JPH10329414A - Recording medium for ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an excellent projecting quality level with high light transmission properties in a recording medium for an OHP by forming a dye fixing layer containing interlayer compound for fixing and holding water soluble dye in ink by intercalation reaction, roughly pulverized clay and bonding agent on a base material. SOLUTION: A base material 1 can be arbitrarily selected from paper, metal or plastic film, and needs to have light transmission properties for its application with an OHP. A dye fixing layer 2 contains interlayer compound for fixing and holding water soluble dye in ink by intercalation reaction, roughly pulverized clay and bonding agent. The clay becomes filler of the fixing layer, is draped with water soluble ink not to disturb fixing to the interlayer compound. And the clay needs to have low friction and self-lubricity. In addition to the interlayer compound, the clay is added to increase the clay content, and hence higher dye fixability can be incorporated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording medium for an ink jet printer having a dye fixing layer for fixing and retaining a water-soluble dye in ink by an intercalation reaction based on an ion exchange action.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one method of outputting an image such as a document or an image created by a personal computer or the like to a recording medium such as paper or an overhead projector (hereinafter referred to as OHP) film, an ink jet recording system is used. I have.

[0003] This ink jet recording system uses an electric field,
In this method, a solution ink is ejected from a nozzle toward a recording medium by using heat, pressure, or the like as a driving source, thereby forming an image on the recording medium. Such an ink jet recording method has the advantages of low noise, low running cost, image formation on plain paper, and no waste such as ink ribbon, and has been recently used in offices and homes. Is expanding.

[0004] However, the ink jet recording method has a drawback that the fixability of an image formed on a recording medium, particularly water resistance and light resistance are poor.

This is for the following reason. That is,
In general, a water-soluble dye is used as a dye of an ink for an ink jet printer, and at the time of printing, an ink composed of such a water-soluble dye is ejected toward a recording medium,
After the ink is dried, the water-soluble dye remains on the recording medium and is held on the recording medium by Van der Waals force or hydrogen bonding, and the image is fixed. Therefore, when a solvent such as water having a high affinity for the water-soluble dye is supplied onto the image, the dye is eluted and the image is blurred.

In addition, when heat energy or water vapor is supplied to a water-soluble dye which forms an image on a recording medium, such that van der Waals force and hydrogen bonding between the dye and the recording medium are canceled. Also, the dye moves, and the image is blurred. Further, when a dye forming an image is exposed to light such as ultraviolet rays, the dye itself may be destroyed, and the image may be discolored, discolored or reduced in density.

In order to improve the water resistance and light resistance of an image formed by such an ink jet recording method,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-68925 proposes a technique for fixing a dye to an interlayer compound using an intercalation reaction based on an ion exchange action.

According to this proposal, the fixability is improved, and the fading and discoloration of an image during storage are improved as compared with a recording medium that does not use an intercalation reaction.

[0009]

However, although high fixability can be imparted, printed matter cannot be superimposed unless left for a long time because stickiness after printing is large because a solvent having low volatility remains. Further, as a current problem, the recording media stick to each other before printing, a plurality of ink jet recording media set in a paper feed tray of the printer are stuck to each other, and two or more recording media are simultaneously fed and overlapped. In some cases, running troubles occurred. Also, even after printing, it sometimes sticks when stored in layers.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and has been proposed in a recording medium for an ink jet printer having an interlayer compound for fixing and retaining a water-soluble dye by an intercalation reaction. When forming an image with fixability comparable to the image, it provides smooth transportability without double running, and is capable of forming an image with excellent ink absorption, water resistance, and color development. It is intended to provide a recording medium. Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium for OHP using a transparent base material and to obtain excellent projection quality with high light transmittance.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A recording medium for an ink jet printer according to the present invention contains an interlayer compound for fixing and retaining a water-soluble dye in an ink by an intercalation reaction, coarsely ground clay, and a binder. The dye fixing layer is formed on a substrate.

Further, a recording medium for an ink jet printer according to the present invention has a dye fixing layer formed on a base material, and an ink absorbing layer formed of an ink absorbing resin formed on the dye fixing layer. The dye fixing layer contains an interlayer compound for fixing and retaining the water-soluble dye in the ink by an intercalation reaction, and a binder. At least one of the dye fixing layer and the ink absorbing layer contains a coarsely ground clay.

