JP2011105865A - Ink set and image-forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink set capable of forming an image suppressed in occurrence of color bleeding and excellent in scratch resistance. <P>SOLUTION: The ink set comprises an aqueous ink composition comprising a pigment, a graft polymer bearing an aromatic ring group in the side chain and an aqueous medium, and a treating liquid comprising an acidic compound that aggregates the components of the aqueous ink composition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink set and an image forming method.

In recent years, paints and inks (hereinafter also referred to as “inks”) are becoming water-based due to increasing needs such as resource protection, environmental protection, and work stability improvement. The quality required for water-based paints and water-based inks is fluidity, storage stability, gloss of film, vividness, coloring power and the like, similar to oil-based paints and oil-based inks. The pigment is inherently highly fast due to its high crystallinity, and its light resistance and water resistance are far superior to dyes. However, since most pigments are remarkably inferior in suitability for pigment dispersibility and the like as compared with an oily vehicle with respect to an aqueous vehicle, satisfactory quality cannot be obtained by a normal dispersion method. Therefore, the use of various additives such as aqueous pigment dispersion resins and surfactants has been studied so far, but they satisfy all the above-mentioned suitability and are comparable to existing high-quality oil-based paints or oil-based inks. No water-based paint or water-based ink has been obtained.
Ink-jet inks are generally used that have high permeability to the recording medium in consideration of the fixing speed and bleeding between colors. For this reason, when an image is formed using plain paper, the color material penetrates into the inside of the recording medium, and a sufficient amount of the color material to be fixed on the surface of the recording medium cannot be secured. It is difficult to obtain a good recorded material.

  In relation to the above, an ink set including an inkjet ink using a polymer dispersant containing a hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group and a treatment liquid is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, an aqueous dispersion of a colorant and an aqueous ink using a graft copolymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain as a dispersant are disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2006-342201 A JP 2001-164156 A

However, the ink using the dispersant described in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 is not satisfactory in terms of abrasion resistance and color bleeding (color bleeding).
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink set capable of forming an image excellent in abrasion resistance and excellent in abrasion resistance, and an image forming method using the same.

Specific means for solving the above problems are as follows.
<1> A pigment, a graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in a side chain, an aqueous ink composition containing an aqueous medium, and a treatment liquid containing an acidic compound that aggregates the components of the aqueous ink composition. Ink set.
<2> The ink set according to <1>, wherein the graft polymer further has an anionic group.
<3> The ink set according to <2>, wherein the anionic group is a carboxyl group.
<4> The ink set according to <2> or <3>, wherein the acid value of the graft polymer is 5 mgKOH / g or more and less than 500 mgKOH / g.
<5> The ink set according to any one of <1> to <4>, wherein the side chain of the graft polymer includes a repeating unit represented by the following general formula (1).

[In General Formula (1), R ¹ represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. L ¹ represents a single bond, —COO—, —OCO—, —CONR ² — (R ² represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms), or a substituted or unsubstituted phenylene group. L ² represents a single bond or a divalent linking group formed by combining one or more selected from the following linking group group. Ar represents a group containing an aromatic ring.
(Linked group group)
Alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkenylene group having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, alkyl ether groups having 1 to 12 carbon ^{atoms, -CO -, - NR 3 -} (R 3 is a hydrogen atom or a carbon number of 1 to 6 Alkyl group), —O—, —S—, —SO—, —SO ₂ —]

<6> Ar in the general formula (1) is derived from benzene, a condensed aromatic compound having 8 or more carbon atoms, a heterocyclic compound in which an aromatic ring is condensed, or a compound in which two or more benzenes are linked. The ink set according to <5>, which is a base.
<7> The ink set according to any one of <1> to <6>, wherein at least a part of a surface of the pigment is coated with the graft polymer.
<8> The ink set according to any one of <1> to <7>, wherein the aqueous ink composition further includes an aqueous UV curable material.

<9> A treatment liquid application step of applying a treatment liquid contained in the ink set according to any one of <1> to <8> onto a recording medium; and <1> to <8> An ink application step of applying the aqueous ink composition contained in the ink set according to any one of the above to the recording medium by an inkjet method, and forming the image by bringing the aqueous ink composition and the treatment liquid into contact with each other. And an image forming method.
<10> The image forming method according to <9>, further including a heat fixing step.
<11> The image forming method according to <9> or <10>, further including a curing and fixing step.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink set capable of forming an image with excellent color resistance, and an image forming method using the ink set.

<Ink set>
The ink set of the present invention comprises at least one of a pigment, a graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in a side chain, and an aqueous ink composition containing an aqueous medium, and an acidic compound that aggregates the components of the aqueous ink composition. And at least one treatment liquid to be contained.
By forming an image using the ink composition and the treatment liquid having such a configuration, the occurrence of color bleeding can be suppressed and an image having excellent abrasion resistance can be formed. In addition, the water-based ink composition includes a pigment and a graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain, so that the ink has excellent aging stability, and is excellent in ink ejection stability and ejection recovery by the inkjet method. .

In the ink set of the present invention, the effect of the present invention is not impaired in addition to the aqueous ink composition containing the pigment, the graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain and the aqueous medium, and the treatment liquid containing the acidic compound. If necessary, the ink composition may further contain other aqueous ink composition different from the ink composition, other treatment liquid not containing an acidic compound, and the like.
Examples of other water-based ink compositions include a water-based ink composition not containing a pigment, and a water-based ink composition not containing a graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain.

[Water-based ink composition]
The aqueous ink composition of the present invention contains at least one pigment, at least one graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain, and an aqueous medium. The graft polymer in the present invention is used, for example, as a dispersant for dispersing the pigment in an aqueous medium.

The graft polymer used as a dispersant has a hydrophobic aromatic ring group in the side chain (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “branched polymer”), so that the hydrophobic part in the graft polymer is biased to the side chain part. It will be. Thereby, for example, it can be considered that the aromatic ring group present in a biased manner in the side chain portion is more efficiently adsorbed on the surface of the pigment. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of electrostatic repulsion derived from a partial structure containing an ionic functional group that may be contained in the main chain of the graft polymer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “trunk polymer”) and steric repulsion between side chains Therefore, it can be considered that the main chain portion is likely to be spread more in the aqueous medium. It can be considered that the dispersibility of the pigment and the stability over time are improved by the properties of the graft polymer.
Further, when the pigment dispersed with the graft polymer (dispersing agent) having such a structure is brought into contact with, for example, an acidic compound, electrostatic repulsion and steric repulsion between the pigment particles dispersed in the aqueous medium are rapidly reduced, and the pigment The dispersion is agglomerated. In particular, the hydrophobic portion derived from the aromatic ring group is present in the graft polymer in a biased manner, so that the hydrophilicity of the pigment particles is drastically decreased, and as a result, the image is suppressed from color bleeding (color bleed). It can be considered that can be formed.

(Pigment)
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said pigment, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, any of an organic pigment and an inorganic pigment may be sufficient.
Examples of organic pigments include azo pigments, polycyclic pigments, dye chelates, nitro pigments, nitroso pigments, and aniline black. Among these, azo pigments and polycyclic pigments are more preferable. Examples of the azo pigments include azo lakes, insoluble azo pigments, condensed azo pigments, and chelate azo pigments. Examples of the polycyclic pigment include phthalocyanine pigments, perylene pigments, perinone pigments, anthraquinone pigments, quinacridone pigments, dioxazine pigments, indigo pigments, thioindigo pigments, isoindolinone pigments, and quinophthalone pigments. Examples of dye chelates include basic dye chelates and acid dye chelates.

  Examples of the inorganic pigment include titanium oxide, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, barium yellow, cadmium red, chrome yellow, and carbon black. Among these, carbon black is particularly preferable. In addition, as said carbon black, what was manufactured by well-known methods, such as a contact method, a furnace method, and a thermal method, is mentioned, for example.

Specific examples of the pigment that can be used in the present invention include pigments described in paragraph numbers [0142] to [0145] of JP-A-2007-100071.
The above pigments may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The content of the pigment in the ink composition is preferably 0.1 to 20% by mass, and preferably 0.2 to 15% with respect to the total solid content mass of the ink composition from the viewpoints of ink colorability, storage stability, and the like. % By mass is more preferable, and 0.5 to 10% by mass is particularly preferable.
The pigments may be used alone or in combination.

(Graft polymer)
The graft polymer in the present invention (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “dispersing agent”) has at least one aromatic ring group in the side chain. The aromatic ring group is not particularly limited as long as it is a monovalent group derived from an aromatic compound. Moreover, the aromatic ring group contained in a side chain may be 1 type, or may be 2 or more types.
Also, there is no particular limitation on the mode in which the side chain contains an aromatic ring group, but from the viewpoint of dispersibility and stability over time, the side chain must comprise at least one repeating unit having an aromatic ring group. It is preferable that the side chain is constituted by including at least one repeating unit in which the aromatic ring group is bonded to the polymer chain constituting the side chain via a linking group. Since the aromatic ring group is bonded to the polymer chain constituting the side chain via a linking group, the adsorptivity to the pigment is further improved, so that dispersibility and stability over time are further improved.
Furthermore, in this invention, it is preferable that the side chain is comprised including at least 1 sort (s) of the repeating unit represented by following General formula (1).

