Abstract: An ink-jet recording method is provided in that upon carrying out printing at a high speed as equivalent to laser printers by using the plain paper, the optical density and the coloring property of the image are high with less occurrence of intercolor breed and feathering, and the image has high water resistance. The method contains a step of printing on recording paper having base paper mainly containing pulp fibers and a filler by using a pigment ink of at least one color at a scanning speed of a printing head of 25 cm/sec or more and a maximum ink injection amount in a range of from 6 to 30 mL/m2, the ink having a surface tension in a range of from 20 to 35 mN/m, and an aggregation degree of a pigment contained in the ink in contact with a surface of the recording paper being 5 or more.

Abstract: An ink jet printer for forming an image on a recording medium with an active-ray-setting ink, which is hardened by an irradiation of active rays; having a plurality of heads, each of the plurality of heads having a plurality of jet openings for jetting the active-ray-setting ink as ink drops towards the recording medium; and a plurality of active ray sources of irradiate active rays for hardening the ink drops of the active-ray-setting ink landed on the recording medium, wherein each of the plurality of heads and each of the plurality of active ray sources are arranged alternately.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording medium including a support having thereon an ink receptive layer, wherein the support includes a white-colored substrate and a blue-colored substrate laminated with each other.

Abstract: An inkjet printer for recording an image on a recording medium with an active ray cure ink to be cured by exposure to an active ray, having a head for emitting the active ray cure ink onto a recording medium, an active ray source for emitting the active ray wherein the active ray source is arranged at the rear of the head in the direction of a relative movement of the head with respect to the recording medium during emission of ink, and in a same side where the head is provided with respect to the recording medium, and a shield member for preventing the active ray emitted by the active ray source from directly or indirectly entering into a trajectory formed by an ink particle emitted from the head and reaching the recording medium.

Abstract: A water base ink for ink-jet recording, which is usable for an ink-jet recording apparatus having an ink-jet head provided therein with an ink flow passage formed of nickel or nickel alloy, includes a coloring agent, water, and a water-soluble organic solvent. The ink is blended so that a current density, which is obtained within an electric potential range of −600 to +300 mV, is not more than 100 &mgr;A/cm2 when anodic polarization measurement is performed by using a reference electrode of silver/silver chloride, a counter electrode of platinum, and a working electrode of nickel or nickel alloy. The ink does not corrode any part for constituting the flow passage in the ink-jet head.

Abstract: An ink for ink-jet recording consisting essentially of a water-soluble solvent, a pigment, and a compound represented by the following general formula (1): wherein AO represents oxyalkylene group, R represents alkyl group, and m and n represent natural numbers, respectively. It is possible to effectively suppress the feathering and the bleeding.

Abstract: An apparatus for offset lithographic printing including an offset lithographic printing press including a printing cylinder having a surface including a mixture of cationic colloidal silica, fumed alumina, and a polymeric amine; and an inkjet printhead disposed to print a digital image on the printing cylinder with an ink jet fluid including a pigment and a polymeric dispersing agent, which ink jet fluid dries to produce a surface active to oleophilic lithographic printing inks.

Abstract: At least two or more than two ink-jet recording heads provided with respective discharge ports for discharging ink are arranged in the direction of conveyance of recording medium. The inks filled in the respective ink-jet recording heads are made to show different surface tensions. With this arrangement, as inks are discharged onto the recording medium that is conveyed by a conveyor under the control of a drive section, the image formed by the inks discharged onto the recording medium shows an improved quality.

Abstract: The present invention is drawn to systems and methods for reducing air fade of ink-jet inks, particularly with respect to dye-based ink-jet inks printed on porous media. Specifically, a method of printing an image on porous media with increased air fade resistance can include the steps of (a) providing an ink-jet ink, wherein the ink-jet ink includes a dye and a water-soluble or water dispersable copolymer in a vehicle carrier; (b) providing a porous media substrate having an inorganic porous media coating, wherein the inorganic porous media coating provides voids for the ink-jet ink to fill; and (c) ink-jetting the ink-jet ink onto the porous media substrate, thereby providing an image having increased air fade resistance.

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing dry rub resistance and reduced dry rub transfer are provided. Specifically, a system for printing durable ink-jet images having good dry rub resistance can include a substrate, a first ink-jet pen, and a slip component. The first ink-jet pen can contain an ink-jet ink configured for being jetted onto the substrate and can include a first liquid vehicle, and an effective amount of a pigment colorant. The slip component can be configured for being coated over the ink-jet ink once jetted onto the substrate. In one embodiment, the ink-jet ink can further include an effective amount of a latex. In another embodiment, a fixer composition can be used for overprinting or underprinting with respect to the ink-jet ink. A method of the present invention can utilize the above system.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink, an ink set, and a recording method with which the light fastness is good and good characteristics such as color, fire resistance, moisture resistance, clogging resistance, and storage stability can be achieved, which is accomplished by using a magenta ink including at least a first dye and a second dye, the first dye having a structure expressed by the General Formula I, the second dye being one or more types of dye selected from among dyes having a structure expressed by the following General Formula II and/or C.I. Acid Violet 9 and 30 and C.I. Acid Red 50, 52, and 289, and the weight ratio of first dye to second dye being 5:1 to 1:5.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an ink-jet recording system which employs an ink-jet recording apparatus including a recording-medium-holding part for a recording medium having an ink-receiving layer on a base material and an ink-holding part for a pigment ink to record an image on the ink-receiving layer of the recording medium fed from the recording-medium-holding part using the pigment ink fed from the ink-holding part, wherein (1) the ink-receiving layer of the recording medium is a porous layer comprising alumina hydrate and a resin binder and has a pore volume ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 ml/g; and (2) the pigment ink comprises an aqueous medium, a resin and a pigment, the particle diameter of the pigment substantially falls within a range of from 10 to 500 nm, and the proportion of the pigment particles having a particle diameter of 300 to 500 nm is at most 30% based on the total number of particles of the pigment.

