JPH1016418A - Method and apparatus for forming image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for fixing ink in which the ink on a recording medium is fixed in a short time, after fixing, the transparency of an ink vehicle can be maintained, and the film of cured ink has high strength, and an apparatus for the method. SOLUTION: Ink is fixed by a method in which after an ink 2 is applied to a recording medium 1 such as a paper, an ink-curing liquid 3 is contacted with or applied to an ink-transfer surface by an ink fixing mechanism 20 comprising for example a syringe 4. The liquid 3 is compatible with an ink solvent in which a resin contained in the ink is dissolved and composed of liquid whose molecular weight is larger enough than that of the ink solvent. The liquid 3 is contacted with or applied to the surface of the ink 2 to fix the ink on the surface of the medium 1. In this way, the set-off of the ink in high speed printing is prevented, improving the clearness and mechanical strength of an image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming method and apparatus, and more particularly, to an ink fixing method and apparatus in an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a printing machine, printing is performed on a recording medium (generally, recording paper) with ink or the like. However, if the ink is not fixed on the recording paper, the printing is performed. When the subsequent recording paper is stacked, there is a problem such as set-off.
In addition, if the ink is not fixed quickly, there is a problem that printing takes a long time.

[0003]

The main fixing and drying methods of the printing ink in the prior art and their problems are listed below. (1) Oxidative polymerization drying: Drying oil and a polymer oil or a vehicle molecule such as a resin varnish contained in the vehicle are slowly oxidatively polymerized with oxygen and dried, so that it takes a long time to dry the ink. Therefore, if the recording papers are stacked after printing, the drying time becomes longer, and this is a main cause of set-off and blocking, which is a major problem in increasing the printing speed. (2) Photopolymerization drying: This is a method of solidifying the ink by irradiating ultraviolet rays after printing, using an ultraviolet curable ink. However, it requires an expensive ink and an ultraviolet irradiation device, and thus has an economical problem. (3) Electron beam polymerization drying: This method involves using an electron beam curing type ink, irradiating an electron beam after printing, and solidifying the ink. However, since expensive ink and an electron beam irradiation device are required, the method is not practical. There's a problem.

[0004] In the recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-178478, there is no particular description of an ink fixing method. However, if the ink transferred to the recording paper is oil-based ink, the ink is not immediately fixed and dried as it is, so that there is a problem that a long drying time is required. Especially,
After printing, if the recording paper is stacked, the drying time will be longer, which will be the main cause of set-off and blocking,
This is a major problem for speeding up printing.

In the ink fixing method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-16053, the ink adhering excessively to the recording paper is transferred to the transfer paper by overlapping the recording paper with the transfer paper, so that the drying of the ink is accelerated. I have. However, since not only the solvent but also the colorant is transferred from the recording paper to the transfer paper, in order to prevent the reverse transfer of the colorant from the transfer paper to the recording paper, the transfer paper must be applied to each recording paper. This causes problems such as an increase in running cost and an increase in the shape of the apparatus due to securing a space for accommodating the transfer paper roll.

The ink fixing method disclosed in JP-A-59-29197 is a method in which after printing, a liquid drier containing a metal salt of a fatty acid as a main component is applied to accelerate drying of the ink. If the ink is too high, the dampening solution is emulsified in the ink, or if it is printed on acidic paper, the drying time becomes longer.

The ink fixing method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-49208 uses an oil-based ink containing a metal salt of a fatty acid, and after printing, an organic peroxide is brought into contact with the ink transferred to recording paper. This is a method of accelerating the drying of the ink. However, the ink used is a special ink containing a metal salt of a fatty acid, and the metal salt of the fatty acid in the ink gradually reacts with oxygen in the air. There is a problem with ink storage over time.

[0008] In the ink fixing method disclosed in JP-A-59-45157, a fine powder of a porous material is sprayed on a printing surface.
It is a method of promoting drying of the ink by absorbing the solvent of the ink, but in order to fix the ink, it is necessary to spray a large amount of powder on the printing surface, and the sprayed powder adheres to the printing surface As a result, the image quality is reduced. In addition, there is a problem of environmental pollution due to the powder flying in the air.

An ink fixing method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-9959 discloses a method in which a solvent A containing a resin, which is contained in a vehicle of the ink, is dissolved in a solvent B which does not dissolve the resin and is compatible with the solvent A. In this method, the solvent A in the ink on the recording paper is extracted and removed, and the ink is cured. When this method is actually used, the recording medium is placed in the solvent B as in the embodiment described in the publication. Since it is necessary to supply a large amount of the solvent B to the surface of the recording medium, for example, by immersing, spraying a large amount of the solvent B on the surface of the recording medium, or bringing a roll impregnated with the solvent B into contact with the recording medium. When a recording medium such as paper that absorbs the solvent B is used, the recording medium impregnates the solvent B in a large amount. Therefore, when a liquid having low volatility is used as the solvent B, an extremely long recording paper drying time is required beyond the ink fixing time, which is not practical. When a highly volatile solvent is used as the solvent B, there is a problem in terms of environmental hygiene because the amount of the solvent used is large.