By using the coarsely ground clay as a filler, irregularities are formed on the surface of the recording medium, and the adhesion between the recording media is eliminated.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a recording medium for an ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied.

The recording medium for an ink jet printer according to the present invention has a substrate 1 and a dye fixing layer 2.

The substrate 1 can be arbitrarily selected from paper, synthetic paper, plastic paper, metal plate, metal foil, plastic film on which aluminum or the like is deposited, and the like. In addition,
Applications such as OHP need to be light-transmitting.

The dye fixing layer 2 contains an interlayer compound for fixing and retaining a water-soluble dye in the ink by an intercalation reaction, coarsely ground clay, and a binder.

In the present invention, a coarsely ground clay refers to a ground clay whose particle size is distributed.

The coarsely ground clay serves as a filler for the dye fixing layer, and is required to have a low friction and self-lubricating property without being hindered from being fixed to the interlayer compound and being compatible with the water-soluble ink.

The coarsely ground clay has a layered structure,
It is preferable to use a layered inorganic polymer having exchangeable ions between the hydrophilic layers. Specific examples include hydrotalcite group minerals having exchangeable anions between layers.

The particle size of the coarsely ground clay is 0.5 μm to 5.
It is preferable that the particles are distributed in a range of 0 μm. As shown in FIG. 2, large irregularities are formed on the surface of the recording medium 14 for an inkjet printer by the coarsely crushed clay 13.
Due to this unevenness, the recording medium 1 for an ink jet printer
4 and other recording media 15 for an ink jet printer
Can be separated from the back surface of the device. This makes it possible to improve the sticking.

If the particle diameter is smaller than 0.5 μm, the effect of the surface irregularities is not sufficient, and the recording media stick to each other. Before printing, stickiness is large, a plurality of recording media set in a paper feed tray of the printer are stuck together, and a double running trouble occurs in which two or more recording media are simultaneously fed. Also, after printing, sticking or set-off occurs when touching with a finger or storing multiple sheets in a pile. On the other hand, if the particle size is larger than 5.0 μm, the quality such as the transparency of the OHP recording medium is deteriorated.

The coarsely ground clay is preferably added in an amount of 1.0 to 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder. If the amount of the coarsely ground clay is less than 1.0 part by weight, the effect of the surface unevenness is not sufficient, and the recording media stick to each other. Before printing, stickiness is large, a plurality of recording media set in a paper feed tray of the printer are stuck together, and a double running trouble occurs in which two or more recording media are simultaneously fed. Also, after printing, sticking or set-off occurs when touching with a finger or storing multiple sheets in a pile. Conversely, if it exceeds 30% by weight, OHP
Quality such as transparency of the recording medium is reduced.

The dye fixing layer of the recording medium for an ink jet printer according to the present invention may have a higher dye fixing property because the clay content is increased by adding coarsely ground clay in addition to the interlayer compound. it can. The thickness of the dye fixing layer is usually 2 μm to 40 μm, preferably 4 μm to 15 μm.
μm.

The recording medium for an ink jet printer according to the present invention may have a substrate 21, a dye fixing layer 22, and an ink absorbing layer 23, as shown in FIG. The ink absorbing layer 23 temporarily receives the attached ink and transmits it to the dye fixing layer 22, and is made of an ink absorbing resin. In this case, the effect of the present invention can be obtained when at least one of the dye fixing layer 22 and the ink absorbing layer 23 contains coarsely ground clay.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described.

A recording medium for an ink jet printer was manufactured by the following method.

Example 1 5.0 g of a binder and 5.0 g of an intercalation compound were added to 100 g of a solvent, and a dispersion treatment was carried out for 5 hours with a bead mill to obtain a coating for a dye fixing layer.

Here, the solvent is ethyl alcohol 20
g and 80 g of water. As the binder, GL-05 manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Company was used as polyvinyl alcohol.

As the intercalation compound, hydrotalcite treated with 10 mg equivalent of malic acid was used.

