JPH11314354A - Method for forming image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image having excellent character quality level and fixability. SOLUTION: The method for forming an image comprise the steps of (A) adhering a first treating liquid to an image forming area on a recording medium, (B) forming an image on the medium with an in containing the first liquid and a water-soluble dye or pigment having a different polarity as a coloring material by an ink jet recording type, and (C) adhering a second treating liquid having the same polarity as that of the first liquid to the image forming area in such a manner that the steps (A), (B) and (C) are executed in this order.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method, and more particularly to an image forming method by an ink jet recording method capable of obtaining a high-quality image on a recording material at a high speed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet recording methods have been used for printers and copiers because of their low noise, low running cost, easy downsizing of the apparatus and easy colorization. However, when an image is obtained on a recording material called a so-called plain paper by these recording apparatuses to which the ink jet recording method is applied, the water resistance of the image is insufficient, or when a color image is obtained, It is not possible to achieve both high-density images without feathering and images without bleeding between colors, and with good image fastness,
In addition, a good quality color image was not obtained.

In recent years, as a method for improving the water resistance of an image, an ink in which a color material contained in the ink has water resistance has been put to practical use in recent years. However, the water resistance is still insufficient, and since the ink is hardly dissolved in water after drying in principle, nozzle clogging of the recording head is likely to occur, and the apparatus configuration is complicated to prevent this. There was a disadvantage that it became.

[0004] In addition, many techniques for improving the robustness of a recording material have been disclosed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
Japanese Patent No. 24486 discloses a technique in which a dye is raked and fixed by post-processing the dye in order to enhance the wet fastness of the dye.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-43733 discloses a method of recording by using two or more components which, when they come into contact with each other, increase in film forming ability at room temperature or when heated, using an ink jet recording method. A printed material is obtained in which a film is formed which is tightly adhered by contact of each component on a recording medium. JP-A-55-150396 also discloses a method of applying a water-resistant agent for forming a lake with a dye after inkjet recording of an aqueous dye ink.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-128862 discloses an ink jet recording method in which an image position to be recorded is identified in advance and a recording ink and a processing liquid are superimposed and recorded. Draw with
A method is disclosed in which a processing liquid is superimposed on a previously drawn recording ink, or a recording ink is superimposed on a previously drawn processing liquid, and a processing liquid is further superimposed.

[0007]

However, in the case of such a system in which the dye is raked to exhibit water resistance, it is inevitable to achieve good ink fixability in various recording media and recording environments. Is difficult and not yet complete. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method capable of obtaining an image having excellent character quality and fixability even in various recording media and environments.

[0008]

That is, according to the present invention, there is provided a step (A) of attaching a first processing liquid to an image forming area on a recording medium, wherein a water-soluble coloring material having a polarity different from that of the first processing liquid is used. A step (B) of forming an image on a recording medium using an ink containing a dye or a pigment by an inkjet recording method;
An image forming method including a step (C) of attaching a second processing liquid having the same polarity as the first processing liquid to the image forming area,
An image forming method comprising performing the steps in the order of (A), (B), and (C).

In the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of treatment liquids have different permeability. It is preferable that the second processing liquid has higher permeability than the first processing liquid.

It is preferable to provide an area where the processing liquid is not discharged in a part of the outermost part of the image forming area. It is preferable that the region in which the processing liquid is not discharged is between the outermost portion of the image forming region and the inside of five pixels. It is preferable that the region where the processing liquid is not discharged is between two pixels inside from the outermost edge of the image forming region. It is preferable that the processing liquid that is not discharged to provide a region where the processing liquid is not discharged is the second processing liquid.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In an image forming method according to the present invention, a step (A) of adhering a first processing liquid to an image forming area on a recording medium, a water-soluble coloring material having a different polarity from the first processing liquid. A step (B) of forming an image on a recording medium using an ink containing a dye or a pigment by an inkjet recording method;
An image forming method including a step (C) of attaching a second processing liquid having the same polarity as the first processing liquid to the image forming area,
The process is performed in the order of (A), (B), and (C).

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an image having high quality and excellent water resistance on various recording media. This is because the colorant is first trapped on the surface of the recording medium by the reaction between the first processing liquid and the recording ink, and then the reaction product is slightly moved from the surface of the recording medium by the second processing liquid. Sink inside. At this time, the ink has already been thickened by the first processing liquid and the size of the coloring material has been increased, so that the paper does not penetrate further inside and the fixing is completed near the surface.

First, the processing liquid used in the present invention will be described. The processing liquid is: 1. Improve the water resistance of recorded images. 2. Improve the print quality of the recorded image. There is no limitation as long as it has a function of reducing the bleeding of different colors between different colors of a recorded image, but a compound having a polarity different from the polarity of the coloring material in the ink for recording the image is essential.

