Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
  • G03G9/00—Developers
  • G03G9/08—Developers with toner particles
  • G03G9/09—Colouring agents for toner particles
  • G03G9/0902—Inorganic compounds
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C09—DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; COMPOSITIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • C09C—TREATMENT OF INORGANIC MATERIALS, OTHER THAN FIBROUS FILLERS, TO ENHANCE THEIR PIGMENTING OR FILLING PROPERTIES ; PREPARATION OF CARBON BLACK  ; PREPARATION OF INORGANIC MATERIALS WHICH ARE NO SINGLE CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS AND WHICH ARE MAINLY USED AS PIGMENTS OR FILLERS
  • C09C1/00—Treatment of specific inorganic materials other than fibrous fillers; Preparation of carbon black
  • C09C1/62—Metallic pigments or fillers
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C09—DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; COMPOSITIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • C09C—TREATMENT OF INORGANIC MATERIALS, OTHER THAN FIBROUS FILLERS, TO ENHANCE THEIR PIGMENTING OR FILLING PROPERTIES ; PREPARATION OF CARBON BLACK  ; PREPARATION OF INORGANIC MATERIALS WHICH ARE NO SINGLE CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS AND WHICH ARE MAINLY USED AS PIGMENTS OR FILLERS
  • C09C1/00—Treatment of specific inorganic materials other than fibrous fillers; Preparation of carbon black
  • C09C1/66—Copper alloys, e.g. bronze
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
  • G03G9/00—Developers
  • G03G9/08—Developers with toner particles
  • G03G9/097—Plasticisers; Charge controlling agents
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
  • G03G9/00—Developers
  • G03G9/08—Developers with toner particles
  • G03G9/097—Plasticisers; Charge controlling agents
  • G03G9/09708—Inorganic compounds
  • G03G9/09716—Inorganic compounds treated with organic compounds
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF SOLID INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
  • C01P2004/00—Particle morphology
  • C01P2004/20—Particle morphology extending in two dimensions, e.g. plate-like
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C01P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF SOLID INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
  • C01P2004/00—Particle morphology
  • C01P2004/60—Particles characterised by their size
  • C01P2004/61—Micrometer sized, i.e. from 1-100 micrometer
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/12—All metal or with adjacent metals
  • Y10T428/12493—Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal components [e.g., layers, joint, etc.]
  • Y10T428/12535—Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal components [e.g., layers, joint, etc.] with additional, spatially distinct nonmetal component
  • Y10T428/12556—Organic component
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/29—Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand, strand portion, rod, filament, macroscopic fiber or mass thereof
  • Y10T428/2982—Particulate matter [e.g., sphere, flake, etc.]
  • Y10T428/2991—Coated
  • Y10T428/2998—Coated including synthetic resin or polymer

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a toner and a process for preparing a toner, for reproduction of a metallic, preferably golden or silvery, hue by a printing process, especially for electrophotography.
• the organic layer utilizes at least one aliphatic acid, stearic acid, at least one amide of at least one acid, at least one salt of at least one acid, at least one olefinic material and/or at least one natural or synthetic wax.
• stearic acid could give rise to the problem that the stearic acid will plasticize the toner material, and so would need to be done with particular care.
• the organic layer may include at least one polymer organic layer, such as a polyester, over the silicate, titanate, or aluminate layer.
• the organic layer could also include any of the polymers that are typically used as toner resins, as described in more detail hereinbelow.
• the metallic pigment may have only the organic layer as a coating, which may include at least one polymer, such as polyester.
• the process of the present invention can conform to any well- known process for preparing dry toners wherein pigments are conventionally incorporated in a toner core, i.e., for example by compounding, classifying and/or grinding.
• a toner core i.e., for example by compounding, classifying and/or grinding.
• a shell construction wherein a pigment is applied to the surface of a toner body, especially as part of a coating, optionally alone or mixed with other ingredients, for example with polymers, waxes, or charge control agents.
• Illustrative references are U.S. Patent No.
