Nf are used to discharge the image forming ink that is the first liquid. The nozzle row includes nozzles used for the first nozzle row N1.

  Then, the first nozzle row N1 is assigned from the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction, and the second nozzle row N2 is assigned to the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction with the unused nozzles interposed.

  Thereby, the white background can be printed after the image is printed. In this case, when the medium 2 is transparent, the recorded image is viewed from the back side of the transparent medium 2.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory plan view for explaining the embodiment.

  Also in this embodiment, the head 11 has six nozzle rows Na to Nf. The nozzle rows Na and Nb are nozzle rows including nozzles used for the second nozzle row N2 that discharges the white ink that is the second liquid, and the nozzle rows Nc to Nf are used to discharge the image forming ink that is the first liquid. The nozzle row includes nozzles used for the first nozzle row N1.

  Then, the first nozzle row N1A is assigned from the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction, the unused nozzle is interposed, the second nozzle row N2 is assigned to the central portion in the sub-scanning direction, the unused nozzle is interposed, and the downstream in the sub-scanning direction. The first nozzle row N1B is assigned to the side.

  With this configuration, an image is first printed on the transparent medium 2 with the image forming ink, then the background is printed on the white ink on the transparent medium 2, and the image forming ink is again printed thereon. Images can be printed. By printing three layers in this way, the recorded image can be viewed from both sides of the medium 2.

  Further, an unused nozzle is interposed between the upstream first nozzle array N1A and the central second nozzle array N2, thereby ensuring the drying time of the image, and the central second nozzle array N2 and the downstream. By interposing unused nozzles with the first nozzle row N1B on the side, it is possible to ensure the drying time of the white ink.

  Next, another configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG. 16 is an explanatory plan view of the printing apparatus, and FIG. 17 is an explanatory front view of the same.

  This printing apparatus is an apparatus that uses ultraviolet curable ink as a liquid. Ultraviolet irradiation devices 16 are mounted on both sides in the main scanning direction across the head 11 of the carriage 12.

  In the above embodiment, the second liquid is described as an example of the background liquid. However, a pre-applying liquid (treatment liquid) for reducing image bleeding or improving adhesion to a medium. Or the clear ink formed on the image for image protection or the like, and the post-application liquid (treatment liquid) for improving the fixing property can be similarly applied to the second liquid.

(program)
The program according to the present invention includes a liquid ejecting unit including a first nozzle row that ejects a first liquid that forms an image, and a second nozzle row that ejects a second liquid different from the first liquid, and the liquid In an image forming apparatus comprising a carriage mounted with ejection means and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction, a computer controls the ejection of the second liquid to an area including an area from which the first liquid is ejected onto a medium. The second liquid is ejected from the second nozzle row in both directions of the forward and return paths of the carriage, and from the first nozzle row in one direction of the forward and return paths of the carriage. The computer is controlled to discharge the first liquid.
The program of the present invention can be suitably used to execute the printing apparatus of the present invention.

  Next, an example of the flow up to the output of the printing apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Commands such as image information, profile information, heater control information, and output mode information are input from a host 600 such as a personal computer. The presence / absence of the background, the number of layers, and the vertical relationship between the background and the image can be specified when the user creates a stacked image in which the background and the image are stacked on the host 600. Such information is also included in the command.

  Then, the command is analyzed to determine whether or not there is a background.

  At this time, if there is no background, normal image forming ink is output (discharged) to form an image.

  On the other hand, if there is a background, discrimination from two or three layers is performed.

  If it is not two layers, that is, if it is three layers, as described in the sixth embodiment, image forming ink output-background ink output-image forming ink output is performed, and image-background ( Solid white)-Output three layers of images.

  On the other hand, in the case of two layers, it is determined whether the front printing or the back printing. The surface printing uses a background ink (white ink) as a base and outputs an image on it as an image forming ink, and the back printing outputs an image on a transparent medium with the image forming ink and uses it as a background. Ink (white ink) is output so that it can be observed from the back side.

  Here, in the case of back printing, as described in the fifth embodiment, after the image forming ink is output, the background ink is output. On the other hand, in the case of front printing, as described in the fourth embodiment, after the background ink is output, the image forming ink is output.

  In this way, high-speed output is possible for various background configurations.

  In the embodiment, the configuration using four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black as the image forming liquid as the first liquid has been described as an example. However, in addition to the four colors, orange, green, A configuration in which red, blue, or the like is added, or a configuration in which light inks such as light cyan, light magenta, and gray are added can also be used. On the contrary, it is also possible to adopt a configuration not including black.

  Further, although white ink is used as an example of the background liquid (background ink) as the second liquid, a metallic ink such as silver or gold may be used in addition to white.

(ink)
The liquid used in the printing apparatus of the present invention is not particularly limited, and for example, ink can be used. As the ink, when an ink containing water, an organic solvent, a color material, resin particles, and a siloxane compound is used, the drying property can be improved, and the speed of image formation can be preferably increased.

  The present inventors have found that adding a siloxane compound to the ink significantly improves the drying properties of the ink. The reason for this is not clear, but by adding a siloxane compound to the ink, the affinity with various non-penetrable media is improved, and the ink spreads immediately after adhering to the recording medium, increasing the surface area and increasing the drying efficiency. This is probably because of this. By improving the drying property of the ink to the non-penetrable medium, blurring of the color boundary can be suppressed and high-quality images can be obtained in white front printing, white post printing, three-layer printing, and the like.

In addition, in order to improve the print quality, there are cases where it is desired to match the glossiness of an image with white ink and an image with color ink. For example, when white ink with high dryness is used and unidirectional printing is performed with both white ink and color ink, the white ink has unevenness and becomes less glossy, and the color ink is less than the image with white ink. The glossiness of the image becomes high and the glossiness of both may not match. By using the printing apparatus of the present invention, the white ink is changed from one-way printing to two-way printing, so that the drying time of the white ink and the color ink can be changed to eliminate the mismatch in glossiness.
That is, in bidirectional printing, glossiness mismatch due to unidirectional printing can be reduced by making the drying property of the white ink higher than the drying property of the color ink.

The white tip printing is a printing method in which at least one of a base and a background is formed with a white ink, and then an image is formed with a color ink.
The white post-printing printing is a printing method in which at least one of a base and a background is formed with white ink after image formation with color ink.
The three-layer printing is a printing method in which at least one of a base and a background is formed with a white ink after an image is formed with a color ink, and an image is formed with a color ink.

<Siloxane compound>
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said siloxane compound, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, it is in at least any one of the side chain of the compound (silicone compound) which has polysiloxane parts, such as polydimethylsiloxane, and the terminal. And a compound having a hydrophilic functional group or a hydrophilic polymer chain.

