Patent Application
20050191445
In a typical ink jet recording or printing system, ink droplets are ejected from a nozzle towards a recording element or medium to produce an image on the medium. The ink droplets, or recording liquid, generally include a recording agent, such as a dye or pigment, and a large amount of solvent. The solvent, or carrier liquid, typically is made up of water, an organic material such as a monohydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol, or mixtures thereof.
An image recording element typically includes a substrate having at least one porous ink-receiving surface or image-forming layer. A preformed solid latex layer has also traditionally been formed over the ink-receiving surface to provide protection and image enhancement to the porous ink-receiving surface.
While the solid latex layer does enhance and protect the ink formed image, it also presents a number of issues. Traditionally, the latex layer has been formed including a large quantity of binder material, such as water soluble polymers, to keep the latex layer together and to facilitate the adherence of the latex layer to the porous substrate. While the binder material facilitated the adherence of the latex layer to the porous substrate, large quantities of binder material also reduce the porosity of the latex layer and consequently decrease the penetration rate of ink through the latex layer and into the porous ink-receiving layer beneath. Moreover, incompatibility between binders of a top and a bottom layer often cause internal haze. This undesirable haze was exaggerated when exposed to heat and/or pressure.
A system for forming a microporous ink receptive coating includes a fusible latex configured to coat a substrate, wherein the fusible latex includes a hard core material and a soft shell material, wherein the latex exhibits self-adhesive properties at a system operation temperature.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of the present system and method and are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples of the present system and method and do not limit the scope thereof.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.
Traditional methods for one pass coating of a microporous layer on top of another microporous base layer experienced incompatibility of binders in the top layer and the bottom layer. This incompatibility caused internal haze, which is made worse under heat and pressure. Additionally the presence of cross linkers and hardeners arriving into the layer through migration during the process of coating cause the binder in the top to become either brittle, having a tendency to crack, or to form a gel structure leading to gel particulates and other type of defects related to visco-elasticity. The above issues can be eliminated if the surface layer did not have any binder at all. However, in the absence of a binder, some means of adhering the latex particulates is needed.
An exemplary method and apparatus for generating a microporous ink receptive coating using little to no binder material is described herein. More specifically, a microporous substrate is coated with an optically clear or translucent layer of hard core/soft shell latex configured to adhere to itself with little or no binder. Once coated onto a microporous substrate, the layer of hard core/soft shell latex provides a porosity sufficient to allow the printing of an image onto the microporous substrate. Once printed, the layer of hard core/soft shell latex may be sealed by heat and/or pressure to form a single continuous film. The present specification discloses the composition of an exemplary coating and various exemplary methods that can be used to generate a binder free microporous ink receptive coating on a substrate.
As used in this specification and in the appended claims, the term “substrate” is meant to be understood as any medium, planar or non-planar, configured to receive a coating or an image. A “glass transition temperature” is meant to be understood as a temperature under which polymers are rigid and brittle and somewhat elastic above it. Moreover, the term “binder” is meant to be understood as any additive used to bind separate particles together or facilitate adhesion to a surface.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present system and method for generating a binder free microporous ink receptive coating using hard core/soft shell latex. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present method may be practiced without these specific details. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Exemplary Structure
The coating applicator (130) of the coating system (100) illustrated in
The ink receptive medium (110) illustrated in
The computing device (140) illustrated in
As shown in
Exemplary Compositions
One exemplary embodiment of the present system and method for generating a binder free microporous ink receptive coating is based on employing a hard core/soft shell latex (150) that includes a hard center having a high glass transition temperature (Tg) and a soft latex shell having a low glass transition temperature (Tg). Once the hard core/soft shell latex (105) coats a desired substrate, the soft shell portions become tackified at system temperatures and adhere to one another. A recording medium may then be deposited on the hard core/soft shell latex (105). Once an image printing process has been performed, the top layer may be fused using heat and/or pressure to form a continuous latex layer.