Further, when using a recording medium such as recording paper that absorbs the solvent B well, if water is used as the solvent B, the quality of the printed matter itself is greatly reduced, such as a decrease in the strength of the recording medium, deformation and deterioration of the surface. There is a problem that causes degradation. Furthermore,
When the solvent B used in this method is brought into contact with a vehicle constituting the ink, the vehicle becomes cloudy, and a phenomenon in which the film strength of the resin layer becomes brittle is observed. After fixing, the clarity or transparency of the ink is reduced. There are problems such as deterioration of image quality and reduction of mechanical strength of an ink image.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has been made by using commercially available printing inks (such as offset inks, waterless planographic inks, and letterpress inks).
Of course, even if an ink having no oxidative polymerization reaction function or other conventional ink curing components is used, the ink can be fixed in a short time, and after fixing, the ink clearness and transparency are not lost, An object of the present invention is to provide an ink fixing method and apparatus having excellent mechanical strength.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink in which the fixing time of the ink on the recording medium is shorter than that of the conventional ink fixing means, the transparency of the ink vehicle can be maintained after the fixing, and the film strength of the cured ink is excellent. Providing a fixing method,
The invention according to claim 2 provides an ink fixing mechanism in which the fixing time of the ink on the recording medium is shorter, the transparency of the ink vehicle can be maintained after the fixing, and the film strength of the cured ink is superior to the conventional ink fixing means. The invention of claim 3 provides an image forming apparatus having:
To provide an ink fixing device in which the fixing time of the ink on the recording medium is short and the ink curing liquid is odorless. The invention according to claim 4 is different from the invention according to claim 2 or 3 in that According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink fixing device which has a shorter fixing time, and further has a shorter fixing time of the ink on the recording medium than the fourth aspect of the invention. The present invention provides an ink fixing device in which the fixing time of ink on a recording medium is shorter than that of the second or third invention. An ink fixing device for providing a shorter ink fixing time on a recording medium, wherein the fixing time of the ink on the recording medium is shorter than that of the conventional ink fixing means. Transparency can be maintained and curing The present invention in claim 9 is to provide an image forming apparatus in which the reliability of ink fixing is improved with respect to the invention in claims 2 to 8. An image forming apparatus according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the second to ninth aspects, wherein the transfer of the ink curing liquid from the surface of the recording medium after the ink is fixed to a contact object on the recording medium surface is prevented. Is provided for the purpose of providing.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, after the ink is transferred to a recording medium, the ink has a compatibility with an ink solvent in which a resin contained in the ink is dissolved, and The ink is fixed on the surface of the recording medium by contacting or applying an ink curing liquid having a sufficiently high molecular weight to the surface of the pre-recording medium, thereby preventing set-off in high-speed printing. This aims to improve the sharpness of the image and the mechanical strength of the image.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink transfer mechanism for transferring an ink to a recording medium to form an ink image on the recording medium, and an ink image formed by transferring the ink to the recording medium by the ink transfer mechanism. Then, an ink fixing mechanism that is compatible with an ink solvent in which a resin contained in the ink is dissolved and has a sufficiently high molecular weight with respect to the ink solvent to contact or apply the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium. Thus, it is possible to prevent set-off in high-speed printing, and to improve the definition of an image and the mechanical strength of an image.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the ink curing liquid is a silicone resin having fluidity, thereby enabling set-off prevention at higher speed printing. It is intended to improve environmental friendliness.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect, before the contact or application of the ink curing liquid to the recording medium surface, or at the time of contact or application of the ink curing liquid to the recording medium surface, Alternatively, after the ink curing liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the recording medium surface, a cooling means for cooling the ink or the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is provided. This makes it possible to prevent shifting.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the temperature in the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is:
When the temperature is higher than the upper critical solution temperature determined by the ink resin and ink solvent to be used, the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is cooled to the upper critical solution temperature or lower. This makes it possible to prevent shifting.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect, before the ink hardening liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the recording medium surface, or when the ink hardened liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the recording medium surface, Alternatively, a heating means for heating the vicinity of the contact area between the ink or the ink and the ink curing liquid after contacting or applying the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium is provided. This makes it possible to prevent shifting.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the temperature in the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is:
When the temperature is lower than the lower critical solution temperature determined by the ink resin and the ink solvent to be used, the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is heated to the lower critical solution temperature or higher. This makes it possible to prevent shifting.

[0020] The invention according to claim 8 is a conveying mechanism for conveying a recording medium having an unfixed ink image formed on its surface to the ink fixing mechanism, the ink fixing mechanism, and discharging the recording medium after ink fixing. Characterized by having a discharge mechanism, thereby enabling ink fixation in a short time, and
This aims at improving the sharpness of the image and the mechanical strength of the image.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the second to eighth aspects, a plurality of means for contacting or applying the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium is provided, thereby increasing the printing speed. It is a thing.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the second to ninth aspects, there is provided a means for removing the ink curing liquid attached to the recording medium surface after the ink curing liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the recording medium surface. Thus, the handling of the recording paper after fixing is improved.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Explanation of Claim 1) FIGS. 1 to 7 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 1, wherein 1 is a single sheet of paper such as a substrate or a recording medium or a postcard, 2 is ink, 3 is an ink curing liquid, 4 is a dropper, 10 is an ink transfer mechanism, 1
1 is a recording layer, 12 is a substrate, 13 is a plate, 14 is a blanket, 15 is a relief plate, 16 is a stencil, 20 is an ink fixing mechanism,
21 is a rubber roller, 22 is an ink curing liquid layer, 23 is an ink curing liquid impregnated porous body, 24 is an ink curing liquid storage container,
25 is a roller group, 26 is a grip, 27 is an ink curing liquid spray, and 28 is a pressure roller.
The ink fixing device 20 contacts or applies the ink curing liquid 3 to the ink transfer surface of the recording medium 1 such as paper to fix the ink.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which a thin ink layer 2 is formed on a substrate 1 and an ink curing liquid 3 is brought into contact with a dropper 4 on the ink layer 2, and examples in FIGS. In the example shown in FIG. 2, an ink curing liquid layer 22 is formed on the surface of the rubber roller 21 by an ink curing liquid impregnated porous body 23, and the ink curing liquid is directly applied to a recording paper. FIG. 3 shows an example of a roller 2 made of a porous material impregnated with an ink curing liquid.
3, the ink curing liquid layer 22 is formed on the surface of the rubber roller 21.
FIG. 4 is an example in which a roller 23 made of a porous body impregnated with an ink curing liquid is used instead of a rubber roller, and FIG. This is an example in which the ink curable liquid inside is supplied to a rubber roller 21 and an ink curable liquid layer 22 is formed on the surface of the rubber roller 21. FIGS. 6 and 7 show an ink fixing device 20 for manually fixing the ink 2 printed on the postcard 1. In the example of FIG. 6, the ink is hardened by the ink hardening liquid impregnated porous roller 23 with the grip 26. An example in which the liquid is supplied to the rubber roller 21 and the ink 2 on the postcard 1 is fixed by the ink curing liquid layer 22 formed on the surface of the rubber roller 21, FIG. This is an example in which the ink 2 is ejected and the ink 2 on the postcard 1 is fixed.

The ink used here is desirably an oil-based ink such as a commercially available letterpress ink, offset ink, lithographic ink without water, or stencil ink, and includes unsaturated fatty acids required for oxidative polymerization drying and other conventional ink curing agents. Not only ink but also ink not included may be used. The vehicle used for the ink contains at least a resin and an ink solvent for dissolving the resin. Examples of the resin include natural resins such as rosin, shellac, and gilsolite, and natural resin derivatives such as rosin ester, maleic acid resin and fumaric acid resin. Phenolic resins such as rosin-modified phenolic resins, alkyd resins (fatty acid-modified polyester resins), petroleum resins such as aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon resins, acrylic resins, polyester resins, polyamide resins, and cyclized resins Rubber, chlorinated rubber, urea resin and melamine resin, ketone resin, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin, epoxy resin, polyurethane, nitrocellulose and the like.

