JPH10166721A - Print promoting coat - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet printable material, more precisely, a print promoting coat and a printable material. SOLUTION: This print promoting coat consists of 0-100wt.% of polyvalent metal ion salt, 0-100wt.% of cationic polymer and 0-100wt.% of viscosity improver based on the total dry weight of the print promoting coat as a reference. In addition, the printable material consists of a first layer with a first lateral face and a second lateral face, a second layer covering the first face of the first layer and a third layer covering the second layer. Further, the second layer contains a thermoplastic polymer particle with a maximum size of not more than about 50μm and about 10-50wt.% of film-forming binder based on the weight of thermoplastic polymer. The third layer contains 0-100wt.% of polyvalent material ion salt and 0-100wt.% of cationic polymer based on the total dry weight of the third layer as a reference.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an ink-jet printable material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The recent popularization of personal computers in homes and businesses has prompted the development of several types of printers. Early relatively low cost printers were impact or dot matrix printers, which utilize a ribbon and a large number of pins to place a given image on a substrate, typically paper. Was. Better dot matrix printers allow for near letter-quality printing, but they typically have slow printing speeds and are noisy. Laser printers produce quiet, high-quality images,
It enables printing of 4 or more sheets per minute. However,
Such printers tend to be too expensive for general use at home and in some small businesses, and this problem is particularly acute in color laser printers. Inkjet printers are located between a dot matrix printer and a laser printer.
It fills this gap in both cost and image performance. The advent of improved, relatively low-cost printers has led to the selection of designs, messages, illustrations, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "customer-selected graphics") selected by the customer to fabric articles such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. Assisted in the development of one significant industrial area, including its application to These customer-selected graphics are commercially available products, typically tailored for such specific end use, and are printed on release or transfer paper. These are applied to the fabric article by heat and pressure, after which the release or transfer paper is removed.

[0003] Some efforts have been made to allow customers to have the opportunity to prepare customer-specific graphics for application to fabric articles. The preparation of such graphics may involve the use of colored crayons made of a heat-transferable material. Such crayons are available as kits and they also include non-specific thermal transfer sheets having a schematic pattern thereon. In one improved kit, the transferable pattern is made from a copy of a thermal transfer sheet and a reversible or lift copy sheet having a pressure transferable coating of thermal transferable material thereon. By forming the pattern or artwork on the surface of the thermal transfer sheet by the pressure of the drafting apparatus, a heat transferable mirror image pattern is generated from the copy sheet by pressure transfer on the back surface of the transfer sheet. . This thermally transferable mirror image can then be applied to a T-shirt or other article by thermal transfer. The generation of personalized designs or images on fabrics such as T-shirts using personal computer equipment has been reported. The method includes generating an electronic image, transmitting the image to an electronic printer,
Printing the image on the transfer sheet surface by the printer (where the transfer sheet is a Singapore Damar resin (S
ingapore Dammar Resin), placing the transfer sheet surface on the fabric, and applying energy to the back of the transfer sheet to transfer the image to the fabric. Including various steps. The transfer sheet can be any commercially available product, the heat-transferable coating of which is coated with a Singapore Damar resin topcoat. The use of abrasive particles in the Singapore Damar resin coating has also been reported. The abrasive particles serve to increase the receptivity of the transfer sheet to various inks and wax-based crayons.

Further, crayons mainly composed of wax,
Improved thermal transfer papers with improved receptivity to thermal transfer ribbons and images produced on impact ribbon or dot matrix printers have also been reported. For example, a cellulose-based sheet may contain from about 15% to about 80% by weight of a film-forming binder and from about 85% to about 20% by weight of about 2%.
It has an image-receptive coating containing a powdered polymer consisting of particles having a diameter of about 50 .mu.m. The binder is typically a latex. Cellulose base sheets also have an image-receptive coating, typically formed by melt extrusion or laminating a film to the base sheet. The surface of the coating or film is then roughened, for example by passing the coated base sheet through an embossing roll. Also, some efforts have been made to generally improve the transferability of the image bearing laminate to the substrate. For example, improved release properties have been reported, where the release body is separated from the carrier during transfer and a protective cover is formed on the transferred image. The exfoliate is applied as a solution and comprises a montan wax, a rosin ester or hydrocarbon resin, a solvent, and a low vinyl acetate content ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