In general formula (1), R ¹ represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. L ¹ represents a single bond, —COO—, —OCO—, —CONR ² — (R ² represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms), or a substituted or unsubstituted phenylene group. L ² represents a single bond or a divalent linking group formed by combining one or more selected from the following linking group group. Ar represents a group containing an aromatic ring.
(Linked group group)
Alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkenylene group having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, alkyl ether groups having 1 to 12 carbon ^{atoms, -CO -, - NR 3 -} (R 3 is a hydrogen atom or a carbon number of 1 to 6 alkyl group), - O -, - S -, - SO -, - SO 2 -.

  The alkylene group has 1 to 12 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 6 carbon atoms. The alkenylene group has 2 to 12 carbon atoms, preferably 2 to 4 carbon atoms. Moreover, although the said alkyl ether group is C1-C12, it is preferable that it is C2-C6. Here, if possible, the alkylene group, alkenylene group, and alkyl ether group are each independently a substituent (for example, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a halogen atom, a cyano group, or an alkyl ether group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms). May be substituted by an alkoxy group or the like.

In the present invention, L ² represents a single bond, an alkylene group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an alkyl ether group having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, —CO—, —NR ³ — (R ³⁾ from the viewpoint of dispersion stability. Is preferably a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms), and a divalent linking group consisting of at least one selected from the group consisting of -O-, an alkylene group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, carbon It is more preferably a divalent linking group composed of at least one selected from the group consisting of an alkyl ether group of 2 to 6, —CO—, —NH—, and —O—.

Ar in the general formula (1) is a group including an aromatic ring, but benzene, a condensed aromatic compound having 8 or more carbon atoms, a heterocyclic compound in which an aromatic ring is condensed, or a compound in which two or more benzenes are connected. A monovalent group derived from is preferable.
The condensed aromatic compound having 8 or more carbon atoms is an aromatic ring in which at least two benzene rings are condensed and / or an alicyclic compound in which at least one aromatic ring is condensed with the aromatic ring. It is an aromatic compound composed of hydrocarbons and having 8 or more carbon atoms. Specific examples include naphthalene, anthracene, fluorene, phenanthrene, acenaphthene and the like.

  The heterocyclic compound in which the aromatic ring is condensed is a compound in which an aromatic compound not containing a hetero atom (preferably a benzene ring) and a cyclic compound having a hetero atom are at least condensed. Here, the cyclic compound having a hetero atom is preferably a 5-membered ring or a 6-membered ring. As a hetero atom, a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom is preferable. The cyclic compound having a hetero atom may have a plurality of hetero atoms, and in this case, the hetero atoms may be the same as or different from each other. Specific examples of the heterocyclic compound having a condensed aromatic ring include phthalimide, naphthalimide, acridone, carbazole, benzoxazole, and benzothiazole.

The compound in which two or more benzenes are linked refers to a compound formed by bonding two or more benzenes to each other through a single bond, a divalent linking group, or a trivalent linking group. The divalent linking group is a divalent group selected from the group consisting of an alkylene group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, —CO—, —O—, —S—, —SO—, —SO ₂ — and combinations thereof. A linking group is preferred. Moreover, a methine group is mentioned as a trivalent coupling group.
Here, each benzene may be bonded to each other by a plurality of linking groups, and the plurality of linking groups may be the same or different. As the number of benzene, 2-6 are preferable and 2-3 are more preferable. Specific examples of the compound in which two or more benzenes are linked include biphenyl, triphenylmethane, diphenylmethane, diphenyl ether, diphenyl sulfone and the like.

Ar in the general formula (1) is from benzene, naphthalene, biphenyl, triphenylmethane, phthalimide, naphthalimide, acridone, fluorene, anthracene, phenanthrene, diphenylmethane, or carbazole from the viewpoint of pigment dispersibility and stability over time. Monovalent groups derived are preferred, and monovalent groups derived from benzene, naphthalene, biphenyl, phthalimide, naphthalimide, or acridone are more preferred.
Here, for example, a monovalent group derived from naphthalene means a monovalent group formed by removing one hydrogen atom from naphthalene, and the position at which the hydrogen atom is removed is not particularly limited.

The group containing an aromatic ring represented by Ar may have a substituent. Examples of the substituent include a monovalent substituent such as an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, an alkylcarbonyl group, an alkylcarbonyloxy group, an alkyloxycarbonyloxy group, a halogen group and a cyano group, and a divalent substituent such as an oxo group. be able to. Preferred substituents include alkyl groups having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, alkoxy groups having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, alkylcarbonyl groups having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, alkylcarbonyloxy groups having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, chloro groups, and cyano groups. Group, oxo group and the like.
Among these substituents, specific examples of Ar having a divalent substituent include anthraquinone and naphthoquinone.
Further, these substituents may be substituted with other substituents, and preferred substituents in this case are also as defined above. Moreover, when it has two or more substituents, each substituent may be the same or different. If possible, the substituents may be bonded to each other to form a ring.

In the present invention, the repeating unit represented by the general formula (1) is, from the viewpoint of dispersion stability, L ¹ is —COO— or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, and L ² has 1 to 6 carbon atoms. Selected from the group consisting of an alkylene group, a C 2-12 alkyl ether group, —CO—, —NR ³ — (R ³ is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms), and —O—. A divalent linking group comprising at least one kind, wherein Ar is derived from benzene, naphthalene, biphenyl, triphenylmethane, phthalimide, naphthalimide, acridone, fluorene, anthracene, phenanthrene, diphenylmethane, anthraquinone, or carbazole. It is preferably a monovalent group. L ¹ is —COO— or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, and L ² is an alkylene group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an alkyl ether group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, —CO—, —NH—. And a divalent linking group consisting of at least one selected from the group consisting of —O—, wherein Ar is derived from benzene, naphthalene, biphenyl, phthalimide, naphthalimide, anthraquinone, or acridone. It is more preferable that

In the present invention, even if the side chain (branched polymer) containing the aromatic ring group includes a repeating unit derived from a monomer having an aromatic ring group, the aromatic ring group is introduced after the side chain (branched polymer) is formed. May be formed. In the present invention, from the viewpoint of production efficiency and stability, it is preferable to include a repeating unit derived from a monomer having an aromatic ring group.
Specific examples of the monomer that can constitute the repeating unit represented by the general formula (1), which is an example of the repeating unit derived from the monomer having an aromatic ring group, are shown below, but the present invention is not limited thereto. is not.

  The content of the structural unit having an aromatic ring group in the side chain of the graft polymer (preferably, the repeating unit represented by the general formula (1)) is selected from the viewpoint of pigment dispersibility, stability over time, and ejection. It is preferably 5% by mass or more, more preferably 10% by mass or more, and further preferably 15% by mass or more with respect to the total mass of the side chain portion of the polymer.

  The side chain of the graft polymer may further include at least one repeating unit not having an aromatic ring group, in addition to the repeating unit having an aromatic ring group. The repeating unit having no aromatic ring may be a hydrophilic repeating unit or a hydrophobic repeating unit.

Examples of the hydrophilic repeating unit include a repeating unit having an anionic group, a repeating unit having a cationic group, and a repeating unit having a nonionic group.
Examples of the hydrophobic repeating unit having no aromatic ring group include repeating units derived from (meth) acrylates, (meth) acrylamides and vinyl esters.
Examples of the monomer capable of forming a repeating unit having no aromatic ring group include monomers described in “Polymer Handbook 4th Edition John Wiley & Sons” and the like. A mixture of seeds or more can be used.

Specific examples of the side chain (branched polymer) having an aromatic ring in the graft polymer (dispersant) are shown below, but the present invention is not limited to the following specific examples.
In the following specific examples, each repeating unit enclosed in square brackets means that they are a repeating unit constituting a side chain. The subscript in each repeating unit represents the content of the repeating unit in the side chain on a mass basis.
Moreover, the example of the weight average molecular weight (Mw) was shown in each specific example.

The side chain having an aromatic ring group in the present invention may be used alone or in combination of two or more in the graft polymer.
Moreover, as a weight average molecular weight of the side chain part which has the said aromatic ring, it is preferable that it is 800-30000 from a viewpoint of a dispersibility and cohesion, More preferably, it is 800-20000, The range of 800-15000 is preferable. Particularly preferred. Furthermore, the content of the side chain having an aromatic ring with respect to the total mass of the graft polymer is preferably 1 to 40% by mass and more preferably 1 to 30% by mass from the viewpoints of dispersibility and cohesiveness. preferable.

