JPH0852868A - Method and device for ink-jet recording - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a sharp, keen-edged image by selectively providing the region, wherein discharged processing liquid is not applied, at a part of the outermost profile part of an image forming region, and providing the region, wherein the processing liquid is discharged, at the inner part surrounded by the outermost profile part on the other hand. CONSTITUTION:This method comprises the first stage, wherein an ink is discharged in correspondence with an image information of a processing liquid of the liquid containing compound which makes the dye in the ink insoluble, and the second stage, wherein the ink is discharged in correspondence with the image information. Before the formation of the image, the processing liquid is discharged. The blackened part is the part corresponding to dots, to which the processing liquid is attached. The region, to which the processing liquid is attached, indicates the different patterns for outermost profile parts 10 and inner parts 20. The inner parts 20 hold the dye of the ink as the solid pattern. For the outermost profile parts 10, the parts to which the processing liquid is attached are made less, and the effect of the processing liquid on the profile of the image is made less. For example, the figure (b) indicates the case, wherein the outermost profile parts 10 are uniformly removed and the processing liquid is attached. The processing-liquid attaching patterns are selected based on the image quality to be obtained, the kind of the ink used and the kind of material for recording.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method capable of obtaining a high quality image on a recording material. More specifically, the dye in the ink is insolubilized on the recording material before the ink is ejected. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording method for ejecting a liquid to be ejected and an inkjet recording apparatus to which the method is applied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording method is a low noise and non-impact recording method for recording an image by directly ejecting ink onto a recording material. Moreover, since this method does not require a complicated device for implementation, it is easy to achieve low running costs, downsizing of the device, and colorization. Therefore, recording apparatuses such as printers, copiers, facsimiles and word processors to which the inkjet recording method is applied have been put into practical use.

However, as the ink used in the above-mentioned recording apparatus to which the ink jet recording method is applied, an ink containing a water-soluble dye is generally used. Therefore, when an image is formed on a recording material, which is so-called plain paper, since the dye constituting the formed image has insufficient water resistance, water droplets or the like may cause bleeding. . Further, when a color image is obtained, it is difficult to simultaneously obtain a high-density image in which feathering does not occur and an image in which bleeding does not occur between colors, and as a result, the quality of the color image may deteriorate significantly.

As a method for improving the water resistance of an image, an ink in which a dye contained in the ink has water resistance has been put into practical use in recent years. However, its water resistance is insufficient to suppress the bleeding. Further, such water resistance is achieved by drying the ink containing a dye that is poorly soluble in water, so that the nozzle clogging of the ink ejecting means (recording head) is likely to occur, and in order to prevent this, the device structure There was a drawback that it had to be complicated.

Further, JP-A-56-84992 discloses a method of coating a recording paper with a material for fixing a dye in advance. However, in this method, it is necessary to use a specific recording paper, and in order to apply the material for fixing the dye in advance, it is unavoidable that the apparatus becomes large in size and cost is increased, and furthermore, it is stable on the recording paper. There is a drawback in that it is difficult to apply the above materials with a predetermined film thickness.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-63185 discloses a technique in which a colorless ink which insolubilizes a dye is attached onto a recording paper by an ink jet recording head.
According to this method, since the dot diameter of the colorless ink is made larger than the dot diameter of the image ink, desired characteristics can be satisfied even at a position where the landing positions of the image ink and the colorless ink are deviated. I am trying. When using such a colorless ink, it is necessary to use a colorless ink that has a relatively high penetration speed into the recording material in order to prevent the ink from drying for a long time. There is a problem such as a lack of image sharpness due to the increased penetration into the material. In the method,
Since more colorless ink is ejected to the portion corresponding to the image position than usual, there is a drawback that not only the drying time of the ink becomes long, but also a very unclear image may be formed.

On the other hand, when the ink jet recording method is applied to a color recording apparatus, it is necessary to use a special paper in order to obtain a color image of high color development without ink bleeding. Those that have printability on paper have been put into practical use. However, the current printing quality is still at an insufficient level. The most important factor is the black image quality in the color image.

Usually, when a color image is obtained on a plain paper by an ink jet recording method, since a quick-drying ink having a high penetration speed into the plain paper is used, the color image portion has a high quality without ink bleeding between colors. However, the black image portion has a low density, and so-called feathering occurs, in which the ink bleeds along the fibers of the paper. For example, when there is a black image in the color image part as a background, the above-mentioned problems of the black image part are relatively inconspicuous and do not significantly deteriorate the quality, but the black image part is different from the color image part. When they exist independently, the quality deteriorates.
Furthermore, when the black image is a character, it becomes an unclear character lacking sharpness, and therefore the quality is unavoidably poor.

In order to obtain a high-quality image in which the density of the black image portion is high and feathering does not occur, it is necessary to eject a large amount of ink having a relatively slow penetration rate into plain paper. However, in this case, bleeding of the black ink and the color ink occurs at the adjacent boundary portion between the black image portion and the color image portion, and the quality is significantly impaired.