Separately, the clay was coarsely pulverized in a mixed solvent of 5 g of water and 5 g of ethyl alcohol to give a particle diameter of 0.1 g.
A coarsely ground clay of 5 μm to 5.0 μm was prepared.

Here, 10 mg of malic acid is added to the clay.
Hydrotalcite subjected to equivalent adsorption treatment was used.

0.025 g of coarsely ground clay having a particle size of 0.5 μm to 5.0 μm was added to the coating for the dye fixing layer.

The obtained dye fixing layer coating material was applied on a substrate with a wire bar so as to have a dry coating thickness of 6 μm, and then dried at 100 ° C. for 1 minute to form a dye fixing layer.

Here, Lumirror T-60 manufactured by Toray Co., Ltd. was used as a substrate as a transparent polyester film having a thickness of 125 μm.

Further, 0.3 g of an ink-absorbing resin was dissolved in 10 g of a solvent to prepare a paint for an ink-absorbing layer.
The ink absorbing layer paint is applied on the dye fixing layer with a wire bar so as to have a dry coating thickness of 1.5 μm and then dried,
An ink absorbing layer was formed, and a recording medium for an inkjet printer was manufactured.

Here, the solvent is ethyl alcohol 5.
A mixed solvent of 0 g and 5.0 g of water was used. HPC-L manufactured by Tokuyama Soda was used as the hydroxypropylcellulose resin as the ink absorbing resin.

<Example 2> The particle diameter was 0.5 µm to 5.0.
A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0.025 g of coarsely ground clay having a thickness of μm was added to the coating material for the ink absorbing layer.

Example 3 The particle size was 0.5 μm to 5.0.
A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0.025 g of coarsely ground clay having a thickness of μm was added to both the paint for the dye fixing layer and the paint for the ink absorbing layer.

Example 4 The particle size was 0.5 μm to 5.0.
A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0.5 g of coarsely ground clay having a particle size of 0.5 μm was added to the coating material for the dye fixing layer.

Example 5: Particle size of 0.5 μm to 5.0
A recording medium for an ink-jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that 0.5 g of coarsely ground clay of 0.5 μm was added to the coating material for the ink absorbing layer.

Example 6: Particle size of 0.5 μm to 5.0
Example 1 except that 0.5 g of coarsely ground clay of .mu.m was added to both the paint for the dye fixing layer and the paint for the ink absorbing layer.
In the same manner as in the above, a recording medium for an ink jet printer was produced.

Example 7: Particle size of 0.5 μm to 5.0
A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 2.5 g of coarsely ground clay having a thickness of μm was added to the coating material for the dye fixing layer.

Example 8: Particle size of 0.5 μm to 5.0
A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 2.5 g of coarsely ground clay having a thickness of μm was added to the coating material for the ink absorbing layer.

<Example 9> The particle diameter was 0.5 μm to 5.0.
Example 1 except that 2.5 g of a coarsely ground clay of μm was added to both the paint for the dye fixing layer and the paint for the ink absorbing layer.
In the same manner as in the above, a recording medium for an ink jet printer was produced.

<Comparative Example 1> 5.0 g of a binder and 5.0 g of an interlayer compound were added to 100 g of a solvent, and a dispersion treatment was carried out for 5 hours using a bead mill to obtain a coating for a dye fixing layer.

Here, the solvent is ethyl alcohol 20
g and 80 g of water. As the binder, GL-05 manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Company was used as polyvinyl alcohol.

As the intercalation compound, hydrotalcite treated with 10 mg equivalent of malic acid was used.

The obtained dye fixing layer coating material was applied on a substrate by a wire bar so that the dry coating thickness was 6 μm, and then dried at 100 ° C. for 1 minute to form a dye fixing layer.

Here, Lumirror T-60 manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc. was used as a transparent polyester film having a thickness of 125 μm as a base material.

Further, 0.3 g of an ink-absorbing resin was dissolved in 10 g of a solvent to prepare a paint for an ink-absorbing layer.
The ink absorbing layer paint is applied on the dye fixing layer with a wire bar so as to have a dry coating thickness of 1.5 μm and then dried,
An ink absorbing layer was formed, and a recording medium for an inkjet printer was manufactured.