The graft polymer in the present invention is characterized by having an aromatic ring group in the side chain, but preferably contains at least one repeating unit having a hydrophilic group from the viewpoint of dispersibility and stability over time, More preferably, the main chain (trunk polymer) contains at least one repeating unit having a hydrophilic group.
Examples of the hydrophilic group include an anionic group, a cationic group, and a nonionic group.
In the present invention, it is preferable to include at least one repeating unit having an anionic group, and it is more preferable to include at least one repeating unit having an anionic group in the main chain (trunk polymer).

  The anionic group is not particularly limited as long as it is a functional group that can dissociate into an anion in an aqueous medium. For example, 1 or more types chosen from the group which consists of a carboxyl group, a sulfonic acid group, and a phosphoric acid group is mentioned. Among these, a carboxyl group is preferable from the viewpoints of dispersion stability and aggregation.

The repeating unit containing an anionic group is a hydrophilic repeating unit derived from a monomer having an anionic group, and is formed by introducing an anionic group after the formation of the main chain (trunk polymer). There may be. In the present invention, from the viewpoint of production efficiency and stability, a hydrophilic repeating unit derived from a monomer having an anionic group is preferable.
As the monomer having an anionic group, a commonly used monomer can be used without particular limitation.

Specifically, the monomer having an anionic group includes, for example, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, citraconic acid, 2-methacryloyloxymethyl as the monomer having a carboxyl group. And succinic acid.
Examples of the monomer having a sulfonic acid group include styrene sulfonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid, 3-sulfopropyl (meth) acrylate, and bis- (3-sulfopropyl) -itaconate. .
Examples of the monomer having a phosphate group include vinylphosphonic acid, vinyl phosphate, bis (methacryloxyethyl) phosphate, diphenyl-2-acryloyloxyethyl phosphate, diphenyl-2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphate, dibutyl-2 -Acryloyloxyethyl phosphate and the like.

Among the above, the monomer having an anionic group in the present invention is preferably a monomer having a carboxyl group from the viewpoint of dispersibility and stability of the pigment when an aqueous pigment dispersion is obtained. More preferably, it is at least one of acrylic acid.
The monomer having an anionic group may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

    The content of the repeating unit having an anionic group may be, for example, 90% by mass or less, preferably 1 to 60% by mass, and preferably 1 to 40% by mass in the total mass of the graft polymer. More preferable. When the content of the repeating unit having an anionic group is 1% by mass or more, the charge repulsion in the aqueous dispersion is improved, and the finer pigment and the dispersion stability are improved. On the other hand, when the content is 60% by mass or less, the water-solubility of the dispersant is prevented from becoming too high, the adsorptivity of the dispersant to the pigment surface is improved, and the dispersion stability is improved.

When the graft polymer has an anionic group, the acid value thereof is preferably 5 mgKOH / g or more and less than 500 mgKOH / g, more preferably 10 mgKOH / g or more and less than 450 mgKOH / g, and 15 mgKOH / g g or more and less than 400 mgKOH / g is particularly preferable. The acid value here is defined by the mass (mg) of KOH required to completely neutralize 1 g of the graft polymer, and can be measured by the method described in JIS standard (JIS K0070: 1992). This is adopted in the present invention.
By setting the acid value of the graft polymer to 5 mgKOH / g or more, sufficient charge repulsion of the dispersion due to the dissociated anionic group (preferably carboxyl group) can be obtained, and as a result, the dispersibility tends to be improved. . Moreover, by setting it as less than 500 mgKOH / g, it becomes the tendency for the hydrophilicity of a graft polymer to suppress becoming high too much, and for the adsorptivity to a pigment to improve.

Examples of the nonionic group include a hydroxyl group, an amide group (the nitrogen atom is unsubstituted), and an alkylene oxide polymer such as polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide.
The nonionic group is preferably contained in the main chain as a hydrophilic repeating unit having a nonionic group. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular as a monomer which forms the hydrophilic repeating unit which has the said nonionic hydrophilic group, From a viewpoint of availability, a handleability, and versatility, vinyl monomers are preferable.

Examples of the monomer having a nonionic group include (meth) acrylates, (meth) acrylamides, and vinyl esters having a nonionic hydrophilic functional group. Among these, hydroxyethyl (meth) acrylate, hydroxybutyl (meth) acrylate, (meth) acrylamide, and (meth) acrylate containing an alkylene oxide polymer are particularly preferable.
Moreover, as an alkylene group of the said alkylene oxide polymer, C1-C6 is preferable from a hydrophilic-hydrophobic viewpoint, C2-C6 is more preferable, C2-C4 is especially preferable. Moreover, as a polymerization degree of an alkylene oxide polymer, 1-120 are preferable, 1-60 are more preferable, and 1-30 are especially preferable.
Further, the content of the hydrophilic repeating unit having a nonionic group in the graft polymer is preferably 30% by mass or less, and preferably 20% by mass or less from the viewpoint of dispersibility and stability over time. Is more preferable.

Examples of the cationic group include an amino group and an ammonium group. The cationic group is preferably contained in the main chain as a hydrophilic repeating unit having a cationic group. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular as a monomer which forms the hydrophilic repeating unit which has the said cationic group, A vinyl monomer is preferable from a viewpoint of availability, a handleability, and versatility.
Specific examples of the monomer having a cationic group include monomers described in “Polymer Handbook 4th Edition John Wiley & Sons” and the like, and these may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Can be used.
Further, the content of the hydrophilic repeating unit having a cationic group in the graft polymer is preferably 20% by mass or less, preferably 10% by mass or less from the viewpoint of dispersibility and stability over time. Is more preferable.

The main chain in the graft polymer may contain at least one hydrophobic repeating unit in addition to the repeating unit having a hydrophilic group. The monomers forming the hydrophobic repeating unit are not particularly limited as long as they have a functional group capable of forming the side chain and a hydrophobic functional group, and known monomers are used without particular limitation. Can do.
Examples of the monomer capable of forming the hydrophobic repeating unit include vinyl monomers ((meth) acrylates, (meth) acrylamides, styrenes, vinyl esters, etc.) from the viewpoints of availability, handleability, and versatility. Is preferred.
Specific examples thereof include the monomers described in “Polymer Handbook 4th Edition John Wiley & Sons” and the like, and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more.
Further, the content of the hydrophobic repeating unit constituting the main chain in the graft polymer is preferably 95% by mass or less, more preferably 90% by mass or less, from the viewpoint of dispersibility and stability over time. preferable.

  The graft polymer in the present invention can be synthesized by using a known method, but at least one kind of an anionic group and a functional group that can be converted into an anionic group from the viewpoint of structure control of the graft polymer and ease of synthesis. It is preferable to synthesize by a so-called macromonomer method in which a macromonomer having a terminal and an ethylenically unsaturated bond is used to copolymerize with a monomer for forming a main chain. A method for synthesizing a macromonomer or a method for synthesizing a graft polymer by a macromonomer method is disclosed in, for example, “Polymer”, Vol. 31, page 988 (1982).

  The macromonomer used in the macromonomer method is not particularly limited as long as it has an ethylenically unsaturated bond at the terminal and includes a repeating unit having an aromatic ring group, and is a repeating unit other than the repeating unit having an aromatic ring group. Units may be further included.

  Further, the macromonomer may be a random copolymer in which each repeating unit is introduced irregularly, or a block copolymer introduced regularly, or a block copolymer. There is no restriction | limiting in the introduction order of each repeating unit, You may use the same structural component twice or more. Among these, a random copolymer is preferable in terms of versatility and manufacturability.

The weight average molecular weight of the macromonomer is preferably 800 to 30000, more preferably 800 to 20000, and particularly preferably 800 to 15000. The ratio of the macromonomer contained in the dispersant in the present invention is preferably in the range of 1 to 40% by mass and more preferably in the range of 1 to 30% by mass with respect to the total mass of the graft polymer.
Although the specific example of the macromonomer in this invention is given to the following, this invention is not limited to these. In addition, the subscript of the repeating unit in the following specific example represents the content rate of each repeating unit in a macromonomer on the basis of mass.

The graft polymer used in the present invention can be synthesized by various polymerization methods such as solution polymerization, precipitation polymerization, suspension polymerization, bulk polymerization, and emulsion polymerization. The polymerization reaction can be performed by a known operation such as a batch system, a semi-continuous system, or a continuous system.
The polymerization initiation method includes a method using a radical initiator, a method of irradiating light or radiation, and the like. These polymerization methods and polymerization initiation methods are, for example, the revised version of Tsuruta Junji “Polymer Synthesis Method” (published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, 1971), Takatsu Otsu, Masato Kinoshita, “Experimental Methods for Polymer Synthesis” It is described in pp. 47-154 published in 1972.
Among the above polymerization methods, a solution polymerization method using a radical initiator is particularly preferable. Solvents used in the solution polymerization method include, for example, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, cyclohexanone, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, N, N-dimethylformamide, N, N-dimethylacetamide, benzene, toluene, acetonitrile, A single organic solvent such as methylene chloride, chloroform, dichloroethane, methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, and 1-butanol, or a mixture of two or more thereof may be used, or a mixed solvent with water may be used.
The polymerization temperature needs to be set in relation to the molecular weight of the graft polymer to be produced, the type of initiator, etc., and is usually about 0 ° C. to 100 ° C., but the polymerization is preferably performed in the range of 50 to 100 ° C. .
The reaction pressure can be appropriately selected, but is usually preferably 1 to 100 kg / cm ² , particularly preferably about 1 to 30 kg / cm ² . The reaction time is about 5 to 30 hours. The obtained polymer may be subjected to purification such as reprecipitation.