The ratio of resin weight to vehicle weight is:
A good one is about 5% to 90%, and the viscosity of the ink is 5 cp.
It can be used from a low viscosity of about 10 to a very high viscosity of about 10 ⁶ cp, and it is desirable that the viscosity be high when emphasizing the ink curing time. The state of dissolution of the ink solvent and the resin is such that the resin is swollen by the ink solvent or the resin is dispersed in the ink solvent, rather than the resin being completely dissolved in the ink solvent. When they are compatible in a similar form, the time required for fixing the ink can be shortened. The compatibility between the resin and the ink solvent varies depending on the combination of the resin and the ink solvent and the volume fraction of each, and takes into account the printing method, the recording paper used, the necessary fixing time, and other conditions. It is preferable to determine appropriate ink composition conditions.

As the ink solvent, a liquid that dissolves the resin in the vehicle and becomes a component of the vehicle is used. Generally, an oil or petroleum-based solvent is used. Oils and solvents are different. When the present inventors contact the ink with the ink curing liquid, the separation of the resin and the ink solvent in the vehicle is remarkably promoted, and the resin is formed into a film, so that the fixing of the ink takes several tens of milliseconds to 5
I discovered that it could be done in minutes. When the ink curing liquid is brought into contact with a colored or colorless transparent vehicle, the resin in the vehicle and the ink solvent are immediately separated, and a transparent resin film is formed. This phenomenon, even in the state where the resin is completely dissolved in the ink solvent or in a state close to completely dissolved, or in the state where the resin is swollen by the ink solvent, or Even when the resin is dissolved in a state close to the state where the resin is dispersed in the ink solvent, the same can be seen, and a new ink fixing method completely different in principle from the conventional ink fixing method It is.

The ink curing liquid may be any liquid having excellent compatibility with the ink solvent and having a sufficiently large molecular weight than the ink solvent. Examples of the liquid include oils such as mineral oil and engine oil, and the like. Grease can be used. If the compatibility of the ink curing liquid with the resin is completely absent or poor, it is desirable that the time for the resin and the ink solvent to be separated is sufficiently faster than the time for the resin and the ink curing liquid to dissolve. Alternatively, the ink curing liquid may have some compatibility with the resin.

As a method of supplying the ink curing liquid, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the ink curing liquid may be brought into direct contact with the recording paper surface, or as shown in FIG. The recording paper may be directly contacted with the surface of the recording paper by using a porous body such as impregnated sponge, rubber, cloth, paper, or the like, or the ink curing liquid may be supplied by a multi-stage roller as shown in FIG. , And as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6,
The porous body impregnated with the ink curing liquid may be supplied by forming a layer of the ink curing liquid on the roller surface by contacting the roller with the roller, or as shown in FIG. It may be applied in a non-contact manner.

The thickness of the ink curing liquid applied to the recording paper is
The thickness is preferably 500 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or less in consideration of the removal of the ink curing liquid, and preferably 10 μm or less in order to eliminate the mechanism for removing the ink curing liquid after fixing the ink. 10 μm for recording paper that absorbs ink curing liquid, such as paper
Since the ink curing liquid having a thickness of about low viscosity is absorbed, it is not necessary to remove the ink curing liquid after fixing the ink.

However, in order to shorten the ink fixing time, it is better that the thickness of the ink curing liquid is thicker. Therefore, the actual thickness of the ink curing liquid depends on the physical properties of the recording paper and ink used.
The thickness may be determined in consideration of the thickness of the ink on the recording paper, the number of inks used for printing, the surrounding environment, the required ink fixing time, and the like. In addition, the recording paper includes pulp paper, synthetic paper, coated paper, a film such as OHP, and all other materials to be printed.

(Invention of Claim 2) FIGS. 8 to 10 are views for explaining the invention of Claim 2, and the present invention relates to an ink fixing method using the ink fixing method of Claims 1 to 7. In the figure, 10 is a transfer device, 20 is an ink fixing device, 31 is a recording sheet, 32 is a recording sheet after fixing, and 10 a is an inking roller, 10 b Is the plate cylinder, 10c
Is a blanket cylinder, and 10d is an impression cylinder. The example in FIG.
9 and 10 relate to an apparatus for performing multi-color printing, and FIG. 9 uses a roll paper 33 to form image units (C, M, Y, and C) for each color.
FIG. 10 shows an example in which the image forming units (K, C, M, Y) are arranged around the drum.
In addition, a method of forming an image may be a lithographic printing method, a relief printing method, an offset printing method using a plate printing method such as a stencil printing method, a direct printing printing method, an inkjet printing method or an electrophotographic printing method. A non-contact printing method or a contact printing method such as a plateless printing method may be used, and the ink is desirably oily.

An appropriate ink fixing method is selected depending on the recording paper to be used, the physical properties of the ink, the thickness of the ink on the recording paper, the number of inks used for printing, the surrounding environment, and the required ink fixing time. The time required to convey the recording paper from the ink fixing step to the paper discharge unit needs to be equal to or longer than the time required for fixing the ink. Therefore, the transport path from the fixing unit to the paper discharge unit is determined based on the printing speed and the time required for fixing. In addition, it is used for a transport path from the fixing unit to the paper discharging unit.
Since the transport roller on the side in contact with the printing surface is desirably made of a material to which the ink on the printing surface does not adhere, for example, a roller having a silicone resin having excellent release properties on the surface is preferable.

(Invention of Claim 3) The present invention provides Claim 1
Alternatively, a fluid silicone resin (fluid silicone) is brought into contact with or applied as the ink curing liquid of the second aspect of the invention to fix the ink. Fluid silicone, compared with the ink curing liquid described in claim 1 or 2,
It is odorless and has low harm to the human body, so it is very good in terms of environmental hygiene.Moreover, since it is colorless, there is almost no adverse effect on printed images, and the printed surface has improved slipperiness, so it can be scratched. Has many advantages, such as being less likely to damage the printed surface.

The fluid silicone includes silicone oil and silicone gum. Silicone oils include, in addition to dimethyl silicone oil, methylphenyl silicone oil, methyl hydrogen silicone oil, etc., modified silicone oils in which various organic groups have been introduced into some of the methyl groups of dimethyl silicone, for example,
Includes many other modified species including amino-modified, alkyl-modified, alcohol-modified, epoxy-modified, epoxy-polyether-modified, carboxyl-modified, polyether-modified and the like. Silicone gum is an ultrahigh-viscosity silicone oil, including those having a combination of viscosity like a liquid and elasticity like a solid.

