Abstract: A phase change ink carrier composition is combined with a compatible colorant to form a phase change ink composition of this invention. A thin film of substantially uniform thickness of that phase change ink carrier composition, and the ink produced therefrom, has a high degree of lightness and chroma. The thin films of a substantially uniform thickness of the ink composition are also rectilinearly light transmissive. The carrier composition is preferably a fatty amide-containing compound.

Abstract: An air assisted drop-on-demand ink jet head 10 has an ink chamber with an ink drop-forming orifice outlet 23 from which ink drops are generated in response to pressure waves caused by a piezoelectric crystal 56. The ink drops are carried by air outwardly through an external orifice 24 and toward printing medium. The internal orifice outlet 23 is centered in a projecting structure 48 which extends toward the external orifice 24. In one form, the projection 48 is of a frustoconical or mesa-like shape. Air flowing past the top of the projection prevents ink from wetting anything but the top of the projection, resulting in highly uniform ink drop formation with a single uniform dot being produced on the printing medium in response to each pressure wave.

Abstract: A recording material, comprising a hydrophobic substrate material with a polymeric coating, has excellent receptivity for inks that do not normally wet hydrophobic substrates. The substrate material is coated with a mixture of polyvinylpyrrolidone and a compatible matrix-forming polymer. The matrix-forming polymer is a material, such as gelatin or polyvinyl alcohol, that is swellable by water and insoluble at room temperature but soluble at elevated temperatures. A transparent base sheet, such as cellulose acetate or polyethylene terephthalate, can be coated with the mixture of polymers to provide a sheet material which can be used in ink jet printers and in pen-type graphics recorders, operating at normal speeds, to record large color-filled areas without puddling, running, or wetness and with high color density and excellent resolution.