In order to improve these drawbacks, a system in which a heater is provided in the recording apparatus to accelerate the drying of the ink and a color image with high color development and no bleeding between colors is obtained has been put into practical use. However, this method inevitably increases the size of the device and increases the cost.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems and provides an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus to which the method can be applied to obtain a sharp and sharp image without blurring the outermost contour of the image. The purpose is to

[0012]

In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet recording method based on the present invention is an image on a recording medium on which a treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected based on input image information. An ink jet including a control step of defining a forming area, a processing liquid discharging step of discharging a processing liquid toward the image forming area, and an ink discharging step of discharging the ink toward the image forming area after the processing liquid is discharged. In the recording method, in the control step, an area that does not receive the processing liquid is selectively provided in at least a part of the outermost contour portion of the image forming area, while an inner side surrounded by the outermost contour portion. It is characterized in that an area for discharging the processing liquid is provided in the portion.

Preferably, when a color image is formed by using the inks of a plurality of colors, the image forming area on the recording material corresponds to a boundary portion where images of different colors are adjacent to each other. The processing liquid is discharged.

Preferably, as a means for ejecting the ink, an ink jet recording head having a heating resistance element for causing film boiling in the ink as an energy generating means for the ejection is used.

Preferably, the treatment liquid contains a cationic compound composed of a low molecular weight component and a high molecular weight component,
The dye contained in the ink is composed of an anionic compound or contains a low molecular component and a high molecular component of a cationic substance, and the ink contains an anionic dye or at least contains an anionic compound and a pigment. Has been done.

Further, the ink jet recording method according to the present invention comprises a control step of determining an image forming area on the recording medium on which the treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected, based on the input image information, and the above image forming. An inkjet recording method comprising a treatment liquid ejection step of ejecting a treatment liquid toward an area and an ink ejection step of ejecting the ink toward the image forming area after the treatment liquid is ejected, wherein the control step comprises: When the image is made of a specific color selected in advance, a region which does not receive the discharge of the processing liquid is selectively provided in at least a part of the outermost contour part of the image forming region, while the outermost contour part is provided. It is characterized in that a region to which the processing liquid is discharged is provided in the enclosed inner portion.

Preferably, the specific color is black.

Preferably, in forming a color image using the inks of a plurality of colors, when images of different colors are adjacent to each other, the colorless or light-colored liquid is ejected to the adjoining boundary portion.

Preferably, as the means for ejecting the ink, an ink jet recording head having a heating resistance element for causing film boiling in the ink as an energy generating means for the ejection is used.

Preferably, the treatment liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the dye contained in the ink consists of an anionic substance.

Next, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises a control means for determining an image forming area on the recording medium onto which the treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected, based on the input image information, and the above image. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a treatment liquid ejecting unit that ejects a treatment liquid toward a forming region; and an ink ejecting unit that ejects the ink toward the image forming region after the treatment liquid is ejected. , At least a part of the outermost contour portion of the image forming area is selectively provided with a region which does not receive the treatment liquid, while the treatment liquid is ejected to an inner portion surrounded by the outermost contour portion. It is characterized in that a region is provided.

Preferably, when the color images are formed using the inks of the plurality of colors, if the images of different colors are adjacent to each other, the control means ejects the treatment liquid to the adjacent boundary portion. Let

Preferably, as the ink ejecting means,
An ink jet recording head is used in which a heating resistance element that causes film boiling in the ink is used as energy generating means for the ejection.

Preferably, the treatment liquid contains a cationic substance consisting of a low molecular weight component and a high molecular weight component, and the dye contained in the ink consists of an anionic substance, or a low molecular weight component. The polymer contains a cationic substance, and the ink contains an anionic dye, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment.

Further, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a control means for determining an image forming area on the recording medium on which the treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected based on the input image information, and the above image forming means. An ink jet recording apparatus having a treatment liquid ejecting means for ejecting a treatment liquid toward an area, and an ink ejecting means for ejecting the ink toward the image forming area after the treatment liquid is ejected, wherein the control means comprises: When the image is formed of a specific color selected in advance, at least a part of the outermost contour portion of the image forming area is selectively provided with an area that does not receive the ejection of the processing liquid.

[0026] Preferably, the specific color is black.

Preferably, the control means discharges the treatment liquid to the adjoining boundary when the images of different colors are adjacent to each other when forming the color image using the inks of the plurality of colors. Let

Preferably, as the above-mentioned ink ejection means,
An ink jet recording head is used in which a heating resistance element that causes film boiling in the ink is used as energy generating means for the ejection.

Preferably, the treatment liquid contains a cationic substance consisting of a low molecular weight component and a high molecular weight component, and the dye contained in the ink consists of an anionic substance, or a high molecular weight component and a high molecular weight component. The ink contains a cationic substance as a molecular component, and the ink contains an anionic dye, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment.

[0030]

According to the above construction, a region where the treatment liquid is not discharged is generated in at least a part of the outermost contour portion of the image forming region, while the treatment liquid adheres to the inner portion surrounded by the region. Since the ink is held, the outermost contour of the image does not bleed and the image becomes sharp and sharp. Furthermore, since the colorless or light-colored liquid is ejected to different color boundary portions when forming a color image, a clear color image without bleeding between colors can be obtained.