Furthermore, the molecular weight range of the graft polymer (dispersant) used in the present invention is a weight average molecular weight (Mw), preferably 1000 to 1 million, more preferably 2000 to 500,000, and further preferably 3000 to 15. It is ten thousand.
By setting the molecular weight within the above range, the steric repulsion effect as a dispersant tends to be good, and the adsorption time to the pigment tends to be shortened due to the steric effect.
Further, the molecular weight distribution (expressed by weight average molecular weight (Mw) / number average molecular weight (Mn)) of the graft polymer used in the present invention is preferably 1 to 6, and more preferably 1 to 5. .
By setting the molecular weight distribution within the above range, it is preferable from the viewpoint of shortening the dispersion time of the pigment and stability with time of the dispersion. Here, the number average molecular weight and the weight average molecular weight are detected with a solvent THF and a differential refractometer using a GPC analyzer using columns of TSKgel GMHxL, TSKgel G4000HxL, and TSKgel G2000HxL (all trade names manufactured by Tosoh Corporation). The molecular weight is expressed using polystyrene as a standard substance.
Specific examples of the graft polymer (dispersant) are given below, but the present invention is not limited to the following specific examples. Moreover, the repeating unit which forms the side chain (branch polymer) in the following specific examples is formed using the said macromonomer D-7 to D-18, for example.

  The graft polymer in the present invention includes a repeating unit having an aromatic ring group represented by the general formula (1) in the side chain and an anionic group in the main chain from the viewpoints of dispersion stability, dischargeability, and aggregation. The content of the repeating unit containing a repeating unit and having an aromatic ring group is preferably 1 to 40% by mass with respect to the total mass of the graft polymer, the weight average molecular weight is 800 to 20000, and the general formula (1 It is more preferable that 1-40 mass% of the side chain containing the repeating unit having an aromatic ring group represented by 1) and 1-60 mass% of the repeating unit having an anionic group are included, and the weight average molecular weight is 800-15000. 1 to 30% by mass of a side chain including a repeating unit having an aromatic ring group represented by the general formula (1) and 1 to 40% by mass of a repeating unit having a carboxyl group. Preferred in La.

  The content of the graft polymer in the ink composition of the present invention is not particularly limited, but the content ratio of the pigment to the graft polymer (pigment: graft polymer, based on mass) is 1: 0.06 to 1: The range of 3 is preferable, the range of 1: 0.125 to 1: 2 is more preferable, and the range of 1: 0.125 to 1: 1.5 is more preferable.

The water-based ink composition according to the invention includes a graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain and a pigment, and the pigment is a pigment dispersion dispersed with a graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain. It is preferable that the pigment dispersion is a pigment dispersion in which at least a part of the pigment surface is coated with the graft polymer.
The pigment dispersion contained in the aqueous ink composition of the present invention can be prepared, for example, as follows.
The pigment dispersion is obtained by mixing a pigment, a dispersant (graft polymer), an organic solvent for dissolving or dispersing the dispersant, and a solution containing a basic substance and containing water as a main component (mixing / hydration step). The organic solvent is preferably prepared by removing at least a part of the organic solvent (solvent removal step). According to this method for preparing a pigment dispersion, it is possible to produce a pigment dispersion in which the pigment is finely dispersed and excellent in storage stability.

  The organic solvent needs to be able to dissolve or disperse the dispersant in the present invention, but in addition to this, it preferably has a certain affinity for water. Specifically, the solubility in water at 20 ° C. is preferably 10% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less.

  In more detail, the pigment dispersion in the present invention can be produced by the production method comprising the following steps (1) and (2), but is not limited thereto.

Step (1): A step of dispersing a mixture containing a pigment, a dispersant, an organic solvent for dissolving and dispersing the dispersant, a basic substance, and water.
Step (2): A step of removing at least a part of the organic solvent.
In the step (1), first, the dispersant is dissolved or dispersed in an organic solvent to obtain a mixture thereof (mixing step). Next, a pigment, a dispersion containing a basic substance and containing water as a main component, water, and, if necessary, a surfactant and the like are added to the mixture and mixed and dispersed to obtain an oil-in-water pigment dispersion. obtain.
The basic substance is used for neutralizing the anionic group of the dispersant, but the degree of neutralization is not particularly limited. Usually, it is preferable that the finally obtained aqueous pigment dispersion has neutral liquidity, for example, pH of 4.5 to 10. The pH can also be determined by the desired degree of neutralization of the dispersant.

Preferable examples of the organic solvent used in the present invention include alcohol solvents, ketone solvents, and ether solvents. Among these, examples of alcohol solvents include ethanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, tertiary butanol, isobutanol, and diacetone alcohol. Examples of the ketone solvent include acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, diethyl ketone, and methyl isobutyl ketone. Examples of the ether solvent include dibutyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane and the like. Among these organic solvents, isopropanol, acetone and methyl ethyl ketone are preferable, and methyl ethyl ketone is particularly preferable.
These organic solvents may be used alone or in combination.

In the production of the pigment dispersion, a two-roll, a three-roll, a ball mill, a tron mill, a disper, a kneader, a kneader, a homogenizer, a blender, a single or twin screw extruder, etc. are used while giving a strong shearing force. A kneading and dispersing process can be performed.
For details on kneading and dispersing, see T.W. C. “Paint Flow and Pigment Dispersion” by Patton (published by John Wiley and Sons, 1964) and the like.
If necessary, use a vertical or horizontal sand grinder, pin mill, slit mill, ultrasonic disperser, etc. to finely disperse with beads made of glass with a particle diameter of 0.01 to 1 mm, zirconia, etc. Can be obtained.

  In the method for producing a pigment dispersion of the present invention, the removal of the organic solvent is not particularly limited, and can be removed by a known method such as vacuum distillation.

The average particle diameter of the pigment obtained by the method for producing a pigment dispersion is preferably 10 nm or more and less than 200 nm, more preferably 50 nm or more and less than 130 nm, and further preferably 60 nm or more and less than 100 nm. By setting it as such a range, it is preferable at the point from which the color development property, dispersion stability, and the discharge stability in an inkjet method become favorable.
The average particle size of the dispersed particles of the pigment is a volume average particle size measured using a dynamic light scattering method.

  The pigment dispersion can be used, for example, in an ink composition for ink jet recording described later, and an aqueous ink for writing instruments such as a water-based ballpoint pen and a marker pen. In this case, in order to prevent the inkjet nozzle and the nib from being clogged by drying, a low-volatile or non-volatile solvent can be added among the above water-soluble organic solvents. In order to increase the permeability to the recording medium, a volatile solvent can be added.

(Aqueous medium)
The aqueous ink composition in the present invention contains an aqueous medium. The aqueous medium contains at least water, but can further contain at least one water-soluble organic solvent. By containing a water-soluble organic solvent, for example, when the aqueous ink composition of the present invention is applied to an image recording method using an ink jet method, nozzle clogging that may occur due to drying of ink at an ink ejection port is effectively prevented. It can be suppressed (anti-drying agent), or the water-based ink composition can be better penetrated into the recording medium (preferably printing paper) (penetration accelerator). Further, the viscosity of the water-based ink composition can be adjusted with a water-soluble organic solvent.

-Water-soluble organic solvent-
As the water-soluble organic solvent, a commonly used water-soluble organic solvent can be used without particular limitation. Moreover, you may use individually by 1 type or in combination of 2 or more types. As a specific example of the water-soluble organic solvent,
Alcohols (eg, methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, isobutanol, sec-butanol, t-butanol, pentanol, hexanol, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, etc.),
Polyhydric alcohols (for example, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, butylene glycol, hexanediol, pentanediol, 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, glycerin Hexanetriol, trimethylolpropane, thiodiglycol, dithioglycol, acetyleneglycol derivatives, etc.),
Glycol derivatives (eg ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monobutyl ether, dipropylene Glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene glycol diacetate, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monophenyl ether ),
Amines (for example, ethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, N-methyldiethanolamine, N-ethyldiethanolamine, morpholine, N-ethylmorpholine, ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, polyethyleneimine, tetramethylpropylenediamine),
And other polar solvents (for example, formamide, N, N-dimethylformamide, N, N-dimethylacetamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, sulfolane, 3-sulfolene, 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-vinyl- 2-pyrrolidone, 2-oxazolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, acetonitrile, acetone).