The hard core polymer material used in the present exemplary system and method may be an optically clear or translucent polymer having a Tg above approximately 80 degrees Celsius. According to one exemplary embodiment, the hard core polymer material may include, but is in no way limited to, poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(tert-butylstyrene), poly(styrene), poly(p-methylstyrene), poly(t-butylacrylamide), poly(styrene-co-methylmethacrylate), poly(styrene-co-t-butylacrylamide), poly(methylmethacrylate-co-t-butylacrylamide), poly(methylmethacrylate-co-ethylmethacrylate), and homopolymers derived from tert-butyl methacrylate, p-cyanophenyl methacrylate, pentachlorophenyl acrylate, methacrylonitrile, isobornyl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, isobornyl acrylate, p-cyanophenyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl methacrylate, 2-naphthyl acrylate, n-isopropyl acrylamide, 1-fluoromethyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, tetrafluoroethylene, t-butyl methacrylate, and 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate.
Surrounding the above-mentioned hard core material polymer is a soft shell hydrophilic polymer material. The shell material polymer used in one exemplary embodiment of the present system and method has a Tg lower than 70 degrees Celsius and displays adhesive properties at system temperatures. According to one exemplary embodiment, the present soft shell polymer material exhibits sufficient adhesive properties at system temperatures that a layer of hard core/soft shell latex adheres to itself as well as to a microporous substrate without the aid of adhesive. Soft shell polymers that may be used to form the soft shell polymer material include, but are in no way limited to, homo- and copolymers derived from the following monomers: n-butyl acrylate, n-ethylacrylate, 2-ethylhexylacrylate, methoxyethylacrylate, methoxyethoxy-ethylacrylate, ethoxyethylacrylate, ethoxyethoxyethylacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl-methacrylate, n-propylacrylate, hydroxyethylacrylate, tetrahydrofufuryl acrylate, cyclohexylacrylate, iso-decylacrylate, n-decylmethacrylate, n-propylacrylate, vinylacetate, 2-(N,N-Dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, 2-N-Morpholinoethyl acrylate, 3-Dimethylaminoneopentyl acrylate, and the like, as well as cationic monomers such as a salt of trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate and trimethylammoniumethyl methacrylate, a salt of triethylammoniumethyl acrylate and triethylammonium-ethyl methacrylate, a salt of dimethylbenzylammoniumethyl acrylate and dimethylbenzylammoniumethyl methacrylate, a salt of dimethylbutylammonium-ethyl acrylate and dimethylbutylammoniumethyl methacrylate, a salt of dimethylhexylammoniumethyl acrylate and dimethylhexylammoniumethyl methacrylate, a salt of dimethyloctylammoniumethyl acrylate and dimethyloctyl-ammoniumethyl methacrylate, a salt of dimethyldodeceylammoniumethyl acrylate and dimethyldocecylammoniumethyl methacrylate, a salt of trimethyl-(4-vinylbenzyl)ammonium, a salt of triethyl-(4-vinylbenzyl)ammonium, a salt trimethylammoniumpropyl acrylate, a salt of dimethyloctadecyl-ammoniumethyl acrylate and dimethyloctadecylammoniumethyl methacrylate, etc. Salts of these cationic monomers which can be used include chloride, bromide, methylsulfate, triflate, etc.
Examples of these shell material polymers include poly(n-butylacrylate-co-vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride), poly(n-butylacrylate-co-vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium bromide), poly(n-butylacrylate-co-vinylbenzyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride) and poly(n-butylacrylate-co-vinylbenzyldimethyloctadecylammonium chloride). According to one exemplary embodiment, the shell polymer can be poly(n-butyl acrylate co-trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate), poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate co-trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate) poly(methoxyethylacrylate co-trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate), poly(ethoxy-ethylacrylate co-trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate), poly(n-butylacrylate-co-trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate), poly(n-butylacrylate-co-trimethylammoniumethyl methacrylate), poly(n-butylacrylate-co-vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride), poly (n-ethylhexylacrylate-co-2-hydroxyethylacrylate co-trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate), poly (n-butylacrylate-co-2-hydroxyethylacrylate co-trimethylammoniumethyl acrylate), poly(n-ethylhexylacrylate-co-vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride), poly(n-methoxyethylacrylate-co-vinyl benzyltrimethylammon ium chloride), or poly(n-ethoxyethylacrylate-co-vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride.
