KR20070029963A - Ink composition containing saccharide-derived surfactants, ink catridge and inkjet recoding device comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are an ink composition which has increased speed of infiltration into a paper and dry while maintaining the quality of printed image, an ink cartridge and an inkjet recording device comprising the same. The ink composition for inkjet recording comprises a compound represented by the formula(1): R1-O-(R2O)m-G, a solvent and a coloring agent. In the formula(1), R1 represents a substituted or non-substituted C6-C18 alkyl group, a substituted or non-substituted C6-C18 alkenyl group, or a substituted or non-substituted C6-C30 aryl group, R2 represents a substituted or non-substituted C2-C10 alkylene group, G represents a saccharide or a polymeric saccharide, and each of m and n is independently the number of 1-10.

Description

Ink composition, ink cartridge and inkjet recording device comprising the same {Ink composition containing saccharide-derived surfactants, ink catridge and inkjet recoding device comprising the same}

1 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus having an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional side view of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Brief description of the major symbols in the drawings>

8… Printer cover 10.. Mobility latch

7... Hall 9.. Retention latch

14... Recess 11... Ink cartridge

100... Cartridge 112.. Ink bottle

123... Vertical barrier 124... First chamber

126... Second chamber 128... Ink bottle

126a. Vent hole 140... filter

130... Nozzle of print head

The present invention relates to an ink composition, an ink cartridge and an inkjet recording apparatus including the same, and more particularly, to an ink composition for fast drying inkjet recording including a saccharide-based surfactant, an ink cartridge and an inkjet recording apparatus including the same. It is about.

An inkjet printer can be classified into a piezoelectric method for discharging ink using a piezoletric element and a thermal method for discharging ink using a heating element according to a method of discharging ink droplets.

Among these, the thermal printing method generates bubbles by locally heating the ink contained in the ink chamber of the inkjet recording head by the heat generating element, and thus, ink droplets in the ink chamber are recorded through an orifice such as a nozzle. Refers to the method of release on the medium. Such a thermal printer includes an inkjet recording head which is installed in an ink chamber and includes a heating element for heating ink and a driving circuit such as a logic integrated circuit for driving the heating element.

In general, the speed of monochromatic or multicolor inkjet printing is determined by the moving speed of the print head, the ink ejection frequency, and the like. Printing speed is improved when two or more print heads are joined to form an array print head. Such an array print head has a large number of inkjet nozzles and can eject a large number of ink droplets in a short time. Therefore, an inkjet printer using an array head has a faster printing speed than a conventional inkjet printer. An array printer having a width of the entire recording sheet has a faster print speed for printing the entire page.

Ink-jet printer inks with reliable printing performance and fast drying already have a substantial portion of optimum conditions such as blending ingredients and composition ratios, and are typically water as the main solvent, at least one wetting agent, at least one penetrant, at least one or more It will comprise a surfactant and at least one colorant. By combining the penetrant and the surfactant, an ink composition is obtained having a surface tension of 25 to 40 dyne / cm and penetrating fairly quickly into a porous medium such as paper. Such inks having low surface tension and rapid permeability have a large area covered by one drop, and a large cover area per drop is economically desirable due to the small amount of ink used per page. The rapid penetrability of such inks based on dyes results in a printed image with little blurring between colors. The color bleeding refers to a phenomenon in which two types of inks different in color are printed adjacently, while one color invades the other. If there is no blurring between colors, the intrusion of colors is not seen and the boundary between the two color areas becomes clear, so that the quality of the obtained image is high.

In the inkjet printing process, surfactants are used to lower the surface tension of the ink, allowing for rapid penetration into the printing substrate. Examples of general surfactants are polyethylene glycol (PEG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), copolymers thereof, and polyethylene glycol / polysiloxane copolymer.

However, most of the conventional surfactants known to lower the surface tension of the ink to enable fast penetration and quick drying have a problem of deteriorating image quality. Therefore, the inkjet printing method using a conventional surfactant is required to improve due to the problem that the degradation of the image quality inevitably occurs due to the increased drying speed of the inkjet ink.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide an ink composition for inkjet recording, which is fast-drying and hardly deteriorates the quality of a printed image.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge including the ink composition.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording apparatus including the ink cartridge.