The construction example and supply method are the same as those of the first or second invention except for the silicone gum.
Is the same as As for the silicone gum, it is difficult to penetrate into the porous body. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the silicone gum may be brought into planar contact with the recording paper surface and peeled off. The recording paper may be deformed into a sphere or a rod and rolled on the recording paper, or a silicone gum may be adhered around the roller to make contact with the surface of the recording paper. The size and thickness of the silicone gum to contact
Although not particularly specified, the diameter or thickness is 100 μ
m or more tends to shorten the ink fixing time.

(Invention of Claim 4) FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a main part for explaining the invention of claim 4, wherein the present invention relates to a method in which, after printing, an ink hardening liquid is brought into contact with an ink transfer surface of a recording paper. Before or during application, or after performing,
The cooling device 40 cools the ink 2 transferred to the recording paper 1 or the vicinity of the contact portion between the ink 2 and the ink curing liquid 3 to fix the ink. If the temperature is lowered in a state where the vehicle resin and the ink solvent are dissolved, separation of the resin and the ink solvent may be promoted. Since the temperature at which this phenomenon is observed depends on the combination of the resin and the ink solvent, the energy required for cooling is relatively small, and the combination of the resin and the ink solvent does not separate during storage or printing of the ink. It is desirable to use ink consisting of Therefore, when using such an ink and cooling the vicinity of the ink on the recording medium or the contact portion between the ink and the ink curing liquid in the fixing step,
It is possible to shorten the ink fixing time as compared with the case where the ink curing liquid is simply brought into contact with the ink. As a cooling method, a cool air may be sent, but as shown in FIG. 11, a silicone resin (ink-repellent member) 41 to which ink does not adhere is disposed on the surface, and
2, or a roller cooled by a cooling liquid, cold air, or the like may be brought into contact, and an existing cooling method can be used.

(Invention of claim 5) FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the invention of claim 5, and the present invention is different from the cooling method of claim 4 in that the cooling temperature is determined from the resin and the ink solvent. The fixing of the ink is performed by setting the temperature at or below the determined upper critical solution temperature. Depending on the combination of the vehicle resin and the ink solvent, as shown in FIG. 12, there is a temperature at which the resin and the ink solvent separate when the temperature decreases,
This temperature is called the upper critical solution temperature. Therefore, when an ink having an appropriate upper critical solution temperature is used, it is possible to significantly reduce the fixing time of the ink by cooling in the fixing step as compared with simply contacting the ink with the ink curing liquid.

(Invention of Claim 6) FIGS. 13 and 14 are views for explaining the invention of claim 6, wherein the present invention relates to a method in which, after printing, the ink transfer surface of recording paper is contacted with an ink curing liquid or Before, during, or after the application, the ink transferred to the recording paper 1 or the contact portion between the ink and the ink curing liquid is heated by the heating device 50 to fix the ink. is there. In the example shown in FIG. 13, an ink-repellent member 51 is disposed on the surface, and the surface or inside is provided with a heater 52.
In the example shown in FIG. 14, the printing surface is heated by a heating source 50.
This is an example of heating in a non-contact manner. When the temperature is increased in a state where the vehicle resin and the ink solvent are dissolved, separation of the resin and the ink solvent may be promoted. Since the temperature at which this phenomenon is observed depends on the combination of the resin and the ink solvent, the energy required for heating is relatively small, and the combination of the resin and the ink solvent does not separate during storage of the ink or during printing. It is desirable to use ink consisting of

Accordingly, when the ink on the recording medium or the vicinity of the contact portion between the ink and the ink curing liquid is heated in the fixing step using such an ink, the ink curing liquid is simply brought into contact with the ink. Also, it is possible to shorten the ink fixing time. The heating method is as shown in FIG. 13, in which a silicone resin 51 to which ink does not adhere is disposed on the surface, and the surface or the inside is heated by a heater or a lamp 42 that emits a heat ray.
14 may be brought into contact with the roller 50, for example.
The printing surface may be heated by irradiating hot air or heat rays to the printing surface in a non-contact manner by a heating source 50 such as described above, and an existing heating method can be used.

(Invention of Claim 7) The present invention relates to Claim 7
In this heating method, the ink is fixed by setting the heating temperature equal to or higher than the lower critical solution temperature determined by the resin and the ink solvent. Depending on the combination of the vehicle resin and the ink solvent, as shown in FIG.
When the temperature rises, there is a temperature at which the resin and the ink solvent separate, and this temperature is called the lower critical solution temperature. Therefore, when an ink having an appropriate lower critical solution temperature is used, it is possible to significantly reduce the fixing time of the ink by heating in the fixing step as compared with simply contacting the ink cured liquid with the ink.

(Invention of Claim 8) FIGS. 15 and 16 are views for explaining the invention of claim 8, and the present invention relates to an ink fixing method using the ink fixing method according to claims 1 to 7. In the figure, 34 is a printed matter before fixing,
32 is a printed matter after fixing, 20 is an ink fixing device, and FIG.
The example shown in FIG. 5 is an example in which a roller-shaped member 20a is used in the ink curing liquid supply unit, and FIG. 16 is an example in which a planar member 20b is used in the ink curing liquid supply unit.

Hereinafter, the basic functions of the above-described ink fixing device will be briefly described. The recording paper 34 on which the unfixed ink image is formed on the surface by the image forming apparatus is set in the unfixed recording paper insertion portion of the ink fixing device, and the start switch of the ink fixing is turned on.
Then, the recording paper fixed by an appropriate method in the methods of claims 1 to 7 is discharged to a paper discharge unit.

The image may be formed by a lithographic printing method, a letterpress printing method, a plate printing method such as a stencil printing method, an offset printing method, a direct printing method, an ink jet method, an electronic printing method, or the like. A non-contact printing method or a contact printing method of a plateless printing method such as a photographic method may be used,
Desirably, the ink is oily. The method for fixing the ink may be selected from the methods according to claims 1 to 7, depending on the physical properties of the recording paper or ink used, the thickness of the ink on the recording paper, the number of inks used for printing, the surrounding environment, and the required ink fixing time. Choose one.

The time required to convey the recording paper from the ink fixing step to the paper discharge section needs to be equal to or longer than the time required for fixing the ink. Therefore, the transport path from the fixing unit to the paper discharge unit is
Determined from the printing speed and the time required for fixing. In addition, since the transport roller on the side that comes into contact with the print surface used for the transport path from the insertion section to the paper discharge section is desirably a material to which ink on the print surface does not adhere, for example, a silicone resin having excellent mold release properties is used. A roller disposed on the surface is desirable.