• inventive toner maybe coated with an additional component on the surface consisting of hydrophobic fumed metal oxides like silica, aluminia, or titania in concentrations of about 0.1 % to about 3%.
• the toners may be alternatively produced by so-called chemical toner processes, called as well “chemically prepared toners", “polymerized toners” or “in situ toners”. The toners are not produced by grinding but by controlled growth.
• Chemical process to be used are, among others, suspension polymerization (e.g., DE 4202461 , DE 4202462); emulsion aggregation (e.g., U.S. Patent No. 5,604,076, issued on February 18, 1997); micro-encapsulation (e.g., DE 10011299); dispersion (e.g., U.S. Publication No. 2003/0087176 Al, published on May 8, 2003); or chemical milling (e.g., proceedings of IS&T NIP 17: International Conference on Digital Printing Technologies, IS&T: The Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, Virginia 22151 USA ISBN: 0-89208-234-8, p. 345).
• suspension polymerization e.g., DE 4202461 , DE 4202462
• emulsion aggregation e.g., U.S. Patent No. 5,604,076, issued on February 18, 1997
• micro-encapsulation e.g., DE 10011299
• the pigment is made platelet shaped. This is particularly advantageous for its adduction to a surface of a (larger) toner material particle.
• the metallic pigment can be coated with the silicate with the aid of a so-called sol-gel process. This can provide a particularly thin coating. It can be envisaged to this end to use stearic acid as lubricant and/or that the pigment is dispersed in a mixture of ethanol, water and a silica, titania, or aluminia precursor.
• the silica precursor may be tetraethoxysilanes.
• the quantity of the silanes may of course be dependent on the particle size of the pigment.
• a catalyst is used in addition.
• the mixture is heated to speed a reaction in which the silica, titania, or aluminia precursor is hydrolyzed and reacts to form a silicate, titanate, or aluminate, which deposits as a thin film on the pigment.
• a filtration may then be carried out to filter off undesirable by-products, for example the catalyst, metal compounds, or stearic acid. It is possible to carry out drying and evaporation of solvent residues to achieve a pulverulent residue as a substance, which contains the silicate-coated pigment.
• the silicate, titanate, or aluminate comprises about 2% to about 10% of the weight of the metallic pigment.
• the toner material can be clear/colorless or transparent or have an inherent color. When the toner material has an inherent color, this can lead to interesting color- varying effects with the metallic hue in a print or change the metallic hue as a whole.
• DETAD ED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In a preferred embodiment of the process according to the present invention, the pigment is about 7 ⁇ m in size and toner particles of the toner material are about 6-12 ⁇ m in size.
• pigments may each be disposed on one surface of a toner particle of the toner material.
• the organic layer may include or consist of a polymer.
• Useful polymers include vinyl polymers, such as homopolymers and copolymers of styrene.
• Styrene polymers include those containing 40 to 100 percent by weight of styrene, or styrene homologs, and from 0 to 40 percent by weight of one or more lower alkyl acrylates or methacrylates.
• Other examples include fusible styrene-acrylic copolymers that are covalently lightly crosslinked with a divinyl compound such as divinylbenzene. Binders of this type are described, for example, in U.S.
• binders comprise styrene and an alkyl acrylate and/or methacrylate, and the styrene content of the binder is preferably at least about 60% by weight.
• Copolymers rich in styrene such as styrene butylacrylate and styrene butadiene are also useful as binders, as are blends of polymers. In such blends, the ratio of styrene butylacrylate to styrene butadiene can be 10: 1 to 1 : 10. Ratios of 5:1 to 1:5 and 7:3 are particularly useful.
• Styrene polymers include styrene, alpha-methylstyrene, para-chlorostyrene, and vinyl toluene.
• condensation polymers such as polyesters and copolyesters of aromatic dicarboxylic acids with one or more aliphatic diols, such as polyesters of isophthalic or terephthalic acid with diols such as ethylene glycol, cyclohexane dimethanol, and bisphenols.