The present invention to achieve the above technical problem,

It provides an ink composition for ink jet recording comprising a surfactant, a solvent, and a colorant of the formula:

R ₁ -O- (R ₂ O) _m- (G) _n

Where

R ₁ represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms,

R ₂ represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene group having 2 to 10 carbon atoms,

G represents a single saccharide or a saccharide to which they are polymerized,

m and n each independently represent a number from 1 to 10.

The present invention to achieve the above other technical problem,

It provides an ink cartridge comprising the ink composition.

The present invention to achieve the above another technical problem,

An ink jet recording apparatus provided with the ink cartridge is provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

The present invention provides an ink composition for ink jet recording comprising a surfactant of formula (1).

<Formula 1>

R ₁ -O- (R ₂ O) _m -G

Where

R ₁ represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms,

R ₂ represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene group having 2 to 10 carbon atoms,

G is a single saccharide or a saccharide in which they are polymerized,

m and n each independently represent a number from 1 to 10.

The surfactant of Formula 1 according to the present invention reduces the surface tension of the ink to speed up penetration into the printing substrate, and shorten the drying time. In addition, the hydrophobic portion of the surfactant of Formula 1 interacts with the colorant, and the hydrophilic portion interacts with the printing substrate to fix the colorant on the substrate, thereby preventing penetration into the printing substrate, thereby suppressing a decrease in print quality. That is, the ink composition for ink jet recording according to the present invention has the effect of suppressing the deterioration of image quality while increasing the drying speed of the ink.

The alkyl group, which is a substituent used in the compound of Formula 1, includes a straight or branched radical having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, and preferably includes a straight or branched radical having about 10 to about 14 carbon atoms. Branched means that one or more lower alkyl groups are attached to the alkyl group straight chain. Examples of such radicals include decyl groups, lauryl groups, myristic groups, and the like. One or more hydrogen atoms included in such an alkyl group may be substituted with a halogen atom, amino group, imino group, nitro group, carboxyl group, cyano group, carbamoyl group, hydroxy group, formyl group, sulfo group, sulfino group and the like.

The alkenyl group, which is a substituent used in the compound of Formula 1, refers to an aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may be linear or branched having 6 to 18 carbon atoms containing carbon-carbon double bonds. Preferred alkenyl groups have from 10 to 14 carbon atoms in the chain. Branched means that one or more lower alkyl or lower alkenyl groups are attached to the alkenyl straight chain. Such alkenyl groups may be unsubstituted or may be independently substituted by one or more groups including, but not limited to, halo, carboxy, hydroxy, formyl, sulfo, sulfino, carbamoyl, amino and imino.

An aryl group, which is a substituent used in the compound of Formula 1, may be used alone or in combination to mean a carbocyclic aromatic system having 6 to 30 carbon atoms including one or more rings, wherein the rings are attached together by a pendant method or Can be fused. The term aryl includes aromatic radicals such as phenyl, naphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, indane and biphenyl. More preferred aryl is phenyl. The aryl group may have 1 to 3 substituents such as hydroxy, alkyl, halo, haloalkyl, nitro, cyano, alkoxy and alkylamino, with alkyl groups being particularly preferred. As an alkyl group which can be substituted by the said aryl group, an octyl group, a lauryl group, a dinonyl group, a stearyl group, etc. are preferable.

The saccharide moiety represented by G in the compound of Formula 1 refers to a reducing sugar having 5 to 6 carbon atoms as a basic unit, and these are linked to each other alone or by polymerization. As such a reducing sugar, glucose, galactose, fructose, maltose and the like are particularly preferable. In the case of polymerized saccharides, the polymerization degree is preferably 1 to 10, particularly 1 to 4.

As the surfactant of Formula 1, for example, ethylene oxide or propylene oxide of linear or branched higher alcohol having 6 to 18 carbon atoms in reducing sugar such as glucose, galactose, fructose, maltose, etc. (propylene oxide) is added. Such compounds can be synthesized from higher alcohols such as, for example, polyoxyethylene dodecyl ether (see US Pat. No. 3,219,656).