  By using a water-soluble organic solvent having a vapor pressure lower than that of water as the water-soluble organic solvent, it is possible to more effectively suppress nozzle drying in ink jet recording. Specific examples of the water-soluble organic solvent having a vapor pressure lower than that of water include ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, thiodiglycol, dithiodiglycol, 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, 1, Polyhydric alcohols represented by 2,6-hexanetriol, acetylene glycol derivatives, glycerin, trimethylolpropane, etc., ethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, triethylene glycol monoethyl (or Lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as (butyl) ether, heterocycles such as 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, N-ethylmorpholine, Ruhoran, dimethyl sulfoxide, sulfur-containing compounds such as sulfolane, diacetone alcohol, polyfunctional compounds such as diethanolamine, and urea derivatives. Of these, polyhydric alcohols such as glycerin and diethylene glycol are preferred. These water-soluble organic solvents are preferably contained in the water-based ink composition in an amount of 5 to 50% by mass.

  In addition, by using alcohols such as ethanol, isopropanol, butanol, di (tri) ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, 1,2-hexanediol as water-soluble organic solvents, ink penetration into the recording medium is more effectively promoted. it can. These water-soluble organic solvents exhibit a sufficient effect by containing 5 to 30% by mass in the water-based ink composition. In addition, the water-soluble organic solvent is preferably used within a range of an addition amount that does not cause blurring of prints and paper loss (print-through). In addition, as a penetration accelerator, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium oleate, a nonionic surfactant, etc. can be used suitably.

The content of the aqueous medium in the aqueous ink composition in the invention is preferably 1% by mass to 70% by mass from the viewpoint of liquid physical properties such as drying prevention, permeability to an adherend, and viscosity. % To 60% by mass is more preferable, and 5% to 50% by mass is particularly preferable. By setting the content of the aqueous medium in the above range, the liquid properties such as the drying speed of the ink composition, the permeability to the adherend, and the viscosity can be adjusted to an appropriate state.
The water content in the water-based ink composition is appropriately selected depending on the purpose, but is usually preferably 10 to 95% by mass, more preferably 30 to 90% by mass.

(Resin particles)
The aqueous ink composition in the invention may further contain resin particles for the purpose of improving the fixability and abrasion resistance of the printed matter. Examples of resin particles that can be used in the present invention include acrylic resins, vinyl acetate resins, styrene-butadiene resins, vinyl chloride resins, acrylic-styrene resins, butadiene resins, styrene resins, and crosslinked acrylic resins. Cross-linked styrene resins, benzoguanamine resins, phenol resins, silicone resins, epoxy resins, urethane resins, paraffin resins, fluorine resins, etc., or latex thereof can be used. Preferred examples include acrylic resins, acrylic-styrene resins, styrene resins, cross-linked acrylic resins, and cross-linked styrene resins. These resin particles can be used alone or in combination of two or more.
The resin particles can also be used in a latex state.

In the present invention, the weight average molecular weight of the resin particles is preferably 10,000 or more and 300,000 or less, more preferably 10,000 or more and 100,000 or less.
The average particle diameter of the resin particles is preferably in the range of 1 to 300 nm, more preferably in the range of 1 to 100 nm, and particularly preferably in the range of 1 to 30 nm. In addition, the particle size distribution of the resin fine particles is not particularly limited, and may be any one having a wide particle size distribution or a monodispersed particle size distribution. Two or more kinds of resin fine particles having a monodispersed particle size distribution may be mixed and used.

The addition amount of the resin particles is preferably 0.5 to 20% by mass, more preferably 3 to 20% by mass, and further preferably 3 to 15% by mass with respect to the aqueous ink composition.
Furthermore, the glass transition temperature Tg of the resin particles is preferably 30 ° C. or higher, more preferably 40 ° C. or higher, and further preferably 50 ° C. or higher.

(Water-based UV curable material)
The aqueous ink composition of the present invention further comprises an aqueous UV curable material comprising a water-soluble polymerizable compound having an ethylenically unsaturated bond and a polymerization initiator for the purpose of improving the fixability and abrasion resistance of an image on a recording medium. You may contain.
Below, the water-soluble polymeric compound and polymerization initiator which have an ethylenically unsaturated bond which can be used by this invention are demonstrated.

-Water-soluble polymerizable compound having an ethylenically unsaturated bond-
The water-based ink composition in the invention preferably contains at least one water-soluble compound having an ethylenically unsaturated bond (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “specific polymerizable compound”).
The specific polymerizable compound may be any water-soluble compound having at least one ethylenically unsaturated bond capable of radical polymerization in the molecule, and has a chemical form such as a monomer, oligomer, or polymer. Is included. Only one type of the specific polymerizable compound may be used, or two or more types may be used in combination at an arbitrary ratio in order to improve the target characteristics. It is preferable to use two or more kinds in combination for controlling performance such as reactivity and physical properties. Further, from the viewpoint of ink ejection stability, it is preferable to use a compound that has good solubility in water and hardly precipitates in the aqueous ink composition.

  The specific polymerizable compound used in the present invention means a compound that dissolves in distilled water at 25 ° C. at 2% by mass or more.

  Examples of specific polymerizable compounds include unsaturated carboxylic acids such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, crotonic acid, isocrotonic acid, and maleic acid, and their ester derivatives and their salts, acrylamide and methacrylamide and Derivatives thereof, anhydrides having an ethylenically unsaturated group, acrylonitrile, styrene, various unsaturated polyesters, unsaturated polyethers, unsaturated polyamides, unsaturated urethanes, vinyl ethers, allyl ethers, etc. Acid and at least one selected from ester derivatives and salts thereof, acrylamide and methacrylamide, and derivatives thereof are preferable, and monoesters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid (hereinafter referred to as “monoacrylate”) At least one of esters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid and a polyol compound (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “polyfunctional acrylate monomer” or “polyfunctional acrylate oligomer”), or acrylamide or methacrylamide and derivatives thereof. More preferably it is a seed.

The specific polymerizable compound used in the present invention is an oligo- or poly (alkyleneoxy) chain, an alkyl group having 10 or less carbon atoms, an acidic group (for example, a carboxyl group, a sulfo group, a phosphoric acid group or the like from the viewpoint of imparting water solubility. A salt or the like), a basic group (such as an amine or a salt thereof) and a hydroxyl group.
When the specific polymerizable compound has an oligo or poly (alkyleneoxy) chain, the number of units of the alkyleneoxy unit is preferably in the range of 1 to 10, more preferably in the range of 1 to 5. When the number of units is 10 or less, the hardness of the film when cured and the adhesion to the recording medium are improved.
The number of carbon atoms of the alkyleneoxy group in the oligo or poly (alkyleneoxy) chain is preferably 2 to 4, and more preferably 2 or 3.

  Among the specific polymerizable compounds, particularly preferred specific examples of the monoacrylate, polyfunctional acrylate monomer, polyfunctional acrylate oligomer, and (meth) acrylamide derivative include, for example, compounds having the following structures. The specific polymerizable compound used in is not limited to these.

In addition to the above exemplified compounds, compounds having an ionic group such as methacrylic acid and potassium salt of 3-sulfopropyl acrylate are also preferably used.
In the present invention, the specific polymerizable compound may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In the present invention, in order to further improve the sensitivity, bleeding, and adhesion to the recording medium, as the specific polymerizable compound, at least one monoacrylate and a polyfunctional acrylate having a molecular weight of 400 or more, preferably 500 or more. It is preferable to use a monomer or a polyfunctional acrylate oligomer in combination. In particular, in an ink composition used for recording on a flexible recording medium such as a PET film or a PP film, a combination of a monoacrylate selected from the above compound group and a polyfunctional acrylate monomer or polyfunctional acrylate oligomer is used. It is preferable because the film strength can be increased while the film is flexible to improve adhesion.
Furthermore, the aspect in which at least three specific polymerizable compounds of monofunctional, bifunctional, and trifunctional or higher polyfunctional monomers are used in combination, while maintaining safety, further sensitivity, bleeding, and adhesion to the recording medium. From the viewpoint that the property can be further improved.

  The content of the compound having an ethylenically unsaturated bond in the water-based ink composition of the present invention is preferably 1 to 30% on a mass basis with respect to the total amount of the water-based ink composition, and is 5 to 20%. It is more preferable.

-Polymerization initiator-
The aqueous ink composition in the invention preferably further contains at least one polymerization initiator. The polymerization initiator is not particularly limited as long as it has a good polymerization initiating ability in combination with a specific sensitizing dye, and can be selected from known polymerization initiators. Among the polymerization initiators, those that are water-soluble are preferred. The degree of “water solubility” is preferably 0.5% by mass or more, preferably 1% by mass or more, and particularly preferably 3% by mass or more in distilled water at 25 ° C.

  Of the polymerization initiators, polymerization initiators selected from the group consisting of α-aminoketone compounds and acylphosphine oxide compounds are preferred.