Examples of the hydrophilic functional group or hydrophilic polymer chain include a polyether bond (polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, copolymers thereof, and the like), polyglycerin (C _{3 ６ 6} O (CH ₂ CH (OH)). CH, etc. _{2 O)} n -H), pyrrolidones, betaines _{(C 3 Η 6 n + Me} 2 -CH 2 COO- ), a sulfate _{(C 3 H 6 O (C} 2 H 4 O) n -SO 3 Na , etc.) , Phosphates (such as C ₃ Ｏ ₆ O (C ₂ H ₄ O) _n —P (═O) OHONa) and quaternary salts (such as C ₃ H ₆ N + Me ₃ Cl—). In the above chemical formula, n represents an integer of 1 or more.

In addition, the hydrophilic functional group or the hydrophilic polymer chain includes other monomers copolymerizable with polydimethylsiloxane having a polymerizable vinyl group at the terminal (at least a part of the monomer is (meth) acrylic acid). And a vinyl copolymer having a silicone compound chain such as polydimethylsiloxane in the side chain obtained by copolymerization with a hydrophilic monomer such as a salt thereof.
Among these, the compound having a polysiloxane part preferably has a hydrophilic polymer chain, and the hydrophilic polymer chain preferably includes a polyether bond.

  The siloxane compound is preferably a nonionic surfactant having a structure of methylpolysiloxane in a hydrophobic group and polyoxyethylene in a hydrophilic group.

  The HLB of the siloxane compound is preferably 8.0 or less. When the HLB is 8.0 or less, the ink drying property can be improved during recording on a non-penetrable medium.

The HLB (hydrophilic group / hydrophobic group balance “Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance”) is determined by the Griffin method shown in the following Equation 1.
HLB = 20 × (sum of formula weight of hydrophilic part / molecular weight) Formula 1

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said siloxane compound, According to the objective, it can select suitably, A commercial item can be used, As said commercial item, for example, Silface SAG005 (made by Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd .; HLB = 7.0), Silface SAG008 (manufactured by Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd .; HLB = 7.0), FZ2110 (manufactured by Toray Dow Co., Ltd .; HLB = 1.0), FZ2166 (manufactured by Toray Dow Co., Ltd.) HLB = 5.8), SH-3772M (manufactured by Toray Dow Corporation; HLB = 6.0), L7001 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corporation; HLB = 7.4), SH-3773M (Toray Dow shares) HLB = 8.0), KF-945 (Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .; HLB = 4.0), KF-6017 (Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .; HLB = 4.5), Fo mBan MS-575 (Ultra Addives Inc. Co.; HLB = 5.0), and the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The content of the siloxane compound is preferably 0.1% by mass or more and 4.0% by mass or less, and more preferably 1.0% by mass or more and 2.0% by mass or less with respect to the total amount of the ink. When the content is 1.0 to 2.0% by mass, the image quality such as gloss can be improved by improving the ink fixing property to the non-penetrable medium.

  By adding the siloxane compound to the ink, it is possible to improve the drying property of the ink, and it is possible to perform printing in the same drying time as in the one-way printing even in bidirectional printing without increasing the number of unused nozzles. Moreover, it can adjust so that it may become the optimal drying time by adjusting content of a siloxane compound, and the length of a non-use nozzle.

<Resin particles>
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said resin particle, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, polyester resin particle; polyurethane resin particle; epoxy resin particle; polyamide resin particle; polyether resin particle; acrylic resin particle; -Silicone resin particles; Condensation-based synthetic resin particles such as fluorine-based resins; polyolefin resin particles, polystyrene-based resin particles, polyvinyl alcohol-based resin particles, polyvinyl ester-based resin particles, polyacrylic acid-based resin particles, unsaturated carboxylic acid-based resins Additive synthetic resin particles such as: natural polymers such as celluloses, rosins, and natural rubber. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
Among these, polyurethane resin particles are preferable from the viewpoints of ink dispersion stability and high gloss. When the polyurethane resin particles are used, the dispersibility of the siloxane compound is good and the film forming property of the ink is improved. Therefore, the drying property is excellent, and the image formation speed can be increased.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said resin particle, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, what was synthesize | combined suitably may be used and a commercial item may be used.

<< Polyurethane resin particles >>
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said polyurethane resin particle, For example, the polyurethane resin particle etc. which are obtained by making a polyol and polyisocyanate react are mentioned.

-Polyol-
Examples of the polyol include polyether polyol, polycarbonate polyol, and polyester polyol. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

--Polyether polyol--
Examples of the polyether polyol include those obtained by addition polymerization of alkylene oxide using one or more compounds having two or more active hydrogen atoms as starting materials.

  The starting material is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, trimethylene glycol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4 -Butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, glycerin, trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane and the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said alkylene oxide, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, styrene oxide, epichlorohydrin, tetrahydrofuran etc. are mentioned. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  Examples of the polyether polyol include polyoxytetramethylene glycol and polyoxypropylene glycol from the viewpoint that an ink binder capable of imparting very excellent scratch resistance can be obtained. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

--Polycarbonate polyol--
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said polycarbonate polyol, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, what is obtained by making carbonate ester and polyol react, and what is obtained by making phosgene react with bisphenol A etc. Etc. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said carbonate ester, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, methyl carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, ethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, cyclocarbonate, diphenyl carbonate etc. are mentioned. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The polyol is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,2-butanediol, 2,3-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,5-hexanediol, 2,5-hexanediol, 1 , 6-hexanediol, 1,7-heptanediol, 1,8-octanediol, 1,9-nonanediol, 1,10-decanediol, 1,11-undecanediol, 1,12-dodecanediol, 1, 4-cyclohexanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, high Relatively low molecular weight dihydroxy compounds such as rhoquinone, resorcin, bisphenol-A, bisphenol-F, 4,4′-biphenol, polyether polyols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polyoxytetramethylene glycol, polyhexamethylene adipate, Examples thereof include polyester polyols such as polyhexamethylene succinate and polycaprolactone. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

--Polyester polyol--
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said polyester polyol, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, what is obtained by esterifying low molecular weight polyol and polycarboxylic acid, Cyclic ester, such as (epsilon) -caprolactone Examples thereof include polyesters obtained by ring-opening polymerization reaction of compounds, and copolymerized polyesters thereof. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said low molecular weight polyol, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, etc. are mentioned. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The polycarboxylic acid is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose.For example, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, dodecanedicarboxylic acid, terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, phthalic acid, and anhydrides thereof Products or ester-forming derivatives. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

-Polyisocyanate-
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said polyisocyanate, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, aromatic diisocyanates, such as phenylene diisocyanate, tolylene diisocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate, naphthalene diisocyanate; hexamethylene diisocyanate, lysine diisocyanate, cyclohexane Examples thereof include aliphatic or alicyclic diisocyanates such as diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, xylylene diisocyanate, tetramethylxylylene diisocyanate, and 2,2,4-trimethylhexamethylene diisocyanate. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
Of these, aliphatic or alicyclic diisocyanates are preferred. When the aliphatic or alicyclic diisocyanate is used, a coating film having a very high long-term weather resistance can be formed, and can be used as an outdoor application such as a poster or a signboard.
Furthermore, it is preferable to use at least one alicyclic diisocyanate because the coating strength and scratch resistance can be obtained when an image is formed.