[0031]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Example 1> In the ink jet recording method of this example, a colorless or pale liquid (hereinafter also referred to as a treatment liquid) containing a compound that insolubilizes a dye in the ink is recorded on a recording material according to image information. And a second step of ejecting black ink onto the recording material according to the image information. Here, as an example, a case will be described in which a monochromatic image having 6 dots in the vertical direction and 8 dots in the horizontal direction is formed. FIG. 1A shows an image formed on a recording material by the ink ejected from the inkjet recording head. All dots are printed 100% without being thinned to form a solid pattern. FIG.
1B to 1E show an example in which the processing liquid is ejected prior to the image formation of FIG. In the figure, the blackened portions are the dot-corresponding portions to which the treatment liquid has adhered.
The regions to which the treatment liquid adheres are the outermost contour portion 10 and the inner portion 20.
And show different patterns. The inner portion 20 has a solid pattern to retain the dye of the ink, while the outermost contour portion 10 reduces the portion to which the treatment liquid adheres, thereby reducing the influence of the treatment liquid on the contour of the image. FIG.
The example of (b) is a case where the treatment liquid is deposited by uniformly thinning out the outermost contour portions corresponding to the dots forming the image of FIG. 1 (a). In the example of FIG. 1C, in the case of FIG. 1A, the outermost contour portion is thinned out at a ratio of 50%. FIG. 1D shows a case where the treatment liquid is attached only to the innermost part of the image except for the outermost contour region and a part in the vicinity thereof. And FIG.1 (e) has shown the case where a process liquid is made to adhere to most parts except a part of outermost outline area of an image. These treatment liquid adhesion patterns are arbitrarily selected depending on the desired image quality, the type of ink used, the type of recording material, and the like. For example, when a black image is recorded, FIG. 1B is selected, and when a color other than black is recorded, FIG. 1C is selected. It will be sharp without rings.

When a treatment liquid having a relatively high permeability to recording paper is used, the ink discharged onto the treatment liquid is likely to bleed, and as shown in FIG. In addition to the outermost contour, the processing liquid may be prevented from being discharged to the portion inside one pixel.

In the case of thinning out the outermost contour of an image, etc., FIG.
Instead of pixel by pixel as in (c), it may be as in FIG. 1 (e).

Next, the case of applying to color recording will be described.

<Embodiment 2> In the ink jet recording method of this embodiment, a first step of ejecting a treatment liquid onto a recording material according to image information, and a color recording compatible ink according to the image information. The second step of discharging onto the recording material. Here, as an example, a case will be described in which a black image and a yellow image each having 6 dots in the vertical direction and 8 dots in the horizontal direction are formed adjacent to each other.

FIG. 2A shows a case where a black image (6 dots in the vertical direction, 8 dots in the horizontal direction) and a yellow image (6 dots in the vertical direction, 8 dots in the horizontal direction) are formed adjacent to each other. That is,
3 illustrates an image formed on a recording material by the ink ejected from the inkjet recording head. All dots are printed 100% without being thinned to form a solid pattern. 2 (b) to 2 (d) are shown in FIG.
An example in which the treatment liquid is ejected prior to the image formation of (a) will be described. In the figure, the black or lightly painted portions are the dot corresponding portions to which the treatment liquid is attached.

In FIG. 2 (b), the processing liquid is ejected to the boundary portions adjacent to each other for both the black image and the yellow image, and the treatment liquid is not ejected to the outermost contour other than the adjacent boundary portions of the black image. The processing liquid is ejected onto the outermost contours of the yellow image other than the adjacent boundary portions. As a result, it is possible to prevent bleeding between colors at the boundary between the black image and the yellow image, and
The quality of the black image does not deteriorate due to bleeding or feathering.

In FIG. 2C, the treatment liquid is not ejected to the outermost contours of the black image and the yellow image except the adjoining boundary portion. This example is effective when the sharpness of the color image is required in addition to the black image.

In FIG. 2D, in addition to FIG. 2C, adjacent boundary portions are thinned out. This is effective when using inks having relatively little bleeding between colors even if they are adjacent to each other, and it is possible to suppress the consumption of the processing liquid.

As described above, it is possible to obtain a sharp image without bleeding or feathering by appropriately restricting the ejection of the processing liquid to the outermost contour of the image. In the present invention, the water resistance is slightly reduced due to the generation of the portion where the treatment liquid is not ejected, but the influence is small because it is only the contour portion. If importance is attached to water resistance, as shown in FIG.
The thinning rate of the processing liquid in the outermost contour portion may be reduced as in (e).

The treatment liquid and ink applied in the ink jet recording method of the above-mentioned Examples 1 and 2 have the following features.

First, the treatment liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low molecular weight component and a high molecular weight component, while the ink is
It contains an anionic dye.

An example of the specific composition of the treatment liquid and the ink is shown below.

First, the treatment liquid was prepared by mixing and dissolving the following components, and then pressure filtration with a membrane filter (trade name: Fluoropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries) having a pore size of 0.22 μm, and then pH with NaOH. To 4.8.

[Components of Treatment Liquid] Low molecular weight component of cationic compound Stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride 2.0 parts (trade name; Electrostopper QE, manufactured by Kao) High molecular component of cationic compound Polyamine sulfone (average molecular weight: 5000) 3.0 parts (trade name; PAS-92, manufactured by Nitto Boseki) thiodiglycol 10 parts water balance The following can be mentioned as suitable examples of the ink that is insolubilized by mixing with the treatment liquid.

