Abstract: An active-energy ray curable ink-jet recording apparatus includes: an active-energy ray irradiation source; a plurality of full-line ink-jet heads which eject a liquid functional material that is curable by an active-energy ray, onto a recording medium which is scanned and transported; and a head controller for controlling the heads to form an image on the recording medium, wherein the plurality of full-line ink-jet heads include at least a black head and a yellow head on an extreme downstream side in a direction of transporting the recording medium.

Abstract: The ink jet recording method of the invention includes providing a recording medium with an undercoat liquid containing a polymer and an oligomer, semi-curing the provided undercoat liquid, and recording an image by discharging an ink curable by irradiation onto the semi-cured undercoat liquid.

Abstract: The present invention provides an undercoat solution including a radical-polymerizable compound having a phosphoric acid group, an ink-jet recording method including applying an undercoat solution containing a radical-polymerizable compound having a phosphoric acid group; partially curing the applied undercoat solution; and discharging an ink, which is curable by irradiation with an active energy ray, onto the partially cured undercoat solution to record an image, and an ink-jet recording device including an undercoat solution application unit which applies an undercoat solution containing a radical-polymerizable compound having a phosphoric acid group; an undercoat solution curing unit which partially cures the undercoat solution; and an image recording unit which discharges an ink onto the partially cured undercoat solution to record an image.

Abstract: The invention is directed to an ink-jet recording apparatus including: a recording medium transport unit as defined herein; a full-line ink-jet head as defined herein; and an ultraviolet light illumination unit as defined herein, wherein the ultraviolet light illumination unit comprises an aperture-type hot-cathode tube, or an ultraviolet-setting ink-jet recording apparatus including: a recording medium transport unit as defined herein; and ink-jet head as defined herein; and an ultraviolet light illumination unit as defined herein, wherein: the ultraviolet light illumination unit comprises plural aperture-type hot-cathode tubes and apertures of at least one set of aperture-type hot-cathode tubes are rotated so that an overlap of their illumination regions is increased.

Abstract: The ink jet recording method and apparatus convey a recording medium to a position opposing an ink jet head by a conveyor and record an image onto the recording medium conveyed to the position with the ink jet head by ejecting ink droplets from at least one ejection portion toward the recording medium through exertion of electrostatic force on ink in accordance with an image signal. The method and apparatus pass through the position a strong electric field formation portion giving to the ejection portion an electric field strength stronger than that of the recording medium or give to the ejection portion an electric field strength stronger than that formed in the ejection portion in a non-ink droplet ejection period during the recording of the image on the recording medium, immediately before the recording medium and the ink jet head are relatively moved to the image recordable position.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid containing a monomer represented by the formulae (I) or (II) onto a recording medium; partially curing the undercoating liquid that has been applied onto the recording medium; and recording an image by ejecting an ink that is curable by irradiation with actinic energy onto the partially cured undercoating liquid. In formulae (I) and (II), R1 represents a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, or alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; X1 represents a divalent linking group; R2 and R3 represent a substituent; n represents an atom group that is necessary for formation of a cyclic hydrocarbon structure that may contain —C(O)— and/or —C(O)O— together with a hydrocarbon linkage; k represents an integer of from 1 to 6; and q and r represent an integer of from 0 to 5, and wherein k, q and/or r are 2 or more, two or more of R1, X1, R2 and/or R3 may be the same as or different from each other.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid containing a polymer onto a recording medium; partially curing the undercoating liquid that has been applied onto the recording medium; and recording an image by ejecting an ink that is curable by irradiation with actinic energy onto the partially cured undercoating liquid. According to the invention, an image having excellent uniformity between various types of recording mediums can be recorded, irrespective of the type of the recording medium; ink bleeding or unevenness in line width or color due to coalescence of the ink droplets can be effectively suppressed; and an image can be well reproduced to details with high density while maintaining a uniform dot diameter, irrespective of the form of the image, when an image having low dot density is recorded with a small amount of a liquid (e.g., an image having low resolution or density).

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes: an inkjet head that ejects an active energy-curable ink to form an image on a recording medium; an irradiating unit that includes a light source, and that irradiates an active energy ray from the light source to cure the active energy-curable ink ejected by the inkjet head; an energy intensity measuring unit that measures an intensity value of the active energy ray irradiated on the recording medium; and an irradiation condition control unit that controls an irradiation condition of the active energy ray on the recording medium on the basis of the intensity value measured by the energy intensity measuring unit after a passing of time to the extent of allowing the temperature of the irradiating unit to be stabilized at the start-up from lighting or rest of the irradiating unit.

Abstract: The present invention provides: an inkjet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid on a recording medium, the undercoating liquid containing at least one surfactant in an amount of from 0.001% to the critical micelle concentration, the surfactant achieving a surface tension of 25 mN/m or smaller when dissolved in 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate at a critical micelle concentration; semi-curing the applied undercoating liquid; and recording an image by ejecting an ink onto the semi-cured undercoating liquid, the ink being curable by irradiation with an actinic ray; and an inkjet recording apparatus.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid containing an oligomer onto a recording medium; partially curing the undercoating liquid that has been applied onto the recording medium; and recording an image by ejecting an ink that is curable by irradiation of actinic energy onto the partially cured undercoating liquid. According to the invention, an image having excellent uniformity can be recorded on various types of recording media, irrespective of the type thereof, ink bleeding and unevenness in line width or color due to coalescence of ink droplets can be effectively suppressed, and an image with high density and a uniform dot diameter can be recorded when the image has low dot density such as low image resolution or image density.