  The alicyclic diisocyanate is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. Examples thereof include isophorone diisocyanate and dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  As content of the said alicyclic diisocyanate, 60 mass% or more is preferable with respect to the polyurethane resin whole quantity.

<< Method for Producing Polyurethane Resin Particles >>
The polyurethane resin particles can be obtained by a commonly used production method, and examples thereof include the following methods.
First, an isocyanate-terminated urethane prepolymer is produced by reacting the polyol and the polyisocyanate in an equivalent ratio in which an isocyanate group becomes excessive in the absence of a solvent or in the presence of an organic solvent.
Next, the anionic group in the isocyanate-terminated urethane prepolymer is neutralized with a neutralizing agent as necessary, and then reacted with a chain extender, and finally the organic solvent in the system is removed as necessary. Can be obtained.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as an organic solvent which can be used for manufacture of the said polyurethane resin particle, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, Ketones, such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone; Ethers, such as tetrahydrofuran and a dioxane; Ethyl acetate And acetate esters such as butyl acetate; nitriles such as acetonitrile; amides such as dimethylformamide, N-methylpyrrolidone and N-ethylpyrrolidone. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The chain extender is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. Examples thereof include polyamines and other active hydrogen group-containing compounds. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The polyamine is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, ethylenediamine, 1,2-propanediamine, 1,6-hexamethylenediamine, piperazine, 2,5-dimethylpiperazine, isophorone Diamines such as diamine, 4,4′-dicyclohexylmethanediamine, 1,4-cyclohexanediamine; polyamines such as diethylenetriamine, dipropylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine; hydrazine, N, N′-dimethylhydrazine, 1,6- Hydrazines such as hexamethylenebishydrazine; dihydrazides such as succinic acid dihydrazide, adipic acid dihydrazide, glutaric acid dihydrazide, sebacic acid dihydrazide, and isophthalic acid dihydrazide. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The other active hydrogen group-containing compound is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1, Glycols such as 3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, hexamethylene glycol, saccharose, methylene glycol, glycerin, sorbitol; bisphenol A, 4,4′-dihydroxydiphenyl, 4,4′-dihydroxydiphenyl ether, 4, Examples include phenols such as 4′-dihydroxydiphenylsulfone, hydrogenated bisphenol A, and hydroquinone; water and the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more as long as the storage stability of the ink is not lowered.

  The polyurethane resin particles are preferably polycarbonate urethane resin particles from the viewpoint of high gloss. When the polycarbonate-based urethane resin particles are used, it is possible to obtain an ink that maintains high glossiness in a recorded matter used in a harsh environment such as outdoor use.

  Commercially available products may be used as the polyurethane resin particles. Examples of the commercially available products include U-coat UX-485 (polycarbonate-based urethane resin particles), U-coat UWS-145 (polyester-based urethane resin particles), and Permarin UA. -368T (polycarbonate urethane resin particles), Permarin UA-200 (polyether urethane resin particles) (manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.). These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The volume average particle size of the resin particles is preferably 10 nm to 1,000 nm, more preferably 10 nm to 200 nm, and particularly preferably 10 nm to 100 nm.
By using resin particles having a volume average particle size of 10 nm or more and 1,000 nm or less, excellent ink supply properties and ejection reliability can be obtained when used in an ink ejection apparatus having a circulation means for circulating ink. Since the resin particles are easily dissolved in the organic solvent in the process of drying the ink on the printing material such as a printing medium, and the effect of spreading the resin is easily obtained, a high gloss image can be formed.

  The method for measuring the volume average particle size is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, using a particle size analyzer (device name: Microtrac Model UPA9340, manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) Can be measured.

  When the resin particles are contained in the ink, the total content of the resin particles is preferably 1% by mass or more and 15% by mass or less based on the total amount of the ink from the viewpoint of the dispersion stability of the ink. From the viewpoint of improving the fixability and the smoothness of the coating film, and from the viewpoint of obtaining high glossiness, it is more preferably 5% by mass or more and 12% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 5% by mass or more and 10% by mass or less.

  Examples of the qualitative and quantitative determination of the resin particles include, for example, “Testing method and evaluation result of each dynamic characteristic of plastic material (22); Takeo Yasuda, Plastics: Japan Plastic Industry Federation /“ Plastics ”Editorial Committee. Can be confirmed by a method as described in detail. Specifically, it can be confirmed by analysis using a measurement apparatus as shown below.

[Infrared spectroscopy (IR)]
Qualitative analysis of resin particles can be performed by measuring absorption wavelengths of various functional groups possessed by the resin particles and comparing them with the IR spectra of known resin particles. Moreover, the relative amount of several types of monomers and resin particles can be compared by comparing the absorbance of the functional group absorption of each resin particle.

[Thermal analysis (DS / A, TG / DTA)]
The polymer can be identified by measuring the melting point, glass transition point, etc. of the resin particles using differential scanning calorimetry (DS / A) or differential thermal analysis (DTA).

[Pyrolysis gas chromatography (PyGC)]
Thermal decomposition products can be separated by gas chromatography, and composition analysis and structural analysis can be performed.
In addition, if a mass spectrometer is directly connected to PyGC, and a decomposition product generated by thermal decomposition is identified, a more accurate analysis can be performed.

[Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)]
Compared with the spectrum of known resin particles, the resin particles can be identified and confirmed. In the case of unknown resin particles, the molecular structure can be estimated. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of the composition ratio and blend ratio of a copolymer and a blend of a plurality of polymers can be performed.

  Before analyzing the resin particles using the measuring device, the colorant component in the ink is precipitated by centrifugation as a pretreatment, and the supernatant containing the resin particles is collected, or the resin is recovered using an appropriate organic solvent. Extracting particles is also effective as a means for improving analysis accuracy.