That is, the following components are mixed, and the mixture is further filtered under pressure with a membrane filter (trade name: Chloropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries) having a pore size of 0.22 μm, and the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks Y are used.
1, M1, C1, K1 can be obtained.

Y1 C. I. Direct Yellow 142 2 parts Thiodiglycol 10 parts Acetylenol EH (Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 0.05 parts Water balance M1 Dye I. Acid Red-289; the same composition as Y1 except that 2.5 parts was replaced with C1 dye. I. Acid Blue 9; Same composition as Y1 except that 2.5 parts were used. I. In the mixing of the treatment liquid and the inks having the same composition as Y1 or more except that the food black 2; 3 parts was replaced, in the present invention, the treatment liquid and the ink described above were recorded on the recording material or the recording material (hereinafter, Also called recording paper)
As a result of mixing at the position where it penetrates into the ink, as the first step of the reaction, among the cationic substances contained in the treatment liquid, the low molecular weight component and the water-soluble dye having an anionic group used in the ink are mixed. An ionic interaction causes association, and instantaneously causes separation from the solution phase.

Next, as the second step of the reaction, the above-mentioned association of the dye and the low molecular weight cationic substance is adsorbed by the high molecular component contained in the treatment liquid, so that the dye is condensed by the association. The size of the aggregate is further increased, making it difficult for the aggregate to enter the gaps between the fibers of the recording material, and as a result, only the liquid portion that has undergone solid-liquid separation penetrates into the recording paper, achieving both print quality and fixability. To be done. At the same time, since the aggregate formed by the low molecular weight component of the cationic substance, the anionic dye and the cationic substance generated by the mechanism as described above has a high viscosity and does not move with the movement of the liquid medium, Even if adjacent ink dots are formed of different color inks as in image formation, they do not mix with each other and bleeding does not occur. Further, the above-mentioned aggregates are essentially water-insoluble, and the water resistance of the formed image is perfect. Further, it also has the effect of improving the light fastness of the image formed by the shielding effect of the polymer.

In practicing the present invention, it is not necessary to use a cationic polymer substance having a large molecular weight or a polyvalent metal salt as in the prior art, or even if it is necessary, the present invention can be used. Since it is only necessary to supplementarily use it to further improve the effect, the amount used can be minimized. As a result, the reduction of the color developability of the dye, which is a problem when trying to obtain the water resistance effect using the conventional cationic polymer substance or polyvalent metal salt, is eliminated. Can be listed as the effect of.

The recording material used for carrying out the present invention is not particularly limited, and so-called plain paper such as conventionally used copy paper and bond paper can be preferably used. Of course, coated paper and OHP specially made for inkjet printing
A transparent film for use can be preferably used, and a general wood grain or glossy paper can also be preferably used.

Specific examples of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the ink jet recording method according to the present invention is applied will be described below. Of course, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the following examples, and not only office equipment such as facsimiles, printers and copiers, but also decorative printers and computer design printing for directly printing patterns on fabrics. It also includes mass production equipment such as large-scale system printing devices such as systems.

<Embodiment 3> FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the schematic structure of an example of an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet printer) to which the ink jet recording method of the present invention is applied.

This printer includes a carriage 2 having a recording head 1s for ejecting a treatment liquid and a recording head 1k for ejecting black ink, and a flexible cable for sending an electric signal from the printer body to the recording head. 3, a cap unit 4 having a recovery unit, a paper feed tray 8 for feeding the recording material 7, and the like. Further, the cap unit 4 includes cap members 5s and 5k corresponding to the recording heads 1s and 1k and a wiper blade 6 made of a member such as rubber. The printer configured as described above serially scans the recording heads 1s and 1k in the direction (main scanning direction) B orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction A to perform recording with a width corresponding to the number of nozzles, while The recording material is intermittently conveyed at a feed amount equal to the recording width during non-recording.

The printer of this embodiment is constructed such that the ink for forming an image is ejected after the treatment liquid is ejected.

The recording heads 1s and 1k each have 64 nozzles, and about 80 ng of the processing liquid or ink is ejected from each nozzle.

The above-mentioned recording head uses a thermal energy (a film boiling phenomenon) to discharge a liquid as a means for generating energy for discharging a treatment liquid or ink (so-called bubble jet method). Is taken. This type of recording head is capable of high-resolution recording because the liquid ejection ports can be arranged at high density. In addition, it is possible to generate bubbles in the ink in the liquid path in a one-to-one correspondence with the drive electric pulse signal, and to immediately and properly grow and generate bubbles.
Since the contraction can be performed, particularly highly responsive droplet ejection can be achieved.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of electric control of the above-mentioned ink jet printer.

Reference numeral 301 denotes a system controller for controlling the entire apparatus, which is used when a micro-processor, a storage element (ROM) in which a control program is stored, and a microprocessor perform processing. A storage element (RAM) and the like are arranged. Reference numeral 302 is a driver for driving the recording head in the main scanning direction, and similarly, 303 is a driver for moving the recording material in the sub scanning direction. Reference number 3
04 and 305 are motors corresponding to the driver,
It operates by receiving information such as speed and movement distance from the driver.