First, the case where the coloring material is anionic will be described. In this case, the treatment liquid uses a cationic substance. The cationic substance in the treatment liquid is not particularly limited as long as it has a cationic group in the molecule, but among them, has a plurality of cationic groups more than the compound having one cationic group in the molecule Compounds are preferred. When they are used in combination, the effect may be particularly large.

Compounds having one cationic group in the molecule include compounds of salts of primary, secondary and tertiary amines,
Specifically, hydrochlorides such as laurylamine, cocoamine, stearylamine, and rosinamine; quaternary ammonium compounds, specifically, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, lauryltrimethylammonium chloride, lauryldimethylbenzylammonium chloride, and benzyltributylammonium Chloride, benzalkonium chloride, etc .; amphoteric surfactants showing a cationic property in a certain pH range, specifically, amino acid-type amphoteric surfactants, betaine-type compounds, etc. adjusted to have an isoelectric point or less, Of course, it is not limited to these. And, among these compounds, quaternary ammonium type compounds are particularly preferable.

As the compound having a plurality of cationic groups, a compound having a plurality of amino groups in a molecule is preferable. Specific compounds include cationic oligomers and polymers. Specific monomer units include, but are not limited to, vinylamine, allylamine, vinylpyridine, vinylimidazole, N, N-dimethylaminoacrylamide, ethyleneimine, 2-oxazoline, and the like.

In addition to the above-mentioned homopolymers of cationic monomer units, copolymers with non-ionic monomer units, non-ionic oligomers, and those obtained by polymerizing a part of the polymer are also problematic. Absent.

Among these compounds, oligomers containing ethyleneimine as a unit, oligomers containing allylamine as a unit, and polymers are particularly preferable. These cationic compounds are used in the treatment liquid in the range of 1 to 10% by weight, preferably 1 to 5% by weight.

Further, in the present invention, in order to maximize the effect, it is desirable to make the permeability of a plurality of processing liquids different from each other. It is more preferable to increase the permeability of the processing liquid used before the ink for recording an image.

The evaluation of the permeability may be performed by, for example, dropping 1 microliter on paper using a microsyringe and measuring how long the ink droplet permeates the paper. Preferably, when using Xerox copy paper, the permeation time of the first processing liquid is 120 seconds or more, and the permeation time of the second processing liquid is about 20 seconds or less.

In the present invention, an anionic ink is used as an ink for recording an image. Examples of the anionic coloring material contained in the ink include a water-soluble dye and an anion-dispersed pigment.

The ink used in the present invention further comprises water, a water-soluble organic solvent, and other components such as a viscosity adjuster, a pH adjuster, a fungicide, a neutral and anionic surfactant. , An antioxidant and the like are included as necessary.

The water-soluble dye having an anionic group used in the present invention includes a color index (COLOUH).
R INDEX), water-soluble acid dyes described in
There is no particular limitation as long as it is a direct dye or a reactive dye. Also,
There is no particular limitation on dyes not described in the color index as long as they have an anionic group such as a sulfone group and a carboxyl group. The water-soluble dyes mentioned here naturally include those having a pH dependence of solubility. These dyes are 1 to 10% by weight in the ink,
Preferably, it is used in the range of 1 to 5% by weight.

Next, the pigment will be described. The pigment used for the coloring material of the ink in the present invention is based on the total weight of the ink.
1 to 20% by weight, preferably 2 to 1.2% by weight
Used in the range.

As a specific example of the pigment used in the present invention, carbon black may be used for a black ink. For example, carbon black produced by a furnace method or a channel method may be used. Has a primary particle diameter of 15 to 40 μm and a specific surface area of 50 by the BET method.
~ 300m ² / g, DBP oil absorption 40 ~ 150m1 /
Those having characteristics such as 100 g, a volatile content of 0.5 to 10%, and a pH value of 2 to 9 are preferably used. As a commercially available product having such characteristics, for example, 2300,
No. 900, MCF88, No. 33, no. 40,
No. 45, no. 52, MA7, MA8, No. 22
00B (manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei), RAVEN255 (manufactured by Columbia), REGAL 400R, REGAL
330R, REGAL 660R, MOGUL L (manufactured by Cabot), ColorBlack FW1, C
OLOR Black FW18, Color Bla
ck S170, Color Black S150,
Printex 35 and Printex U (all manufactured by Degussa) and the like can be preferably used.

