JPH09254371A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the emitting stability of mixed liquid droplets of ink and a dilution soln. and the fixing properties of ink in a formed recording image and to suppress the generation of blur by using a dilution soln. of which the surface tension and viscosity at a specific temp. are specific. SOLUTION: A dilution soln. wherein surface tension at 20 deg.C is 30-70dyn/cm and viscosity at 20 deg.C is 1-15cp is used. After this dilution soln. and ink are quantitatively mixed, the obtained mixed soln. is emitted as liquid droplets to be applied to a material to be recorded to perform recording. 20 deg.C is general environment temp. in an office or a home. When the surface tension of the dilution soln. is below 30dyn/cm or equal to or more than 70dyn/cm, emitting stability is damaged. When the viscosity of the dilution soln. is below 1cp or equal to or more than 15cp, emitting stability becomes bad. By prescribing the physical properties of the dilution soln. as mentioned above, a high-grade recording image can be formed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device for recording by quantitatively mixing an ink and a diluting liquid, and then ejecting mixed droplets of these and depositing them on a recording material. Specifically, by specifying the physical properties of the diluent,
The present invention relates to a printer device capable of forming a high quality recorded image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, especially in offices and the like, document creation using a computer called desktop publishing has become popular, and recently, not only characters and figures but also colors such as photographs are displayed. There is an increasing demand for outputting natural images together with characters and figures. Furthermore, in the field of personal use, the production of New Year's cards, greeting cards, and the like has been actively performed, and the above-mentioned demands have been increasing. Along with this, it is required to print a high-quality natural image, and gradation expression by halftone display is important.

A so-called on-demand type in which ink droplets are ejected from nozzles only when necessary during printing in accordance with a control signal in accordance with a recording signal and are adhered to a recording material such as paper or film to perform recording. In recent years, the printer device has been rapidly spreading because of the possibility of miniaturization and cost reduction.

As described above, various methods have been proposed for discharging ink droplets from nozzles.
A method using a piezo element or a method using a heating element is generally used. The former is a method in which pressure is applied to ink to discharge it by deformation of a piezo element. The latter is a method in which the ink in the nozzle is heated and vaporized by the heating element, and the ink is ejected at the pressure of bubbles generated.

Various methods have been proposed as methods for simulating the above-described gray scale display by halftone display with an on-demand type printer apparatus which discharges the above-described ink droplets. That is, the first method is to control the size of a droplet to be ejected by changing the voltage or the pulse width of the voltage pulse applied to the piezo element or the heating element, and to express the gradation by changing the diameter of the print dot. To be

However, in the first method, if the voltage or pulse width applied to the piezo element or the heating element is too low, the ink will not be ejected, so that the minimum droplet diameter is limited. It has the disadvantage of being very difficult to express, especially at low concentrations. Therefore,
It is unsatisfactory to print out natural images.

As a second method, one pixel is constituted by a matrix of, for example, 4 × 4 dots without changing the dot diameter, and image processing such as a so-called dither method or an error diffusion method is performed in units of the matrix. There is a method for performing gradation expression. In this case, in addition to this, an image processing technique such as an outline emphasis process or a smoothing process may be combined.

However, also in the second method, when one pixel is constituted by a 4 × 4 matrix, a density of 17 gradations can be expressed. For example, the dot density is the same as that of the first method. When printed, the resolution is reduced to 1/4, and the roughness is conspicuous, which is also unsatisfactory for printing out a natural image.

If the image processing is strict in order to solve this inconvenience, it is not preferable because the circuit becomes complicated and the arithmetic processing speed is reduced, that is, the printout time is lengthened.

In order to solve the problem of the conventional on-demand type printer device in principle, the inventors of the present invention used ink and a transparent solvent as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-201024. A printer device has been proposed in which a certain diluting liquid is mixed at a predetermined mixing ratio immediately before ejection to form a diluted ink, and the diluted ink is immediately ejected from a nozzle and applied to a recording material to perform recording. Hereinafter, among such methods, a method using ink as a quantifying medium and using a diluting liquid as a discharge medium is referred to as a carrier jet method. There is no problem at all. .