[0005] Further efforts have been made to improve the adhesion of the transfer laminate to porous, semi-porous or non-porous materials and to use the melt transfer web to transfer images to rough surfaces. To develop a harmonious transfer layer. It is well known to those skilled in the art that common inkjet inks are aqueous based. That is, the dyes used in such inks are water-soluble. Thus,
Substrates printed with inkjet inks have a tendency to blur or even lose the image in the presence of moisture or moisture. In addition, inkjet inks have a tendency to spread (a phenomenon referred to in the art as "bleeding"), often after being placed on a substrate,
As a result, the sharpness or resolution of the image is adversely affected. In addition, customer-selected graphics created by desk-top publishing software and printed by inkjet printers provide graphics that are not satisfactorily transferred by commonly known thermal transfer papers. This problem is particularly noticeable when transfer is attempted with a manual iron. Consequently, there is a need for an improved thermal transfer paper, specifically an inkjet printable thermal transfer paper, specifically developed for graphics printed by an inkjet printer. There is also a need for an improved thermal transfer that has improved durability, especially improved durability in the presence of water, yet provides a more flexible, more flexible transfer image. Finally, there is also a need for materials that have a low bleeding tendency when printed on inkjet printers.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems associated with the above-described ink jet printable materials, and more specifically, to print enhancement coating and printability. material
(printable material).

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, some of the difficulties and problems described above are based on 0-100 wt.
-100% by weight of cationic polymer and 0-100% by weight
By providing a print-enhancing coating characterized by comprising a viscosity improver. The coating can also include a non-ionic or cationic surfactant. For example, the surfactant can be a non-ionic surfactant. If a viscosity modifier is present in the coating,
The ink viscosity modifier can be a poly (ethylene oxide) having a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 10,000 to about 200,000. As another example, the poly (ethylene oxide) can have a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 20,000 to about 100,000. In a further example, the ink viscosity modifier can be a low to medium viscosity poly (vinyl alcohol) having a degree of hydrolysis of less than about 90%.

[0008] In some embodiments, the print enhancing coatings of the present invention have a coating weight of about 4 to about 4%, based on the total dry weight of the coating.
It can include about 90% by weight of a polyvalent metal ion salt and about 96 to about 10% by weight of a cationic polymer. The coating may further include a non-ionic or cationic surfactant. For example, the surfactant can be a non-ionic surfactant. The coating can also include an ink viscosity improver, for example, the ink viscosity improver can be a poly (ethylene oxide) having a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 10,000 to about 200,000. As another example, the poly (ethylene oxide) has about 20,0
It can have a weight average molecular weight ranging from 00 to about 100,000. As a further example, the ink viscosity improver may include about 90
It can be a low viscosity to medium viscosity poly (vinyl alcohol) with a degree of hydrolysis of less than 10%. The present invention also provides a printable material, the material comprising a first layer having a first side and a second side, and a second layer covering the first side of the first layer. A layer and a third layer covering the second layer. The second layer includes particles of a thermoplastic polymer having a largest dimension of less than about 50 μm and about 10 to about 50% by weight, based on the weight of the thermoplastic polymer, of a film-forming binder. Further, the third layer contains 0 to 100% by weight of a polyvalent metal ion salt based on the total weight of the third layer,
-100% by weight of cationic polymer and 0-100% by weight
And a viscosity improver.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As used herein, the term "print enhancement" refers to preventing and reducing bleeding in images printed by ink jet printers. "Polyvalent metal ion salt" used in the present invention means an organic or inorganic salt of a polyvalent metal ion. The term "polyvalent metal" refers to the periodic table of elements (new notation)
And metals of groups 2 to 13 of For example, the polyvalent metal can be a Group 2, 12 and 13 metal. In another example, the metal can be magnesium, calcium, zinc or aluminum. The polyvalent metal ion salt is desirably an inorganic salt. As used herein, the term “cationic polymer” refers to a polymer that contains multiple cationic groups. As an example, the cationic polymer is an amide-epichlorohydrin polymer,
Polyacrylamide, polyethyleneimine, polydiallylamine, polyacrylate and polymethacrylate having a cationic functional group (where the ether moiety is 4
Quaternary ammonium group). Desirably, the cationic polymer is a polyacrylate or polymethacrylate in which the ester moiety is a tetraalkylammonium group.