Table 1 below illustrates exemplary hard core/soft shell latexes that may be used according to one exemplary embodiment:
The recording agent used to record an image on the coated substrate may be any jettable ink or dye. The ink compositions used in inkjet printing typically are liquid compositions comprising a solvent or carrier liquid, dyes or pigments, humectants, organic solvents, detergents, thickeners, preservatives, and the like. The solvent or carrier liquid can be solely water or can be water mixed with other water-miscible solvents such as polyhydric alcohols. Inks in which organic materials such as polyhydric alcohols are the predominant carrier or solvent liquid may also be used. Particularly useful are mixed solvents of water and polyhydric alcohols. The dyes used in such compositions are typically water-soluble direct or acid type dyes.
The hard core/soft shell latex employed in the present system and method was prepared by a sequential emulsion polymerization technique. Syntheis of latex with core-shell morphology is described in “Emulsion Polymerization and Emulsion Polymers, ed.” by P. A. Lovell and M. S. El-Aasser, Wiley, New York (1997), p. 293-323, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In general, the hard core polymer latex is polymerized first followed by the sequential feeding of the second low Tg monomer emulsions. A typical synthetic procedure of the hard core/soft shell latex of the present system and method is described below.
Exemplary Latex Fabrication Method
According to one exemplary embodiment, the hard core/soft shell latex is formed using the latex 2 formulation above having a size smaller than 200 nm. At this size, the hard core/soft shell latex exhibits increased self adhesion and may be deposited using little or no binder as will be explained further below. During formation, differing ratios of core and shell material may be used.
According to one exemplary embodiment, the hard core/soft shell latex is prepared by a sequential emulsion polymerization technique by first charging a mixture of 200 grams (g) water and 2 (g) of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to a 2L 3-neck flask equipped with a nitrogen inlet, a mechanical stirrer, and a condenser. The flask is immersed in a constant temperature bath at 80 degrees Celsius and purged with nitrogen for 20 min.
0.5 (g) of 2,2′-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) HCL salt is then added and followed by the addition of a monomer emulsion made up of 200 (g) of Styrene, 2 (g) of 2,2′-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) HCL salt, 20 (g) of CTAB, and 200 (g) of Deionized Water. The mixture is continually agitated during the feeding of the monomer emulsion. The monomer emulsion is withdrawn from the bottom of the monomer reservoir with a Fluid Metering Pump. The addition time of the monomer emulsion is approximately one hour and twenty minutes. The polymerization is continued for 30 min after the addition of the first monomer.
A second monomer emulsion including 160 (g) of Butyl Acrylate, 40 g of 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, 2 (g) of 2,2′-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) HCL salt, 20 (g) of CTAB (20), and 200 (g) of Deionized Water may then be prepared in the same way. The total addition time being one hour and twenty minutes. The latex is heated at 80 degrees Celsius for one hour and cooled to 60 degrees Celsius.
4 milliliters of 10% t-butyl hydroperoxide and 10% formaldehyde-sulfite are then added to remove the residual monomer and held for 30 minutes. After being held for 30 minutes, the mixture may be cooled to room temperature and filtered. The above-mentioned method produces a particle size of approximately 120 nm.
The above-mentioned latex fabrication method is provided as an exemplary procedure only and should not limit the present system and method in any way. To the contrary, any number of ingredients and methods may be used to produce the present hard core/soft shell latex.