Examples of the pigment used for the yellow ink include C.I. I. Pigment Yellow
1, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 2,
C. I. Pigment Yellow 3, C.I. I.
Pigment Yellow 13, C.I. I. Pigm
ent Yellow 16 and C.I. I. Pigment
Yellow 83 and the like,

As the pigment used in the magenta ink, for example, C.I. I. Pigment Red 5, C.I.
I. Pigment Red 7, C.I. I. Pigme
ntRed 12, C.I. I. Pigment Red
48 (Ca), C.I. I. Pigment Red 48
(Mn), C.I. I. Pigment Red 57 (C
a), C.I. I. Pigment Red 112, C.I.
I. Pigment Red 122 and the like,

As the pigment used for the cyan ink,
For example, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 1, C.I.
I. Pigment Blue 2, C.I. I. Pigm
ent Blue 3, C.I. I. Pigment Bl
ue 15: 3, C.I. I. Plgment Blue
16, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 22, C.I.
I. Vat Blue 4, C.I. I. Vat Blue
6 and the like, but are not limited thereto. In addition to the above, of course, pigments newly produced for the present invention can also be used.

When a pigment is used, any dispersing agent which contains the pigment in the ink can be used as long as it is a water-soluble resin. Those having a range of 30,000 are preferred, and those having a range of 3,000 to 15,000 are preferably used. Specific examples of such dispersants include styrene, styrene derivatives, vinyl naphthalene, vinyl naphthalene derivatives, aliphatic alcohol esters of α, β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, acrylic acid, acrylic acid derivatives, and maleic acid. , Maleic acid derivatives, itaconic acid, itaconic acid derivatives, fumaric acid, fumaric acid derivatives, vinyl acetate, vinylpyrrolidone, acrylamide, derivatives thereof, and the like (at least one of which is at least one Block copolymers composed of (hydrophilic monomers), random copolymers, graft copolymers, and salts thereof. Alternatively, natural resins such as rosin, shellac and starch can also be preferably used. These resins are soluble in an aqueous solution in which a base is dissolved, and are alkali-soluble resins. The water-soluble resin used as a pigment dispersant is preferably contained in the range of 0.1 to 5% by weight based on the total weight of the ink.

In particular, in the case of an ink containing the above-described pigment, it is preferable that the entire ink is adjusted to be neutral or alkaline. Such a configuration is preferable because the solubility of a water-soluble resin used as a pigment dispersant can be improved, and an ink having more excellent long-term storage properties can be obtained. However, in this case, if the alkalinity is too strong, it may cause corrosion of various members used in the ink jet recording apparatus.
It is desirable that the pH of the ink be in a pH range of 7 to 10.

The pH adjuster used at this time includes:
Examples include various organic amines such as diethanolamine and triethanolamine, inorganic alkali agents such as alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, and various organic acids and mineral acids. The water-soluble resin as a pigment and a dispersant as described above is sufficiently dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous liquid medium by adjusting the pH of the ink to such a pH to form an ink.

Next, the case where the coloring material is cationic will be described.

In this case, the treatment liquid uses an anionic substance. The anionic substance in the treatment liquid is not particularly limited as long as it has an anionic group in the molecule, but among them, it has more anionic groups than the compound having one anionic group in the molecule. Compounds are preferred. When they are used in combination, the effect may be particularly large.

Compounds having one anionic group in the molecule include disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate, disodium polyoxyethylene lauroylethanolamide ester sulfosuccinate, disodium polyoxyethylene alkyl sulfosuccinate, and carboxylated polyoxyethylene lauryl. Sodium ether salt, carboxylated polyoxyethylene tridecyl ether sodium salt, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether sodium sulfate, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether triethanolamine sulfate, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sodium sulfate, sodium alkyl sulfate, alkyl triethanolamine alkyl sulfate And the like, but are not limited thereto.

Examples of the compound having a plurality of anionic groups include anionic oligomers and polymers.
The monomer units for forming the anionic oligomer or polymer used in the present invention include styrene derivatives, vinylnaphthalene derivatives, α, β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, acrylic acid, acrylic acid derivatives, maleic acid, and maleic acid. Monomers such as acid derivatives, itaconic acid, itaconic acid derivatives, fumaric acid, and fumaric acid derivatives.

Specific examples include, but are not limited to, anionic oligomers comprising one or more of the above monomers. Further, the anionic oligomer that can be used in the present invention may be a copolymer with a monomer unit having an anionic pendant group.

Next, as the ink for recording an image in the present invention, an anionic ink is used. Examples of the water-soluble dye containing a cationic group used in the present invention include, but are not limited to, the following.

C. I. Basic Black 2, 8 Aizen Cathilon Black SBH,
BXH, SH, ACH, MH, TH (Hodogaya Chemical) Sumiacryl Black B, R, AP, B
P, CP, FFP (Sumitomo Chemical) Diacryl Supra Black GSL, R
SL, ESL (Mitsubishi Chemical) C.I. I. Basic Yellow 1, 11, 13, 19,
25, 33, 36 C.I. I. Basic Red 1, 2, 9, 12, 13,
38, 39, 92 C.I. I. Basic Blue 1, 3, 5, 9, 19, 2
4, 25, 26, 28, 45, 54, 65

Next, the cationic pigment will be described.
As the cationic pigment dispersant used in the present invention,
A polymer obtained by polymerizing a cationic monomer described below can be suitably used. The cationic monomer used in the present invention is a quaternized compound of the following monomers.