The print enhancing coatings provided by the present invention comprise, based on the total dry weight of the coating, 0-100% by weight of a polyvalent metal ion salt, 0-100% by weight of a cationic polymer, 0-100% by weight. % By weight of a viscosity improver. For example, from about 4 to about 90, based on the total dry weight of the coating.
% By weight of the polyvalent metal ion salt and from about 96 to about 10% by weight of the cationic polymer. The print enhancement coating of the present invention can include a non-ionic or cationic surfactant. Examples of non-ionic surfactants are
Includes (by way of example only) alkyl polyethoxylates, polyethoxylated alkyl phenols, fatty acid ethanolamides, composite polymers of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide and alcohol, and polysiloxane polyethers. Cationic surfactants include (again, for illustration purposes only) tallow triethylammonium chloride. The surfactant is desirably non-ionic. The print enhancement coating of the present invention,
If an ink viscosity modifier is also included, the ink viscosity modifier can be a poly (ethylene oxide) having a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 10,000 to about 200,000. As another example, the poly (ethylene oxide) has about 20,0
It can have a weight average molecular weight ranging from 00 to about 100,000. As yet another example, the ink viscosity improver may comprise about
It can be a low to medium viscosity poly (vinyl alcohol) with a degree of hydrolysis of less than 90%.

The present invention also provides a printable material, the material covering a first layer having a first side and a second side, and covering the first side of the first layer. A second layer; and a third layer covering the second layer. The second layer comprises about 50
from about 10 to about 50, based on the weight of the thermoplastic polymer particles and thermoplastic polymer particles having a largest dimension of less than μm.
% By weight of a film-forming binder. In general, the first layer can be made of any material suitable for a given end use. The first layer is typically a sheet material,
Even more typically it will be of a flexible sheet material. Examples of flexible sheet materials include films, paper, nonwovens and fabrics, foils, and the like. When the printable material of the present invention is used as a thermal transfer material, the first layer will often be made of film or paper. An example of a suitable film is a biaxially stretched film, typically 3 mils (about 76 μm) thick. This type of film is typically used to obtain the transparency of an overhead projector.
When a paper layer is used as the first layer, desirably,
The thickness of the paper will be in the range of about 3 to about 6 mils (about 76 to about 152 μm). A particularly useful paper is a label paper having on one side a film known in the art as a print coating. The print coating is typically a latex binder containing clay and starch, as is also well known in the art. The second layer is usually applied to the side of the paper without the print coating, but the paper can have the print coating on both sides. Thicker or thinner paper can be used, but the paper should have sufficient strength for handling, coating, sheeting and other operations involving manufacturing, and for removal after image transfer. . Other papers that can be used are latex-saturated
It is paper.

As already mentioned, the second layer has a maximum dimension of about
It comprises particles of a thermoplastic polymer of less than 50 μm. Desirably, the particles will have a largest dimension of less than about 20 μm. Generally, the thermoplastic polymer can be any thermoplastic polymer that meets the criteria set forth herein.
For example, the powdered thermoplastic polymer can be a polyolefin, polyester, polyamide, copolyamide, or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. The second layer may also comprise from about 10 to about 10% by weight of the thermoplastic polymer.
It also contains about 50% by weight of a film-forming binder. Desirably, the amount of the binder will range from about 10 to about 30% by weight. In general, any film-forming binder that meets the criteria described herein can be used. Suitable binders are polyacrylates,
Includes polyethylene, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. Desirably, the binder is at about 120 ° C.
At the following temperatures, it will be thermosoftening. The basis weight of the second layer can vary within a range of from about 5 to about 30 g / cm ^2.
Desirably,該坪amount will be from about 10 to about 20 g / cm ^2. The second layer can be applied to the first layer directly or through a third or other layer by means well known to those skilled in the art. For example, this layer is a Meyer rod
d), air knife, and gravure coating (these are raised for illustrative purposes only).