(Invention of Claim 9) FIGS.
In the image forming apparatus or the ink fixing device according to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of ink curing liquid contacts or coatings on a printing surface of a recording paper are performed. It is applied repeatedly to fix the ink. The example of FIG. 17 relates to an image forming apparatus in which a single color printing is performed by the transfer device 10 and then a plurality of ink fixing rollers 20a are provided to perform the printing a plurality of times, and the example of FIG. An example of FIG. 19 relates to an image forming apparatus that performs fixing of ink a plurality of times. In the example of FIG. 19, when performing multi-color printing, an image in which the ink is fixed a plurality of times as a whole by performing ink fixing for each color printing. The example of FIG. 19 relates to a forming apparatus when performing multi-color printing.
It relates to an image forming apparatus that performs ink fixing a plurality of times for each color printing, and the example in FIG. 21 relates to an ink fixing apparatus that performs ink fixing a plurality of times.

Each of the ink fixing methods used for a plurality of ink fixing units may be the same as in claims 2 to 8 or may be changed depending on each unit. The number of ink fixing units is determined by the properties of the recording paper or ink used, the thickness of the ink on the recording paper, the number of inks used for printing, the surrounding environment, the required ink fixing time, and the like. As an ink fixing method, as shown in FIG.
In the case of a single-color image forming apparatus, ink fixing is performed a plurality of times after printing on recording paper, but in the case of a multi-color image forming apparatus,
As shown in FIG. 18, ink fixing may be performed a plurality of times after printing in all colors, or as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, ink fixing may be performed for each color printing. However, the ink may be fixed each time each color is printed, and may be fixed a plurality of times after printing all the colors. Although the larger the number of ink fixing units, the shorter the ink fixing time, the larger the apparatus, the larger the number of ink fixing units, the better the number of ink fixing units should be determined based on the required ink fixing time and the required device shape.

(Invention of Claim 10) FIGS. 22 to 24
Is a diagram for explaining the invention according to claim 10, and the invention is directed to an image forming apparatus according to claims 2 to 9, or
In the ink fixing device, the ink curing liquid supplied to the printing surface of the recording paper in the ink fixing process, or the ink curing liquid attached to the printing surface and the ink solvent separated from the resin in the vehicle are cured after the ink is fixed. Liquid removing means 60
FIG. 22 shows an example in which a porous roller 61 is used as a method for removing an ink curing liquid from recording paper, and FIG. 23 shows an example in which a liquid absorbing seamless material 6 is used.
FIG. 24 shows a sheet-like material 63 having a liquid absorbing property.
Is used.

As a method for removing the ink curing liquid, existing methods such as absorption, evaporation, scraping, and blowing can be used. For example, a member used in the case of the absorption method may be a porous material such as sponge, rubber, cloth, or paper. Body available. Further, the shape of the member may be a roller or a thin flat surface such as cloth. When the shape of the roller is a roller, the entire roller may be a porous body, or a metal roller having a porous material layer formed on the surface may be used. Or a liquid absorbing layer may be formed on the surface of the film. The ink curing liquid removal unit may be one, but in order to improve the removal efficiency,
It is better to provide more than one. The member that has absorbed the ink curing liquid
As shown in FIG. 23, when the internal ink curing liquid is evaporated or squeezed out by heating by the heating means 64 and the internal liquid is discharged, and the liquid is repeatedly used, the replacement cycle of the consumables can be extended. Becomes

[0050]

EXAMPLES Table 1 shows examples of inks used in Examples of the present invention.

[0051]

[Table 1]

Table 2 shows examples of vehicles used in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0053]

[Table 2]

Table 3 shows examples of recording paper used in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0055]

[Table 3]

Example 1 Plate composition: recording layer material: emulsion polymerization type perfluoroalkyl acrylate (LS317 [Asahi Glass]), thickness: 1 μm recording substrate: roughened PET film, size: 350
× 220mm Thickness: 25μm ● Ink used: (1) Waterless lithographic ink AQUALES SUPER KB Ink, indigo, red, yellow M (Toyo Ink) Aquares Five K2 Ink, indigo, red, yellow M (Toyo Ink) Aquares Super FC Sumi, indigo, red, yellow Y X
U (Toyo Ink) New Alpo G Ink, indigo, red, yellow M (TOKA C
O.LTD) Waterless S PL Ink S (The Inktec) Waterless S GT Ink N (The Inktec) (2) Other ink vehicle Polymer (rosin-modified phenolic resin) + solvent (Dialen 168: o Solvent (H) = 4) : 1) Polymer (rosin-modified phenolic resin) + solvent (AF7
No. Solvent: Dialen 168 = 1: 4)

● Recording paper: (1) PPC paper (Type 6200, Ricoh) (2) Synthetic paper (peach coat, Nisshinbo) (3) OHP film (Type PPC-DX, Ricoh) (4) PET film ● Fluid silicone And supply means: (1) Silicone oil (KE-1031-A, Shin-Etsu Chemical) +
Sponge (Rubicel, Toyo Polymer) + rubber roller (60 degrees) (2) Silicone gel (mixture of SE1891K A and B, Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + sponge + rubber roller (3) Silicone gum (Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + Sponge + rubber roller

Under the above conditions, as a result of fixing the ink with the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the ink and the vehicle harden in about 5 seconds with any of the fluid silicones. As a result, good ink fixation with no set-off or blocking occurred. In addition, the receding contact angle decreases when the plate used is in contact with a contact member such as a liquid or a solid that generates a liquid in a heated state, and when heated in a non-contact state with the liquid or a solid that generates a liquid. It has surface characteristics that increase the receding contact angle.

Example 2 ● Ink used: (1) Waterless lithographic ink AQUALES SUPER KB Ink, indigo, red, yellow M (Toyo Ink) Aquares Five K2 Ink, indigo, red, yellow M (Toyo Ink) Aquares Super FC ink, indigo, red, yellow YX
U (Toyo Ink) New Alpo G Ink, indigo, red, yellow M (TOKA C
O.LTD) Waterless SPL Ink S (The Inktec) Waterless S GT Ink N (The Inktec) (2) Lithographic ink using dampening water F Gloss 85 Ink (Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) Master Black (NIKKEN CHEMICAL LABORATORIES) (3) Other ink vehicle Polymer (rosin-modified phenol resin) + solvent (Dialen 168: o solvent (H) = 4: 1) Polymer (rosin-modified phenol resin) + solvent (AF7
No. Solvent: Dialen 168 = 1: 4)

● Recording paper: (1) PPC paper (Type 6200, Ricoh) (2) Synthetic paper (peach coat, Nisshinbo) (3) OHP film (Type PPC-DX, Ricoh) (4) PET film ● Fluid silicone And supply means: (1) Silicone oil (SE200, Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + sponge roller (Rubicell, Toyo Polymer) + rubber roller (60 degrees) (2) Silicone gel (SE1891K Mixing A and B, Toray Dow・ Corning silicone) + sponge + rubber roller (60 degrees) (3) Silicone gum (Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + sponge + rubber roller (60 degrees)

Under the above conditions, the print output of the offset printing press as shown in FIG. 3 and the ink fixation on the paper to which the above ink was directly adhered using the rollers resulted in any fluid silicone. The ink cures in about 5 seconds except for the lithographic ink using dampening water, and the lithographic ink using dampening water cures in less than 1 minute. It was possible to perform good ink fixing without causing any problem.