  As the α-aminoketone compound, a compound having a structure represented by the following general formula (5) is preferably used.

In the general formula (5), Ar ^1D represents a phenyl group substituted with —SR ⁵¹ or —N (R ⁵² ) (R ⁵³ ), and R ⁵¹ represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group. R ⁵² and R ⁵³ each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms substituted with 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or an alkenyl group having 3 to 5 carbon atoms. Represents a group. R ⁵² and R ⁵³ may combine with each other to form an alkylene group having 3 to 7 carbon atoms, and the alkylene group includes —O— or —N (R ⁵⁴ ) — in the alkylene chain. There may be. R ⁵⁴ represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

R ^1D and R ^2D each independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms. R ^1D and R ^2D may be bonded to each other to form an alkylene group having 2 to 9 carbon atoms. R ^3D and R ^4D are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkoxy-substituted alkyl group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, or an alkenyl group having 3 to 5 carbon atoms. Represents. Here, R ^3D and R ^4D may be bonded to each other to form an alkylene group having 3 to 7 carbon atoms, and the alkylene group has —O— or —N (R ⁵⁴ ) — in the alkylene chain. It may be included. R ⁵⁴ represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

  Examples of the compound contained in the α-aminoketone compound include 2-methyl-1-phenyl-2-morpholinopropan-1-one and 2-methyl-1- [4- (hexyl) phenyl] -2-morpholino. Propan-1-one, 2-ethyl-2-dimethylamino-1- (4-morpholinophenyl) -butanone-1, and the like. Moreover, it is also available as commercial products such as Irgacure series manufactured by Ciba Japan, for example, Irgacure 907, Irgacure 369, Irgacure 379, and these are compounds included in α-aminoketone compounds.

  The acylphosphine oxide compound is preferably a compound represented by the following general formula (6) or general formula (7).

In the general formula (6), R ^5D and R ^6D each independently represent an aliphatic group, an aromatic group, an aliphatic oxy group, an aromatic oxy group, or a heterocyclic group, and R ^7D represents an aliphatic group. Represents an aromatic group or a heterocyclic group.

Examples of the aliphatic group represented by R ^5D , R ^6D , or R ^7D include an alkyl group, a substituted alkyl group, an alkenyl group, a substituted alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, a substituted alkynyl group, an aralkyl group, and a substituted aralkyl group. Among them, an alkyl group, a substituted alkyl group, an alkenyl group, a substituted alkenyl group, an aralkyl group, or a substituted aralkyl group is preferable, and an alkyl group and a substituted alkyl group are particularly preferable. The aliphatic group may be a cyclic aliphatic group or a chain aliphatic group. The chain aliphatic group may have a branch.

  Examples of the alkyl group include linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and the number of carbon atoms of the alkyl group is preferably 1 to 30, and more preferably 1 to 20. The preferred range of the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl part of the substituted alkyl group is the same as in the case of the alkyl group. Further, the alkyl group may be either a substituted alkyl group or an unsubstituted alkyl group. Examples of the alkyl group include methyl group, ethyl group, propyl group, butyl group, pentyl group, hexyl group, octyl group, 2-ethylhexyl group, decyl group, dodecyl group, octadecyl group, cyclohexyl group, cyclopentyl group, neopentyl group, An isopropyl group, an isobutyl group, etc. are mentioned.

Examples of the substituent of the substituted alkyl group include a carboxyl group, a sulfo group, a cyano group, a halogen atom (for example, a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom), a hydroxy group, and an alkoxycarbonyl group having 30 or less carbon atoms (for example, methoxycarbonyl). Group, ethoxycarbonyl group, benzyloxycarbonyl group), alkylsulfonylaminocarbonyl group having 30 or less carbon atoms, arylsulfonylaminocarbonyl group, alkylsulfonyl group, arylsulfonyl group, acylaminosulfonyl group having 30 or less carbon atoms, carbon number 30 The following alkoxy groups (for example, methoxy group, ethoxy group, benzyloxy group, phenoxyethoxy group, phenethyloxy group, etc.), alkylthio groups having 30 or less carbon atoms (for example, methylthio group, ethylthio group, methylthioethylthioethyl group, etc.) An aryloxy group having 30 or less carbon atoms (eg, phenoxy group, p-tolyloxy group, 1-naphthoxy group, 2-naphthoxy group, etc.), nitro group, alkyl group having 30 or less carbon atoms, alkoxycarbonyloxy group, aryloxy A carbonyloxy group, an acyloxy group having 30 or less carbon atoms (for example, acetyloxy group, propionyloxy group, etc.), an acyl group having 30 or less carbon atoms (for example, acetyl group, propionyl group, benzoyl group, etc.), carbamoyl group (for example, Carbamoyl group, N, N-dimethylcarbamoyl group, morpholinocarbonyl group, piperidinocarbonyl group, etc.), sulfamoyl group (for example, sulfamoyl group, N, N-dimethylsulfamoyl group, morpholinosulfonyl group, piperidinosulfonyl group) Etc.), an aryl group having 30 or less carbon atoms For example, phenyl group, 4-chlorophenyl group, 4-methylphenyl group, α-naphthyl group, etc.), substituted amino group (for example, amino group, alkylamino group, dialkylamino group, arylamino group, diarylamino group, acylamino group) Etc.), substituted ureido groups, substituted phosphono groups, heterocyclic groups and the like. Here, the carboxyl group, the sulfo group, the hydroxy group, and the phosphono group may be in a salt state. At that time, examples of the cation forming the salt include M ⁺ described later.

  Examples of the alkenyl group include linear, branched, and cyclic alkenyl groups. The number of carbon atoms of the alkenyl group is preferably 2 to 30, and more preferably 2 to 20. The alkenyl group may be a substituted alkenyl group having a substituent or an unsubstituted alkenyl group, and the preferred range of the number of carbon atoms in the alkenyl part of the substituted alkenyl group is the same as that of the alkenyl group. . Examples of the substituent of the substituted alkenyl group include the same substituents as those of the substituted alkyl group.

  Examples of the alkynyl group include linear, branched, and cyclic alkynyl groups, and the number of carbon atoms of the alkynyl group is preferably 2 to 30, and more preferably 2 to 20. The alkynyl group may be a substituted alkynyl group having a substituent or an unsubstituted alkynyl group, and the preferred range of the number of carbon atoms in the alkynyl part of the substituted alkynyl group is the same as in the case of the alkynyl group. . Examples of the substituent for the substituted alkynyl group include the same substituents as those for the substituted alkyl group.

  Examples of the aralkyl group include linear, branched, and cyclic aralkyl groups. The number of carbon atoms in the aralkyl group is preferably 7 to 35, and more preferably 7 to 25. The aralkyl group may be a substituted aralkyl group having a substituent or an unsubstituted aralkyl group, and the preferred range of the number of carbon atoms in the aralkyl part of the substituted aralkyl group is the same as in the case of the aralkyl group. . Examples of the substituent for the substituted aralkyl group include the same substituents as those for the substituted alkyl group.

Examples of the aromatic group represented by R ^5D , R ^6D , or R ^7D include an aryl group and a substituted aryl group. As a carbon atom number of an aryl group, 6-30 are preferable and 6-20 are more preferable. The preferable range of the number of carbon atoms in the aryl part of the substituted aryl group is the same as that of the aryl group. Examples of the aryl group include a phenyl group, an α-naphthyl group, a β-naphthyl group, and the like. Examples of the substituent for the substituted aryl group include the same substituents as those for the substituted alkyl group.

The aliphatic oxy group represented by R ^5D or R ^6D is preferably an alkoxy group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include a methoxy group, an ethoxy group, a butoxy group, an octyloxy group, and a phenoxyethoxy group. It is done. However, it is not limited to these.

The aromatic oxy group represented by R ^5D or R ^6D is preferably an aryloxy group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, such as a phenoxy group, a methylphenyloxy group, a chlorophenyloxy group, a methoxyphenyloxy group, and an octyl group. An oxyphenyloxy group etc. are mentioned. However, it is not limited to these.

The heterocyclic group represented by R ^5D , R ^6D , or R ^7D is preferably a heterocyclic group containing a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom or a sulfur atom, such as a pyridyl group, a furyl group, a thienyl group, an imidazolyl group, A pyrrolyl group etc. are mentioned.

In the general formula (7), R ^8D and R ^10D each independently represent an alkyl group, an aryl group, or a heterocyclic group, and R ^9D represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, or a heterocyclic ring. Represents a group. The alkyl group, aryl group, heterocyclic group, alkoxy group and aryloxy group represented by R ^8D , R ^9D or R ^10D may be unsubstituted or have a substituent. Examples of the substituent in the case of having a substituent include the same substituents as those in the general formula (6).

  The alkyl group, aryl group, heterocyclic group, alkoxy group and aryloxy group in the general formula (7) have the same meaning as in the general formula (6).