When the printable material of the present invention is used as a heat transferable material, the second layer will have a melting point of about 65 to about 180 ° C. The term "melt," or grammatical variants thereof, is used herein only in a quantitative sense and is not meant to refer to any particular test procedure. As used herein, melting point or melting point range refers to an approximate temperature or range in which a polymer or binder melts and flows under the conditions of a melt-transfer process to provide a substantially smooth film. Means only. Published data relating to the melting behavior of the polymer or binder, such as by the manufacturer, correlates with the melting requirements described herein. However, it should be noted that the true melting point or softening point may be given depending on the properties of the material. For example, materials such as polyolefins and waxes, which are primarily composed of linear polymer molecules, generally melt in a relatively narrow temperature range. Since they are somewhat crystalline below the melting point. If no melting point is given by the manufacturer, the melting point can easily be determined by known methods, for example by differential scanning calorimetry. Many polymers, and especially copolymers, are in an amorphous state due to branching in the polymer chains or in side chain components. These materials begin to soften and gradually flow as their temperature increases. The ring and ball softening point of such materials, as measured by ASTM E-28, is believed to be useful in predicting the behavior of the materials in the present invention. Moreover, the melting points and softening points described are better indicators of performance in the present invention than the chemistry of the polymer or binder.

Finally, the third layer is described herein.
1 is a print enhancement coating of the present invention. Generally, the print enhancing coating or the third layer will have a basis weight of about 0.1 to about 5 g. For thermal transfer applications, the printable material desirably has an ancillary layer, which may be, for example, a release layer or a melt transfer film layer. If desired, multiple ancillary layers can be included. When using such ancillary layer (s), the layer will typically be located between the first and second layers. The melt transfer film layer typically includes a film-forming binder, as described above, or other polymer. This layer is desirably applied by extrusion coating, but other methods can be utilized. The melt transfer film layer is desirably made from polyethylene or a copolymer of ethylene and acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, vinyl acetate or an acrylate such as ethyl acrylate. The polymer desirably comprises
It will have a melt flow rate measured according to ASTM method D-1238 of at least about 30 g / 10 minutes, but this melt flow rate is about 4,000
The value may be as high as g / 10 minutes. More preferably,
The melt flow rate of the polymer will be in the range of about 300 to about 700 g / 10 minutes. Desirably, the melt - The basis weight of the transfer film layer is in the range of from about 10 to about 30 g / m ^2, about 30 to about 50 g / m ²
Would be more desirable.

A release layer can be included instead of or in addition to the melt-transfer film layer. In the former example, the release layer will be located between the first and second layers. In the latter case, the release layer will be located between the first layer and the melt-transfer film layer. The latter is particularly desirable if the thermal transfer is performed with a manual iron. Desirably, the release layer is
A low molecular weight ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer applied from an aqueous dispersion. Desirably, the melt flow rate of the ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer is at least about 200 g /
10 minutes, more preferably in the range of about 800 to about 1200 g / 10 minutes. Such a dispersion may also include a paraffin wax, which is mixed as an emulsion with the ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer dispersion. The paraffin wax emulsion may be any commercially available product, such as Chema wax (C
hemawax® 40 (Chematron Inc., Charlotte, NC). The ratio of the paraffin wax to the copolymer can vary from 0 to 4, with a ratio of about 1 being more desirable.
Desirably, the basis weight of the release layer is from about 2 to about 20 g / m ^2, and more preferably about 6 to about 10 g / m ^2. As explained,
The release coating is easily melted and provides for easy transfer of the image from the first layer onto the fabric by manual ironing, a feature which makes the heating of the image irregular (manual ironing). It is particularly useful when going to the hanging technique (which is quite typical).