Reference numeral 306 is a host computer, which is a device for transferring information to be printed to the printing device of the present invention. Reference numeral 307 is a reception buffer for temporarily storing the data from the host computer 306, and stores the data until the data is read from the system controller 301. Reference numeral 308 is a frame memory for expanding the data to be printed into image data, and has a memory size for printing. In this embodiment, a frame memory capable of storing one print sheet will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the size of the frame memory.

Reference numeral 309 is a storage element for temporarily storing the data to be printed, and the storage capacity changes depending on the number of nozzles of the recording head. Reference numeral 310 is for appropriately controlling the recording head in response to a command from the system controller, is a print control unit for controlling the printing speed, the number of print data, and the like, and is for ejecting the processing liquid. Data is also created. Reference numeral 311 indicates a recording head 31 for ejecting the processing liquid.
2 s, recording head 312k for ejecting black ink
Is a driver for driving the
It is controlled by the signal from 0.

First, the image data is transferred from the host computer 306 to the reception buffer 307 and temporarily stored therein. Next, the stored image data is read by the system controller 301 and stored in the buffer 3
It is expanded to 09. The print control unit 310 uses the buffer 30.
Based on the data developed in 9, the data for ejecting the processing liquid is created. Then, the operation of the recording head is controlled based on the image data and the processing liquid data in each buffer.

In this example, the following ink and treatment liquid were used.

(Ink) Diethylene glycol 15 parts by weight Isopropyl alcohol 3 parts by weight Lithium acetate 0.1 parts by weight C.I. I Direct Black 154 3 parts by weight (treatment liquid) Polyacrylamine-hydrochloride 1 part by weight Tributylamine chloride 1 part by weight Thiodiglycol 10 parts by weight Acetylenol 0.5 parts by weight Water remaining part The processing liquid is discharged in this example. The data to make
It was created using the thinning mask shown in FIG.

When an image was printed using the recording head, the ink, the treatment liquid and the printer described above, the obtained image was water resistant and was sharp without feathering.

<Embodiment 4> FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a color ink jet printer to which the present invention can be applied. The printer of Embodiment 3 except that a plurality of recording heads and a structure corresponding thereto are adopted. The configuration is almost the same as.
Reference numeral 1y is a recording head for yellow ink, 1m is a recording head for magenta ink, 1c is a recording head for cyan ink, 1k is a recording head for black ink, 1s is a recording head for treatment liquid, and 2 is a carriage on which a recording head is mounted. ,
3 is a flexible cable for sending an electric signal from the printer body to the recording head, 4 is a cap unit having recovery means, 5y, 5m, 5c, 5k and 5s correspond to the recording heads 1y, 1m, 1c, 1k and 1s. The cap member 6 is a wiper blade made of rubber or the like. The recording heads 1y, 1m, 1c, 1k and 1s are each 6
It has 4 nozzles, and about 40 ng from each nozzle.
Ink or treatment liquid is ejected.

In this example, the following inks and treatment liquids were used. The same treatment liquid as in Example 3 was used.

(Ink) 1. Yellow triethylene glycol 7 parts by weight hexanetriol 7 parts by weight isopropyl alcohol 2.5 parts by weight acetylenol 0.02 parts by weight C.I. I. Direct Yellow 86 1.5 parts by weight Water balance 2. Magenta triethylene glycol 7 parts by weight hexanetriol 7 parts by weight isopropyl alcohol 1.5 parts by weight acetylenol 0.01 parts by weight C.I. I. Acid Red 289 1.5 parts by weight Water balance 3. Cyan triethylene glycol 7 parts by weight hexanetriol 7 parts by weight isopropyl alcohol 1.5 parts by weight acetylenol 0.01 parts by weight C.I. I. Acid Red 289 2.5 parts by weight Water balance 4. Black Triethylene glycol 6 parts by weight Hexanetriol 6 parts by weight Butyl alcohol 2 parts by weight Lithium acetate 0.01 part by weight C.I. I. Direct black 154 2.5 parts by weight Water balance FIG. 6 is an electrical control block diagram of the color inkjet printer shown in FIG. 4, and the same parts as those in the third embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. The electrical control in this embodiment is almost the same as that in the embodiment, and the explanation is omitted.

The color ink jet printer of this embodiment uses the method shown in FIG. That is, when the black image and the color image are adjacent to each other, the treatment liquid is ejected to the boundary portion adjacent to the color image among the outermost contours of the black image, and all the outermost contours other than the adjacent boundary portion are discharged. The processing liquid is not discharged to the above. The basic operation flow will be described below with reference to FIG.

Step (S) 1 is the first step in which the image data is transferred from the host computer 306 of FIG. 6 and the system controller 301 processes the image data stored in the reception buffer 307, and is stored. Read image data.

Step 2 is a step of extracting the image data corresponding to the black outermost contour from the read image data.

In step 3, the black image data of the outermost contour portion extracted in step 2 is removed from the original image data of black, and the portion of the black image data other than the outermost contour is used for the processing liquid. Data is generated.

Further, at step 4, the adjacent boundary portion between the black image and the color image is extracted from the read image data, and the processing liquid data corresponding to the black image at the adjacent boundary portion is generated.

At step 5, the processing liquid data corresponding to the black image obtained at step 3 and step 4 and the Y, M and C color image data used at the time of extracting the boundary at step 4 are used as final data. Data for the processing liquid to be ejected is generated.