In such a printer of the carrier jet system, it is possible to control the density of the diluted ink droplets to be discharged and to change the density for each dot to be printed, thereby causing a deterioration in resolution. It is possible to print out a natural image rich in intermediate gradations without any problem.

Further, in the printer device to which the carrier jet method is applied, the degree of freedom of the constituent materials of the ink and the diluting liquid is considerably large, and the degree of freedom of selecting the composition ratio and the physical properties is also quite large.

[0013]

By the way, in such a printer device, in recent years, the ejection stability of the mixed droplets of the ink and the diluent is improved, the fixing property of the ink in the formed recorded image is improved, and the ink is fixed. The demand for suppressing the occurrence of bleeding is increasing.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of the conventional circumstances, and improves the ejection stability of mixed droplets of an ink and a diluting liquid, improves the fixability of the ink in a formed recording image, and improves the ink. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of bleeding,
An object of the present invention is to provide a printer device capable of forming a high quality recorded image.

[0015]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies by the present inventors in order to solve the above problems, as a result, ejection stability of mixed droplets of ink and diluent, fixability of ink in a recorded image, It was found that the physical properties of the diluting liquid, particularly the surface tension and the viscosity, greatly influence the occurrence of bleeding.

That is, the printer device of the present invention uses a diluting liquid having a surface tension of 20 dyn / cm or more and 70 dyn / cm or less at 20 ° C. and a viscosity of 1 cp or more and 15 cp or less at 20 ° C. Then, recording is performed by quantitatively mixing the ink and the diluent and then ejecting the mixed droplets of these inks and depositing them on the recording material.

20 ° C. is a general environmental temperature in offices and homes where this type of printer device is often used.

The surface tension of the above-mentioned diluent is 30 dyn / cm.
If it is less than 100%, the ejection stability is impaired. A nozzle portion is generally used as a mixed droplet discharge portion in a printer device of this type, and a fluorine coating material is generally used as a material forming the nozzle portion. However, since the diluting liquid having the surface tension as described above has too good wettability with respect to the fluorine coating material, the ejection stability is impaired.

On the other hand, the surface tension of the diluted solution is 70 dyn / c.
Even if it is higher than m, the ejection stability will be impaired. That is, the diluting liquid having the surface tension as described above has poor wettability with the fluorine coating material, deteriorates compatibility with the fluorine coating material, and also impairs ejection stability.

From this point of view, the dilution liquid of 20
The surface tension at 0 ° C. is more preferably 30 dyn or more and 50 dyn or less.

If the viscosity of the diluent is less than 1 cp,
Since the viscosity of the mixed droplets becomes extremely low, the ejection stability deteriorates significantly, and the droplets can be controlled such as the generation of satellites that are small droplets that are ejected along with the droplets to be ejected. It will be difficult. For this reason, deterioration of printing characteristics such as re-scattering on the recording material and deterioration of dot formability occurs, resulting in deterioration of ink fixability and ink bleeding. On the other hand, if the viscosity of the diluting liquid is higher than 15 cp, the viscosity is high and the ejection stability is impaired. In addition, it is necessary to increase the electric power supplied to the driving device such as the piezo element or the heating element for ejecting the diluting liquid. This is not preferable because it leads to an increase in the size of the device.

From this point of view, the dilution liquid of 20
The viscosity at 0 ° C. is more preferably 1 cp or more and 5 cp or less.

Furthermore, in the printer device of the present invention, at least one of an aliphatic monohydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol derivative and water is contained in the diluent.
It is preferable that the diluent be made to have the above-mentioned physical properties by containing the kind.

Examples of the above aliphatic monohydric alcohol include lower alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, i-propyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, s-butyl alcohol and t-butyl alcohol. It is illustrated. Among these monohydric alcohols, ethyl alcohol, i-propyl alcohol and n-butyl alcohol are preferably used. This monohydric alcohol has the effect of improving the permeability of the mixed solution of the diluting liquid and the ink into the recording material such as plain paper or special paper, the dot forming property, and the drying property of the printed recorded image.