  When heating is performed after recording, residual solvent can be reduced and adhesion can be improved. In particular, when the minimum film-forming temperature of the resin particles (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “MFT”) exceeds 80 ° C., heating is performed because there is no defective film-forming of the resin and image fastness is improved. preferable.

The minimum film-forming temperature means the minimum temperature at which a transparent continuous film is formed when the emulsion is thinly cast on a metal plate such as aluminum and the temperature is raised. In the temperature range below the temperature, the emulsion is the temperature at which it becomes a white powder. Specifically, “film-forming temperature test device” (manufactured by Imoto Seisakusho Co., Ltd.), “TP-801 MFT tester” (Tester Sangyo Co., Ltd.) Means a value measured with a commercially available minimum film-forming temperature measuring device such as
Moreover, since it changes also by control of the particle diameter of resin, the minimum film forming temperature of resin can be made into the target value with these control factors.

  As a method for adjusting the minimum film-forming temperature of the resin emulsion, for example, the resin emulsion can be adjusted by controlling the glass transition point of the resin (hereinafter also referred to as “Tg”). In the case of a coalescence, it can be adjusted by changing the ratio of the monomers forming the copolymer.

<Organic solvent>
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said organic solvent, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, the water-soluble organic solvent, the compound represented by following General formula (1), etc. are mentioned.
(In the general formula ^(1), R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} each represents a an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon ^atoms, R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} are the same May be different)

-Water-soluble organic solvent-
Examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 2,3-butanediol, 3-methyl-1,3-butanediol, 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, glycerin, 1, Polyhydric alcohols such as 2,6-hexanetriol, 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol, 1,2,4-butanetriol, 1,2,3-butanetriol, and petriol; ethylene glycol monoethyl ether , Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol Polyhydric alcohol alkyl ethers such as coal monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, tetraethylene glycol monomethyl ether, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monoethyl ether; ethylene glycol monophenyl ether, ethylene glycol monobenzyl ether Polyhydric alcohol aryl ethers such as 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-hydroxyethyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethylimidazolidinone, ε-caprolactam, γ-butyrolactone, etc. Heterocyclic compounds; Amides such as formamide, N-methylformamide, N, N-dimethylformamide; monoethanolamine, di Ethanolamine, an amine such as triethylamine; dimethyl sulfoxide, sulfolane, sulfur-containing compounds such as thiodiethanol; propylene carbonate; ethylene carbonate. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
Among these, from the viewpoint of high gloss and prevention of particle aggregation, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 2,3- Butanediol, 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol, and dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether are preferred. In addition, 1,2-propanediol and 1,2-butanediol having a boiling point of less than 200 ° C. are preferable from the viewpoint of promoting high scratch resistance, solvent resistance, and resin film formation.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as content of the said organic solvent, 20 mass% or more and 70 mass% or less are preferable with respect to the ink whole quantity, and 30 mass% or more and 60 mass% or less are more preferable. When the content is 20% by mass or more and 70% by mass or less, the drying property is excellent and good ejection stability can be obtained.

-Compound represented by the general formula (1)-
Since the compound represented by the general formula (1) promotes the formation of a resin film in the ink drying process, the drying property can be improved.

In the general formula (1), R ¹ , R ² , and R ³ each represent an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and R ¹ , R ² , and R ³ are the same or different. It may be.

  Examples of the alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms include a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, an isopropyl group, a butyl group, and a pentyl group.

  Examples of the compound represented by the general formula (1) include 3-methoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide represented by the following structural formula (1-1); represented by the following structural formula (1-2). 3-butoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide; 3-methoxy-N, N-diethylpropionamide and the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Among these, 3-methoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide represented by the following structural formula (1-1) is preferable in terms of dryness, adhesion, scratch resistance, non-transferability, and high gloss. preferable.

  When the compound is represented by the general formula (1), the compatibility between the organic solvent and the resin particles can be improved, and the dispersibility can be improved. Moreover, since the compound represented by the general formula (1) has high permeability to a non-penetrable medium, sufficient wettability to the ink base material can be ensured. As a result, it is possible to obtain an image having further excellent ink drying properties.

  The compound represented by the general formula (1) includes resin particles and 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2 having a certain degree of affinity and a relatively low boiling point. -By using an organic solvent such as butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, or 2,3-butanediol in combination, the dispersion stability of the resin particles in the ink can be secured, and the uniformity of the solid image portion after recording Can be improved, and excellent image quality can be obtained.

As the compound represented by the general formula (1), a commercially available product can be used. As the commercially available product, for example, trade name “Ecamide M-100” (manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., 3-methoxy-N , N-dimethylpropionamide, in the above general formula, R ¹ : methyl group, R ² : methyl group, R ³ : methyl group), trade name “Examide B100” (manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., 3-butoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide, in the above general formula, R ¹ : methyl group, R ² : methyl group, R ³ : butyl group) and the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The content of the compound represented by the general formula (1) is preferably 5% by mass to 55% by mass and more preferably 10% by mass to 45% by mass with respect to the total amount of the ink. When the content is 5% by mass or more and 55% by mass or less, the effect of uniform mixing is enhanced, and good dischargeability can be obtained when used in an inkjet printing method. In addition, it becomes easy to produce an ink having excellent wettability to a non-penetrable medium.

  The content of the compound represented by the general formula (1) can be confirmed by a gas chromatograph mass spectrometry (GCMS) method or the like. Specifically, the ink is subjected to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC / MS), and qualitative analysis of the contained solvent. Once the type of solvent can be identified, a calibration curve for the concentration of each solvent can be created to quantify each solvent contained in the ink.

<Water>
In the printing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to use solvent ink that does not contain water, but it is also possible to use water-based ink containing water as highly safe ink that does not affect the environment. The water used in the water-based ink is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. Examples thereof include pure water such as ion exchange water, ultrafiltration water, reverse osmosis water, and distilled water; ultrapure water Etc. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

  The water content is preferably 15% by mass or more and 60% by mass or less based on the total amount of ink. When the content is 15% by mass or more, ejection stability can be improved by suppressing an increase in the viscosity of the ink. When the content is 60% by mass or less, wettability to non-penetrable media is favorable, and image quality is improved. Can be improved.

<Other ingredients>
Examples of the other components include coloring materials, antiseptic / antifungal agents, rust preventives, pH adjusters, rubbers such as hindered phenols and hindered phenol amines, and colorless anti-aging agents for plastics. .

<Color material>
The color material is not sometimes limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. Examples thereof include a white color material and an image forming color material.

-White color material-
When the whiteness value measured based on ISO-2469 (JIS-8148) is 70 or more, the whiteness standard of the white color material is preferably used as a color material for white ink.
The white ink can be suitably used as the second liquid in the printing apparatus of the present invention, and can be used for at least one of the background and the background.

