Abstract: An ink set, exhibiting good ink permeability and fixation, capable of yielding high quality images with no roughness, or an ink set capable of yielding text and/or images of outstanding light resistance, is provided. The ink set of the present invention comprises a dark ink composition and a light ink composition that, while being mutually the same color, are of different color density, and is characterized in that the dark ink composition and the light ink composition each comprise a pigment as a colorant and a resin as a dispersant, in that the ratio between the resin weight proportion B1 and the pigment weight proportion P1 in the dark ink composition (i.e. B1/P1) is lower than the ratio between the resin weight proportion B2 and the pigment weight proportion P2 in the light ink composition (i.e. B2/P2), and in that B1 and B2 differ from each other.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an ink compositions which, when used with an ink jet recording apparatus, can realize excellent ink ejection stability while maintaining safety and satisfactory penetration of ink. The ink composition according to the present invention comprises at least a colorant, a humectant, a glycol monoether as a penetrating agent, a 1,2-alkanediol, and water, the weight ratio of the glycol monoether to the 1,2-alkanediol being in the range of 1:5 to 5:1. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink composition comprising at least a pigment, a dispersant for dispersing the pigment, a 1,2-alkanediol, and water as a main solvent, the content of the 1,2-alkanediol being 0.5 to 10% by weight based on the total amount of the ink composition.

Abstract: Ejection of ejecting sections such as nozzles for ejecting clear ink is inspected with ease. A color ink is made to adhere to a medium, a clear ink is ejected toward the medium from each of the clear-ink nozzles, and test patterns that each corresponds to one of the clear-ink nozzles are formed on the medium using the clear ink ejected from each of the clear-ink nozzles and the color ink, while leaving a space between the test patterns.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording method and ink set with which recorded material with excellent gloss and greatly reduced gloss unevenness can be easily obtained without higher costs being entailed, the ink jet recording apparatus having to be modified or made larger, etc., and to provide an ink jet recording method with which a high-quality image can be obtained with a low gloss ratio (maximum value/minimum value) dependent on duty, as well as recorded material produced by this method. The present invention provides an ink jet recording method, in which a pigment ink composition and a clear ink composition containing a resin component are discharged to record information on a recording medium, wherein the discharge amount of the pigment ink composition and/or the discharge amount of the clear ink composition is adjusted so that the gloss will be substantially uniform over the entire recording surface of the recording medium after recording.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording method and ink set with which recorded material with excellent gloss and greatly reduced gloss unevenness can be easily obtained without higher costs being entailed, the ink jet recording apparatus having to be modified or made larger, etc., and to provide an ink jet recording method with which a high-quality image can be obtained with a low gloss ratio (maximum value/minimum value) dependent on duty, as well as recorded material produced by this method. The present invention provides an ink jet recording method, in which a pigment ink composition and a clear ink composition containing a resin component are discharged to record information on a recording medium, wherein the discharge amount of the pigment ink composition and/or the discharge amount of the clear ink composition is adjusted so that the gloss will be substantially uniform over the entire recording surface of the recording medium after recording.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink set for which color differences of a recorded image due to differences in light source can be made to be slight, and the color reproduction range in dark parts of an image can be broadened, while maintaining high image quality with no worsening of the graininess in the dark parts. With the present invention, the above object is attained by providing an ink set that comprises at least a black ink composition containing a black pigment, and a light black ink composition containing the black pigment at a concentration less than the pigment concentration in the black ink composition, wherein the ratio of the pigment concentration in the black ink composition to the pigment concentration in the light black ink composition is in a range of 2 to 4.5.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an ink compositions which, when used with an ink jet recording apparatus, can realize excellent ink ejection stability while maintaining safety and satisfactory penetration of ink. The ink composition according to the present invention comprises at least a colorant, a humectant, a glycol monoether as a penetrating agent, a 1,2-alkanediol, and water, the weight ratio of the glycol monoether to the 1,2-alkanediol being in the range of 1:5 to 5:1. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink composition comprising at least a pigment, a dispersant for dispersing the pigment, a 1,2-alkanediol, and water as a main solvent, the content of the 1,2-alkanediol being 0.5 to 10% by weight based on the total amount of the ink composition.

Abstract: An ink set, exhibiting good ink permeability and fixation, capable of yielding high quality images with no roughness, or an ink set capable of yielding text and/or images of outstanding light resistance, is provided. The ink set of the present invention comprises a dark ink composition and a light ink composition that, while being mutually the same color, are of different color density, and is characterized in that the dark ink composition and the light ink composition each comprise a pigment as a colorant and a resin as a dispersant, in that the ratio between the resin weight proportion B1 and the pigment weight proportion P1 in the dark ink composition (i.e. B1/P1) is lower than the ratio between the resin weight proportion B2 and the pigment weight proportion P2 in the light ink composition (i.e. B2/P2), and in that B1 and B2 differ from each other.

Abstract: An aqueous ink composition comprising at least water, a pigment dispersed by polymer, a sulfonyl group-containing (co)polymer, and an ultra-penetrating agent. Also disclosed are a recording process using the ink composition, an ink cartridge containing the ink composition, and a recorded article having an image recorded by the recorded method.