On the other hand, as the polyhydric alcohol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol,
Examples thereof include alkylene glycols such as glycerol, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, and thioglycol.

Further, as the polyhydric alcohol derivative,
Examples include lower alkyl ethers of the above polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol dimethyl ether and diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and lower carboxylic acid esters of the above polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol diacetate. Note that these polyhydric alcohols and their derivatives have the effect of preventing clogging of the nozzles of the printer device and, when water is contained in the diluting liquid, lowering the freezing point and improving storage stability. .

When the diluent contains at least one of the above solvents and water, alcohol amines such as mono-, di-, triethanolamine, amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide, Ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone, and ethers such as dioxane may be added.

Further, various kinds of surfactants, antifoaming agents, pH adjusting agents, antifungal agents, etc. may be contained in the above diluting solution.

Further, in the printer device of the present invention, the quantitative mixing and the discharge of the mixed droplets are carried out by applying pressure to the liquid container by the deformation of the piezo element and pushing it out, or in the liquid container. It is preferable that the heating is performed by heating the liquid with a heating element and applying pressure to extrude the liquid.

In the printer device of the present invention, after the ink and the diluting liquid are quantitatively mixed, as a diluting liquid of the printer device for performing recording by ejecting the mixed droplets of these and adhering them on the recording material, Surface tension at 20 ° C is 3
A material having a viscosity of 0 dyn / cm or more and 70 dyn / cm or less and a viscosity at 20 ° C. of 1 cp or more and 15 cp or less is used. Then, such a diluting liquid has an appropriate wettability with respect to a fluorine coating material generally used as a material forming a general nozzle section as a mixed droplet discharge section in a printer device, and Since it has an appropriate viscosity, the ejection stability of the mixed droplet becomes good.

Further, when the viscosity of the diluting liquid is in the above range, a large driving force is not required when ejecting the mixed liquid droplets, and re-scattering on the recording material does not occur. In addition, the fixability of ink is improved, and the occurrence of ink bleeding is also suppressed.

[0032]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments of a printer device to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Here, the printer device of this example is a so-called on-demand type printer device, in which a fixed amount of ink is provided on the discharge side and a diluting liquid is provided on the discharge side, and a mixed liquid obtained by mixing these is recorded on a recording paper or the like. This is a so-called carrier jet type printer device that discharges onto a material. Then, in this example, an example using a pressure element such as a piezo element as a quantitative means of the ink or the diluent will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer device of this embodiment is provided with an orifice plate 1 having nozzles, a first liquid container 4 connected to the orifice plate 1 and filled with a first liquid 2, and a first liquid container 4 inside. The second liquid storage container 5 is filled with the two liquids 3.

The orifice plate 1 includes a first plate 11 and a second plate 12 as shown in FIG.
And a third plate 13. The third plate 13 is formed as a so-called laminated plate in which the third plate 13 is sandwiched and laminated by the first plate 11 and the second plate 12 in the thickness direction.

The first and second supply ports 21 and 22 are provided on one surface 1a of the first plate 11, in other words, the laminated plate, and the second plate 12, in other words, the other of the laminated plates. The surface 1b is provided with a nozzle 23 for ejecting a mixed liquid obtained by mixing two kinds of liquids supplied from the first and second supply ports 21 and 22.

Further, the third plate 13 is provided between the first plate 11 and the second plate 12.
The third plate 13 is made of a dry film resist and has a channel 24 in the direction of the inner surface of the plate.
The channel 24 is connected to the first and second supply ports 21 and 22 and also to the nozzle 23.

Incidentally, the first and second supply ports 21 and 22
FIG. 3 shows the first and second supply ports 2 of the orifice plate.
As shown in a plan view from the surface 1b opposite to the surface 1a on which the first and second 22 are provided, the first plate 11 is formed as a circular through hole. Note that the first and second supply ports 21 and 22 do not necessarily have to be circular through holes, and may have, for example, an elliptical shape or a rectangular shape.