In step 6, the processing liquid data generated in step 5 is expanded in the processing liquid buffer.

In step 7, the image data for printing each color is developed in the buffer for each color.

In step 8, printing is performed based on the contents of the processing liquid buffer and the buffers for the respective colors.

When a color image is printed by the color ink jet printer described above, feathering does not occur with respect to a black image, and between the black image and the color image,
It was possible to obtain a clear color image without bleeding between colors.

Example 5 In this example, the method described in FIG. 2C was used instead of the method in FIG. 2B used in Example 4.

In the method of FIG. 2C, the treatment liquid is not discharged to the portion corresponding to the outermost contour of each color not only for the black image but also for the color image. Therefore, the same printers, inks, and treatment liquids as those used in the embodiment can be applied, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 shows a basic operation flow of this embodiment. Steps 11, 12, and 13 are steps 1 and 4 of the fourth embodiment, respectively.
Since it is the same as step 2 and step 3, the description is omitted. Differences from the second embodiment are step 3 and step 4.

In the fourth embodiment, the processing liquid data of the portion other than the outermost contour of the black image data is generated in step 3, whereas in the present embodiment, the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black image data are generated. The processing liquid data of the portion other than the outermost contour is generated.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, in step 4, the adjacent boundary portion between the black image and the color image is extracted and the processing liquid data corresponding to the black image of the adjacent boundary portion is generated. Then, the boundary portion where the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images are adjacent to each other is extracted, and the processing liquid data corresponding to the image of each color of the extracted adjacent boundary portion is generated.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, step 1
Although the process of extracting the outermost contour and the adjacent boundary portion for each color is increased in 3 and step 14, in addition to the effect of the fourth embodiment, the color image is of high quality with no feathering.

<Embodiment 6> This embodiment is a combination of Embodiments 4 and 5, and in a color image, a primary color formed of only yellow, magenta, and cyan inks, yellow, magenta, and The data of the processing liquid ejected to the outermost contour is different for the secondary colors of red, blue, and green obtained by superimposing two types of cyan ink.

That is, for the color image of the primary color, the treatment liquid is ejected to all parts without thinning (the treatment liquid data is the same as the image data of the primary color). Further, in the case of a secondary color image, if the image exists independently of the other color images without adjoining it, the treatment liquid is applied to the outermost contour as shown in FIG. 1B. When the image is not ejected and is adjacent to the image of another color, as shown in FIG. 2C, the treatment liquid is ejected to the portion corresponding to the adjacent boundary portion, and the outermost contour other than the adjacent boundary portion is ejected. The processing liquid is discharged to the substrate. This corresponds to the characteristic that the amount of ink ejected per pixel is doubled in the case of the secondary color as compared with the case of the primary color, which makes it easier to bleed. It is possible to achieve both the image thickening of the secondary color and the prevention of feathering to some extent.

<Other Embodiments> Up to this point, the treatment liquid is not ejected to the outermost contour of the image regardless of the density of the image, or the treatment liquid is thinned and ejected to the image data of the outermost contour. I explained how.

However, the pixel density of the actual image is 100
% (Fig. 9 (a)), checkerboard-decimated pattern (Fig. 10 (a)), or 1/3 thinned pattern (Fig. 1).
There are various types such as 1 (a)). Therefore, for example, for an image as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, the processing liquid data is such that the processing liquid is not ejected to the outermost contour portion, and FIG.
For an image having an image density lower than 100% as shown in (a), the sharpness and the outline of the image are changed by changing the thinning-out amount of the outermost contour portion as shown in FIG. 10 (b) or 11 (b). The water resistance of the part can be improved at the same time.

In carrying out the present invention, the ink to be used is not limited to the dye ink, and a pigment ink in which a pigment is dispersed may be used, and the treatment liquid to be used is one that aggregates the pigment. Can be used. The following may be mentioned as an example of the pigment ink that causes aggregation by mixing with the above-mentioned colorless liquid A1. That is, as described below, yellow, magenta, and pigment containing a pigment and an anionic compound, respectively,
Cyan and black inks Y2, M2, C2 and K2 can be obtained.

Black ink K2 anionic polymer P-1 (styrene-methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate, acid value 400, weight average molecular weight 6,0)
00, an aqueous solution with a solid content of 20%, a neutralizing agent: potassium hydroxide) was used as a dispersant, and the following materials were charged into a batch type vertical sand mill (made by AIMEX) and 1 mm diameter glass beads were filled as a medium. The dispersion treatment was performed for 3 hours while cooling with water. The viscosity after dispersion was 9 cps and the pH was 10.0. This dispersion was centrifuged to remove coarse particles, to prepare a carbon black dispersion having a weight average particle diameter of 100 nm.

(Composition of carbon black dispersion) -P-1 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) 40 parts-Carbon black Mogul L (manufactured by Cablack) 24 parts-Glycerin 15 parts-Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether 0.5 parts- Isopropyl alcohol 3 parts water 135 parts Next, the dispersion obtained above was sufficiently dispersed to obtain a black ink K2 for ink jet containing a pigment. The solid content of the final preparation was about 10%.