  Examples of the white color material include titanium oxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, zirconium oxide, and iron titanate (a composite oxide of iron and titanium).

-Color materials for image formation-
The color material for image formation can be suitably used as a color material for ink for image formation.
The image forming ink can be suitably used as the first liquid in the printing apparatus of the present invention.

Examples of the image forming ink include color ink (hereinafter also referred to as process color ink), special color ink, black ink, gray ink, clear ink, metallic ink, and non-white ink.
The clear ink means an ink that does not contain a colorant and mainly comprises resin particles, an organic solvent, and water.

  Examples of the color ink include cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, light cyan ink, light magenta ink, red ink, green ink, blue ink, orange ink, and violet ink.

  The color material for image formation is not particularly limited as long as it exhibits a non-white color, and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. Examples thereof include dyes and pigments. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Among these, a pigment is preferable.

  Examples of the pigment include inorganic pigments and organic pigments.

  As the inorganic pigment, for example, in addition to titanium oxide, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, barium yellow, cadmium red, and chrome yellow, it is manufactured by a known method such as a contact method, a furnace method, or a thermal method. And carbon black. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  Examples of the organic pigment include azo pigments, polycyclic pigments, dye chelates, nitro pigments, nitroso pigments, and aniline black. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

  Examples of the azo pigments include azo lakes, insoluble azo pigments, condensed azo pigments, and chelate azo pigments. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

  Examples of the polycyclic pigment include phthalocyanine pigments, perylene pigments, perinone pigments, anthraquinone pigments, quinacridone pigments, dioxazine pigments, indigo pigments, thioindigo pigments, isoindolinone pigments, and quinophthalone pigments. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

  Examples of the dye chelate include basic dye chelate and acid dye chelate. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

In addition, use of hollow resin particles and inorganic hollow particles is also possible.
Of these pigments, those having good affinity with the solvent are preferably used.

  As the pigment, for black, for example, carbon black (CI pigment black 7) such as furnace black, lamp black, acetylene black, channel black, copper, iron (CI pigment black 11) And organic pigments such as aniline black (CI Pigment Black 1). These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  For color, for example, 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; 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, 185, 190, 193, 209, 219; 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 (phthalocyanine blue), 16, 17: 1, 56, 60, 63; I. Pigment green 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 36, and the like. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

As other pigments, for example, self-dispersed pigments which can be dispersed in water by adding a functional group such as a sulfone group or a carboxyl group to the surface of carbon black can be used.
In addition, it is possible to include a pigment in a microcapsule and to disperse the pigment in water, that is, resin fine particles containing pigment particles.
In this case, the pigment contained in the ink is not necessarily sealed or adsorbed in the resin fine particles, and the pigment may be dispersed in the ink.

The number average particle diameter of the pigment is not particularly limited, and the maximum frequency in terms of the maximum number is preferably 20 nm or more and 150 nm or less. When the number average particle diameter is 20 nm or more, the dispersion operation and classification operation are facilitated. When the number average particle diameter is 150 nm or less, not only the pigment dispersion stability as the ink composition is improved, but also the ejection stability is excellent. The image quality such as the image density is also high, which is preferable.
The number average particle diameter can be measured using, for example, a particle size analyzer (Microtrac Model UPA9340, manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.).

  In the case of dispersing a pigment using a dispersant, any conventionally known pigment can be used, and examples thereof include a polymer dispersant and a water-soluble surfactant. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  Examples of the dye include C.I. I. Acid Yellow 17, 23, 42, 44, 79, 142; I. Acid Red 52, 80, 82, 249, 254, 289; I. Acid Blue 9, 45, 249; C.I. I. Acid Black 1, 2, 24, 94; C.I. I. Food black 1, 2; I. Direct yellow 1, 12, 24, 33, 50, 55, 58, 86, 132, 142, 144, 173; I. Direct Red 1, 4, 9, 80, 81, 225, 227; I. Direct blue 1, 2, 15, 71, 86, 87, 98, 165, 199, 202; I. Directed Black 19, 38, 51, 71, 154, 168, 171, 195; I. Reactive red 14, 32, 55, 79, 249; I. Reactive black 3, 4, 35 etc. are mentioned. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

  Examples of the color material used for the metallic ink include a fine powder obtained by finely pulverizing a simple metal, an alloy, or a metal compound.

  Examples of the color material used for the metallic ink include a group of simple metals made of aluminum, silver, gold, nickel, chromium, tin, zinc, indium, titanium, silicon, copper, and platinum. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Further, it may be an alloy obtained by combining these groups of metals, and examples thereof include particles obtained by finely pulverizing oxides, nitrides, sulfides, and carbides of these groups of single metals or alloys. . These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

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

<PH adjuster>
The pH adjuster is not particularly limited as long as the pH can be adjusted to 7 or more, and examples thereof include amines such as diethanolamine and triethanolamine.

[Ink production method]
Examples of the method for producing the ink include, for example, water, an organic solvent, a compound represented by the general formula (1), resin particles, and, if necessary, other components dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium. It can be produced by stirring and mixing. Examples of the stirring and mixing include a sand mill, a homogenizer, a ball mill, a paint shaker, an ultrasonic disperser, a stirrer using a normal stirring blade, a magnetic stirrer, and a high-speed disperser.

-Ink physical properties-
The physical properties of the ink are not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. For example, the viscosity is 2 mPa · 2 at 25 ° C. from the viewpoint of image quality such as character quality when recorded on a printing medium. s or more is preferable, and 3 mPa · s or more and 20 mPa · s or less is more preferable. When the viscosity is 2 mPa · s or more, ejection stability can be improved.

(ink cartridge)
Examples of the container that stores the ink include an ink cartridge.
The ink cartridge includes an ink cartridge that contains process color ink, special color ink, and white ink (base and / or background ink) in a container.
The ink cartridge contains the ink in a container and further includes other members appropriately selected as necessary.

  The container is not particularly limited, and its shape, structure, size, material and the like can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. For example, an ink bag formed of an aluminum laminate film, a resin film, etc. What has at least etc. is mentioned.

(Recorded material)
The recorded matter has an image recorded with the ink on a recording medium.