Example 3 Ink used: letterpress ink Graf-G black (Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) ● Recording paper: (1) PPC paper (Type 6200, Ricoh) (2) Synthetic paper (peach coat, Nisshinbo) (3) ) OHP film (Type PPC-DX, Ricoh) (4) PET film ● Flowable silicone and supply means: (1) Silicone oil (SE200, Dow Corning Toray Silicone) + sponge roller (Rubicell, Toyo Polymer) (2) ) Silicone gel (mixture of SE1891K A and B, Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + sponge + rubber roller (3) Silicone gum (Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + sponge + rubber roller

Under the above conditions, the print output of the letterpress printing machine as shown in FIG. 4 and the ink fixing on the paper to which the above ink was directly adhered by using a roller resulted in any fluid silicone. Even with the use of, the ink was cured within one minute, and good ink fixing without causing set-off or blocking even when the recording paper was overlaid could be performed.

Example 4 ● Ink vehicle used: (1) Polymer (rosin-modified phenol resin) + solvent (Dialen 168: o Solvent (H) = 4: 1) (2) Polymer (rosin-modified phenol resin) + solvent ( AF7 Sorbert: Dialen 168 = 1: 4) ● Recording paper: (1) PPC paper (Type6200, Ricoh) (2) Synthetic paper (Peachcoat, Nisshinbo) (3) OHP film (Type PPC-DX, Ricoh) ( 4) PET film ● Fluid silicone and supply means: (1) Silicone oil (KE-1031-A, Shin-Etsu Chemical) +
Rubber roller (60 degrees) (2) Silicone gel (mixture of SE1891K A and B, Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + rubber roller (3) Silicone gum (Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + rubber roller

Under the above conditions, the result of printing the stencil printing machine as shown in FIG. 5 and fixing the ink to paper to which the ink containing the vehicle as a component was directly adhered using a roller. Regardless of which fluid silicone is used, the ink containing the above-described vehicle cures in about 5 seconds, and good ink fixing without causing set-off or blocking even when recording paper is stacked can be performed.

Example 5 Ink used: Print Gokko ink (ideal cyan, ideal high mesh ink black) Recording paper: postcard Fluid silicone and supply means: (1) Silicone oil (KE-1031-A, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) ) +
Sponge roller (Rubicel, Toyo Polymer) + rubber roller (60 degrees) (2) Silicone gel (mixture of SE1891K A and B, Toray Dow Corning Silicone) + sponge roller + rubber roller (3) Silicone gum (Toray Dow Corning) Silicone) + sponge roller + rubber roller

Under the above conditions, the result of printing with a print stick as shown in FIG. 6 and the result of fixing the ink to paper to which the ink was directly adhered using a roller were obtained. However, the ink was hardened in about one minute, and good ink fixing was achieved without causing set-off even when postcards were stacked.

Example 6 ● Ink used: Print Gokko ink (ideal cyan, ideal high mesh ink black) ● Recording paper: postcard ● Fluid silicone and supply means: (1) Silicone oil (KE-1031-A, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) ) +
Spraying Under the above conditions, the result of printing with a print gok as shown in FIG. 7 and the result of performing ink fixing on paper to which the ink was directly adhered using a roller were obtained. In two minutes, the ink cures
Even if postcards were stacked, good ink fixation without set-off could be performed.

Example 7 (1) Ink curing liquid

[0070]

[Table 4]

(2) Porous material and rubber roller for supplying ink curing liquid Sponge: Rubicell, Toyo Polymer rubber roller: Nitrile rubber (hardness 60 degrees) or fluoro rubber (hardness 80 degrees) or silicone rubber roller (hardness 40 degrees)

(3) Result: As shown in FIG. 1, thin ink layers of ink numbers 1 to 5 were formed on the respective recording paper surfaces of Table 3, and the ink curing liquid of Table 4 was applied on the thin ink layers. A few seconds with each touching
As a result of being left for about 3 minutes, the ink was cured as shown in Table 5, and the ink having excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength was fixed.

[0073]

[Table 5]

When the thickness of the ink curing liquid in the ink curing liquid supply unit is set to about 3 to 8 μm and brought into contact with the printing surface, even if there is no step of removing the ink curing liquid adhering to the printing surface, It was confirmed that the ink hardening liquid did not adhere to the hand when contacting the printing surface, and that good ink fixing was achieved. In addition, in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 6, and FIG.
Or an ink fixing test using 2 or 5, and an ink fixing test using ink 3 or 5 in the configuration of FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, and an ink fixing test in the configuration of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. As a result of the ink fixing test using each of Nos. 4 and 5, the ink was similarly cured as shown in Table 5, and the ink was fixed with excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength.

As shown in FIG. 1, a thin layer of each vehicle shown in Table 2 was formed on the surface of each recording paper shown in Table 3, and the ink curing liquids shown in Table 4 were kept in contact with the thin vehicle for several seconds. ~
As a result of being left for about 3 minutes, as shown in Table 6, the vehicle was cured, and the vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed. In addition, the results of the vehicle fixing test shown in Table 2 with the configurations shown in FIGS. 2 to 7 show that the vehicle was similarly cured as shown in Table 6, and the vehicle was fixed with excellent transparency and mechanical strength.

[0076]

[Table 6]

Example 8 (1) Ink curing liquid:

[0078]

[Table 7]

(2) Result: As shown in FIG. 1, ink thin layers of ink numbers 1 to 5 were respectively formed on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3, and the silicone oil and silicone of Table 7 were formed on the thin ink layers. As a result, as shown in Table 8, the ink was cured, and the ink was fixed with excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength, and the color change of the image due to the flowable silicone was observed. Was not seen. Further, even when the printed surface was scratched by hand, scratches were hardly generated, and the mechanical strength of the printed surface was improved.

[0080]

[Table 8]

Also, an ink fixing test using the ink 1, 2, or 5 in the configuration of FIGS. 2, 3, 6, and 7, and an ink 3 or 3 in the configuration of FIGS. Similarly, the results of the ink fixing test using the ink No. 5 and the ink fixing test using the inks 4 or 5 in the configurations of FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show that the ink hardens as shown in Table 8. The ink was fixed with excellent density, sharpness and mechanical strength.