The nozzle 23 is provided at a position opposed to the first supply port 21, and is formed as a circular through hole having an opening diameter larger than that of the first supply port 21. It is preferable that the nozzle 23 has an opening diameter larger than the opening diameter of the first supply port 21 as described above, but the nozzle 23 has the same diameter as the opening diameter of the first supply port 21 or a smaller diameter. There may be. Further, the nozzle 23 does not have to be a circular through hole like the first and second supply ports 21 and 22, and may have, for example, an elliptical shape or a rectangular shape.

Further, the flow path 24 is, as shown in FIG.
Nozzle 2 from second supply port 22 not facing nozzle 23
The taper shape is such that the width gradually decreases toward 3. The flow path 24 may have a straight shape or a tapered shape whose width gradually increases. The tip of the flow path 24 is connected to the side wall of the nozzle 23 and forms a part of the nozzle 23.

Next, the first and second liquid storage containers 4 and 5 connected to the orifice plate 1 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first liquid storage container 4 is a container having a substantially box-shaped hollow portion 6 inside,
The opening 6 a corresponding to the upper surface of the cavity 6 is connected to the first supply port 21 of the orifice plate 1. Also the second
Is also a container having a substantially box-shaped cavity 7 inside, and an opening 7 a on the upper surface of the cavity 7 is connected to the second supply port 22.

Further, a through hole 8 connected to the cavity 6 and to the outside is provided on the bottom surface 6b side of the cavity 6 of the first liquid container 4 facing the opening 6a.
A through hole 9 connected to the cavity 7 and also to the outside is provided on the bottom surface 7b of the liquid container 5 opposite to the opening 7a of the cavity 7.

Therefore, in the printer apparatus of this example,
The through-hole 8, the cavity 6, and the first supply port 21 are connected to form the first
A through hole filled with the diluent as the solution 2 is formed. On the other hand, the through hole 9, the cavity 7, the second supply port 22, and the flow path 24 are also connected to form a through hole in which ink is filled as the second solution 3.

The first and second liquid storage containers 4,
5, piezoelectric elements 31 and 3 such as piezo elements
2 are provided respectively. Such piezoelectric elements 31, 32
Are deformed by a signal supplied to the piezoelectric elements 31 and 32, and the pressure at the time of the deformation causes the liquid container 4,
5 is to change each pressure.

In the printer apparatus of this example using the piezoelectric elements 31 and 32, the second pulse contained in the mixed liquid is adjusted by adjusting the voltage pulse applied to the piezoelectric elements 31 and 32.
It is possible to adjust the mixing ratio of the liquid 3, that is, the ink concentration.

Therefore, when printing is performed by the printer device, first, as shown in FIG. 1, the second solution 3 which is the ink supplied from the second supply port 22 is flowed by the capillary phenomenon. 24 is filled with 24 and the tip portion 24a of the channel 24 is filled.
A second meniscus M ₂ is formed on the first meniscus M ₁ by the first solution 2 which is a diluting liquid supplied from the first supply port 21 and the tip portion of the first supply port 21 is formed by a capillary phenomenon. 21a.

Next, a voltage pulse is applied to the piezo element 32 provided in the second liquid container 5 filled with the second liquid 3 to apply a pressure to the second liquid container 5, and the cavity 7 is formed. And the pressure P2 in the flow path 24 is increased. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the second meniscus M ₂ of the second liquid 3 moves toward the nozzle 23 serving as a mixing chamber, and the second liquid 3 is pushed into the nozzle 23. At this time, the amount of the second liquid 3 pushed out is controlled by the magnitude of the pressure applied to the second liquid container 5 by the piezo element 32, and the piezo element 32
Is controlled by the voltage value or the pulse width of the voltage pulse supplied to.

The second meniscus M ₂ is adjusted to the first meniscus M ₁ of the first liquid 2 and the inside of the nozzle 23 by adjusting the rising amount and the rising time of the pressure P2, as shown in FIG. Will be contacted at. As a result, the second liquid droplet 33 is left in the nozzle 23.