  Among the above, for example, [2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl-diphenyl-phosphine oxide] is available under the trade name of Darocur TPO (manufactured by Ciba Japan), and [bis (2,4,6 -Trimethylbenzoyl) -phenylphosphine oxide] is available under the trade name Irgacure 819 (manufactured by Ciba Japan).

  Furthermore, a water-soluble acylphosphine oxide compound is preferably used as the polymerization initiator. This acylphosphine oxide compound is preferably dissolved in distilled water at 25 ° C. in an amount of 0.5% by mass or more, more preferably 1% by mass or more, and particularly preferably 3% by mass or more.

  Specific examples of the water-soluble acylphosphine oxide compound include compounds described in JP-A No. 2005-307199 (for example, Exemplified Compounds 5, 6, and 7). In addition, preferred specific examples (exemplary compounds 1-1 to 1-3) of water-soluble acylphosphine oxide compounds are listed below. However, the present invention is not limited to these.

Among the above, acylphosphine oxide compounds are preferably used as the polymerization initiator.
In addition to the above polymerization initiator, other polymerizable initiators may be used as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Further, it can be used in combination with an acylphosphine oxide compound. In this case, it is preferable to use a water-soluble polymerization initiator. The “water solubility” is the same as described above.

  Examples of the other polymerization initiators include camphorquinone, benzophenone, benzophenone derivatives, acetophenone, acetophenone derivatives, such as α-hydroxycycloalkylphenyl ketones or 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-phenyl-propanone, Alkoxyacetophenones, α-hydroxy- or 4-aroyl-1,3-dioxolanes, benzoin alkyl ethers, and benzyl ketals, such as benzyl dimethyl ketal, phenyl glyoxalate and its derivatives, dimeric phenyl glyoxalate, Peresters such as benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid peresters (e.g. those described in EP 1 126541), halomethyltriazines such as 2- [2- (4-methoxy-pheny ) -Vinyl] -4,6-bis-trichloromethyl [1,3,5] triazine, 2- (4-methoxy-phenyl) -4,6-bis-trichloromethyl [1,3,5] triazine, 2- (3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl) -4,6-bis-trichloromethyl [1,3,5] triazine, 2-methyl-4,6-bis-trichloromethyl [1,3,5] triazine, Hexaarylbisimidazole / co-initiator systems such as ortho-chlorohexaphenyl-bisimidazole in combination with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole; ferrocenium compounds or titanocenes such as dicyclopentadienyl-bis (2, 6-difluoro-3-pyrrolo-phenyl) titanium; for example, as described in GB 2,339,571 - It is also possible to use mixtures of acyl oxime ester compound. A boric acid compound can also be used as a co-initiator.

  The content of the polymerization initiator in the aqueous ink composition is preferably 0.01 to 35 parts by mass, more preferably 0.1 to 30 parts by mass, and still more preferably 100 parts by mass of the polymerizable compound. It contains in the range of 0.5-30 mass parts. In addition, content of a polymerization initiator means the total amount which the polymerization initiator used.

In addition to the components described above, other additives can be added to the water-based ink composition of the present invention as necessary. As other additives, known additives that can be used in pigment dispersions and aqueous ink compositions can be used.
For example, anti-fading agent, emulsion stabilizer, penetration enhancer, ultraviolet absorber, preservative, antifungal agent, pH adjuster, surface tension adjuster, antifoaming agent, viscosity adjuster, dispersant, dispersion stabilizer, Well-known additives, such as a rusting agent, a chelating agent, and a solid wetting agent, are mentioned. These various additives may be added during or after the preparation of the water-based ink composition.

  Examples of the ultraviolet absorber include a benzophenone ultraviolet absorber, a benzotriazole ultraviolet absorber, a salicylate ultraviolet absorber, a cyanoacrylate ultraviolet absorber, and a nickel complex ultraviolet absorber.

  As the anti-fading agent, various organic and metal complex anti-fading agents can be used. Organic anti-fading agents include hydroquinones, alkoxyphenols, dialkoxyphenols, phenols, anilines, amines, indanes, chromans, alkoxyanilines, heterocycles, etc. Complex, zinc complex and the like.

  Examples of the antifungal agent include sodium dehydroacetate, sodium benzoate, sodium pyridinethione-1-oxide, ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate, 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one, sodium sorbate, sodium pentachlorophenol Etc. These are preferably used in the ink in an amount of 0.02 to 1.00% by mass.

  Examples of the rust inhibitor include acidic sulfite, sodium thiosulfate, ammonium thiodiglycolate, diisopropylammonium nitrite, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, and dicyclohexylammonium nitrite.

  Examples of the antioxidant include phenol-based antioxidants (including hindered phenol-based antioxidants), amine-based antioxidants, sulfur-based antioxidants, and phosphorus-based antioxidants.

  Examples of the chelating agent include sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate, sodium nitrilotriacetate, sodium hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetate, sodium diethylenetriaminepentaacetate, sodium uramil diacetate, and the like.

Examples of the surface tension adjusting agent include nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, betaine surfactants, and the like. The addition amount of the surface tension adjusting agent is preferably an addition amount for adjusting the surface tension of the ink composition to 20 to 60 mN / m, in order to achieve good droplet ejection by the ink jet method, and the addition amount for adjusting to 20 to 45 mN / m. Is more preferable, and the addition amount adjusted to 25 to 40 mN / m is more preferable.
Specific examples include other additives described in paragraphs [0153] to [0162] of JP-A-2007-100071.

Examples of the solid wetting agent include sugars such as glucose, mannose, fructose, ribose, xylose, arabinose, galactose, aldonic acid, glucitol, maltose, cellobiose, lactose, sucrose, trehalose, maltotriose; sugar alcohols; Acids; ureas and the like can be mentioned.
Various additives may be added directly after preparing the water-based ink composition, or may be added at the time of preparing the water-based ink composition.

[Treatment solution]
The ink set of the present invention includes at least one treatment liquid containing at least one acidic compound that aggregates the components of the aqueous ink composition.
The acidic compound contained in the treatment liquid is brought into contact with the aqueous ink composition to promote aggregation of the pigment that is stably dispersed in the aqueous ink composition, and bleeding is suppressed and excellent in abrasion resistance. An image can be formed.

The acidic compound may be an organic acid or an inorganic acid, but is preferably an organic acid from the viewpoint of aggregation.
Examples of acidic compounds include sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, polyacrylic acid, acetic acid, glycolic acid, malonic acid, malic acid, maleic acid, ascorbic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, and tartaric acid. , Lactic acid, sulfonic acid, orthophosphoric acid, metaphosphoric acid, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, pyrone carboxylic acid, pyrrole carboxylic acid, furan carboxylic acid, pyridine carboxylic acid, coumaric acid, thiophene carboxylic acid, nicotinic acid, and derivatives of these compounds, and These salts etc. are mentioned suitably.

Of these, acidic compounds having high water solubility are preferable. Further, from the viewpoint of fixing the whole ink by reacting with the ink composition, an acidic compound having a valence of 3 or less is preferable, and an acidic compound having a valence of 2 to 3 is particularly preferable.
An acidic compound may be used individually by 1 type, and may use 2 or more types together.
Moreover, as content in the process liquid of the said acidic compound, 1-20 mass% is preferable, More preferably, it is 5-20 mass%, More preferably, it is the range of 10-20 mass%.

The pH (25 ° C.) of the treatment liquid in the present invention is preferably 0.1 to 6.0, more preferably 0.5 to 5.0, and 0.8 to 4.0. Is more preferable. In this case, the pH (25 ° C.) of the aqueous ink composition is preferably 7.5 or more (more preferably 8 or more).
Among these, in the present invention, from the viewpoint of image density, resolution, and speedup of inkjet recording, the aqueous ink composition has a pH (25 ° C.) of 7.5 or more, and the aqueous liquid composition has a pH (25 (C) is preferably 4 or less.

  The treatment liquid in the present invention contains at least one acidic compound as an aggregating component capable of aggregating the components of the aqueous ink composition, but may contain other aggregating components as necessary. Examples of other aggregating components include polyvalent metal salts and cationic compounds.

<Image forming method>
The image forming method of the present invention uses the ink set of the present invention described above on a recording medium, a processing liquid application step of applying the processing liquid contained in the ink set onto the recording medium, and the ink And an ink application step of applying an aqueous ink composition contained in the set onto a recording medium by an ink jet method, wherein the aqueous ink composition and the treatment liquid are brought into contact with each other to form an image. With this configuration, it is possible to form an image with less blur and excellent abrasion resistance.
The treatment liquid and the aqueous ink composition contained in the ink set of the present invention are as described in the above-mentioned section of the ink set, and preferred examples are also the same.
The same applies to other components used in the image forming method of the present invention.