In one embodiment of the present invention, the content of the compound of Formula 1 in the ink composition for inkjet recording is 0.01 to 10 parts by weight, more preferably 0.05 to 5 parts by weight based on 1 part by weight of the colorant. If the amount of the compound of Formula 1 is less than 0.01 parts by weight, the drying rate may be lowered. If the amount of the compound of Formula 1 is more than 10 parts by weight, the surface tension may decrease, resulting in poor image quality. .

Examples of the compound of Formula 1 that can be used in the ink composition according to the present invention include octylphenoxy decaethoxyethyl glucoside, laurylphenoxy nonaethoxyethyl glucoside, and dodecylphenoxy. Dodecylphenoxy octaethoxyethyl glucoside, dinonylphenoxy pentaethoxyethyl glucoside, stearyl triethoxyethyl glucoside, iso-tridecyl octaethoxyethyl glucoside -tridecyl octaethoxyethyl glucoside) or mixtures thereof.

The ink composition for inkjet recording of the present invention contains water as a solvent. In the present invention, the content of the solvent is preferably 5 to 100 parts by weight based on 1 part by weight of the colorant. When the content of the solvent is less than 5 parts by weight, the viscosity of the ink composition may increase, so that the ejection performance may be lowered. When the content of the solvent is greater than 100 parts by weight, the surface tension control ability of the ink may be reduced, such as general paper or specialized paper. It is not preferable because there is a possibility that the permeability on the recording medium, the dot forming ability, the drying characteristics of the printed image, and the like may decrease.

In addition, a water-soluble organic solvent may be further included in the ink composition. In the present invention, the content of the water-soluble organic solvent is preferably 0.1 to 50 parts by weight based on 1 part by weight of the colorant. If the content of the water-soluble organic solvent is less than 0.1 part by weight, the surface tension control ability for the ink is reduced, the permeability on recording media such as plain paper or specialty paper, the dot forming ability and the drying characteristics of the printed image may be reduced. In addition, when it exceeds 50 weight part, there exists a possibility that the viscosity of an ink composition may increase and discharge performance may fall. Examples of such water soluble organic solvents include aliphatic monohydric alcohols, polyhydric alcohols and polyhydric alcohol derivatives. When a water-soluble organic solvent is further included, it is preferable that the weight ratio of water and a water-soluble organic solvent is 1: 0.02-1.

The aliphatic monohydric alcohol can adjust the surface tension of the ink composition to improve the permeability, the dot forming ability, and the drying characteristics of the printed image on recording media such as plain paper or specialty paper. The polyhydric alcohol and its derivatives do not evaporate easily and lower the freezing point of the ink composition, thereby improving the storage stability of the ink composition and preventing clogging of the nozzle.

Examples of the aliphatic monohydric alcohol include C1-C10 lower alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, i-propyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, s-butyl alcohol and t-butyl alcohol. In particular, ethyl alcohol, i-propyl alcohol and n-butyl alcohol are preferred.

Examples of the polyhydric alcohols include alkylene glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, and glycerol, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, and thiodiglycols. Or mixtures thereof.

Examples of the polyhydric alcohol derivatives include lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols and lower carboxylic acid esters of polyhydric alcohols. Here, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether is an example of the lower alkyl ether of the polyhydric alcohol, and ethylene glycol diacetate is an example of the lower carboxylic acid ester of the polyhydric alcohol.

As the colorant used in the present invention, conventionally used conventional pigments or dyes of autodisperse dyes, autodisperse pigments or dispersants are used. As an example of the colorant, C.I. Basic Black 2, C.I. Direct Yellow 44, C.I. Basic Blue 26, C.I. Direct Red 227 or Projet Fast Cyan 2 (Zeneca), Projet Fast Magenta 2 (Zeneca), Projet Fast Yellow 2 (Zeneca) and Projet Fast Black 2 (Zeneca), but are not limited to these dyes. .