The second and optional additional layers are formed by known coating techniques, such as roll, blade, and air knife coating procedures. The resulting material is then dried, for example, by steam-heating drum, air impingement, radiant heating, or some combination thereof. However, some care needs to be taken that the drying temperature is low enough that the thermoplastic polymer present in the second layer does not melt during the drying process. At 80 ° C., 5 minutes or more of air impingement was successfully available. Thermal transfer of the image printed on the printable material of the present invention can be performed by any known means, for example, a manual iron or a thermal transfer press. However, the latter means is preferred. The transfer temperature is typically in the range of about 120 to about 205 ° C, and the transfer is performed for about 5 seconds to about 2 minutes.
A thermal transfer at about 160 ° C. for about 15 seconds generally gives satisfactory results.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be further described with reference to examples. However, such embodiments should not be deemed to limit the spirit and scope of the present invention in any way. Examples 1-23 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 Unless otherwise stated, the first layer in these examples was a commercially available print-coated thermal transfer paper.
The base paper was first coated by melt extrusion with a 1.8 mil (about 46 μm) layer of a 500 melt index ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer (Nucrel® 599). The melt extruded layer was then combined with about 75% by weight of polyamide particles (Orgasol®).
3501 EXDNAT1; a copolymer of ε-caprolactam and laurolactam with an average particle size of 10 μm, having a melting point of 160 ° C., which is manufactured by Elf Atochem (France).
About 19% by weight of an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer (Michem® Prime 4983) and about 4% by weight of a polyethoxylated octylphenol nonionic surfactant ( Coated with a layer containing Triton® X-100, obtained from Rohm & Haas Co., St. Louis, Mo. The Mychem Prime 4983
Is Primacor® 5983, manufactured by The Dow Chemical Company,
The dispersion had a solid content of 25%. The polymer contained 20% acrylic acid and 80% ethylene. The copolymer had a Vicat softening point of 43 ° C and a ring and ball softening point of 100 ° C. The melt flow rate of this copolymer was 500 g / 10 minutes. The basis weight of this coating was about 14 g / m ² .

Using a BC22 photo ink cartridge,
Print tests were performed using a Canon BJ4200 printer. This cartridge allows the user to select color photographic graphics. The test prints used in these examples were images containing female faces and squares colored cyan, yellow, magenta, red, blue, green, and black. Thermal transfer
Performed on 100% cotton T-shirt material. The cleaning test is
Performed in a home laundry using a commercial detergent with a warm / warm cycle. The pressure condition for the thermal transfer was 177 ° C. for 20 seconds. Various print-enhanced coatings were investigated. These are summarized in Table 1 below. The results of these print, transfer and wash tests are summarized in Table 2 below. In Table 2, the control was a sheet of print-coated thermal transfer paper that was not coated with a print enhancement layer.

[0019]

