Abstract: An apparatus is configured to perform recording with at least three types of inks that are similar in color and different in pigment density. The apparatus is capable of operating in a first mode for performing recording on a first recording medium using at least one of a second ink having a pigment density that is lower than that of a first ink and a third ink having a pigment density that is lower than that of the second ink, and in a second mode for performing recording on a second recording medium, which has a lower glossiness than the first recording medium, using at least the first ink.

Abstract: An ink contains at least a pigment, wherein the pigment is a solid solution of C.I. Pigment Red 202 and C.I. Pigment Violet 19, and a primary particle diameter D (nm) of the pigment and a 50%-cumulative diameter D50 (nm) in particle diameter distribution of the pigment satisfy a relation of D×0.95?(=<)D50?(=<)130, and a 90%-cumulative diameter D90 (nm) in particle diameter distribution of the pigment and the 50%-cumulative diameter D50 (nm) satisfy a relation of 1.5?(=<)D90/D50?(=<)2.2.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an ink set which can produce images with color developability undoubtedly higher than images produced by a conventional pigment ink and closer to images produced by silver halide photography or output from a laser printer, in particular, color developability in a red color region, while keeping ink reliability. The ink set comprises at least a first ink and a second ink wherein the first ink has a maximum absorption wavelength in a region of 450 mm or more and less than 500 nm and the second ink has a maximum absorption wavelength in a region of 500 nm or more and 570 nm or less, and the ink set has a B/A ratio of a minimum absorbance B to a maximum absorbance A of 0.7 or more and 1.0 or less among absorbances of the first ink and the second ink in total in a region of 450 nm or more and 570 nm or less.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a plurality of inks and includes a unit configured to perform a recovery operation by suction of inks from a plurality of ink ejection portions using a suction cap, wherein the plurality of inks include an ink set including a combination of at least a first ink and a second ink, the first ink containing (i) a self-dispersion pigment having at least one hydrophilic group directly or through another atomic group bonded to the surface of the pigment, and (ii) ammonium ions, the second ink containing a pigment, a polymer having an acid value of 160 mg KOH/g or less, and alkali metal ions, and the suction cap used in the recovery operation is individually provided for each of the first ink and the second ink.

Abstract: Provided is an aqueous ink with high storage stability and scratch resistance at such a high level that the coloring material of an image is not scraped off even when lightly touched with a sharp product. The aqueous ink includes a water-insoluble coloring material and plural polymers. The plural polymers include a polymer A which relatively contributes to dispersion of the water-insoluble coloring material and a polymer B which does not relatively contribute to the dispersion of the water-insoluble coloring material compared to the polymer A. The polymer A includes a block copolymer having an acid value of 120 mgKOH/g to 180 mgKOH/g and having an ethylene oxide group as a nonionic group. The polymer B has an acid value of 150 mgKOH/g or less and a hydrogen bond parameter (?h) of the polymer obtained by solubility parameters of monomers constituting the polymer of 1.0 cal0.5/cm1.5 or more and 3.2 cal0.5/cm1.5 or less.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide an ink which has a sufficiently large area factor even in a small ink droplet quantity and can obtain images having a high image density, and further has a superior storage stability. According to the present invention, a cyan ink is provided which is used in an ink set having four kinds of aqueous inks consisting of a cyan ink, a magenta ink, a yellow ink and a black ink in which each ink comprises at least water, a water-insoluble coloring material, and a plurality of water-soluble organic solvents having a good medium or good mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material and a poor medium or poor mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material, wherein, the ratio B1/A1 is from 0.5 or more to 3.

Abstract: An aqueous ink to be used in an ink jet recording containing a green pigment having a copper phthalocyanine skeleton, wherein a proportion of the K?-line intensity of a chlorine atom to the K?-line intensity of a bromine atom obtained by subjecting the green pigment to X-ray fluorescence analysis is 3.3 or more to 10.0 or less.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an image forming process for forming an image-recorded article having a coating layer on at least a part of an image formed, which comprises the steps of providing a liquid composition containing a polymer, providing an image-recorded article formed on a recording medium by an ink-jet recording method, and applying the liquid composition to at least a part of an image of the recorded article to insolubilize the polymer contained in the liquid composition on the surface of the image, thereby forming the coating layer at a position to which the liquid composition has been applied, wherein the recording medium has a surface which insolubilizes the polymer.