• polyester resins such as may be obtained by the co-polycondensation polymerization of a carboxylic acid component comprising a carboxylic acid having two or more valencies, an acid anhydride thereof or a lower alkyl ester thereof (e.g., fumaric acid, maleic acid, maleic anhydride, phthalic acid, terephthalic acid, trimellitic acid, or pyromellitic acid), using as a diol component a bisphenol derivative or a substituted compound thereof. Specific examples are described in U.S. Patent Nos.
• a useful binder can also be formed from a copolymer of a vinyl aromatic monomer with a second monomer selected from either conjugated diene monomers or acylate monomers such as alkyl acrylate and alkyl methacrylate.
• the metallic pigment preferably has a gold tone. This could be achieved with genuine gold.
• a pigment which contains copper and zinc, preferably in the form of an alloy, which could thus be referred to as brass or bronze, depending on the composition.
• the ratio of copper and zinc fractions in the alloy varies from about 90:10 to about 70:30.
• the metallically golden hue changes from a more reddish to a more yellowish or even greenish gold tone.
• the color of the gold tone may possibly be intensified through a controlled oxidation of the metal.
• the metallic pigment could alternatively have, for example, a silver tone which could result from the pigment containing among other possibilities, aluminum.
• the present invention further provides a toner for reproduction of a metallic, preferably golden or silvery, hue by a printing process, especially for electrophotography, preferably prepared by the above-described process and; distinguished by at least one particle which comprises at least one metallic pigment, which has optionally been provided with a coat of silicate, and there-over with an organic layer.
• a toner for reproduction of a metallic, preferably golden or silvery, hue by a printing process, especially for electrophotography, preferably prepared by the above-described process and; distinguished by at least one particle which comprises at least one metallic pigment, which has optionally been provided with a coat of silicate, and there-over with an organic layer.
• the organic layer contains: at least one aliphatic acid; that the organic layer contains stearic acid, that the organic layer contains at least one amide of at least one acid, that the organic layer contains at least one salt of at least one acid, that the organic layer contains at least one olefinic material, that the organic layer contains at least one wax, that the wax is a natural wax, that the wax is a synthetic wax, that the pigment is platelet shaped, that the pigment has been coated with the silicate by a sol-gel process, that the toner is a pulverulent toner, that the silicate, titanate, or aluminate comprises about 2% to about 10% of the weight of the metallic pigment, that the pigment has been admixed to a toner material which is clear or transparent, that the pigment has been admixed to a toner material which has an inherent color, that the pigment is about 7 ⁇ m in
• the inventive toner maybe applied to a substrate by a digital printing process, preferably an electrostatic printing process, more preferably by an electrophotographic printing process as described in L. B. Schein, Electrophotography and Development Physics, 2 nd Edition, Laplacian Press, Morgan Hill, California, 1996 (ISBN 1-885540-02-7); or, by a coating process, preferably an electrostatic coating process, more preferably by an electromagnetic brush coating process as described in U.S. Patent No. 6,342,273, issued on January 29, 2002, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto.
• a contact fusing method like roller fusing may be used, or preferably a non-contact fusing method like an oven, hot air, radiant, flash, solvent, or microwave fusing.
• a contact fusing method like roller fusing may be used, or preferably a non-contact fusing method like an oven, hot air, radiant, flash, solvent, or microwave fusing.
• This coated pigment was then intensively mixed in various concentrations with a clear toner consisting of polymeric binder, charge control agent, and fumed metal oxide having an average particle size of about 12 ⁇ m in a high speed mixer for two minutes to obtain a toner having a brass-coated surface.
• concentration of the brass pigments was varied in 2% steps from 2% to 24%.
• these toners were mixed with a carrier, developed, and transferred to paper as usual for commercial printing. Finally, each toner was fixed on the paper surface by contactless fixation in an oven.
• the quality of the gold hue was assessed by image quality experts. The minimum concentration showed a pale gold-like surface, which improved with increasing concentration of pigmentation until approximately a concentration of 14% to 16% had been reached.
• Example 1 was repeated, except that the toner was fixed with a heated contact fixing apparatus, which comprised a hard roll surface and a Kapton film. Assessment of quality led to the same evaluation as in Example 1 up to about 14% or 16%, but this time the quality remained consistently good at higher pigment concentrations.