TABLE 1 Air balls Description Example Description 1 0.15 g / m ² of Example (Airvol; R) 523, partially hydrolyzed poly (vinyl alcohol) (5% solution) 2 0.5 g / m ^2. Air ball 523 3 0.3 g / m ² 50/50 blend of air ball 523 with SMA 1440H (a styrene-maleic acid copolymer neutralized with ammonia), 40.3 g / m ² from a 10% by weight solution ² , 50/50 air ball 523 / SMA 1440H 5 0.25 g / m ² of Polyox (registered trademark) N60K [polyethylene oxide], 60.5 g / m ² of 50/50 poly from a 2.5% by weight solution Ox N60K / trisodium phosphate 7 0.5 g / m ² 50/50 polyox N60K / ammonium benzoate 8 0.5 g / m ² 50/50 polyox N60K / aluminum sulfate 16H ₂ O 9 0.1 g / m ² sulfuric acid aluminum _{· 16H 2 O 10 0.7 g /} m 2 of aluminum sulfate _{· 16H 2 O 11 0.4 g /} m 2 Arco stat (Alcostat; registered trademark) 567 [Po (Trimethylene Le ethylammonium methacrylate)], chlorine salts, Allied colloid's of (Allied Colloids) Ltd. 12 0.8 g / m ² Arco Stat 567 13 7.5 total solid concentration of wt%, Polyox N60K, alkoxycarbonyl Stat 567 and A blend of Triton® X-100 in a 0.8 / 1.0 / 0.8 weight ratio, 2.5 g / m ² 14 10% by weight total solids content of Airball 523, Alcostat 567 and Triton X-100. 1/1 / 0.2 weight ratio blend, 3 g / m ² 15 Calcium chloride 4H ₂ O, 1.5 g / m ² 16 Magnesium acetate 6H ₂ O and Triton X-100, 1 / 0.2, 1.5 g / m ² 17 Zinc acetate 2H ₂ O, 1.5 g / m ² 18 2/1 / 0.2 weight ratio of 2.2 g / m ² hydrated calcium chloride / alcostat 5667, Triton X-100 193 3 g / m ² 1 Hydrated calcium chloride / Alcostat 567, Triton X-100 20/1 g / m ² in 1/1 / 0.1 weight ratio of Alcosta in 1/11 // 0.1 / 0.02 weight ratio Tsu DOO 567, air ball 523, zinc acetate · 2H ₂ O and Triton X-100 21 of ^{3 g / m 2 1/1} / 0.3 / 0.15 weight ratio, alkoxycarbonyl stat 567, air ball 523, zinc acetate · 2H ₂ O and Triton X-100 22 1.5 g / m ² in 1 / 0.1 weight ratio of Alcostat 567 and Triton X-100 23 1.5 g / m ² in 1 / 0.6 weight ratio of aluminum sulfate 16H ₂ O and alcohol Stat 567 Comparative Example 1 This is a comparative example without using an overcoat. The paper was extrusion coated with 0.7 mil (about 18 μm) Nucrel® 599. The print coat was a 100/10/10/5 by weight blend of dispersed Orgasol® 3501, EXD NAT 1, Airball 523, Alcostat 567 and Triton X-100. . Comparative Example 2 This comparative example is similar to Comparative Example 1, except that the Nucleel 599 film had a thickness of 1.5 mils (about 38 μm).

[0020]

Table 2: Example of print, transfer and cleaning test results Print resolution ^a print color color shift ^b transfer cleaning test control very poor gray tinged green good --- 1 poor gray tinged green good good 2 fairly gray Green Good Good 3 Poor Grayish green Good Good 4 Fair Grayish green Good Good 5 Good Good Green Good Good 6 Good Good Green Good Good 7 Good Reddish green Good Good 8 Good Good Green Good Good 9 Good Grayish yellow good good ^c 10 good good yellow good good ^c 11 tolerably good very faint yellow good good 12 good good very faint yellow good good 13 very good good very faint yellow good good 14 very good good very faint yellow good none very good 15 d blue good poor ^d 16 poor ^e good - very poor - 17 Note ^f good Ri pale yellow poor good 18 good blue-green good passable 19 excellent blue faint green good excellent 20 good good good good tolerably 21 Good Good Good Good Good 22 Good Good Good Good good 23 good good yellow good good ^g Comparative Example 1 Good Good Fine Kana yellow Good Very poor Comparative Example 2 Good Good Faint yellow Good Very poor a: Resolution as a function of color bleeding (the larger the bleeding, the lower the resolution). b: after transfer; c: this yellow color remains after washing. d: Dye bleeding stopped for all but the cyan dye, which left a blue halation. The sample turned strong blue after washing. e: Bleeding of the yellow dye stopped, but bleeding occurred in other colors. f: Bleeding of black and yellow dyes stopped, but bleeding occurred in other colors. g: The yellow color disappeared after washing, giving excellent results.