Here, the solvent is ethyl alcohol 5.
A mixed solvent of 0 g and 5.0 g of water was used. HPC-L manufactured by Tokuyama Soda was used as the hydroxypropylcellulose resin as the ink absorbing resin.

<Comparative Example 2> 5.0 g of a binder and 5.0 g of an interlayer compound were added to 100 g of a solvent, and a dispersion treatment was performed for 5 hours using a bead mill to obtain a coating material for a dye fixing layer.

Here, ethyl alcohol 20 was used as the solvent.
g and 80 g of water. As the binder, GL-05 manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Company was used as polyvinyl alcohol.

As the intercalation compound, hydrotalcite treated with 10 mg equivalent of malic acid was used.

Separately, the clay was pulverized in a mixed solvent of 5 g of water and 5 g of ethyl alcohol to prepare a pulverized clay having an average particle diameter of 0.3 μm.

Here, 10 mg of malic acid was added to the clay.
Hydrotalcite subjected to equivalent adsorption treatment was used.

Crushed clay having an average particle size of 0.3 μm
5 g was added to the coating for the dye fixing layer.

The obtained dye fixing layer paint was applied on a substrate by a wire bar so that the dry coating thickness was 6 μm, and then dried at 100 ° C. for 1 minute to form a dye fixing layer.

Here, Lumirror T-60 manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc. was used as a transparent polyester film having a thickness of 125 μm.

Further, 0.3 g of an ink-absorbing resin was dissolved in 10 g of a solvent to prepare a paint for an ink-absorbing layer.
The ink absorbing layer paint is applied on the dye fixing layer with a wire bar so as to have a dry coating thickness of 1.5 μm and then dried,
An ink absorbing layer was formed, and a recording medium for an inkjet printer was manufactured.

Here, the solvent is ethyl alcohol 5.
A mixed solvent of 0 g and 5.0 g of water was used. HPC-L manufactured by Tokuyama Soda was used as the hydroxypropylcellulose resin as the ink absorbing resin.

Comparative Example 3 A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2 except that 0.5 g of pulverized clay having an average particle diameter of 0.3 μm was added to the paint for the ink absorbing layer.

Comparative Example 4 The procedure of Comparative Example 2 was repeated, except that 0.5 g of pulverized clay having an average particle diameter of 0.3 μm was added to both the paint for the dye fixing layer and the paint for the ink absorbing layer. A recording medium for an ink jet printer was manufactured.

Comparative Example 5 A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2, except that 0.5 g of pulverized clay having an average particle diameter of 10.0 μm was added to the coating material for the dye fixing layer.

Comparative Example 6 A recording medium for an ink jet printer was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2, except that 0.5 g of pulverized clay having an average particle diameter of 10.0 μm was added to the paint for the ink absorbing layer.

Comparative Example 7 The procedure of Comparative Example 2 was repeated except that 0.5 g of ground clay having an average particle diameter of 10.0 μm was added to both the paint for the dye fixing layer and the paint for the ink absorbing layer. A recording medium for an ink jet printer was manufactured.

Evaluation of Properties The recording medium for an ink jet printer produced as described above was evaluated for each of the properties of transportability, ink absorption, water resistance, dye fixability, image density, transparency and light resistance. went. In addition, this evaluation experiment was performed under the environment of a temperature of 15 ° C. and a humidity of 25%.

Regarding the transportability, 20 recording media were stacked and set on a paper feed tray of an ink jet printer.
The transportability in continuous printing was visually observed.

The case where continuous printing of 20 sheets was possible was evaluated as ○, and the case where continuous printing was impossible during the course of printing and the continuous printing of 20 sheets was impossible was evaluated as x.

Regarding the ink absorptivity, when an image was formed, it was visually observed whether or not the ink penetrated into the recording medium and was absorbed.

When the ink penetrated into the recording medium and was absorbed, it was evaluated as ○, and when the ink did not penetrate into the recording medium and was not absorbed, it was evaluated as ×.

The water resistance of the recording medium on which an image was formed was immersed in water for 10 minutes, then pulled out of the water, and the change in the dye fixing layer was visually observed and evaluated.