Yellow ink Y2 anionic polymer P-2 (styrene-acrylic acid-methyl methacrylate, acid value 280, weight average molecular weight 1
1,000%, an aqueous solution with a solid content of 20%, a neutralizing agent: diethanolamine) was used as a dispersant, and the following materials were used to carry out a dispersion treatment in the same manner as in the production of the black ink K2. A 103 nm yellow color dispersion was prepared.

(Composition of yellow dispersion) 35 parts of P-2 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 180 24 parts (Novapalm Yellow PH-G, manufactured by Hoechst) -Triethylene glycol 10 parts-Diethylene glycol 10 parts-Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether 1.0 part-Isopropyl alcohol 0.5 parts-Water 135 parts Obtained as above The yellow dispersion was sufficiently diffused to obtain an inkjet yellow ink Y2 containing a pigment. The solid content of the final preparation was about 10%.

Cyan Ink C2 Using the anionic polymer P-1 used in the preparation of Black Ink K2 as a dispersant, the following materials were used, and the same dispersion treatment as in the case of the carbon black dispersion described above was performed. Then, a cyan color dispersion having a weight average particle diameter of 120 nm was produced.

(Composition of cyan color dispersion) P-1 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) 30 parts C.I. I. Pigment Blue 15: 3 24 parts (Fast Gemble-FGF, Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) ・ Glycerin 15 parts ・ Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether 0.5 parts ・ Isopropyl alcohol 3 parts ・ Water 135 parts Cyan color dispersion obtained above Was sufficiently stirred to obtain a cyan ink C2 for ink jet containing a pigment. The solid content of the final preparation was about 9.6%.

Magenta Ink M2 The anionic polymer P-1 used in the preparation of the black ink K2 was used as a dispersant, and the following materials were used to carry out the same dispersion treatment as in the case of the carbon black dispersion described above. Then, a magenta color dispersion having a weight average particle diameter of 115 nm was produced.

(Composition of magenta color dispersion) P-1 aqueous solution (solid content 20%) 20 parts C.I. I. Pigment Red 122 (Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Inc.) 24 parts-Glycerin 15 parts-Isopropyl alcohol 3 parts-Water 135 parts Magenta ink for ink jet containing a pigment by sufficiently diffusing the magenta color dispersion obtained above. M2
I got The solid content of the final preparation was about 9.2%.

[0098]

As described above, according to the ink jet recording method and the ink jet recording apparatus to which the method is applied according to the present invention, the treatment liquid is not ejected to the portion corresponding to the outermost contour of the image, or the treatment liquid is thinned out. Due to the ejection, it is possible to obtain a sharp and sharp image without blurring the outline of the image. The effect is particularly great for black images.

Further, in the color image formation, in addition to the image having a sharp outline and good sharpness, when images of different colors are adjacent to each other, the portion corresponding to the adjacent boundary is processed. Since the liquid is ejected, it is possible to obtain a clear color image without causing ink bleeding at the adjacent boundary portions of different colors.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an inkjet recording method according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows an image recorded as a solid pattern by ejecting ink corresponding to all pixels forming an image. In this case, (b) to (e) are for explaining the case where the processing liquid is ejected corresponding to only some of all the pixels forming the image of (a). Is the case where the treatment liquid is discharged in correspondence with all pixels except the pixel corresponding to the outermost contour,
(C) shows a case where the treatment liquid ejection pattern is changed between the contour portion and the inner portion of the image, (d) shows a case where the treatment liquid ejection pattern is changed between the contour portion and the inner portion of the image, and (e) shows This shows a case where the number of pixels on which the discharge liquid is not discharged is further reduced.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an inkjet recording method according to the present invention, in which (a) shows a case where a black image and a yellow image are formed adjacent to each other.
(B) and (c) are for explaining the case where the processing liquid is ejected corresponding to only some of all the pixels forming the image of (a).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining a schematic configuration of a printer (for single-color recording) which is an example of an inkjet recording device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an electrical control block diagram of the printer of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a schematic configuration of a printer (corresponding to color recording), which is an example of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

6 is an electrical control block diagram of the printer of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an inkjet recording operation in a printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another example of an inkjet recording operation in a printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the discharge pattern of ink and discharge liquid by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention, in which (a) is a solid pattern by discharging ink corresponding to all pixels forming an image. When an image is recorded, (b) is a case where the treatment liquid is ejected corresponding to only some of all the pixels forming the image of (a).

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the discharge pattern of the ink and the discharge liquid by the inkjet recording device according to the present invention, in which (a) discharges the ink in a checkered pattern corresponding to all the pixels forming the image. When the image is recorded as a checkered pixel pattern, (b) is a case where the treatment liquid is ejected corresponding to only some of all the pixels forming the image of (a).