The ink composition for ink jet recording of the present invention may further include additives such as surfactants, pH adjusting agents, preservatives or chelating agents. Here, the total content of the additive is preferably 0.01 to 2 parts by weight based on 1 part by weight of the colorant.

The ink composition for inkjet recording of the present invention can be produced by uniformly mixing a colorant, a solvent and, if necessary, a water-soluble organic solvent or an additive by conventional techniques.

The ink composition of the present invention is not particularly limited in use, and can be used in addition to the ink composition, toner compositions, various paints, coating liquids, and the like. Preferably, the ink of the present invention can be usefully used in an inkjet printer cartridge employing an array head.

An inkjet printer employing an array head is capable of increasing the throughput of a printer because the inkjet printer prints at a high speed by using a plurality of chips, unlike a shuttle type inkjet printer that transfers and prints one chip.

The inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention includes an ink cartridge containing the above-described ink composition, and a perspective view of the ink recording apparatus according to one embodiment is shown in FIG.

As shown in Fig. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an ink cartridge comprising the ink composition for ink jet recording of the present invention comprising a colorant, a solvent and a compound of formula (1). The printer cover 8 is hingedly connected to the main body 13 of the printer 5. The interlocking regions of the movable latch 10 protrude through the holes 7. The movable latch 10 is engaged with the fixed latch 9, which is in contact with the printer cover when the printer cover is closed. The cover has a recess 14 corresponding to the engaging portion of the movable latch 10 extending through the hole 7. The ink cartridge 11 is arranged to be able to apply ink onto the paper 3 passing through the lower portion of the ink cartridge 11.

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of an ink cartridge comprising an ink composition for inkjet recording comprising a colorant, a solvent and a compound of formula 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The cartridge 100 seals the ink cartridge body 110 forming the ink container 112, an inner cover 114 covering an upper portion of the ink container 112, and sealing the ink container 112 and the inner cover 114. And an outer cover 116 spaced apart from the inner cover 114 at predetermined intervals.

The ink container 112 is partitioned into first and second chambers 124 and 126 by a vertical barrier 123. An ink passage 128 between the first and second chambers 124 and 126 is formed at the bottom of the vertical barrier 123. Ink fills the first chamber 124, and sponge 129 and ink fills the second chamber 126. Vent holes 126a corresponding to the second chamber 126 are formed on the inner cover 114.

A filter 140 is installed below the second chamber 126 to filter out impurities and fine bubbles in the ink, thereby preventing the nozzle 130 of the print head from clogging. A hook 142 is formed at the edge (border portion) of the filter 140 and disposed on the top of the standpipe 132. Passing through the nozzle 130 of the print head, ink is ejected from the ink container 112 in the form of droplets onto the printing medium.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The components shown in Examples 1 to 3 below were thoroughly mixed with a mixer to prepare ink compositions for inkjet recording of Examples 1 to 3.

Example 1

C.I. Basic Black 2 4.5 parts by weight

Glycerol 7.5 parts by weight

10.0 parts by weight of diethylene glycol

1.0 part by weight of octylphenoxy decaethoxyethyl glucoside

75.0 parts by weight of water (deionized water)

Example 2

C.I. Direct Yellow 44 4.0 parts by weight

Glycerol 9.5 parts by weight

Diethylene glycol 5.5 parts by weight

4.5 parts by weight of ethylene glycol

0.5 part by weight of laurylphenoxy nonaethoxyethyl glucoside

76.0 parts by weight of water (deionized water)

Example 3

C.I. Basic Blue 26 4.5 parts by weight

Diethylene glycol 9.5 parts by weight

10.5 parts by weight of ethylene glycol

0.5 part by weight of iso-tridecyl octaethoxyethyl glucoside

75.0 parts by weight of water (deionized water)

The components shown in Comparative Examples 1 to 3 below were thoroughly mixed with a mixer to prepare ink compositions for inkjet recording of Comparative Examples 1 to 3.

