Claims
- 1. An ink jet printing method, comprising the steps of:
A) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals; B) loading said printer with an ink jet recording element comprising a support having thereon an image-receiving layer; C) loading said printer with an ink jet ink composition comprising water, a humectant, and composite colorant polymer particles, wherein said composite colorant polymer particles have a pigment phase and a polymer phase, said polymer phase of said particles being formed in situ, wherein a portion of an addition polymerization initiator is added to an aqueous colorant mixture before adding a monomer mixture to the colorant mixture in a continuous process, said composite colorant polymer particles not increasing in mean particle size more than about 18% when said ink is incubated for one week at 60° C.; and D) printing on said image-receiving layer using said ink jet ink composition in response to said digital data signals.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said composite colorant polymer particles are made by a process comprising, in order:
I) suspending in an aqueous medium, under agitation, finely divided colorant particles to form an aqueous colorant mixture; II) adding to said aqueous colorant mixture an addition polymerization initiator; and III) causing said addition polymerization initiator to form a free radical while continuously introducing to said aqueous colorant mixture a monomer mixture comprising:
a) an addition polymerization initiator, and b) at least one ethylenically-unsaturated monomer; thereby forming said composite colorant particles having a colorant phase and a polymer phase.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said colorant phase comprises a pigment.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said pigment is C.I. Pigment Blue 15:3, C.I. Pigment Red 122, C.I. Pigment Yellow 155 or C.I. Pigment Black 7.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the composite colorant particles comprise up to about 20% by weight of said composition.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the composite colorant particles comprise up to about 10% by weight of said composition.
- 7. The method of claim 1 wherein said humectant comprises from about 5 to about 60% by weight of said composition.
- 8. The method of claim 1 wherein said humectant comprises from about 10 to about 50% by weight of said composition.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein said polymer phase comprises a polymer formed from methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, hexyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, lauryl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, nonyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinylidene chloride, vinyl chloride, styrene, t-butyl styrene, vinyl toluene, butadiene, isoprene, N,N-dimethyl acrylamide, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, chloromethacrylic acid, maleic acid, allylamine, N,N-diethylallylamine, vinyl sulfonamide, sodium acrylate, sodium methacrylate, ammonium acrylate, ammonium methacrylate, acrylamidopropane-triethylammonium chloride, methacrylamidopropane-triethylammonium chloride, vinyl-pyridine hydrochloride, sodium vinyl phosphonate and sodium 1-methylvinylphosphonate, sodium vinyl sulfonate, sodium 1-methylvinyl-sulfonate or sodium styrenesulfonate.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein said composite colorant polymer particles have a mean particle size of less than about 200 nm.
- 11. The method of claim 1 wherein said composite colorant polymer particles have a mean particle size of less than about 80 nm.
- 12. The method of claim 1 wherein said polymer phase is cross-linked.
- 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the ratio of said colorant phase to said polymer phase is from about 30:70 to about 70:30.
- 14. The method of claim 1 wherein said composite colorant polymer particles do not increase in mean particle size more than about 18% when said ink is incubated for one week at 60° C.
- 15. The method of claim 1 wherein said composite colorant polymer particles do not increase in mean particle size more than about 10% when said ink is incubated for one week at 60° C.
- 16. An ink jet printing method, comprising the steps of:
A) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals; B) loading said printer with an ink jet recording element comprising a support having thereon an image-receiving layer; C) loading said printer with an ink jet ink composition comprising water, a humectant, and composite colorant polymer particles, wherein said composite colorant polymer particles have a pigment phase and a polymer phase, said polymer phase of said particles being formed in situ, wherein a portion of an addition polymerization initiator is added to an aqueous colorant mixture before adding a monomer mixture to the colorant mixture in a continuous process, said composite colorant polymer particles not increasing in mean particle size more than about 18% when said ink is incubated for one week at 60° C., and wherein said aqueous colorant mixture consists essentially of colorant particles, dispersants or surfactants, and water; and D) printing on said image-receiving layer using said ink jet ink composition in response to said digital data signals.
- 17. The ink jet printing method of claim 1 or 16 wherein no monomer which is used to form the polymer phase is added to the colorant mixture prior to or at the time that a portion of an addition polymerization initiator is added to the aqueous colorant mixture.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/822,724, filed Mar. 30, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Ink Printing Method.”
[0002] Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending continuation-in-part application Ser. No. ______ by Erdtmann et al., entitled “Ink Jet Ink Composition” filed simultaneously herewith.
[0003] Reference is also made to commonly assigned, co-pending application Ser. No. 09/822,723 by Erdtmann et al., filed Mar. 30, 2001 entitled “Ink Jet Ink Composition”; application Ser. No. 09/822,725 by Wang et al., filed Mar. 30, 2001 entitled “Composite Colorant Particles; and application Ser. No. 09/822,096 by Wang et al., filed Mar. 30, 2001 entitled “Process For Making Composite Colorant Particles” for all that they contain.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09822724 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
Child |
10446059 |
May 2003 |
US |