Abstract: An aqueous ink to be used in an ink jet recording containing a green pigment having a copper phthalocyanine skeleton, wherein a proportion of the K?-line intensity of a chlorine atom to the K?-line intensity of a bromine atom obtained by subjecting the green pigment to X-ray fluorescence analysis is 3.3 or more to 10.0 or less.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet black ink which has a favorable tint for ink jet black ink, provides high ozone fastness, a high image density, and high sticking recovery property, and is capable of suppressing the decomposition of a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof at the time of storage for a long time period. The ink jet black ink is an ink jet black ink comprising at least a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof as a coloring material, and ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol, wherein the content of ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol is 15 mass % or more and 30 mass % or less with respect to the total mass of the ink jet black ink.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a black ink for an ink jet which possesses preferable color as a black ink for an ink jet, can attain high ozone resistance, high image density and sticking recovery property, and can suppress the decomposition of the compound represented by the general formula (I) or salt thereof during long-term storage. According to the present invention, there is provided a black ink for an ink jet characterized by comprising at least a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof, characterized in that the black ink comprises at least one moisture-retaining nitrogen compound, and the pH of the ink and the pH of the ink after storing for 10 days in an environment at a temperature of 60° C. are 9.5 or less.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet black ink by which an image quality comparable to that of a silver halide photograph is obtained with a compatibility between a high fastness and a high image quality when the ink is printed on a recording medium, and which is excellent in optical density and color tone particularly in half tone, and is also excellent in gas resistance.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide an ink jet black ink which can improve weatherability, optical density and sticking recovery property of nozzles of a recording head. According to the present invention, an ink jet black ink is provided which comprises at least a coloring-material and a water-soluble organic solvent, wherein the coloring material is a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof, and the water-soluble organic solvent is a water-soluble organic solvent having a relative permittivity of from 30.0 or more to less than 70.0 at 20° C. and capable of dissolving the compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof, by 1.0 mass % or more at 25° C., and is in a content of 50.

Abstract: To provide an ink set which achieves an improvement in gradation of a monochrome image and the realization of a high black density, and which solves gloss unevenness occurring upon formation of an image by means of at least three kinds of black inks different from one another in carbon black content. Provided is an ink set having at least three kinds of black inks different from one another in carbon black content in which carbon black contents in the at least three kinds of inks establish a specific relationship.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide an ink jet black ink which can improve weatherability, optical density and sticking recovery property of nozzles of a recording head. According to the present invention, an ink jet black ink is provided which comprises at least a coloring-material and a water-soluble organic solvent, wherein the coloring material is a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof, and the water-soluble organic solvent is a water-soluble organic solvent having a relative permittivity of from 30.0 or more to less than 70.0 at 20° C. and capable of dissolving the compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof, by 1.0 mass % or more at 25° C., and is in a content of 50.0 mass % or more with respect to the total content of all water-soluble organic solvents contained in the ink jet black ink.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet black ink which has a favorable tint for ink jet black ink, provides high ozone fastness, a high image density, and high sticking recovery property, and is capable of suppressing the decomposition of a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof at the time of storage for a long time period. The ink jet black ink is an ink jet black ink comprising at least a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof as a coloring material, and ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol, wherein the content of ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol is 15 mass % or more and 30 mass % or less with respect to the total mass of the ink jet black ink.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet black ink by which an image quality comparable to that of a silver halide photograph is obtained with a compatibility between a high fastness and a high image quality when the ink is printed on a recording medium, and which is excellent in optical density and color tone particularly in half tone, and is also excellent in gas resistance. The present invention provides an ink jet black ink comprising a dye and a black pigment, wherein the dye is at least one kind selected from the group consisting of compounds represented by the following formula (I) or salts thereof, and compounds represented by the following formula (II) or salts thereof.

Abstract: Provided is an ink set including a plurality of inks each of which contains a water-insoluble coloring material and enabling ink-jet record images to be stably formed. The ink set includes first to nth aqueous inks for ink-jet recording, each of the aqueous inks containing a water-insoluble coloring material, an aqueous medium and a dispersant for dispersing the pigment in the aqueous medium, and a water-soluble organic compound, wherein the first to the nth aqueous inks are different from each other in pigment concentration based on the total weight of the each ink; and the first to the nth aqueous inks have the same or substantially the same viscosity at an actual usage temperature (T1).

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a black ink for an ink jet which possesses preferable color as a black ink for an ink jet, can attain high ozone resistance, high image density and sticking recovery property, and can suppress the decomposition of the compound represented by the general formula (I) or salt thereof during long-term storage. According to the present invention, there is provided a black ink for an ink jet characterized by comprising at least a compound represented by the following general formula (I) or a salt thereof, characterized in that the black ink comprises at least one moisture-retaining nitrogen compound, and the pH of the ink and the pH of the ink after storing for 10 days in an environment at a temperature of 60° C. are 9.5 or less.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide an ink which has a sufficiently large area factor even in a small ink droplet quantity and can obtain images having a high image density, and further has a superior storage stability. According to the present invention, a cyan ink is provided which is used in an ink set having four kinds of aqueous inks consisting of a cyan ink, a magenta ink, a yellow ink and a black ink in which each ink comprises at least water, a water-insoluble coloring material, and a plurality of water-soluble organic solvents having a good medium or good mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material and a poor medium or poor mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material, wherein, the ratio B1/A1 is from 0.5 or more to 3.