N, N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate: CH ₂ ＣC (CH ₃ ) —CONH—CH ₂ CH _{2
N (CH 3) 2 N,} N- dimethylaminoethyl acrylate: CH ₂ =
_{CH-CONH-CH 2 CH 2} N (CH 3) 2 N, N- dimethylamino acrylamide: CH ₂ = CH
_{-CON (CH 3) 2 N,} N- dimethylamino methacrylamide: CH ₂ =
_{C (CH 3) -CON (CH} 3) 2 N, N- dimethylaminopropyl acrylamide: CH
_{2 = CH-CONH-C 3} H 6 N (CH 3) 2 N, N- dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide: C
_{H 2 = C (CH 3)} -CONH-C 3 H 6 N (CH 3)
₂ and so on.

The quaternization can be carried out by a conventional method using methyl chloride, dimethyl sulfate, benzyl chloride, epichlorohydrin and the like.

The hydrophobic monomers used in the water-soluble resin of the present invention include styrenes such as styrene, α-methylstyrene and vinyltoluene, and alkyl (meth) acrylates.

Examples of the alkyl (meth) acrylate include methyl (meth) acrylate, ethyl (meth) acrylate, propyl (meth) acrylate, isopropyl (meth) acrylate, n-butyl (meth) acrylate, and sec-butyl (meth) acrylate. ) Acrylate, tert
-Butyl (meth) acrylate, 2-methylbutyl (meth) acrylate, 2-ethylbutyl (meth) acrylate, 3-methylbutyl (meth) acrylate, 1,3
-Dimethylbutyl (meth) acrylate, pentyl (meth) acrylate, 3-pentyl (meth) acrylate, hexyl (meth) acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl (meth) acrylate, heptyl (meth) acrylate, octyl (meth) acrylate, nonyl ( (Meth) acrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, 3-ethoxypropyl acrylate, 2-ethoxybutyl acrylate, 3-ethoxybutyl acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, and the like. Examples of the alcohol component used for half esterification include methanol, ethanol, and propanol. Examples of the optionally used monomer include (meth) acrylamide, N-methylol (meth) acrylamide, diacetone acrylamide and the like.

The weight ratio of the cationic monomer to the hydrophobic monomer in the copolymer ranges from 15:85 to 40:60. These resins are soluble in water or soluble in an aqueous solution prepared to be acidic. The water-soluble resin is preferably contained in the range of 0.1 to 5% by weight based on the total amount of the ink.

The amount of the pigment contained in the ink used in the present invention is 1 to 20% by weight, preferably 2 to 12% by weight.
It is preferable to use it in the range of weight%. As the pigment used in the present invention, any pigment can be used as long as it satisfies the above performance. The pigment can be used as long as it is as described above.

The pH adjuster in the present invention may be any as long as it shows acidity in an aqueous solution. Examples thereof include compounds having hydrochloric acid, acetic acid and carboxyl group, compounds having carbonic acid, sulfuric acid and sulfone group, Nitric acid, a phosphoric acid compound, sulfurous acid, nitrous acid and the like. It is not limited to these as long as they show acidity in an aqueous solution. As described above, the pigment and the water-soluble resin are dispersed or dissolved in a water-soluble medium.

Next, a method of applying the processing liquid and the image recording ink to the recording medium will be described. In the present invention, it is preferable to provide a region in which the processing liquid is not discharged in a part of the outermost part of the image forming region. This will be specifically described with reference to a simplified diagram. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of an image in which the processing liquid is not applied to the outermost two pixels of the image forming area. The area indicated by 〇 + ● is the image forming area, which is the area where the first processing liquid is applied. The area indicated by 〇 is the area where the second processing liquid is applied. As shown in the figure, the second processing liquid has not been recorded for the outermost two pixels of the image forming area.

In the present invention, there is no problem as long as an area where the processing liquid is not discharged is provided in a part of the outermost part of the image forming area. It is provided inside the pixel. More preferably, the image is provided two pixels inside from the outermost contour. This is because the effect of providing a region in which the processing liquid is not discharged in a part of the outermost portion is not sufficiently exhibited, even if the pixel size is larger than 5 pixels or smaller than 2 pixels.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the processing liquid for providing an area where the processing liquid is not discharged is a second processing liquid for performing recording after the ink for image recording. This is because the permeable second processing liquid has a large bleeding and can exert an effect relatively to the outside of the image area.