Abstract: The ink concentration detecting method and apparatus detect ink concentration of ink containing charged colorant particles. The method and apparatus detect ejection state of ink droplets ejected by causing predetermined electrostatic force to act on the ink, and detect the ink concentration in correspondence to the detected ejection state of the ink droplets. The apparatus includes an ejection detecting device for detecting the ejection state and a concentration detecting device for detecting the ink concentration. The electrostatic ink jet recording apparatus includes an ink ejecting device for ejecting the ink droplets at predetermined frequency corresponding to the ink concentration and the ink concentration detecting apparatus.

Abstract: The invention provides an ink jet recording method that records an image by ejecting, onto a recording medium, an ink that is cured by irradiation of an active energy ray, the method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid onto the recording medium; half-curing the undercoating liquid; and forming an image by ejecting an ink onto the half-cured undercoating liquid, and an ink jet recording device. According to the ink jet recording method in the invention, ink bleeding can be effectively suppressed when using any type of non-absorbing recording media, a high degree of uniformity in an image between various recording media can be obtained, and unevenness in line width or color caused by mixing between the liquid droplets can be suppressed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a control method for controlling an ink jet head. The inkjet head includes an ejection port substrate having ejection ports for ejection of the droplets, ejection electrodes respectively being located in a position corresponding to each of the ejection ports, and a guard electrode formed in the ejection port substrate. The control method includes the steps of: applying a drive voltage to each of the ejection electrodes in accordance with a drawing signal; and applying an AC bias voltage to the guard electrode, the AC bias voltage having the same frequency as the drive voltage applied to each of the ejection electrodes and alternately repeating a first voltage and a second voltage being lower than the first voltage.

Abstract: The ink jet recording apparatus includes an ink jet head that causes an electrostatic force to act on ink containing charged colored particles based on an image signal to eject an ink droplet on a recording medium, an ink supply unit that supplies the ink to the ink jet head, an ink collection unit that collects the ink not ejected from the ink jet head and a particle diameter distribution narrowing unit that narrows a particle diameter distribution of the charged colored particles contained in the ink. The narrowing unit includes an electrode cleaning unit that cleans an electrode for generating electrophoresis in the ink.

Abstract: A liquid ejection head ejects droplets of solution in which charged particles are dispersed by exerting electrostatic force on the solution. The head includes an insulating ejection substrate including through holes, ejection electrodes arranged to respectively correspond to the through holes, and solution guides that respectively pass through the through holes and protrude from the ejection substrate. Each solution guide includes a support portion of flat-plate shape and a tip end portion of flat-plate shape that is extendingly provided to form a step in a thickness direction in an end portion of the support portion and is thinner than the support portion. An image recording apparatus includes the liquid ejection head and an image corresponding to image data is recorded on a recording medium.

Abstract: A method of cutting a recording medium for an ink jet device, the ink jet device including: a recording medium conveying unit that conveys a recording medium; and a full-line ink jet head that has substantially the same length as the width of the recording medium, and that ejects an ink toward the recording medium conveyed by the recording medium conveying unit according to image signal to effect recording, which includes: making a mark indicating the longitudinal position of the recording medium from the end head of the full-line ink jet head on the edge of the recording medium; and cutting the recording medium subjected to recording using the marking.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus includes: a recording medium transporting portion that transports a web-like recording medium; an ink-jet heads that include a nozzle portion and ejects an ink on the basis of an image signal toward the web-like recording medium transported by the recording medium transporting portion, the ink being curable by active energy rays; an active energy irradiating portion that comprises a light source irradiating the active energy rays and cures the ink ejected onto the web-like recording medium by the active energy rays irradiated from the light source; and a transporting direction changing portion that is disposed right by at least one of an upstream and downstream sides of the active energy irradiating portion in the transporting direction of the recording medium at a position between ink-jet heads, and that changes a transporting direction of the recording medium to a direction vertical to the transporting direction.

Abstract: An active energy ray curable inkjet apparatus 100 comprising: an inkjet head 45 adapted to discharge ink, which is curable by active energy rays, to a recording medium S; and a displacement unit 43 adapted to cause the recording medium S and the inkjet head 45 to perform relative displacement, wherein the active energy ray curable inkjet apparatus 100 further comprises: an ink collection sheet supply unit 67 adapted to perform face-to-face supply of a spitting ink collection sheet to nozzles of the inkjet head 45.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording device includes: an ink-jet head that ejects an ink toward a recording medium, the ink curable by irradiating with an actinic energy ray to form an image on the recording medium, and a mist adsorbing portion that is disposed in the vicinity of the ink-jet head and that electrostatically adsorbs an ink mist produced by ejecting the ink from the ink-jet head.

Abstract: An ink concentration detecting method and recording apparatus cause one of a cleaning liquid and ink of known ink concentration to flow through an ink passage through which the ink is to flow, detect a first ink concentration in the ink passage in an operation state in which ink of predetermined ink concentration flows through the ink passage, and detect a second ink concentration in the ink passage after the cleaning liquid is caused to flow through the ink passage to clear the ink passage or in a state in which the ink of known ink concentration is caused to flow through the ink passage. The method and apparatus detect ink concentration in the ink passage in the operation state based on the first ink concentration and the second ink concentration. Precise ink concentration of the ink to be supplied to an ink jet head is obtained.