Next, the voltage pulse supplied to the piezo element 32 provided in the second liquid container 5 is returned to the original value. Then, when the pressure rise of the second liquid 3 in the channel 24 is not present, the second meniscus M ₂ of the second liquid 3 is in contact first with the meniscus M ₁ of the first liquid 2 Since it is stable to be present at a position where the first liquid 2 is not present, as shown in FIG. You. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, a mixed liquid 10 having an intermediate concentration is formed inside the nozzle 23.

The droplet 33 of the second liquid in the above description is
This is illustrated to explain the transitional state, and the time during which the second liquid droplet 33 exists alone is extremely short. That is, the mixed liquid 10 is immediately mixed with the first liquid 2 to form the mixed liquid 10.

Here, the amount of rise and the rise time of the pressure P2 of the second liquid 3, that is, the voltage value or the pulse width of the voltage pulse applied to the piezo element 32 are further increased, so as to be included in the mixed liquid 10. The mixing ratio of the second liquid 3 thus generated, that is, the ink concentration can be increased. That is, the mixing ratio (ink concentration) of the generated mixed liquid 10 is adjusted by the rising amount and rising time of the pressure P2, that is, the voltage value or the pulse width of the voltage pulse applied to the piezo element 32. Therefore, at this stage, a mixed liquid that is a diluted ink capable of expressing a halftone density is adjusted.

Next, a voltage pulse is applied to the piezo element 31 provided in the first liquid container 4 filled with the first liquid 2 to apply a pressure to the first liquid container 4, and the cavity 6 is formed.
And the pressure P1 in the first supply port 21 is increased. Then, the mixed liquid 10 moves toward the nozzle 23 side. Here, the first supply port 21
When the internal pressure P1, in other words, the pressure of the first liquid 2, is increased, as shown in FIG.
The ink is further discharged into the atmosphere and adheres to a recording paper (not shown), which is a recording material provided to face the nozzle 23.

At this time, in the printer apparatus of the present invention, the diluting liquid has a surface tension of 30 dy at 20 ° C.
n / cm or more and 70 dyn / cm or less, and 20
The viscosity is 1 cp or more and 15 cp or less at 0 ° C. Further, since the above-mentioned diluting liquid has appropriate wettability with respect to a general fluorine coating material as a material forming the nozzle 23 and has an appropriate viscosity, the ejection stability of the mixed liquid 10 becomes good and It is possible to form a high quality recorded image.

If the viscosity of the diluent is within the above range,
A large driving force is not required when ejecting the mixed liquid 10, there is no need to increase the supply voltage or pulse width to the piezo element 31, and there is no need to upsize the printer device. Further, when the viscosity of the diluting liquid is in the above range, re-scattering of the mixed liquid 10 on the recording material does not occur, the fixability of the ink in the formed recorded image is improved, and ink bleeding occurs. It is possible to form a high-quality recorded image from this as well.

Then, a new first meniscus M ₁ is generated at the first supply port 21 to which the first liquid 2 is supplied. At this time, in the printer device, one droplet of the mixed liquid is ejected for each pulse of the voltage pulse that is the pressure pulse for applying the pressure, and by repeating this operation, gradation is obtained in halftone. The expressed recorded image is formed.

When a color image is to be formed, for example, the above-described printer device corresponding to each color such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is prepared, and a set of these (four in this case) is prepared. A plurality of printer devices may be used as a head assembly, and a large number of the head assemblies may be arranged on a line to form a recorded image.

A series of operations in the above-mentioned printer device is an example, and the timing and state of each operation, such as the shape of the mixed liquid and the filling operation, are structural elements such as the size of the supply port and the nozzle, the ink and the diluent. It changes depending on physical factors such as viscosity and surface tension of the ink, and operating conditions such as ejection frequency. Also,
In the above-described printer device, it is also possible to change the shape of the orifice plate and each liquid storage container.

In the above-mentioned printer device, by adjusting the rising amount and the rising time of the pressure P2 of the second liquid 3 made into ink, that is, the voltage value or the pulse width of the voltage pulse applied to the piezo element 32, the mixed liquid is adjusted. It is possible to adjust the mixing ratio of the second liquid 3 contained in the ink 10, that is, the ink density, and it is possible to change the density for each dot. Tones can be expressed, and a natural image can be formed by accurate gradation expression.