When no change was observed in the dye fixing layer,
The case where the dye fixing layer was peeled off or dissolved from the substrate and could not be reused as a recording medium for an ink jet printer was evaluated as x.

The dye fixability was evaluated by visually observing changes in the image during the water resistance test.

The case where the image did not change was evaluated as ○, the case where the image was blurred but there was no practical problem was rated as △, and the case where the image flowed or blurred was marked as x.

Regarding the print density, the reflection density of the solid printed portion of the image as a high density portion was measured by a TR924 type Macbeth densitometer. The reflection density is preferably 2.2 or more for each color of yellow, magenta, and cyan from the viewpoint of the saturation of the image.

Regarding the transparency, the light transmittance of the recording medium for an ink jet printer on which no image was formed was determined by comparing the light transmittance of a recording medium for an ink jet printer without forming a dye fixing layer with that of a U-3400 model manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd. It was measured using a meter. The light transmittance is desirably 95% or more from the viewpoint of projection quality as an OHP.

Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the recording media for each ink jet printer.

[0081]

[Table 1]

In Comparative Example 1 in which no coarsely ground clay was added, transportability and light resistance were poor.

In Comparative Examples 2 to 4 in which pulverized clay having an average particle diameter of 0.3 μm was added, the effect of the unevenness formed on the recording medium surface was not sufficient, and the transportability was poor. Also, the image density and transparency were poor.

In Comparative Examples 5 to 7 in which pulverized clay having an average particle diameter of 10.0 μm was added, the transportability was good, but the image density was poor, and the transparency was particularly poor.

On the other hand, the particle diameter is 0.5 μm to 5.0 μm.
In Examples 1 to 9 in which coarsely ground clay of μm was added, a recording medium for an ink jet printer having excellent transportability, light resistance, and transparency was obtained.

Therefore, the particle diameter is 0.5 μm to 5.0.
It has been found preferable to add coarsely ground clay, distributed in the range of μm.

However, as in Examples 1 to 3, when the addition amount of the coarsely ground clay is as small as 0.5 part by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder, unevenness formed on the surface of the recording medium is reduced. The effect was small and the transportability was not sufficient.

Further, as in Examples 7 to 9, the addition amount of the coarsely ground clay was 50 to 100 parts by weight of the binder.
When the amount was too large, the transparency deteriorated.

On the other hand, the amount of the coarsely ground clay
In Examples 4 to 6 in which 10 parts by weight was used relative to 00 parts by weight, a recording medium having excellent transportability and transparency and excellent in all other characteristics was obtained.

Thus, it was found that the addition amount of the coarsely ground clay is preferably about 1.0 to 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder.

[0091]

As is apparent from the above description, the recording medium for an ink jet printer according to the present invention is free from adhesion between recording media and has excellent transportability. Further, the color developability was improved while maintaining sufficient ink absorbency, water resistance and ink fixability of the recording medium for an ink jet printer. Further, the OHP recording medium to which the present invention is applied has high light transmittance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of a recording medium for an inkjet printer to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a recording medium for an inkjet printer to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of a recording medium for an inkjet printer to which the present invention has been applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,11,21 base material, 2,12,22 dye fixing layer, 13 coarse ground clay, 23 ink absorbing layer

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A dye fixing layer containing an interlayer compound for fixing and retaining a water-soluble dye in an ink by an intercalation reaction, a coarsely ground clay, and a binder is formed on a substrate. Recording medium for an ink jet printer. 2. The particle size of the coarsely ground clay is 0.5 μm.
2. A recording medium for an ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is distributed in a range of m to 5.0 [mu] m. 3. A dye fixing layer formed on a base material, containing an interlayer compound for fixing and retaining a water-soluble dye in an ink by an intercalation reaction, and a binder, and formed on the dye fixing layer. A recording medium for an ink jet printer, comprising: an ink absorbing layer made of an ink absorbing resin; and at least one of the dye fixing layer and the ink absorbing layer contains coarsely ground clay. 4. The coarsely ground clay has a particle size of 0.5 μm.
4. The recording medium for an ink jet printer according to claim 3, wherein the recording medium is distributed in a range of m to 5.0 [mu] m.