Comparative Example 1

C.I. Basic Black 2 4.5 parts by weight

Glycerol 7.5 parts by weight

10.0 parts by weight of diethylene glycol

Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate 1.0 parts by weight

75.0 parts by weight of water (deionized water)

Comparative Example 2

C.I. Direct Yellow 44 4.0 parts by weight

Glycerol 9.5 parts by weight

Diethylene glycol 5.5 parts by weight

4.5 parts by weight of ethylene glycol

0.5 parts by weight of polyethylene oxide nonylphenyl ether

76.0 parts by weight of water (deionized water)

Comparative Example 3

C.I. Basic Blue 26 4.5 parts by weight

Diethylene glycol 9.5 parts by weight

10.5 parts by weight of ethylene glycol

0.5 parts by weight of sodium naphthalene sulfonate

75.0 parts by weight of water (deionized water)

Experimental Example 1 Dryness Test

After refilling the ink compositions obtained in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3 into the ink cartridge P-50 or C-60 (manufactured by Samsung), a stick figure (3 * 20 cm) was printed on a printer (MJC-3300P, made by Samsung). Immediately after printing on photo glossy paper, the paper was laid on the printing surface and passed through the crimping roll tester. The OD of the image transferred in the bar chart was compared with the image OD before passing through the crimping roll as a percentage and evaluated as follows. It is shown in Table 1 below.

A = (OD of transition image / OD of initial bar plot) X 100 (%)

◎: A <15

O: 15 ≤ A <30

X: 30 ≤ A ≤ 45

XX: A> 45

division Example Comparative example One 2 3 One 2 3 evaluation ◎ ◎ O X X XX

As can be seen from Table 1, it can be seen that in the case of Example 1-3, the drying properties are excellent compared to the case of Comparative Examples 1-3.

Experimental Example 2 Color Spread Test

After refilling the ink compositions obtained in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3 into the ink cartridges P-50 (manufactured by Samsung) and C-60 (manufactured by Samsung), test patterns were printed on a printer (MJC-3300P, manufactured by Samsung). After 30 minutes of printing, the dot line position at which color mixing takes place based on the boundary between two adjacent colors is measured in a microscope and shown in Table 2 below.

※ The smearing degree is evaluated based on the following criteria.

5: Color mixing does not appear throughout the boundary.

Color mixing appears in the width corresponding to 4: 1 dot diameter.

3: Color mixing appears in the width corresponding to 2 dot diameter.

Color mixing appears in the width corresponding to 2: 3 dot diameter.

1: 4 dots or more color mixing in the width corresponding to the diameter (1 dot diameter = 100 ㎛ at 600dpi)

division Example Comparative example One 2 3 One 2 3 evaluation 5 5 4 3 3 2

As can be seen from Table 2, it can be seen that in the case of Example 1-3, the bleeding phenomenon is reduced as compared with the case of Comparative Example 1-3.

When used for inkjet recording, the ink for inkjet recording of the present invention can shorten the drying time due to rapid penetration into a printing substrate and can provide a print image with little blurring between colors, which is useful for inkjet cartridges and inkjet recording apparatuses. Can be.

Claims (5)

An ink composition for inkjet recording, comprising a compound of Formula 1, a solvent and a colorant: <Formula 1> R ₁ -O- (R ₂ O) _m -G Where R ₁ represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, R ₂ represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene group having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, G is a single saccharide or a saccharide in which they are polymerized, m and n each independently represent a number from 1 to 10. The ink composition according to claim 1, wherein the content of the compound of Formula 1 is 0.01 to 10 parts by weight and the solvent is 0.1 to 50 parts by weight based on 1 part by weight of the colorant. The method of claim 1, wherein the compound of Formula 1 is octylphenoxy decaethoxyethyl glucoside, laurylphenoxy nonaethoxyethyl glucoside, dodecylphenoxy octaethoxy Dodecylphenoxy octaethoxyethyl glucoside, dinonylphenoxy pentaethoxyethyl glucoside, stearyl triethoxyethyl glucoside, iso-tridecyl octaethoxyethyl glucoside glucoside) or a mixture of two or more thereof. An ink cartridge comprising the ink composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising the ink cartridge according to claim 4.

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