Further, in the above-mentioned printer device, the example in which the so-called d ₃₃ mode laminated piezo elements which extend in the longitudinal direction by the application of voltage are used as the piezo elements 31 and 32 has been described. It goes without saying that a so-called d ₃₁ mode laminated piezo element that shrinks in the direction may be used.

Here, the example of the printer device using the piezo element for the quantitative determination of the ink or the diluent has been described, but the present invention is also applicable to the printer device using the heating element for the quantitative determination of the ink or the diluent. Needless to say. Also, instead of a piezo element, an actuator using an electromagnetic conversion element or an electrostrictive element may be adopted,
Depending on the type of these driving devices, they may be provided inside the first liquid container 4 or the second liquid container 5.

Further, here, the ink is on the fixed amount side,
Although the example in which the diluting liquid is used as the discharge side has been described, the diluting liquid may be used as the quantitative side and the ink may be used as the discharging side.

That is, in the printer device of the present invention, the surface tension and viscosity of the diluting liquid are specified to
It is possible to form a high-quality recorded image, and there is no need to upsize the device.

[0064]

EXAMPLES Next, various diluting liquids were used, and image recording was carried out by using the printer device having the above-mentioned constitution, and the ejection stability of the mixed droplets was investigated.

First, a diluted liquid sample was manufactured. That is, ethylene glycol monomethyl glycol was added to water to prepare practical samples 1 to 3 having surface tension and viscosity shown in Table 1. The surface tension and viscosity shown in Table 1 are the surface tension and viscosity at a temperature of 20 ° C. Further, isopropyl alcohol was added to the practical sample 3 to prepare practical samples 4 and 5 having surface tension and viscosity shown in Table 1.

[0066]

[Table 1]

Further, ethylene glycol monomethyl glycol and glycerin were added to water to prepare practical samples 6 to 8 having surface tension and viscosity shown in Table 1.
Further, a nonionic surfactant was added to the practical sample 8 to prepare practical samples 9 and 10 having surface tension and viscosity as shown in Table 1.

Furthermore, diethylene glycol and isopropyl alcohol were added to water to prepare practical samples 11 and 12 having surface tension and viscosity shown in Table 1. In addition, glycerin was added to water to prepare a practical sample 13 having surface tension and viscosity shown in Table 1.

Then, for comparison, isopropyl alcohol and a nonionic surfactant were added to water to prepare Comparative Sample 1 of surface tension and viscosity as shown in Table 1. Further, glycerin and isopropyl alcohol were added to water to prepare comparative samples 2 to 4 having surface tension and viscosity as shown in Table 1. Furthermore, a comparative sample 5 having surface tension and viscosity as shown in Table 1 which was water alone was prepared.

Next, two types of ink having different viscosities and surface tensions were prepared and used as ink samples 1 and 2. In addition,
For the ink samples 1 and 2, yellow, magenta, and cyan colors were prepared.

Subsequently, the diluting liquids of the working samples 1 to 13 and the comparative samples 1 to 5 and the inks of the respective colors of the ink samples 1 and 2 were used in combination, and the color pattern of each color was recorded by the printer device as described above. The ejection stability of the mixed droplet when formed as an image was investigated.

The discharge stability is evaluated in four steps. The discharge stability is particularly excellent, the discharge stability is excellent, the practical stability is good, and the practical stability is bad. The thing was evaluated as x. The results are shown in Table 2 together with the combination of diluent and ink.

[0073]

[Table 2]

From the results shown in Table 2, in practical samples 1 to 13 having a surface tension at 20 ° C. of 30 to 70 dyn / cm and a viscosity at 20 ° C. of 1 to 15 cp, practically irrespective of the kind of ink. There was no problem level result.

From the results of the practical samples 1 to 5, it was confirmed that the surface tension is preferably 50 dyn or less.

Further, implementation samples 6, 7, 8, 9, 1
From the results of 0, 11, and 12, it was also confirmed that the viscosity is preferably 5 cp or less. Furthermore, from the results of the practical samples 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, and 12, as a diluting liquid, a diluting liquid having a surface tension at 20 ° C. of 50 dyn / cm or less and a viscosity at 20 ° C. of 5 cp or less. It has been confirmed that even better results can be obtained by using.