<Recording medium>
The recording medium is not particularly limited, and plain paper, glossy paper, special paper, cloth, and the like can be used. Good image formation is possible even with non-permeable media.
The non-permeable medium is a base material having a surface with low water permeability and absorbability, and includes materials that do not open to the outside even if there are many cavities inside, more quantitatively, In the Bristow method, it refers to a base material having a water absorption amount of 10 mL / m ² or less from the start of contact to 30 msec ^1/2 .
As the non-permeable medium, for example, a plastic film such as a vinyl chloride resin film, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, polypropylene, polyethylene, or a polycarbonate film can be suitably used.
The recording medium is not limited to those used as general recording media, and wallpaper, flooring, building materials such as tiles, cloth for clothing such as T-shirts, textiles, leather, and the like can be used as appropriate. Moreover, ceramics, glass, metal, etc. can also be used by adjusting the structure of the path | route which conveys a recording medium.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

(Preparation Example 1 of Pigment Dispersion)
<Preparation of black pigment dispersion>
After premixing the mixture of the following formulation, it was circulated and dispersed for 7 hours in a disk type bead mill (Shinmaru Enterprises KDL type, media: 0.3 mm diameter zirconia ball used) to obtain a black pigment dispersion (pigment solid (Min. Concentration: 20% by mass).
Carbon black pigment (trade name: Monarch 800, manufactured by Cabot) 15 parts by weight Anionic surfactant (Pionin A-51-B, manufactured by Takemoto Yushi Co., Ltd.) 2 parts by weight ion-exchanged water・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ 83 parts by mass

(Pigment Dispersion Preparation Example 2)
<Preparation of cyan pigment dispersion>
A cyan pigment dispersion (pigment) was prepared in the same manner as in Pigment Dispersion Preparation Example 1 except that the carbon black pigment was changed to Pigment Blue 15: 3 (trade name: LIONOL BLUE FG-7351, manufactured by Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.). Solid content concentration: 20% by mass) was obtained.

(Pigment Dispersion Preparation Example 3)
<Preparation of magenta pigment dispersion>
A magenta pigment dispersion (pigment solid content concentration: pigment solids concentration: similar to the pigment dispersion preparation example 1) except that the carbon black pigment was changed to Pigment Red 122 (trade name: Toner Magenta EO02, manufactured by Clariant Japan Co., Ltd.). 20% by mass) was obtained.

(Pigment Dispersion Preparation Example 4)
<Preparation of yellow pigment dispersion>
A yellow pigment dispersion (pigment solids) was prepared in the same manner as in Pigment Dispersion Preparation Example 1 except that the carbon black pigment was changed to Pigment Yellow 74 (trade name: First Yellow 531; manufactured by Dainichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd.). Concentration: 20% by mass).

(Pigment Dispersion Preparation Example 5)
<Preparation of white pigment dispersion>
25 parts by mass of titanium oxide (trade name: STR-100W, manufactured by Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), 5 parts by mass of a pigment dispersant (trade name: TEGO Dispers 651, manufactured by Evonik), and 70 parts by mass of water are mixed, and a bead mill (product) Name: Research Lab, manufactured by Shinmaru Enterprises Co., Ltd., zirconia beads having a diameter of 0.3 mm were dispersed for 5 minutes at a filling rate of 60% and 8 m / s, and a white pigment dispersion (pigment solid content concentration: 25% by mass) was obtained.

(Preparation Example 1 of Resin Particles)
<Preparation of polycarbonate urethane resin emulsion>
Into a reaction vessel into which a stirrer, a reflux condenser and a thermometer were inserted, 1,500 g of polycarbonate diol (reaction product of 1,6-hexanediol and dimethyl carbonate (number average molecular weight (Mn): 1,200)), 2, 2-dimethylolpropionic acid (hereinafter also referred to as “DMPA”) (220 g) and N-methylpyrrolidone (hereinafter also referred to as “NMP”) (1,347 g) were charged in a nitrogen stream and heated to 60 ° C. DMPA was dissolved by heating.
Next, 1,445 g of 4,4′-dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate and 2.6 g of dibutyltin dilaurate (catalyst) are added and heated to 90 ° C., and a urethanization reaction is performed over 5 hours. Obtained. The reaction mixture was cooled to 80 ° C., 4,340 g was extracted from the mixture in which 149 g of triethylamine was added and mixed, and added to a mixed solution of 5,400 g of water and 15 g of triethylamine with vigorous stirring. Next, 1,500 g of ice was added, and 626 g of a 35% by mass 2-methyl-1,5-pentanediamine aqueous solution was added to carry out a chain extension reaction, and the solvent was distilled off so that the solid content concentration became 30% by mass. A polycarbonate urethane resin emulsion was obtained.
Using the polycarbonate-based urethane resin emulsion, the minimum film-forming temperature was measured with a film-forming temperature test device (device name: 1530, manufactured by Imoto Seisakusho Co., Ltd.). The minimum film forming temperature was 55 ° C.

(Resin Particle Preparation Example 2)
<Preparation of polyether urethane resin emulsion>
In a nitrogen-substituted container equipped with a thermometer, a nitrogen gas inlet tube, and a stirrer, 100.2 parts by mass of polyether polyol (trade name: PTMG1000, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, average molecular weight: 1,000), 2,2-dimethylolpropionic acid 15.7 parts by mass, isophorone diisocyanate 48.0 parts by mass, methyl ethyl ketone 77.1 parts by mass as an organic solvent, dibutyltin direureate (hereinafter also referred to as “DMTDL”) as a catalyst ) 0.06 parts by mass were reacted.
After continuing the said reaction for 4 hours, 30.7 mass parts of methyl ethyl ketone was supplied as a dilution solvent, and also reaction was continued.
When the average molecular weight of the reactant reached a range of 20,000 or more and 60,000 or less, 1.4 parts by mass of methanol was added to complete the reaction, thereby obtaining an organic solvent solution of urethane resin. .
The carboxyl group of the urethane resin is neutralized by adding 13.4 parts by mass of a 48% by mass potassium hydroxide aqueous solution to the organic solvent solution of the urethane resin, and then 715.3 parts by mass of water is added and sufficiently stirred. Thereafter, aging and solvent removal were performed to obtain a polyether urethane resin emulsion having a solid content of 30% by mass.
About the said polyether-type urethane resin emulsion, it carried out similarly to the preparation example 1 of the said polycarbonate-type urethane resin emulsion, and measured the minimum film-forming temperature with the film-forming temperature test apparatus. The minimum film forming temperature was 43 ° C.

(Resin Particle Preparation Example 3)
<Preparation of polyester urethane resin emulsion>
Polyether polyol (trade name: PTMG1000, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, average molecular weight: 1,000) is converted to polyester polyol (trade name: Polylite OD-X-2251, manufactured by DIC Corporation, average molecular weight: 2,000). A polyester-based urethane resin emulsion having a solid content of 30% by mass was obtained in the same manner as in Preparation Example 2 of the polyether-based urethane resin emulsion except for the change.
About the said polyester-type urethane resin emulsion, it carried out similarly to preparation of the said polycarbonate-type urethane resin emulsion, and measured the minimum film-forming temperature with the film-forming temperature test apparatus (device name: 1530, Imoto Seisakusho make). The minimum film forming temperature was 74 ° C.

