Abstract: A water based ink composition for a writing instrument containing at least one selected from the group consisting of alkylene oxide adducts of polyglycerin, alkylene oxide adducts of glycerin and alkylene oxide adducts of trimethylolpropane and further containing a colorant, a perfume and water, which is less liable to cause feathering of the lines and in which a perfume is dispersed and retained in an aqueous medium in a stable state and the fragrance lasts long.

Abstract: A aqueous ink for a ball-point pen which is stable over time and has high pigment dispersion stability, includes a pigment, a water-soluble organic solvent, water, xanthane gum of about 0.01 to about 0.2 wt. % and a sodium alginate of about 0.2 to about 0.6 wt. % of a total amount of the ink.

Abstract: Chroma is increased, color-to-color bleed is reduced, and edge acuity is increase for dye-based inks by an underprinting technique. A dye-based ink-jet ink printing system is provided, comprising cyan, yellow, and magenta inks, each ink contained in a separate ink pen. Each ink contains at least one water-soluble dye and vesicles. The vesicles are present in an amount sufficient to contain a substantial fraction of dye molecules within the water pool of the vesicles. The vesicles formed from a surfactant having a first polarity. The printing system further comprises an additional pen containing a fixer having a second polarity, opposite to the first polarity. Further, an ink-jet printer that includes the dye-based ink-jet ink printing system is configured to print the fixer on a print medium, followed by printing at least one ink on the fixer. A method for improving chroma, color-to-color bleed, and edge acuity in a dye-based ink-jet ink.

Abstract: Disclosed is a water-based ball-point pen ink composition which gives a smooth writing touch and shows various satisfactory writing performance, comprising a colorant, water, and as an agent for imparting shear-thinning properties at least one member selected from sulfosuccinates represented by the following general formula (1): wherein each R represents an alkyl or alkenyl group having 7 to 18 carbon atoms and X represents an alkali metal or an amine, the content of the at least one member being from 5 to 50% by weight.

Abstract: Water-fastness in aqueous ink-jet inks containing water-soluble dyes is achieved by using a specific ionic species having a charge opposite to that on the dye molecule. Anionic dyes typically contain sulfonate (or carboxylate) anionic groups. Using at least one specific ionic species of opposite charge, specifically, phosphonium salts, causes the colorant components to “crash” or precipitate out of the water-based ink onto the print medium due to the formation of a suitable charge complex between the ionic parts of the dye and the opposite charge of the counter-ion species. Other positively charged salts, such as quaternary ammonium salts, carbonium salts, iodonium salts, sulfonium salts, and pyrillium salts may be used to improve aqueous dispersion stability and thus printability. Such additional cationic salt partially replaces the phosphonium salt(s).

Abstract: The present invention relates to surfactants that help improve image quality attributes, in particular chroma (i.e., color saturation), and ink-jet inks formulated with the same to produce inks exhibiting more than one of the desirable properties such as improved chroma, bleed control, edge acuity, and surface retention, thereby improving image quality. More specifically, the invention relates to surfactants that form relatively large aggregated structures (micelles) of geometry other than spherical, hence fourth referred to as lamellae forming surfactants.

Abstract: Disclosed is an ink composition which comprises (a) water, (b) a colorant; and (c) an additive selected from the group consisting of diamido quaternary dialkyl ammonium salts, bitail quaternary tetraalkyl ammonium salts, bitail imidazolium salts, bitail biomimetic phospholipid salts, specific bisquaternary salts, &bgr;-hydroxyethyl ethylene diamine fatty acids, specific polyammonium salts, ethoxylated polyamine compounds, biquaternary pyridinium salts, aminofunctional polyorganosiloxanes, and mixtures thereof.

Abstract: An ink jet printer is disclosed, which jets a water-soluble ink from a recording head comprising at least an ink passage-forming member and an orifice through the orifice to form flying droplets which form a dot image on a recording medium, wherein at least a portion of the ink passage-forming member is composed of borosilicate glass and the water-soluble ink comprises at least one of urea and thiourea. Further, an ink for use in the ink jet printer is also disclosed.