Abstract: An inkjet printer provided with plural recording heads for respectively jetting a white ink and plural process color inks onto a recording medium, a white ink tank for storing white ink, and plural process color ink tanks for respectively storing plural process color inks. The inkjet printer is characterized in that the capacity of the white ink tank is larger than the capacity of each of the plurality of process color ink tanks.

Abstract: An ink jet recording ink set including a plurality of inks, each ink including at least a colorant encapsulating a pigment with a polymer, a penetrating agent and water, wherein the ink set includes a combination of black, yellow, magenta and cyan inks, and wherein the polymer in each of the black, yellow, magenta and cyan inks is a polymer of a polymerizable surface active agent and a monomer, which gives high color density printed image, satisfactory color reproducibility, excellent ejection stability and storage stability.

Abstract: An ink jet printing method, comprising the steps of A) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals; B) loading the printer with an ink jet recording element; C) loading the printer with an ink jet ink composition including an aqueous ink jet ink composition including: a pigment, a polymer latex containing at least one halogenated vinyl monomer, at least one surfactant, and a humectant; and D) printing on the ink jet recording element accompanied by a heating step using the ink jet ink composition in response to the digital data signals.

Abstract: A water-based ink for inkjet printing, including (A) an aqueous dispersion A of vinyl polymer particles prepared by including an oil-soluble black dye or carbon black in a water-insoluble vinyl polymer prepared by copolymerizing a salt-forming group-containing monomer (a), a monomer (b) represented by the formula (I): CH2═C(R1)COO(R2O)pR3  (I) wherein R1 is hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group; R2 is a divalent hydrocarbon group which may have a hetero-atom; R3 is a monovalent hydrocarbon group which may have a hetero-atom; p is a number of 1 to 60, a macromer (c), a monomer (d) copolymerizable with these monomers; and (B) an aqueous dispersion B of carbon black having the same ionicity as the aqueous dispersion A, wherein the weight ratio of the solid content of the aqueous dispersion A to the solid content of the aqueous dispersion B (the solid content of the aqueous dispersion A/the solid content of the aqueous dispersion B) is 5/95 to 95/5.

Abstract: First to third recording units 11-13, each of which is made up of a recording part 2 for recording an image on a record sheet 4 and a feeding part 3 for feeding a record sheet 4 to the recording part 2, are driven concurrently to share the processing of recording image data ranging over two or more record sheets 4. A delivering part 5 loads record sheets 4, which have been image recorded in the recording unit 11-13, onto specific bins 51-56 so that the record sheets 4 are stacked together on top of one another in a specific sequence.

Abstract: The invention relates to an ink jet recording process including an ink jet recording step of discharging one or more kinds of inks based on entered image information to record an image of one or more colors on a recording medium, and an overcoat step of forming a protective layer for covering the image on the recording medium, wherein control tables corresponding to changes in characteristics of the color(s) which occur by covering the color(s) output onto the recording medium with the protective layer are prepared beforehand, and in the ink jet recording step, discharge control of the ink(s) is performed in accordance with the control tables to record the image, thereby making it possible to faithfully reproduce the entered image information. Also disclosed is an ink jet recording apparatus suitable for the ink jet recording process.

Abstract: A guide 63 for guiding a card 10 to a printing unit 50, and guides 62, 61 for guiding the card from the printing unit 50 to a storage chamber for temporary storage, are integrally formed to a frame 30 having an integrally formed opening-shaped mounting unit 32 for fastening a printing unit 50 for printing and transporting the card 10, and a flat mounting surface 31c for fastening a control board for controlling the printing unit 50. The card printer is configured by housing the frame 30 in cases 20, 40, but because the major members and components are integrally formed or fastened to the card 10, disassembly and assembly can be easily accomplished.

Abstract: A recording unit and an image recording apparatus are of a configuration in which the black image and character formed by the black ink in the presence of the color ink satisfy various properties such as a high optical density, high image quality and high image fastness, and which also enables prevention of bleeding and white haze and saving of ink consumption. There is provided an ink jet head employing an ink set including black ink and color inks, in which the black ink contains a salt, an aqueous medium and a coloring material dispersed in the aqueous medium by the function of an ionic radical, and at least one of the color inks contains a polyvalent metal salt capable, when mixed with the black ink, of impairing the dispersion stability of the coloring material in the black ink.