(Resin Particle Preparation Example 4)
<Preparation of acrylic resin emulsion>
A reaction vessel equipped with a stirrer, a reflux condenser, a dropping device, and a thermometer was charged with 900 g of ion-exchanged water and 1 g of sodium lauryl sulfate, and the temperature was raised to 70 ° C. while purging with nitrogen under stirring. Maintaining the internal temperature at 70 ° C., adding 4 g of potassium persulfate as a polymerization initiator, dissolving, 450 g of ion exchange water, 3 g of sodium lauryl sulfate, 20 g of acrylamide, 615 g of styrene, 30 g of butyl acrylate, and 350 g of methacrylic acid The emulsion prepared by adding below was continuously dropped into the reaction solution over 4 hours. After completion of the dropwise addition, the mixture was reacted for 3 hours to obtain an aqueous emulsion.
The obtained aqueous emulsion was cooled to room temperature, and then ion exchange water and an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution were added to obtain an acrylic resin emulsion having a solid content concentration of 30% by mass and pH 8.
About the said acrylic resin emulsion, it carried out similarly to the preparation example 1 of the said polycarbonate-type urethane resin emulsion, and measured the minimum film-forming temperature with the film-forming temperature test apparatus (device name: 1530, Imoto Seisakusho make). The minimum film forming temperature was 53 ° C.

<Preparation of ink 1>
Black pigment dispersion 20% by mass, polycarbonate urethane resin emulsion (solid content concentration 30% by mass) in terms of resin solid content 10% by mass, 1,2-propanediol 12% by mass, 1,2-butanediol 5% by mass , 3-methoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide (trade name: Ecamide M-100, manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.) 17% by mass, siloxane compound (trade name: FZ2110, manufactured by Toray Dow Co., Ltd., HLB = 1. 0) 1% by mass, preservative (trade name: Proxel LV, manufactured by Avicia Co., Ltd.) 0.1% by mass, and 12% by mass of high purity water were mixed and stirred, and 0.2 μm polypropylene filter (manufactured by Nippon Pole Co., Ltd.). Ink 1 was prepared by filtration.

(Preparation of inks 2 to 6)
Inks 2 to 6 were prepared in the same manner as Ink 1 except that the composition and content shown in Table 1 were changed in Ink 1.

In addition, it is as follows about the brand name of a component and the manufacturer's name which were used in the Example.
・ Carbon black pigment (trade name: Monarch 800, manufactured by Cabot Corporation)
-Pigment Blue 15: 3 (trade name: LIONOL BLUE FG-7351, manufactured by Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.)
Anionic surfactant (Pionine A-51-B, Takemoto Yushi Co., Ltd.)
Pigment Red 122 (trade name: Toner Magenta EO02, manufactured by Clariant Japan Co., Ltd.)
・ Pigment Yellow 74 (trade name: First Yellow 531, manufactured by Dainichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd.)
・ Titanium oxide (trade name: STR-100W, manufactured by Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)
・ Pigment dispersant (trade name: TEGO Dispers 651, manufactured by Evonik)
Polyether polyol (trade name: PTMG1000, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, average molecular weight: 1,000)
Polyester polyol (trade name: Polylite OD-X-2251, manufactured by DIC Corporation, average molecular weight: 2,000)
・ 3-Methoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide (trade name: Ecamide M-100, manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.)
Siloxane compound (trade name: FZ2110, manufactured by Toray Dow Co., Ltd., HLB = 1.0)
-Preservative (trade name: Proxel LV, manufactured by Avicia Co., Ltd.)

Example 1
The prepared ink is filled in the printing apparatus of the present invention in the combination shown in Table 2 below, and ink 6 (white ink) is used for a polyvinyl chloride film (trade name: CPPVWP1300, manufactured by Sakurai Co., Ltd.) recording medium. After the base was formed, white tip printing (first embodiment) for recording the oblique line pattern image and the solid image shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 was performed with inks 1 and 2.

(Examples 2-9 and 12)
In Example 1, Examples 2-9 and 12 were implemented like the Example except having changed into the composition and content of Table 2 below. As the ink used in Example 12, a commercially available RICOH Pro ink (trade name: RICOH Pro AR ink, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) was used.

(Example 10)
In Example 1, after printing the oblique line pattern image and the solid image shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 with the inks 1 and 3, the white post-print printing (fifth embodiment) for forming the white ink layer with the ink 6 was performed. Example 10 was carried out in the same manner as Example 1 except for the above.

(Example 11)
In Example 1, after recording the oblique line pattern image and the solid image shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 with the inks 1 and 3, a white ink layer is formed with the ink 6, and then further with the inks 1 and 3, FIGS. Example 11 was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the three-layer printing (sixth embodiment) for recording the oblique line pattern image and the solid image shown in FIG.

  Next, “presence / absence of bleeding” was evaluated as follows. The results are shown in Table 2.

<With or without blurring>
The presence or absence of bleeding at the mass boundary of the oblique line pattern image and the solid image formed on the polyvinyl chloride film was visually observed, and “the presence or absence of bleeding (bleeding)” was evaluated based on the following evaluation criteria. If the evaluation is “Δ” or more, it is a level with no problem in use.
[Evaluation criteria]
A: At a productivity of 50 m ² / h, the image has no blur as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 at all mass boundaries. ○: At a productivity of 45 m ² / h, at all mass boundaries, FIG. And 19 are images having no blur. Δ: A productivity of 40 m ² / h, and images having no blur as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 at all mass boundaries.

From the results of Examples 1 to 12, it was found that by using the printing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to record an image with high printing quality while suppressing a decrease in printing speed.
Further, by using an ink having water, an organic solvent, a pigment, resin particles, and a siloxane compound as the ink, a white ink having high drying property can be obtained, and by forming a background using the white ink, Even in bidirectional printing, the smoothness of the ink film forming the color ink was increased, and a glossy image could be obtained. That is, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, it was found that bleeding can be suppressed and a high-quality image can be recorded. In particular, it was found that the use of a polycarbonate polyurethane resin as the resin particles is effective against bleeding.

