Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for printing an image onto a hydrophobic, adhesive surface of a transparent, plastic receptor media using an inkjet printer. After the image is printed, the receptor media is applied to an item, thereby personalizing the item with the image. Since the image is printed onto the adhesive surface, it is protected from moisture and scuffing after it is applied to the item. The image appears professionally printed on the item because the transparent receptor media blends with the background of the item and appears borderless. However, since the image is printed using an inkjet printer, the personalized item can be easily created at home.

Abstract: An ink-jet printable static cling film including a support, a vinyl film, a curl avoiding polymer layer and a dye-receiving layer, said curl-avoiding polymer layer provides a stiffness (100% modulus) according to ASTM D412-98a of from about 9 to about 34 MPa and a percent (%) elongation according to ASTM D2370-82 of about 250 to 400%.

Abstract: A method of printing on a household surface can comprise the steps of selecting a household surface for ink-jet printing; preparing the household surface by applying a pre-coat material to the household surface, wherein the pre-coat material can be configured to adhere to the household surface and accept a water-based ink-jet ink composition to a degree greater than the household surface in an uncoated condition; optionally, allowing the pre-coat material to substantially dry on the household surface; and ink-jet printing a color-containing ink-jet ink onto the pre-coat material after the pre-coat material has substantially dried on the household surface.

Abstract: The invention provides an improved paper coating system for ink jet printing applications. The system includes an ink jet printer containing an ink jet pen and a paper coating device for coating a print media with an effective amount of coating composition prior to printing thereon. The coating composition preferably includes from about 0.25 to about 20% by weight of a first component selected from the group consisting of polyvalent metal salt and organic acid, a second component consisting of from about 1 to about 20% by weight amine polymer, from about 0.25 to about 2.0% by weight surfactant and from about 25 to about 96% by weight glycol-based solvent having a surface tension ranging from about 25 to below about 45 dynes/cm. Since the coating composition is free from ethylene glycol-based components, the composition is safer to use and less harmful to humans and the environment. The composition has also been found to provide improved ink drying with less bleeding or smearing of image.

Abstract: A ink jet recording head has a discharge port forming member, an ink supply member for supplying ink into the discharge port forming member from an ink container, an ink discharge port formed by the discharge port forming member, and discharge pressure generation means for generating a discharge pressure for discharging ink from the discharge port. A discharge port forming face of the discharge port forming member and a face of the ink supply member are substantially coplanarly connected, and a protective member is adhered over both faces. The adhering area of the protective member per unit area of the ink supply member is smaller than that on the discharge port forming face.

Abstract: The ink-jet recording method and apparatus use an ink containing at least, a pigment self-dispersible in water, a water soluble organic solvent and water, and carry out printing with an amount of the ink of 20 ng or less per one droplet, and the ink satisfies the following conditions: a dynamic contact angle upon dropping 4 &mgr;L of the ink on plain paper is about 60° or less after one second from dropping; a volume average particle diameter mv of dispersed particles of the pigment in the ink is about from 150 to 250 nm; and in the dispersed particles, a number of particles having a particle diameter of from 0.5 to 5 &mgr;m is about from 25×104 to 2,000×104 per microliter, and a number of particles having a particle diameter of 5 &mgr;m or more is about 100 per microliter or less.

Abstract: The present invention relates to anisotropic colorants and ink-jet ink compositions that include the anisotropic colorants. These anisotropic colorants are highly stable and can be designed to provide enhanced chroma, gloss, gloss uniformity, smearfastness, print quality, drytime, and improved resistance to water when applied to a media. Moreover, inks formulated with these new colorants are useful in ink-jet printing, including thermal ink jet printing, piezoelectric ink jet printing, and continuous ink jet printing.

Abstract: Ink composition, especially for inkjet printing apparatus, which includes an aqueous liquid vehicle in which solid pigment particles are dispersed. To achieve improved functionality for producing water-resistant printouts, the pigment particles are made as continuously colored thermoplastic particles. Moreover, the subject matter of the invention is an ink printing process matched to this ink composition and as well as an ink printing apparatus therefore.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an ink which appropriately spreads on a surface of a recording medium while being suppressed from permeating into the recording medium the thickness direction thereof to form a dot having an appropriate diameter, a high image density in the dot, and excellent outer shape with substantially no feathering, thereby stably forming a high-quality image. The ink includes a self-dispersible pigment having an anionic group or cationic group bound to the surface thereof directly or through another atomic group, a pigment which can be dispersed in an aqueous medium with a polymeric dispersant, and a polymeric dispersant in an aqueous medium. The ink shows one peak in particle diameter's distribution, the peak positioning at the particle diameter of from 50 to 300 nm.

Abstract: A color ink jet ink set for color printing including: (a) a magenta ink having a carrier and a water-soluble, transition metal complex of an 8-heterocyclylazo-5-hydroxyquinoline dye; (b) a yellow ink having a carrier and a water-soluble yellow dye, (c) a cyan ink having a carrier and a water-soluble cyan dye, and (d) an orange and/or green ink having a carrier and a water-soluble orange and/or green dye.