As shown in FIG. 1, a thin layer of each vehicle shown in Table 2 was formed on the surface of each recording paper shown in Table 3, and the dimethyl silicone oil shown in Table 7 was kept in contact with the vehicle thin layer for 15 minutes. As a result of being left for about 2 seconds to 2 minutes, the vehicle was cured as shown in Tables 9 and 10, and the vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

[0083]

[Table 9]

[0084]

[Table 10]

Also, the vehicle fixing test shown in Table 2 was carried out in the same manner as in the configurations shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, and as shown in Tables 9 and 10, the vehicle was cured, and the vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was obtained. Fixation has taken place.

Example 9 As shown in FIG. 1, an ink thin layer of ink No. 5 was formed on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3 and the resultant was placed in a refrigerator at about 5 ° C.
After cooling, the silicone gum was left in contact with the silicone gum on the thin ink layer for about 5 seconds. As a result, the curing speed of the ink was improved, and the ink having excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength was fixed. In addition, as a result of the same ink fixing test using the configuration shown in FIG. 11, the ink was similarly cured, and the ink was fixed with excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength.

Example 10: As shown in FIG. 1, an ink thin layer of ink No. 5 was formed on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3, and dimethyl silicone oil was kept in contact with the ink thin layer. As a result of heating on a hot plate for about 15 seconds, the curing speed of the ink was improved as shown in Table 11, and the ink was fixed with excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength.

[0088]

[Table 11]

Further, as a result of the same ink fixing test using the configurations shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the ink was similarly cured, and a vehicle having excellent density, sharpness and mechanical strength was fixed.

As shown in FIG. 1, vehicle thin layers of vehicle numbers 1 to 15 are formed on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3, and the various ink curing liquids shown in Tables 4 and 7 are formed on the vehicle thin layers. Each was cooled to 5 ° C. while being in contact with each other, and left for several seconds to 3 minutes. As a result, the curing speed of the vehicle was improved,
Ink with excellent mechanical strength was fixed. FIG.
3, a vehicle fixing test was similarly performed with the configuration shown in FIG. 14, and as a result, the vehicle was similarly cured, and a vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

Embodiment 10 The image forming unit of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 is an offset printing mechanism using ink 1, 2 or 5, and the image forming apparatus uses After forming the image, the printing surface is brought into contact with the ink curing liquid or silicone oil shown in Table 4 in the configuration shown in FIG. 3, and as a result, the ink on the printing surface is cured, and the ink is fixed with excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength. It has been made. Similarly, a fixing test was performed on the vehicle shown in Table 2, and as a result, the vehicle was cured, and a vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

Example 11 After forming an image on the surface of each recording paper shown in Table 3 using inks 1 to 5, the ink was fixed by an ink fixing device shown in FIGS.
As a result of contacting the printing surface with the ink curing liquid or silicone oil shown in Table 4, the ink on the printing surface was cured, and the ink having excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength was fixed. Similarly, an image was formed on the recording paper shown in Table 3 using the vehicle shown in Table 2, and a fixing test was performed. As a result, the vehicle was cured, and a vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

Embodiment 12: The image forming unit of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 has an offset printing configuration using ink 1, 2 or 5, and the surface of each recording paper shown in Table 3 in the image forming apparatus. After the image was formed, the ink curing liquid or silicone oil shown in Table 4 was brought into contact with the printing surface in a configuration in which two units of the method shown in FIG. 3 were provided. The ink was fixed with excellent sharpness and mechanical strength. Similarly, a fixing test was performed on the vehicle shown in Table 2, and as a result, the vehicle was cured more quickly, and a vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

The image forming section of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 19 has an offset printing configuration using ink 1 or 2 or 5, and the image forming apparatus uses the image forming apparatus to print one color image on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3. Each time is formed, one unit of the method of FIG. 5 is provided, and the silicone oil is brought into contact with the printing surface. As a result, the ink on the printing surface cures faster, and the density, sharpness,
Ink with excellent mechanical strength was fixed. Table 2
As a result of performing a fixing test on the vehicle, the vehicle was cured more quickly, and a vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

The image forming section of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 20 has an offset printing configuration using ink 1, 2 or 5, and the image forming apparatus has an image for one color on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3. Each time is formed, two units of the system of FIG. 5 are provided, and as a result of bringing the ink curing liquids shown in Table 4 into contact with the printing surface, the ink on the printing surface hardens faster, and the density, sharpness, Ink with excellent mechanical strength was fixed. Similarly, a fixing test was performed on the vehicle shown in Table 2, and as a result, the vehicle was cured more quickly, and a vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

After using the inks 1 to 5 to form an image on the surface of each recording sheet in Table 3, the ink fixing device shown in FIG. As a result of contacting the ink curing liquid or the silicone oil shown in Table 4, the ink on the printing surface was cured more quickly, and the ink having excellent density, sharpness, and mechanical strength was fixed. Similarly, an image was formed on the recording paper shown in Table 3 using the vehicle shown in Table 2, and a fixing test was conducted. As a result, the vehicle was cured more quickly, and a vehicle having excellent transparency and mechanical strength was fixed.

Example 13 (1) Constituent parts Porous material for removing ink curing liquid in FIG. 22: Rubicell, Toyo Polymer Ink curing liquid removing member in FIG. 23: Pictorico Ink curing liquid removing member in FIG. 24: cotton cloth or paper ( 2) Result: The image forming unit of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 has an offset printing configuration using ink 1, 2 or 5.
An image was formed on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3 with the image forming apparatus, and the printing surface was contacted with silicone oil to cure the ink, and then the ink curing liquid on the printing surface was removed in the configuration shown in FIG. As a result, it was confirmed that even when the printing surface was touched after the ink was fixed, the ink hardening liquid did not adhere to the hand, and that contamination of the surroundings by the ink hardening liquid could be prevented.

The image forming section of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 is set as an offset using ink 1, 2 or 5, and an image is formed on the surface of each recording paper in Table 3 by the image forming apparatus. After the ink was cured by bringing the silicone oil into contact with the printing surface, the ink curing liquid on the printing surface was removed in the configuration shown in FIG. 23. As a result, the ink curing liquid did not adhere to the hand even if the printing surface was touched after the ink was fixed. It was confirmed that contamination of the surroundings by the ink curing liquid could be prevented. Further, by heating the ink absorbing film, the absorbed ink curing liquid was evaporated, and it was confirmed that the ink absorbing film could be used repeatedly.