In the present invention, the amount of applied ink per unit area of each processing liquid can be made smaller than the amount of applied ink per unit area of the image recording ink. The amount to be reduced is preferably 25% to 75% of that of the image recording ink. First,
How to reduce the amount of the second processing solution may be optimized for the system. As an example, FIG. 9 shows a case where the processing liquid is 50% of the image recording ink when the ink ejection amount is equal for both the processing liquid and the image recording ink. In FIG. 9, 〇 indicates a processing liquid pixel, and 〇 + ● indicates an image recording area.

As described above, by reducing the amount of ink applied per pixel of the processing liquid and the number of pixels to which the processing liquid is applied,
This is because it is preferable from the viewpoint of suppressing the consumption of the processing liquid and the excessive adhesion of the ink to the recording medium while maintaining a sufficient effect.

Next, a description will be given of a recording apparatus suitable for the present invention for generating droplets by thermal energy. 1, 2, and 3 show examples of the configuration of a recording head which is a main part of the apparatus.

The head 13 includes a glass, ceramic or plastic plate having a groove 14 through which ink passes, and a heating head 15 having a heating resistor used for thermal recording (the head is shown in the figure, but is not limited to this. Is not obtained). The heating head 15 includes a protective film 16 made of silicon oxide or the like, and the aluminum electrode 1.
7-1 and 17-2, a heating resistor layer 18 made of nichrome or the like, a heat storage layer 19, and a substrate 20 having good heat dissipation such as alumina.

The ink 21 has a discharge orifice (fine hole) 2
The meniscus 23 is formed by a pressure (not shown).

When an electric signal is applied to the electrodes 17-1 and 17-2, the area of the heating head 15 indicated by n rapidly generates heat, and bubbles are generated in the ink 21 in contact with the area.
The meniscus 23 is protruded by the pressure, the ink 21 is ejected, becomes a recording droplet 24 from the orifice 22, and flies toward the recording material 25.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a multi-head in which a number of nozzles shown in FIG. 1 are arranged. The multi-head is manufactured by closely contacting a glass plate 27 having a multi-groove 26 and a heating head 28 similar to that described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a head 1 along an ink flow path.
3 is a sectional view, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line AB in FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example of an ink jet recording apparatus incorporating such a head. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 61 denotes a blade as a wiping member, one end of which is held by a blade holding member to become a fixed end, and forms a cantilever. The blade 61 is provided at a position adjacent to a recording area of the recording head.

In the case of the present example, the recording head is held in a form protruding into the moving path of the recording head. 62 is a cap,
It is arranged at the home position adjacent to the blade 61,
The recording head is configured to move in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the recording head, contact the ejection port surface, and perform capping. 6 more
Reference numeral 3 denotes an ink absorber disposed adjacent to the blade 61, and is held in a form protruding into the movement path of the recording head, similarly to the blade 61. The blade 61, the cap 62, and the ink absorber 63 constitute an ejection recovery unit 64, and the blade 61 and the ink absorber 63 remove moisture, dust, and the like from the ink ejection port surface.

Reference numeral 65 denotes a recording head which has discharge energy generating means and performs recording by discharging ink on a recording material facing a discharge port surface provided with discharge ports, and 66 is mounted with the recording head 65. And a carriage for moving the recording head 65. The carriage 66 is slidably engaged with the guide shaft 67, and a part of the carriage 66 is connected to a belt 69 driven by a motor 68 (not shown).
As a result, the carriage 66 can move along the guide shaft 67, and the recording head 65 can move the recording area and the adjacent area.

Reference numeral 51 denotes a feeding portion for inserting a recording material, and reference numeral 52 denotes a feed roller driven by a motor (not shown). With such a configuration, the recording material is fed to a position facing the discharge port surface of the recording head, and is discharged to a discharge unit provided with a discharge roller 53 as recording proceeds.

In the above configuration, when the recording head 65 returns to the home position at the end of recording or the like, the head recovery unit 6
The cap 62 of 4 is retracted from the moving path of the recording head 65, but the blade 61 protrudes into the moving path. As a result, the ejection port surface of the recording head 65 is wiped. When capping is performed with the cap 62 in contact with the ejection surface of the recording head 65, the cap 62 moves so as to protrude into the movement path of the recording head.

When the recording head 65 moves from the home position to the recording start position, the cap 62 and the blade 61 are at the same position as the position at the time of wiping. As a result, even in this movement, the ejection port surface of the recording head 65 is wiped.

The movement of the print head to the home position is performed not only at the end of printing or at the time of ejection recovery, but also at a predetermined interval while the printing head moves through the printing area for printing. Position, and the wiping is performed along with the movement.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of an ink cartridge containing ink supplied to the head via an ink supply member, for example, a tube. Here, reference numeral 40 denotes an ink storage portion that stores the supply ink, for example, an ink bag, and a rubber stopper 42 is provided at the tip thereof. By inserting a needle (not shown) into this stopper 42,
The ink in the ink bag 40 can be supplied to the head. An ink absorber 44 receives the waste ink. It is preferable for the present invention that the ink container has a liquid contact surface made of polyolefin, particularly polyethylene.