Abstract: Disclosed is a color ink jet recording method including the step of recording a desired color image on a recording medium on the basis of recording data using a black ink and a plurality of color inks each being different from the black ink in permeating characteristics against the recording medium. In this method, the surface tension is 40 dyn/cm or less for each of the inks; and the blotting factor against plain paper is 2.5 or less for the black ink, and it is in the range of from 2.5 to 3.5 for each of the color inks. Alternatively, the surface tension is 40 dyn/cm or less for each of the inks; and the permeating rate against plain paper is one second or more for the black ink, and it is less than one second for each of the color inks.

Abstract: A container of the present invention for use of ink jet recording liquid is arranged to store recording liquid to be supplied to an ink jet recording head. This recording liquid container comprises the container main body, and an absorber holding recording liquid contained in the interior of the container main body, and the absorber is constituted by the fiber having its elongation percentage (Japanese Industrial Standard JIS-L1015) of 250% or less. With the elongation percentage of the fibrous absorber manufactured by the thermal processing which is defined within a specific range, it becomes possible to suppress the dimensional changes before and after the execution of the thermal processing, as well as to make the difference smaller between the higher and lower densities on the surface layer and the central portion of the fibrous absorber, respectively, hence providing a highly uniform absorber.

Abstract: An ink jet printing method, having the steps of: A) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals; B) loading the printer with an ink-receiving element having a support having thereon an ink-receiving layer, C) loading the printer with an ink jet ink set for color printing having: (a) a yellow ink having a carrier and a yellow azoaniline dye; (b) a magenta ink having a carrier and a magenta anthrapyridone dye; and (c) a cyan ink having a carrier and Direct Blue 307; and D) printing on the ink-receiving layer using the ink jet ink in response to the digital data signals.

Abstract: An ink comprise a dye, a silicon-containing surfactant, an ethylene oxide adduct of acetylene glycol and a liquid medium, wherein a weight ratio of the silicon-containing surfactant to the ethylene oxide adduct of acetylene glycol is not lower than {fraction (1/5000)}, but lower than {fraction (1/20)}. An ink-jet recording process include the step of ejecting the ink by an ink-jet system. An ink set include in combination a first dye having a certain color tone, and a second dye ink having a color tone different from that of the first dye ink, wherein at least one of the first and second dye inks is the above ink. An ink set include dye inks of yellow, magenta and cyan, wherein the dye inks include an ethylene oxide adduct of acetylene glycol respectively, and the dye inks of magenta and cyan further have a silicon-containing surfactant.

Abstract: The outermost surface protection layer of the heater of an ink-jet recording head containing at least metal or oxide thereof is protected against erosion by suppressing or preventing the dissolution of the outermost surface protection layer. The heater is adapted to apply thermal energy to a liquid composition to be ejected. The liquid composition contains a liquid medium, alkali metal ions and a compound expressed by general formula H2N—(CHY)n—(CH2)m—X, X representing a carboxyl group or a sulfonic acid group, Y representing a hydrogen atom, a carboxyl group or a sulfonic acid group, n representing 0 or 1, m representing an integer from 0 to 2. The liquid composition is heated so as to satisfy the relation as defined by the formula 1.10≦Eop/Eth≦1.

Abstract: An ink jet printing method having the steps of: A) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals; B) loading the printer with an ink-receiving element having a support having thereon an ink-receiving layer; loading the printer with an ink jet composition of water, a humectant, and a hyperbranched polymeric dye having a hyperbranched polymer having a dye chromophore pendant on the polymer chain or incorporated into the polymer backbone; and D) printing on the ink-receiving layer using the inkjet ink in response to the digital data signals.

Abstract: Cationic underprinting fluids, which together with pigment-based ink compositions achieve enhanced durability, chroma, optical density and print quality in inkjet printed images.

Abstract: There is disclosed an image forming method and apparatus for ejecting a recording liquid including an image forming and non-forming liquids from a recording liquid ejection port while changing a mixture proportion based on an image signal. The ejected recording liquid is transferred to an image receiving medium to form an image thereon. The image forming liquid is extruded into a flow of the image non-forming liquid in a recording liquid channel, and led to the ejection port so that the image-forming liquid fails to contact an inner wall surface of the recording liquid channel. The image non-forming liquid flows as a laminar flow in the recording liquid channel, and the image forming liquid is extruded into the laminar flow, surrounded and enveloped by the image non-forming liquid and led to the ejection port. The recording liquid fails to be disordered before reaching the image receiving medium, and image quality can be prevented from being deteriorated.

Abstract: Various ink formulations utilizing particular magenta dyes have excellent printing characteristics with high chroma and good lightfastness on plain paper and minimal humid bleed and hue shift on special media. The magenta humid bleed shift has been greatly reduced, especially on photo glossy materials. A single dye may be used in comparison to blended dyes which have been used in the past.

Abstract: Disclosed are an ink composition which can satisfy, on a high level, various property requirements for ink compositions for use in ink jet recording (e.g., excellent ejection stability and realization of images free from feathering or color-to-color bleeding) and can realize good images by sublimation transfer. A sublimation transfer ink jet recording method using the ink composition is also disclosed. The ink composition comprises a heat transferable dye, a glycol ether, an acetylene glycol surfactant, and water. This ink composition is printed by ink jet recording onto an intermediate transfer medium to form a latent image on the intermediate transfer medium, and the intermediate transfer medium is then put on the surface of a receptor object, followed by heating of the intermediate transfer medium at a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient time to sublimate the heat transferable dye and to deposit the sublimated dye onto the surface of the receptor object.