24: The surface of each recording paper in Table 3 on which an image was formed using inks 1 to 5 was brought into contact with the ink curing liquid or silicone oil shown in Table 4 on the printing surface by an ink fixing device shown in FIG. As a result of removing the ink curing liquid on the printing surface after curing the ink on the printing surface, the ink curing liquid does not adhere to the hand even if the printing surface is touched after the ink is fixed, and it is possible to prevent contamination of the surroundings by the ink curing liquid. It could be confirmed.

[0100]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, after transferring the ink to the recording medium, the ink has a compatibility with the ink solvent in which the resin contained in the ink is dissolved, and has a sufficient molecular weight with respect to the ink solvent. By fixing or fixing the ink on the surface of the recording medium by contacting or applying a large ink curing liquid to the surface of the pre-recording medium, it is possible to prevent set-off in high-speed printing, and to improve image clarity. , And the mechanical strength of the image can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink transfer mechanism for transferring ink to a recording medium to form an ink image on the recording medium, and forming an ink image by transferring ink to the recording medium by the ink transfer mechanism. Then, an ink fixing mechanism that is compatible with an ink solvent in which a resin contained in the ink is dissolved and has a sufficiently high molecular weight with respect to the ink solvent to contact or apply the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium. Therefore, set-off can be prevented in high-speed printing, and the sharpness of an image and the mechanical strength of an image can be improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, since the ink curing liquid is a silicone resin having fluidity, it is possible to prevent set-off at higher speed printing and to improve environmental friendliness. Can be achieved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect, before the contact or application of the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium, or at the time of contact or application of the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium, Alternatively, after the ink curable liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the surface of the recording medium, a cooling means for cooling the vicinity of the contact area between the ink or the ink and the ink curable liquid is provided, so that set-off at higher speed printing is prevented. Can be.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, the temperature near the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is:
When the temperature is higher than the upper critical solution temperature determined by the ink resin and the ink solvent to be used, the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is cooled below the upper critical solution temperature, so that set-off at higher speed printing is performed. Can be prevented.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect, before the contact or application of the ink curing liquid to the recording medium surface, or at the time of contacting or applying the ink curing liquid to the recording medium surface, Alternatively, after the ink curing liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the surface of the recording medium, the heating means for heating the ink or the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is provided, so that set-off at higher speed printing is prevented. Can be.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the temperature in the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is:
When the temperature is lower than the lower critical solution temperature determined by the ink resin and ink solvent used, the vicinity of the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is heated to the lower critical solution temperature or higher, thereby preventing set-off at higher speed printing. can do.

According to the present invention, a transport mechanism for transporting a recording medium having an unfixed ink image formed on its surface to the ink fixing mechanism, the ink fixing mechanism, and discharging the recording medium after fixing the ink. With the discharge mechanism, it is possible to fix the ink in a short time, and to improve the sharpness of the image and the mechanical strength of the image.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the second to eighth aspects of the present invention, since a plurality of means for contacting or applying the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium are provided, the printing speed can be increased.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is the invention according to any of the second to ninth aspects, further comprising means for removing the ink hardening liquid adhering to the recording medium surface after the ink hardening liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the recording medium surface. Therefore, the handling property of the recording paper after fixing can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 2 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 3 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 4 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 5 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 6 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 7 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 8 is a main part diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2;

FIG. 9 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 2;

FIG. 10 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 2;

FIG. 11 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 4;

FIG. 12 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of the inventions of claims 5 and 7;

FIG. 13 is a main part diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 6;

FIG. 14 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 6;

FIG. 15 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 8;

FIG. 16 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 8;

FIG. 17 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 9;

FIG. 18 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 9;

FIG. 19 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 9;

FIG. 20 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 9;

FIG. 21 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 9;

FIG. 22 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of the invention of claim 10;

FIG. 23 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 10;

FIG. 24 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining another embodiment of the invention of claim 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording medium, 2 ... Ink, 3 ... Ink hardening liquid, 4 ... Dropper, 10 ... Ink transfer device, 20 ... Ink fixing device, 31 ... Recording paper, 32 ... Printed matter after fixing, 33 ... Roll paper, 34 ... Fixing Pre-printed material, 40: cooling device, 50: heating device, 60: inging hardened liquid removing means.

Claims (10)

[Claims] After transferring an ink to a recording medium to form an ink image on the recording medium, the ink has compatibility with an ink solvent in which a resin contained in the ink is dissolved, and An image forming method comprising fixing an ink image on the surface of a recording medium by contacting or applying an ink curing liquid having a sufficiently high molecular weight to the ink image on the surface of the recording medium. 2. An ink transfer mechanism for transferring ink to a recording medium to form an ink image on the recording medium; and an ink transfer mechanism for transferring ink to the recording medium by the ink transfer mechanism to form an ink image. An ink fixing mechanism that has compatibility with the ink solvent in which the resin to be dissolved is dissolved and has a sufficiently high molecular weight with respect to the ink solvent to contact or apply the ink curing liquid to the ink image on the recording medium surface. An image forming apparatus comprising: 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink curing liquid is a silicone resin having fluidity. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein before the ink curing liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the recording medium surface, when the ink curing liquid is brought into contact with or applied to the recording medium surface, or when the ink is cured onto the recording medium surface. After contact or application of liquid
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a cooling unit that cools the vicinity of a contact area between the ink or the ink and the ink curing liquid. 5. The ink according to claim 4, wherein the temperature near the contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is higher than the upper critical solution temperature determined by the ink resin and the ink solvent used. An image forming apparatus, wherein the vicinity of the contact area is cooled below the upper critical solution temperature. 6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the ink curing liquid contacts or applies to the recording medium surface, or the ink curing liquid contacts or applies to the recording medium surface, or
An image forming apparatus comprising: a heating unit that heats the vicinity of a contact area between the ink or the ink and the ink curing liquid after the contact or application of the ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein a temperature near a contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid is lower than a lower critical solution temperature determined by an ink resin and an ink solvent to be used.
An image forming apparatus comprising: heating an area near a contact area between the ink and the ink curing liquid to a temperature equal to or higher than a lower critical solution temperature. 8. A transport mechanism for transporting a recording medium having an unfixed ink image formed on its surface to the ink fixing mechanism,
An image forming apparatus comprising: the ink fixing mechanism; and a discharge mechanism that discharges a recording medium after ink fixing. 9. An image forming apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a plurality of means for contacting or applying an ink curing liquid to the surface of the recording medium. 10. The method according to claim 2, wherein
An image forming apparatus comprising: means for removing the ink curing liquid attached to the recording medium surface after the ink curing liquid contacts or is applied to the recording medium surface.