Exemplary Implementation and Operation
As shown in the flow chart of
Once the hard core/soft shell latexes are blended (step 300), the hard core/soft shell latex is selectively applied on a coating receiving substrate in one pass or two using little or no binder to form an ink receiving layer (step 310). The application of the hard core/soft shell latex (150) is illustrated in
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present system and method, the hard core/soft shell latex material (210) may be deposited using little or no binder material. Rather, the operating temperatures of the present system and method are sufficiently close to the Tg of the soft shell latex portion of the hard core/soft shell latex material (210) that the surface of the soft, low Tg shell becomes sticky and adheres to the surface of other soft shells, thereby adhering to itself and the ink receptive medium (110). Additionally, a coalescing agent may be added to the latex to effectively lower the Tg of the shell for soft shells having a higher than process temperature Tg. Coalescing agents that may be added to the hard core/soft shell latex (210) include, but are in no way limited to, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, hexylene glycol, ester of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, hexylene glycol, 2-butoxyethanol, 2,2,4-trimethylpentanediol monoisobutyrate, diisobutyl esters of a mixture of diacids, butyl cellulose, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol, 2-butoxyethanol, Rhodiasolve DIB® (by Rhodia Chemical), TEXANOL® (by Eastman Chemical), diisobutyl succinate, diisobutyl glutarate, diisobutyl adipate, SER-AD FX-510® (by Sasol Chemical), and SER-AD FX-511® (by Sasol Chemical), etc. Moreover, the particles of the hard core/soft shell latex (210) are formed to be smaller than traditional hard core/soft shell latexes in order to facilitate efficient packing (less than 200 nm). This efficient packing allows a larger percentage of surface area of each hard core/soft shell latex particle to come into contact with the surface of another, thereby facilitating the adherence. Additionally, the binder may be eliminated from the present hard core/soft shell latex (210) because when used in layered applications, any adhesive located on the base layer of the ink receptive medium (110) may migrate to the deposited layer of hard core/soft shell latex (210) thereby aiding in the binding of the material.
Alternatively, if binders are desired, a number of binders may be included including, but in no way limited to, water soluble polymers and polymeric latex or emulsions. Examples of water soluble polymers include, but are in no way limited to, polyvinylalcohol, copolymer of polyvinylalcohol, gelatin, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyacrylic acid, polyacrylamide, etc. Low Tg (<30° C.) polymer latexes or emulsions can also be used as extra binders for the hard core/soft shell latex. Exemplary low Tg polymer latexes include, but are in no way limited to, poly(styrene-co-butadiene), poly(butylacrylate), poly(ethylacrylate), poly(2-ethoxyethylacrylate), poly(tetrahydrofufrylacrylate), poly(2-methoxyethylacrylate), etc. Polyurethane dispersions that may be used include, but are in no way limited to, WITCOBOND (of Crompton Corp.), BEETAFIN (BIP Limited), CYDROTHANE (Cytec Industries, Inc.), SYNTEGRA (Dow Chemical), Bayhydrol (Bayer Polymers), Neorez (Avecia), etc. Moreover, exemplary polyester dispersions include, but are in no way limited to, AQ dispersion (Eastman Chemical), etc.
When the hard core/soft shell latex is applied to the ink receptive medium (110), the present system and method may selectively deposit ink particles to form a desired image (step 320;
The inkjet dispenser (410) used to dispense the ink (400) or other recording medium may be may be any type of inkjet dispenser configured to perform the present method including, but in no way limited to, thermally actuated inkjet dispensers, mechanically actuated inkjet dispensers, electrostatically actuated inkjet dispensers, magnetically actuated dispensers, piezoelectrically actuated dispensers, continuous inkjet dispensers, etc.
Once the ink (400) or other recording medium has been permitted to absorb into the microporous substrate (114), the top portion of the hard core/soft shell latex (210) may be fused using heat and/or pressure (step 330;
In conclusion, the present system and method for generating a binder free microporous ink receptive coating using hard core/soft shell latex eliminates a number of issues related to coating multiple layers having binder material. More specifically, by greatly reducing or eliminating the binder material during the deposition of a hard core/soft shell latex, incompatibility between layers is reduced, porosity of the hard core/soft shell latex layer is increased, and the fusion rate of ink through the latex layer and onto the porous ink receiving surface is increased. All of these advantages prevent coalescence problems and improve the overall image quality.
Additionally, the present system and method provides for the sealing or fusing of the hard core/soft shell latex once a desired image has been formed. The ability to fuse the hard core/soft shell latex layer increases the toughness and scratch resistance of the top latex layer.
The preceding description has been presented only to illustrate and describe exemplary embodiments of the present system and method. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the system and method to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the system and method be defined by the following claims.