The ink jet recording apparatus used in the present invention is not limited to the one in which the head and the ink cartridge are separated from each other as described above, but is also suitable for the one in which they are integrated as shown in FIG. Used.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 70 denotes a recording unit, in which an ink storage portion for storing ink, for example, an ink absorber is stored, and the ink in the ink absorber has a plurality of orifices. Head part 71
Are ejected as ink droplets from the ink. As the material of the ink absorber, it is preferable for the present invention to use polyurethane, cellulose or polyvinyl acetate.

Reference numeral 72 denotes an atmosphere communication port for communicating the inside of the recording unit with the atmosphere. This recording unit 70
It is used in place of the recording head shown in FIG. 4, and is detachable from the carriage 66.

In the recording apparatus used in the present invention,
In the above, an ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink droplets by applying thermal energy to ink has been described as an example, but the present invention can be similarly applied to other ink jet recording apparatuses such as a piezo method using a piezoelectric element. .

When the recording method of the present invention is carried out, for example, a recording apparatus in which five recording heads shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows an example. Reference numerals 81, 82, 83, 84, and 85 denote recording heads for discharging yellow ink, magenta ink, cyan ink, black ink, and a processing liquid, respectively. As the head 85 for discharging the processing liquid, the above-described ink head can be used. The recording head is disposed in the above-described recording apparatus, and discharges recording ink and processing liquid of each color according to a recording signal.

The image forming method of the present invention is applicable to all devices using a recording material such as paper, cloth, leather, nonwoven fabric, OHP paper, and the like. Specific applications include printers,
Office equipment such as a copying machine and a facsimile can be used.

[0071]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples.

Example 1 After the following components were mixed and sufficiently stirred, a pore size of 0.22 μm was obtained.
Each of the inks was filtered under pressure through a Fluoropore filter (trade name, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.). The compositions of the used ink and the processing liquid are as follows.

Bk Ink Glycerin 5.0% by weight Thiodiglycol 5.0% by weight Urea 5.0% by weight Isopropyl alcohol 4.0% by weight C.I. I. Food Black 2 3.0% by weight Water 78.0% by weight

First Processing Solution Polyethyleneimine hydrochloride 1.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Water 89.0% by weight The permeability was 12 in the fixability test using a micro syringe.
0 seconds or more (copy paper (Xerox paper).

Second Processing Solution Polyethyleneimine hydrochloride 6.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 3.0% by weight Water 81.0% by weight The permeability was measured by a fixing test using a micro syringe. 20
Within seconds (copy paper (Xerox paper).

Evaluation was performed using the above inks and processing liquids. The ink was filled into an ink jet printer (resolution: 360 dpi) that performs recording by applying thermal energy to the ink in the recording head to generate droplets, and recording was performed on commercially available copy paper, bond paper, and recycled paper.

The head unit is composed of a first processing liquid chip, a Bk (black) ink chip, and a second processing liquid chip, and is arranged in the main scanning direction as shown in FIG. The number of each nozzle is 64, and the nozzle rows of each chip are arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal to the arrow X direction.

The pitch of each nozzle is about 70 μm,
A band for 64 nozzles can be recorded in one main scan at a resolution of 60 dpi. Ink ejection amount is black (Bk)
80 pl of the ink and 40 pl of the processing liquid, and recording is performed in the order of the first processing liquid, the black ink, and the second processing liquid.

Comparative Example 1 The compositions of the used ink and the processing liquid are as follows. The configuration of the head unit is composed of a processing liquid chip and a black ink chip. As in the first embodiment, the ink ejection amount is 80 pl of black ink and 40 pl of processing liquid.
In Comparative Example 1, recording is performed in the order of the processing liquid A and the black ink, and in Comparative Example 2, recording is performed in the order of the black ink and the processing liquid B.

Bk Ink Glycerin 5.0% by weight Thiodiglycol 5.0% by weight Urea 5.0% by weight Isopropyl alcohol 4.0% by weight C.I. I. Food Black 2 3.0% by weight Water 78.0% by weight

Treatment Solution A Polyethyleneimine hydrochloride 5.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Water 85.0% by weight Permeability was determined by a fixing test using a microsyringe of 12%.
0 seconds or more (copy paper (Xerox paper).