• EXAMPLE 3 A toner was prepared by compounding with 17% of brass-pigment from Example 1 by the pigment being compounded with a polymer and a charge control agent in a two-roll mill using low shearing forces, ground, classified, and subjected to a surface treatment with silica to obtain a gold toner having an average particle size of about 8 ⁇ m.
• Example 1 Quality testing led to a quality level as in Examples 1 and 2.
• EXAMPLE 4 Example 3 was repeated except that larger shearing forces were used in the mill. The result achieved was the same as in Example 3.
• EXAMPLE 5 Example 3 was repeated except that the pigment used had been coated with silicate only. The result was poor quality.
• EXAMPLE 6 Example 4 was repeated except that the pigment used had been coated with silicate only. The result was poor quality.
• EXAMPLE 7 Example 1 was repeated with clear toners having particle sizes of about 12 ⁇ m, 8 ⁇ m, and 6 ⁇ m, which were coated with 20% of pigment from Example 1. The quality level was not quite as high as with 14% to 16% pigment concentration from Example 1.
• Example 7 was repeated using a toner having a sharp melting point, known from U.S. Publication No. 2002/0115010 Al, published on August 22, 2002, for example. Its 120°C melt viscosity was 12.4 Pa s. The quality level of print samples was again good at a particle size of about 12 ⁇ m, better at a particle size of 8 ⁇ m, and best at a particle size of 6 ⁇ m.
• EXAMPLE 9 Example 8 was repeated except that a yellow toner was used instead of a clear toner.
• Example 10 Example 9 was repeated using a magenta-colored toner. Here too the quality level of the toner having a particle size of about 6 ⁇ m was excellent. Changing the viewing angle when observing the printed sample caused the perceived color to vary somewhat between a rich gold tone and a hint of magenta.
• EXAMPLE 11 Example 10 was repeated using a cyan-colored toner. In this case, the quality level of the toner having an average particle size of about 8 ⁇ m was excellent. Changing the viewing angle from about perpendicular to a flatter viewing angle when observing the printed sample caused the perceived color to change somewhat between a rich gold tone and a hint of cyan.
• EXAMPLE 12 (Comparative): A gold-colored print was simulated in toner-based four-color printing. The match was poor. If anything, a dirty yellow was obtained that was devoid of the typical metallic shine.
• EXAMPLE 13 Example 1 was repeated, except that platelet-shaped brass pigment having a particle size of about 7 ⁇ m was initially provided with a silicate coating, followed by a 10% by weight organic coating consisting of bis-phenol A based polyester. This coated pigment was then intensively mixed in various concentrations with a clear toner consisting of polymeric binder, charge control agent, and fumed metal oxide having an average particle size of about 12 ⁇ m in a high speed mixer for two minutes to obtain a toner having a brass-coated surface.
• Example 13 Example 13 was repeated, except that the toner was fixed with a heated contact fixing apparatus, which comprised a hard roll surface and a Kapton film. Assessment of quality led to the same evaluation as in Example 1 up to about 14% or 16%, but this time the quality remained consistently good at higher pigment concentrations.
• Example 13 was repeated, except that that platelet-shaped brass pigment having a particle size of about 7 ⁇ m was directly provided with an organic coating consisting of bis-phenol A based polyester.
• the toner was fixed to the paper surface by contact-less fixation in an oven. Assessment of quality led to the same evaluation as in Example 1 up to about 14% or 16%, but this time the quality remained consistently good at higher pigment concentrations.
• the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Metallurgy (AREA)
• Developing Agents For Electrophotography (AREA)

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• 2005
  • 2005-01-26 US US11/043,541 patent/US7326507B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-01-28 EP EP05722716A patent/EP1709491B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2005-01-28 JP JP2006551621A patent/JP2007519982A/ja active Pending
  • 2005-01-28 WO PCT/US2005/003459 patent/WO2005076086A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2005-01-28 DE DE200560005017 patent/DE602005005017T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

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