Example 24 In this example, 7 mil (about 178 μm) thick ink jet paper was used, which was extrusion coated with polyethylene on both sides and had a glossy surface and a matte back. This paper was obtained from Jen Coat, Inc., Westfield, Mass. The surface of this paper is coated with 100/25/5/5 parts by weight of Orgasol (registered trademark) 3501 EXD NAT 1, Michem (registered trademark) Prime 4983, Airball (registered trademark) 52
3 and SMA 1440H (styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer dispersion from Elf Atochem). The basis weight of this coating was about 16 g / m ² . The total solids content of this coating was 27% by weight. 100/100/5 parts by weight Alcostat (registered trademark) 567, Airball 523 and Tergitol (registered trademark)
A second coating was applied using a solution of 15-S-9, a secondary alcohol polyethoxylate. The resulting material was printed in a Hix thermal transfer press using 0.5 Mylar polyester film on the print side and release paper on the back side, and then melted at about 132 ° C for 30 seconds. This image was obtained from Examples 1 to 23 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2.
Was the same as that used in Example 1. The image was glossy, water resistant, and similar to a totally glossy photograph.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, alterations, modifications, and equivalents of these embodiments will readily occur to those skilled in the art after understanding the foregoing. There will be. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be understood to be within the scope of the following claims and any equivalents thereof.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Leonard Eugene Zelazoski, Georgia, USA 30144 Kenissaw Junction Drive 3785 (72) Inventor Francis Joseph Clonzer, United States of America 30188 Woodstock Avery Creek Drive 1025

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A polyvalent metal ion salt of from 0 to 100% by weight, based on the total dry weight of the print enhancing coating,
Print enhancement coating, characterized in that it comprises by weight of a cationic polymer and from 0 to 100% by weight of a viscosity improver. 2. The print-enhancing coating of claim 1, further comprising a nonionic or cationic surfactant. 3. The print enhancing coating according to claim 1, wherein said surfactant is a non-ionic surfactant. 4. The print enhancement coating of claim 1, further comprising an ink viscosity improver. 5. The ink viscosity improver according to claim 5, wherein the ink viscosity improver is from about 10,000 to about 20.
5. The print enhancement coating of claim 4, wherein the coating is a poly (ethylene oxide) having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 0,000. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said poly (ethylene oxide) comprises about 2
Having a weight average molecular weight ranging from 0,000 to about 100,000;
A print enhancement coating according to claim 5. 7. The print enhancement coating of claim 4, wherein said ink viscosity improver is a low to medium viscosity poly (vinyl alcohol) having a degree of hydrolysis of less than about 90%. 8. A polyvalent metal ion salt comprising from about 4% to about 90% by weight, based on the total dry weight of the print enhancing coating;
A print enhancing coating comprising about 10% by weight of a cationic polymer. 9. The print enhancing coating of claim 8, further comprising a nonionic or cationic surfactant. 10. The print enhancing coating according to claim 9, wherein the surfactant is a non-ionic surfactant. 11. The print enhancing coating of claim 8, further comprising an ink viscosity improver. 12. The ink viscosity improver according to claim 10, wherein the ink viscosity improver is about 10,000 to about 20.
12. The print enhancing coating of claim 11, which is a poly (ethylene oxide) having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 0,000. 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the poly (ethylene oxide) comprises about 2
Having a weight average molecular weight ranging from 0,000 to about 100,000;
13. The print enhancing coating of claim 12. 14. The print enhancement coating of claim 8, wherein the ink viscosity modifier is a low to medium viscosity poly (vinyl alcohol) having a degree of hydrolysis of less than about 90%. 15. A first layer having a first side and a second side, a second layer covering the first side of the first layer, and a third layer covering the second layer. And the second layer comprises about 50
a particle of a thermoplastic polymer having a largest dimension of less than μm and from about 10 to about 50% by weight, based on the weight of the thermoplastic polymer, of a film-forming binder, and wherein the third layer comprises 0-100 based on total dry weight
A printable material comprising, by weight, a polyvalent metal ion salt and 0 to 100% by weight of a cationic polymer. 16. The printable material according to claim 15, further comprising a nonionic or cationic surfactant. 17. The printable material according to claim 16, wherein the surfactant is a non-ionic surfactant. 18. The printable material according to claim 15, further comprising an ink viscosity improver. 19. The method according to claim 19, wherein the ink viscosity improver is used in an amount of about 10,000 to about 20.
19. The printable material according to claim 18, which is a poly (ethylene oxide) having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 0,000. 20. The poly (ethylene oxide) comprises about 2
Having a weight average molecular weight ranging from 0,000 to about 100,000;
20. The printable material according to claim 19. 21. The printable material of claim 18, wherein the ink viscosity modifier is a low to medium viscosity poly (vinyl alcohol) having a degree of hydrolysis of less than about 90%.