Comparative Example 2 The compositions of the ink and the treatment liquid used are as follows. Bk ink Glycerin 5.0% by weight Thiodiglycol 5.0% by weight Urea 5.0% by weight Isopropyl alcohol 4.0% by weight C.I. I. Food Black 2 3.0% by weight Water 78.0% by weight

Treatment Solution B Polyethyleneimine hydrochloride 6.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 3.0% by weight Water 81.0% by weight The permeability was measured by a fixing test using a micro syringe.
Seconds or less (copy paper (Xerox paper).

The results of the evaluation are shown in Table 1 below. Evaluation Items (1) Character Quality Alphanumeric characters were printed, and the print quality after natural drying in a room for 12 hours was evaluated. ：: Little feathering on all papers ○: Some feathering on some papers but no practical problem △: Feathering conspicuous on some papers Practical problem x: Feathering is conspicuous and practical There's a problem

(2) Fixing property The alphanumeric characters and the solid portion are recorded, another blank sheet is superimposed on the recorded image by its own weight, and until the image recorded on the back side of the paper is no longer transferred and the background stain does not occur. The time of the measurement was defined as the time when the end of the recording was regarded as time zero, and was used as a measure of fixability. The evaluation was based on the following criteria. ：: Fixability of less than 20 seconds on all papers △: Some papers have a fixability of 20 seconds or more, slightly anxious ×: Most papers have a fixability of 20 seconds or more and have problems

[0086]

[Table 1]

Example 2 The same test as in Example 1 was conducted with the following combinations of treatment liquids. The results are shown in Table 2 below. The same black ink as that used in Example 1 was used.

First processing liquid Polyallylamine acetate 1.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Water 89.0% by weight The permeability was 12 in the fixing test using a micro syringe.
0 seconds or more (copy paper (Xerox paper).

Second Treatment Solution Polyallylamine acetate 4.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 3.0% by weight Water 83.0% by weight The permeability was measured by a fixing test using a micro syringe. 20
Seconds or less (copy paper (Xerox paper).

Incidentally, as for polyallylamine, the functional material Vol. 5, 29 (1986).

Example 3 A test similar to that of Example 1 was conducted using the following combinations of treatment liquids. The results are shown in Table 2 below. The same black ink as that used in Example 1 was used.

First processing liquid Benzalkonium chloride 1.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Water 89.0% by weight The permeability was 12 in a fixing test using a micro syringe.
About 0 seconds (copy paper (Xerox paper).

Second Processing Solution Polyallylamine acetate 4.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 3.0% by weight Water 83.0% by weight The permeability was measured by a fixing test using a micro syringe. 20
Seconds or less (copy paper (Xerox paper).

[0094]

[Table 2]

Example 4 The same test as in Example 1 was performed using the same processing solution as in Example 1. In this example, the following was used as the Bk pigment ink.

Bk pigment ink Anionic polymer P-1 (styrene-methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate, acid value 400, weight average molecular weight 600
0, 20% solids aqueous solution, neutralizing agent: potassium hydroxide)
Was used as a dispersing agent, the following materials were charged into a batch-type vertical sand mill (manufactured by Imex Co., Ltd.), filled with 1 mm-diameter glass beads as a medium, and subjected to a dispersion treatment for 3 hours while cooling with water. The viscosity after dispersion is 9 mN / m, pH
Was 10.0. The dispersion was centrifuged to remove coarse particles, thereby producing a carbon black dispersion having a weight average particle diameter of 100 nm.

(Composition of Pigment Ink (Carbon Black Dispersion)) P-1 aqueous solution (solid content: 20%) 40 parts Carbon black Mogul L (manufactured by Cablack) 12 parts Glycerin 15 parts Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether 0.5 part Isopropyl Alcohol 3 parts water 135 parts

Next, the dispersion obtained above was sufficiently stirred to obtain an ink-jet Bk pigment ink containing a pigment. The solids content of the final preparation was about 5.8%. The results are shown in Table 3 below.

[0099]

[Table 3]

Examples 5 to 8 Using the same inks as in Example 1, recording was performed as follows.

First processing liquid Second processing liquid Example 5 Thinning out to 50% Thinning out to 50% Example 6 Thinning out to 50% Thinning out to 75% Example 7 Thinning out to 25% Not recording the outermost two pixels Example 8 Thinning out to 50% Do not record for the outermost 5 pixels

The results are the same as in Example 1. However, when observed with a loupe or the like, Examples 5 to 8 showed slight improvement in print quality and a slight improvement in fixability, though slightly smaller than Example 1. Particularly, the effects of Examples 7 and 8 were remarkable.

Example 9 The same recording as in Example 1 was performed, except that the ink for recording an image was cationic and the treatment liquid was anionic. The used inks are as follows.