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the discharge pattern of the ink and the discharge liquid by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention, where (a) shows a case where pixels forming an image are partially thinned, and (b) shows An example of ejecting the treatment liquid corresponding to the image of (a) is shown.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1k Treatment liquid ejecting head 1s Single color ink ejecting head 1y Yellow ink ejecting head 1m Magenta ink ejecting head 1c Cyan ink ejecting head 1b Black ink ejecting head 2 Carriage 3 Flexible cable 4 Cap unit 5 Cap member 6 Wiper blade 7 Recording material 8 Paper feed tray

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location B41M 5/00 A B41J 3/04 103 X

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A control step of determining an image forming area on a recording medium on which a treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected based on input image information, and the treatment liquid is ejected toward the image forming area. An inkjet recording method comprising: a treatment liquid ejection step; and an ink ejection step of ejecting the ink toward the image forming area after the treatment liquid is ejected, wherein the control step comprises at least an outermost contour of the image forming area. An ink jet recording method, characterized in that a region where the treatment liquid is not ejected is selectively provided in a part of the portion, while a region where the treatment liquid is ejected is provided in an inner portion surrounded by the outermost contour portion. . 2. When forming a color image using the inks of a plurality of colors, the processing is performed on a corresponding portion of an image forming area on the recording material corresponding to a boundary portion where images of different colors are adjacent to each other. The ink jet recording method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is ejected. 3. An ink jet recording head having a heating resistance element for causing film boiling in the ink as an energy generating means for the ejection is used as the means for ejecting the ink. Alternatively, the ink jet recording method described in 2. 4. The treatment liquid contains a cationic compound including a low molecular weight component and a high molecular weight component, and the dye contained in the ink comprises an anionic compound. 4. The inkjet recording method according to any one of 3 above. 5. The treatment liquid contains a low molecular component and a high molecular component cationic substance, and the ink contains an anionic dye, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment. The inkjet recording method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is characterized in that. 6. A control step of determining an image forming area on a recording medium onto which a treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected based on input image information, and the treatment liquid is ejected toward the image forming area. An inkjet recording method comprising: a treatment liquid ejection step; and an ink ejection step of ejecting the ink toward the image forming area after the treatment liquid is ejected, wherein the control step is a step in which the image is selected in advance. Area of the image forming area, at least a part of the outermost contour portion is selectively provided with a region which does not receive the treatment liquid, while the inner portion surrounded by the outermost contour portion has the treatment liquid. An ink jet recording method, characterized in that an area for ejecting ink is provided. 7. The ink jet recording method according to claim 6, wherein the specific color is black. 8. When a color image is formed using the inks of a plurality of colors, and when images of different colors are adjacent to each other, the treatment liquid is ejected to an adjacent boundary portion. The inkjet recording method according to claim 6. 9. An ink jet recording head having a heating resistance element for causing film boiling in the ink as an energy generating means for the ejection is used as a means for ejecting the ink. 9. The inkjet recording method according to any one of items 8 to 8. 10. The treatment liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low-molecular component and a high-molecular component, and the dye contained in the ink consists of an anionic substance. 10. The inkjet recording method according to any one of 9 above. 11. The treatment liquid contains a low molecular component and a high molecular component of a cationic substance, and the ink contains an anionic dye, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment. Claim 6 characterized by the above-mentioned.
10. The inkjet recording method according to any one of 9 to 9. 12. A control unit that determines an image forming area on a recording medium onto which a treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected based on input image information, and the treatment liquid is ejected toward the image forming area. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a treatment liquid ejection unit; and an ink ejection unit that ejects the ink toward the image forming region after the treatment liquid is ejected, wherein the control unit is at least an outermost contour of the image forming region. An ink jet recording apparatus, characterized in that a region where a treatment liquid is not ejected is selectively provided in a part of the portion. 13. The control unit causes the treatment liquid to be ejected to an adjacent boundary portion when images of different colors are adjacent to each other when forming a color image using the inks of the plurality of colors. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein 14. The ink jet recording head having a heating resistance element for generating film boiling in the ink as an energy generating means for the ejection, is used as the ink ejecting means. Inkjet recording device. 15. The treatment liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the dye contained in the ink is an anionic substance. 15. The inkjet recording device according to any one of 14. 16. The treatment liquid contains a low molecular component and a high molecular component of a cationic substance, and the ink contains an anionic dye, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment. Claim 1 characterized by
15. The inkjet recording device according to any one of 2 to 14. 17. A control unit that determines an image forming area on the recording medium on which the treatment liquid and one or more color inks are ejected based on the input image information, and the treatment liquid is ejected toward the image forming area. An inkjet recording apparatus having a treatment liquid ejecting unit and an ink ejecting unit ejecting the ink toward the image forming area after the treatment liquid is ejected, wherein the control unit specifies that the image is selected in advance. In the case of a color, at least a part of the outermost contour portion of the image forming area is selectively provided with a region that does not receive the treatment liquid,
On the other hand, the inkjet recording apparatus is characterized in that an area for ejecting the treatment liquid is provided in an inner portion surrounded by the outermost contour portion. 18. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the specific color is black. 19. The control unit causes the processing liquid to be ejected to an adjacent boundary portion when images of different colors are adjacent to each other when a color image is formed using the inks of the plurality of colors. 17. The method according to claim 17 or 1, wherein
8. The inkjet recording device according to item 8. 20. An ink jet recording head having a heating resistance element for causing film boiling of the ink as an energy generating means for the ejection is used as the ink ejecting means. 2. The inkjet recording device according to claim 1. 21. The treatment liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low molecular weight component and a high molecular weight component, and the dye contained in the ink is made of an anionic substance. 20. The inkjet recording device according to any one of 20. 22. The treatment liquid contains a low molecular component and a high molecular component of a cationic substance, and the ink contains an anionic dye, or at least an anionic compound and a pigment. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 20.