As an aspect of this invention, it is as follows, for example.
<1> Liquid ejecting means including a first nozzle array that ejects a first liquid that forms an image, and a second nozzle array that ejects a second liquid different from the first liquid;
A carriage mounted with the liquid ejection means and reciprocated in the main scanning direction
Control means for controlling the medium to discharge the second liquid to a region including the region from which the first liquid is discharged;
The control means causes the second liquid to be discharged from the second nozzle row in both directions of the forward path and the return path of the carriage,
A printing apparatus comprising: means for controlling the first liquid to be ejected from the first nozzle row in any one of a forward path and a return path of the carriage.
<2> The printing apparatus according to <1>, wherein a length of the second nozzle row is shorter than a length of the first nozzle row.
<3> The printing apparatus according to <2>, wherein a length of the second nozzle row is ½ times a length of the first nozzle row.
<4> The printing apparatus according to any one of <1> to <3>, wherein the second nozzle row and the first nozzle row are separated in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction.
<5> The printing apparatus according to any one of <1> to <4>, wherein the second liquid is a background liquid that forms a background.
<6> The printing apparatus according to any one of <1> to <5>, wherein the first liquid and the second liquid contain water, an organic solvent, a coloring material, resin particles, and a siloxane compound.
<7> The printing apparatus according to <6>, wherein the resin particles are urethane resin.
<8> The printing apparatus according to <7>, wherein the urethane resin is at least one selected from a polycarbonate urethane resin and a polyester urethane resin.
<9> The printing apparatus according to any one of <6> to <8>, wherein the organic solvent includes a compound represented by the following general formula (1).
(In the general formula ^(1), R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} each represent a an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon ^atoms, R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} are the same May be different)
<10> The printing apparatus according to any one of <6> to <9>, wherein the organic solvent includes 3-methoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide represented by the following general formula (1-1): is there.
<11> The printing apparatus according to any one of <6> to <10>, wherein the organic solvent includes 3-butoxy-N, N-dimethylpropionamide represented by the following general formula (1-2): is there.
<12> The printing apparatus according to any one of <6> to <11>, wherein the organic solvent includes 3-methoxy-N, N-diethylpropionamide.
<13> The printing apparatus according to any one of <6> to <12>, wherein the color material is at least one selected from a white color material and an image forming color material.
<14> The printing apparatus according to <13>, wherein the white color material is at least one selected from titanium oxide, iron oxide, tin oxide, zirconium oxide, and iron titanate.
<15> The above <13> to <14>, wherein the image forming color material is at least one selected from color ink, special color ink, black ink, gray ink, clear ink, metallic ink, and non-white ink. The printing apparatus according to any one of the above.
<16> The printing apparatus according to any one of <13> to <15>, wherein the image forming color material is at least one selected from an inorganic pigment and an organic pigment.
<17> The printing according to <16>, wherein the inorganic pigment is at least one selected from titanium oxide, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, barium yellow, cadmium red, and chrome yellow. Device.
<18> The printing apparatus according to any one of <1> to <17>, wherein the liquid discharge unit includes one or more liquid discharge heads having a plurality of nozzle rows.
<19> Liquid ejecting means comprising: a first nozzle row that ejects a first liquid that forms an image; and a second nozzle row that ejects a second liquid different from the first liquid;
In an image forming apparatus including a carriage mounted with the liquid ejecting unit and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction, control for ejecting the second liquid to a region including a region from which the first liquid is ejected is performed. A program for causing a computer to
Discharging the second liquid from the second nozzle row in both the forward and backward directions of the carriage;
A program for causing the computer to perform control for ejecting the first liquid from the first nozzle row in any one of a forward path and a return path of the carriage.
<20> In the printing method for printing using the printing apparatus according to any one of <1> to <18>,
As the first liquid and the second liquid, an ink containing water, a pigment, a siloxane compound, a compound of the following general formula (1), and at least one of a polycarbonate urethane resin and a polyester urethane resin is used. A printing method characterized by the above.
(In the general formula ^(1), R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} each represent a an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon ^atoms, R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} are the same May be different)

  According to the printing device according to any one of <1> to <18>, the program according to <19>, and the printing method according to <20>, the conventional problems are solved, and the book The object of the invention can be achieved.

Japanese Patent No. 5425357

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Roll body 2 Print medium 11 Head Na-Nf Nozzle row N1, N1A, N1B 1st nozzle row N2 2nd nozzle row 12 Carriage 21 Conveyance roller 25 Platen member 41 Winding roll 101 Printing part 102 Conveyance part 103 Roll storage part 104 Roll winding unit 500 Control unit

Claims (12)

A liquid ejecting means including a first nozzle row that ejects a first liquid that forms an image, and a second nozzle row that ejects a second liquid different from the first liquid;
A carriage mounted with the liquid ejection means and reciprocated in the main scanning direction;
Control means for controlling the medium to discharge the second liquid to a region including the region from which the first liquid is discharged;
The control means causes the second liquid to be discharged from the second nozzle row in both directions of the forward path and the return path of the carriage,
A printing apparatus comprising: means for controlling the ejection of the first liquid from the first nozzle row in one direction of either the forward path or the backward path of the carriage.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of the second nozzle row is shorter than a length of the first nozzle row.   The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a length of the second nozzle row is ½ times a length of the first nozzle row.   4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second nozzle row and the first nozzle row are separated from each other in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second liquid is a background liquid that forms a background.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first liquid and the second liquid contain water, an organic solvent, a color material, resin particles, and a siloxane compound.   The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the resin particles are urethane resin.   The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the urethane resin is at least one selected from a polycarbonate urethane resin and a polyester urethane resin. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the organic solvent contains a compound represented by the following general formula (1).
(In the general formula ^(1), R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} each represent a an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon ^atoms, R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} are the same May be different)   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting unit includes one or a plurality of liquid ejecting heads having a plurality of nozzle rows. A liquid ejecting means including a first nozzle row that ejects a first liquid that forms an image, and a second nozzle row that ejects a second liquid different from the first liquid;
In an image forming apparatus including a carriage mounted with the liquid ejecting unit and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction, control for ejecting the second liquid to a region including a region from which the first liquid is ejected is performed. A program for causing a computer to
Discharging the second liquid from the second nozzle row in both the forward and backward directions of the carriage;
A program for causing the computer to perform control for ejecting the first liquid from the first nozzle row in any one direction of a forward path and a return path of the carriage. In the printing method printed using the printing device in any one of Claims 1-10,
As the first liquid and the second liquid, an ink containing water, a pigment, a siloxane compound, a compound of the following general formula (1), and at least one of a polycarbonate urethane resin and a polyester urethane resin is used. A printing method characterized by the above.
(In the general formula ^(1), R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} each represent a an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon ^atoms, R 1, ^{R 2,} and ^{R 3} are the same May be different)