Bk Ink Glycerin 5.0% by weight Thiodiglycol 5.0% by weight Urea 5.0% by weight Isopropyl alcohol 4.0% by weight Kayase Black CN (manufactured by Nippon Kayaku) 3.0% by weight Water 78 0.0% by weight

First processing liquid Styrene-maleic acid-maleic acid half ester copolymer (acid value 200, molecular weight 12000) 1% by weight Aminomethylpropanol 0.5% by weight Diethylene glycol 5% by weight Water 93.5% by weight

Second processing liquid Styrene-maleic acid-maleic acid half-ester copolymer (acid value 200, molecular weight 12000) 3% by weight Aminomethylpropanol 1.5% by weight Diethylene glycol 5% by weight Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 0% by weight water 87.5% by weight The results are shown in Table 4 below.

[0107]

[Table 4]

Example 10 Yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), Bk
Color recording was performed using the above four colors and two types of processing liquids.
The Bk ink uses the same ink as in the first embodiment.
The M and C inks used had the following compositions.

Y ink Glycerin 5.0% by weight Thiodiglycol 5.0% by weight Urea 5.0% by weight Isopropyl alcohol 4.0% by weight C.I. I. Direct Yellow 142 2.0% by weight Water 79.0% by weight

M Ink Glycerin 5.0% by weight Thiodiglycol 5.0% by weight Urea 5.0% by weight Isopropyl alcohol 4.0% by weight C.I. I. Acid Red 289 2.5% by weight Water 78.5% by weight

C ink glycerin 5.0% by weight thiodiglycol 5.0% by weight urea 5.0% by weight isopropyl alcohol 4.0% by weight I. Direct Blue 199 2.5% by weight Water 78.5% by weight

First treatment liquid Polyallylamine acetate 3.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Water 87.0% by weight

Second treatment liquid Polyallylamine acetate 4.0% by weight Diethylene glycol 10.0% by weight Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 3.0% by weight Water 83.0% by weight

As shown in FIG. 11, the head has a first processing liquid chip, a Bk chip, a C chip, and a M chip.
It is composed of a chip, a Y chip, and a second processing liquid chip. The number of each nozzle is 64, and the nozzle rows of each chip are arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal to the arrow X direction.

The pitch of each nozzle is about 70 μm,
A band for 64 nozzles can be recorded in one main scan at a resolution of 60 dpi. The discharge amount is 40 pl of the processing liquid,
Bk80pl, C: 40pl, M: 40pl, Y: 40
pl. Using this head, a pattern in which different colors were adjacent to each other was printed, and the mixture of colors (bleeding) at the boundary was observed. The edge at the boundary was sharp, and no bleeding was observed.

[0116]

As described above, according to the image forming method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an image having excellent character quality and fixability even in various recording media and environments.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a head section of an ink jet recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a head section of the inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a head unit of the inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an ink jet recording apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the ink cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a recording unit.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a recording unit in which a plurality of recording heads are arranged.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of an image in which the processing liquid is not applied to the outermost two pixels of the image forming area.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram when a treatment liquid is applied to 50% of the number of pixels of ink.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a unit configuration of a head used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a unit configuration of a head used in Example 10.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Head 14 Ink groove 15, 28 Heating head 16 Protective film 17-1, 17-2 Aluminum electrode 18 Heating resistor layer 19 Heat storage layer 20 Substrate 21 Ink 22 Discharge orifice (fine hole) 23 Meniscus 24 Recording droplet 25 Recording Material 26 Multi-groove 27 Glass plate 28 Heating head 40 Ink storage unit 42 Plug 44 Ink absorber 45 Ink cartridge 51 Supply unit 52 Feed roller 53 Discharge roller 61 Blade 62 Cap 63 Ink absorber 64 Discharge recovery unit 65 Recording head 66 Carriage 70 Recording unit 71 Head 72 Atmosphere communication port

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinya Shinya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Eriko Ono 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Yutaka Kurabayashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A step (A) of attaching a first processing liquid to an image forming area on a recording medium, wherein an ink containing a water-soluble dye or pigment having a polarity different from that of the first processing liquid as a coloring material is used. An image forming method comprising: a step (B) of forming an image by an ink jet recording method thereon; and a step (C) of attaching a second processing liquid having the same polarity as the first processing liquid to the image forming area, An image forming method, wherein the steps are performed in the order of A), (B), and (C). 2. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of processing liquids have different permeability. 3. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the second processing liquid has higher permeability than the first processing liquid. 4. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein an area where the processing liquid is not discharged is provided in a part of an outermost part of the image forming area. 5. The image forming method according to claim 4, wherein the area in which the processing liquid is not discharged is between the outermost edge of the image forming area and the inside by 5 pixels. 6. The image forming method according to claim 4, wherein the area in which the processing liquid is not discharged is between two pixels inside from the outermost edge of the image forming area. 7. The image forming method according to claim 4, wherein the processing liquid according to claim 4 is a second processing liquid.