That is, as in the printer of the present invention, the surface tension at 20 ° C. of the diluent is 30 d.
yn / cm or more and 70 dyn / cm or less, and 2
If a diluting liquid having a viscosity at 0 ° C. of 1 cp or more and 15 cp or less is used, the diluting liquid is generally used as a material forming a general nozzle portion as a mixed liquid droplet ejecting portion in a printer device. It has been confirmed that the ejection stability of the mixed droplets is good because it has appropriate wettability with the fluorine coating material and has an appropriate viscosity, and such a printer device provides high quality. It was confirmed that it is possible to form a recorded image.

If the viscosity of the diluent is within the above range,
It is not necessary to increase the supply voltage or pulse width to the driving device such as the piezo element so much, and it is not necessary to upsize the printer device. Further, when the viscosity of the diluting liquid is in the above range, re-scattering of the mixed droplets on the recording material does not occur, the fixability of the ink in the formed recorded image is improved, and ink bleeding occurs. It has been confirmed that the occurrence of the image is suppressed, and such a printer device can form a high-quality recorded image.

[0079]

As is apparent from the above description, in the printer device of the present invention, the diluting liquid has a surface tension at 20 ° C. of 30 dyn / cm or more and 70 dyn.
/ Cm or less and the viscosity at 20 ° C. is 1 cp
As mentioned above, the thing of 15 cp or less is used. Then, such a diluting liquid has an appropriate wettability with respect to a fluorine coating material generally used as a material forming a general nozzle section as a mixed droplet discharge section in a printer device, and Since it has an appropriate viscosity, the ejection stability of the mixed droplets becomes good, and it becomes possible to form a high-quality recorded image.

If the viscosity of the diluent is within the above range,
No large driving force is required for ejecting the mixed droplets, and there is no need to upsize the printer device. Furthermore, if the viscosity of the diluent is within the above range, re-scattering on the recording material does not occur, the fixability of the ink is improved, and the occurrence of ink bleeding is suppressed. It is possible to form a high quality recorded image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an essential part showing an example of a printer device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of an essential part of an orifice plate of an example of a printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic plan view of an orifice plate of an example of a printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view that sequentially shows an operation of an example of a printer device to which the present invention is applied and is a schematic view showing a state where a meniscus is formed on an orifice plate.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view that sequentially shows an operation of an example of a printer device to which the present invention is applied and schematically shows a state in which a second meniscus is in contact with the first meniscus.

FIGS. 6A and 6B sequentially show an operation of an example of a printer device to which the present invention is applied, in which the second meniscus is retracted to the first position.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state of being separated from the liquid.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view schematically showing an operation of an example of a printer apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and schematically showing a state in which a mixed liquid is formed inside a nozzle.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an operation of an example of a printer device to which the present invention is applied, and schematically showing a state in which a mixed liquid is discharged.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 orifice plate, 2 first liquid, 3 second liquid, 4 first liquid storage container, 5 second liquid storage container, 10 mixed liquid, 21 first supply hole, 22 second supply hole, 23 nozzles, 24 channels, 31, 32 piezo elements

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printer device for recording by quantitatively mixing ink and a diluting liquid, and then ejecting mixed droplets of these liquids and depositing them on a recording material, wherein the surface tension of the diluting liquid at 20.degree. But 30 dyn /
A printer device characterized in that it is not less than 70 cm / cm and not more than 70 dyn / cm, and the viscosity of the diluent at 20 ° C. is not less than 1 cp and not more than 15 cp. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the diluting liquid contains at least one of an aliphatic monohydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol derivative and water. 3. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the quantitative mixing and the discharge of the mixed droplets are performed by applying pressure to the liquid container by deformation of the piezo element and pushing the liquid container. 4. The quantitative mixing and the discharge of the mixed droplets are performed by heating the liquid in the liquid container by a heating element and applying pressure to push out the liquid.
The printer device described.