  In the image forming method of the present invention, when an image is formed by causing aggregation when two liquids of the aqueous ink composition and the processing liquid are brought into contact during recording, the pigment is coated with the dispersant in the present invention as a pigment. By using an aqueous ink composition containing a pigment, adhesion or deposition of the aggregate formed by the contact of the two liquids on the liquid discharge portion is eased, and removal of the adhered aggregate is facilitated. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of image failure such as white spots by suppressing the ink ejection direction defect at the time of ejection, and to record a high resolution image. In addition, the maintenance frequency on the discharge device side can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved.

  In the ink application step, the aqueous ink composition is applied by an ink jet method. Specifically, by supplying energy, a desired recording medium, that is, plain paper, resin-coated paper, for example, JP-A-8-169172, JP-A-8-27693, JP-A-2-276670, JP-A-7-276789, JP-A-9-323475, JP-A-62-238783, JP-A-10-153899, JP-A-10-217473, JP-A-10-235995, and JP-A-10-337947. Ink jet paper, film, electrophotographic co-paper, fabric, glass, metal, ceramics, etc. described in JP-A-10-217597, JP-A-10-337947, etc., discharge a water-based ink composition to form a colored image To do. As a preferable ink jet recording method for the present invention, the method described in paragraph Nos. 0093 to 0105 of JP-A No. 2003-306623 can be applied.

The inkjet method is not particularly limited, and is a known method, for example, a charge control method that ejects ink using electrostatic attraction, a drop-on-demand method (pressure pulse method) that uses vibration pressure of a piezoelectric element, An acoustic ink jet system that converts an electrical signal into an acoustic beam, irradiates the ink with ink, and ejects the ink using radiation pressure, and a thermal ink jet that forms bubbles by heating the ink and uses the generated pressure (bubble jet (registered) Trademark)) method or the like. As an ink jet method, in particular, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 54-59936 causes an abrupt volume change of the ink subjected to the action of thermal energy, and the ink is ejected from the nozzle by the action force due to this state change. Ink jet method can be used effectively.
Moreover, there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the ink nozzle etc. which are used when recording by the said inkjet method, According to the objective, it can select suitably.
The ink jet method includes a method of ejecting many low-density inks called photo inks in a small volume, a method of improving image quality using a plurality of inks having substantially the same hue and different concentrations, and colorless and transparent inks. The method using is included.

  As an ink jet method, a short-type serial head is used, and a shuttle system that performs recording while scanning the head in the width direction of the recording medium, and a line head in which recording elements are arranged corresponding to the entire area of one side of the recording medium There is a line system using. In the line method, an image can be recorded on the entire surface of the recording medium by scanning the recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the recording elements, and a carriage system such as a carriage for scanning a short head is not necessary. Further, since complicated scanning control of the carriage movement and the recording medium is not required, and only the recording medium is moved, the recording speed can be increased as compared with the shuttle system.

  In the treatment liquid application step, the treatment liquid is applied onto the recording medium before or after application of the aqueous ink composition. The treatment liquid can be applied by applying a known method such as a coating method, an ink jet method, or an immersion method. As a coating method, a known coating method using a bar coater, an extrusion die coater, an air doctor coater, a blade coater, a rod coater, a knife coater, a squeeze coater, a reverse roll coater, a bar coater or the like can be used. The details of the inkjet method are as described above.

  In the present invention, an embodiment in which the ink application step is provided after the treatment liquid is applied onto the recording medium in the treatment liquid application step is preferable. That is, before applying the aqueous ink composition onto the recording medium, a processing liquid for aggregating the pigment in the aqueous ink composition is applied in advance, and the processing liquid applied on the recording medium is applied. An embodiment in which an aqueous ink composition is applied so as to come into contact with the acidic compound contained therein to form an image is preferable. Thereby, inkjet recording can be speeded up, and an image with high density and resolution can be obtained even at high speed recording.

  The image forming method of the present invention may be provided with other steps in addition to the ink applying step for applying the aqueous ink composition and the treatment liquid applying step. There is no restriction | limiting in particular as another process, According to the objective, it can select suitably. For example, a step of drying and removing the solvent of the treatment liquid applied to the recording medium, a step of drying and removing the organic solvent of the water-based ink composition, and melting and fixing resin particles that may be contained in the water-based ink composition Examples thereof include a heat fixing step and a curing fixing step of curing an aqueous UV curable material that may be contained in the aqueous ink composition.

(Heat fixing process)
In the image forming method of the present invention, when the water-based ink composition includes resin particles, it is preferable to further include a heat-fixing step of melting and fixing the resin particles included in the water-based ink composition. By performing the heat fixing process, the image on the recording medium is fixed, and the resistance to image scratching can be further improved.

  The method of heating is not particularly limited, but a non-contact drying method such as a method of heating with a heating element such as a nichrome wire heater, a method of supplying warm air or hot air, a method of heating with a halogen lamp, an infrared lamp, etc. Preferably, it can be mentioned. The heating and pressing method is not particularly limited. For example, a method of pressing a hot plate against the image forming surface of a recording medium, a pair of heating and pressing rollers, a pair of heating and pressing belts, or a recording medium Using a heating and pressing device equipped with a heating and pressing belt arranged on the image recording surface side and a holding roller arranged on the opposite side, heat fixing by bringing them into contact, such as a method of passing a pair of rollers, etc. The method of performing is mentioned suitably.

  The conveyance speed of the recording medium when using a heat and pressure roller or a heat and pressure belt is preferably in the range of 200 to 700 mm / second, more preferably 300 to 650 mm / second, and still more preferably 400 to 600 mm / second. It is.

(Curing and fixing process)
In the image forming method of the present invention, when the water-based ink composition contains a water-based UV curable material, it is preferable to further include a fixing step of curing the water-based UV curable material included in the water-based ink composition. The step preferably includes a curing step of irradiating the aqueous ink composition applied on the recording medium with actinic radiation. By irradiation with actinic radiation, the polymerizable compound in the aqueous ink composition is polymerized to form a cured film containing a pigment. Thereby, the abrasion resistance of the image formed is further improved.
The actinic radiation used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can polymerize the polymerizable compound. For example, ultraviolet rays, electron beams and the like can be mentioned. Among them, ultraviolet rays are preferable from the viewpoint of versatility.

-UV irradiation lamp-
As the means for irradiating ultraviolet rays, commonly used means can be used, and an ultraviolet irradiation lamp is particularly preferably used.
The ultraviolet irradiation lamp is preferably a so-called low-pressure mercury lamp, high-pressure mercury lamp, mercury lamp coated with a phosphor, or the like whose mercury vapor pressure is 1 to 10 Pa during lighting. The emission spectrum of these mercury lamps in the ultraviolet region is 450 nm or less, particularly in the range of 184 nm to 450 nm, and is suitable for efficiently reacting a polymerizable compound in a black or colored aqueous ink composition. Yes. Also, it is suitable for mounting a power supply in a printer because a small power supply can be used. For example, metal halide lamps, high-pressure mercury lamps, ultra-high-pressure mercury lamps, xenon flash lamps, deep UV lamps, lamps that excite mercury lamps from the outside using microwaves, UV lasers, etc. are in practical use. Since the wavelength range includes the above range, it is basically applicable if the power source size, input intensity, lamp shape, etc. are allowed. The light source is selected in accordance with the sensitivity of the polymerization initiator used.

The necessary ultraviolet intensity is preferably 500 to 5000 mW / cm ² in a wavelength region effective for curing. When the irradiation intensity is weak, formation of an image having high quality and fastness cannot be achieved. On the other hand, if the irradiation intensity is too high, the recording medium may be damaged or the color material may be faded.

-Recording medium-
The image forming method of the present invention is to record an image on a recording medium.
The recording medium is not particularly limited, and general printing paper mainly composed of cellulose, such as so-called high-quality paper, coated paper, and art paper, used for general offset printing and the like can be used. General printing paper mainly composed of cellulose is relatively slow in ink absorption and drying in image recording by a general ink jet method using water-based ink, and color material movement is likely to occur after droplet ejection, and image quality is likely to deteriorate. However, according to the ink jet recording method of the present invention, it is possible to record a high-quality image excellent in color density and hue by suppressing the movement of the color material.

  As the recording medium, commercially available media can be used. For example, “OK Prince fine quality” manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd., “Shiorai” manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., and Nippon Paper Industries ( Fine coated paper such as “New NPI fine quality” manufactured by Co., Ltd., “OK Everlight Coat” manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd., and “Aurora S” manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Oji Lightweight coated paper (A3) such as “OK Coat L” manufactured by Paper Industries Co., Ltd. and “Aurora L” manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. “OK Top Coat +” manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd. and Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. ) Coated paper (A2, B2) such as “Aurora Coat” manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd. Art paper (A1) such as “OK Kanfuji +” manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd. and “Tokuhishi Art” manufactured by Mitsubishi Paper Industries Co., Ltd. Is mentioned. It is also possible to use various photographic papers for ink jet recording.

As another example of the image forming method using the ink set of the present invention, an intermediate transfer member is used as a recording medium on which an image is first formed, and the dispersant and pigment according to the present invention described above are formed on the intermediate transfer member. An ink application step of applying an aqueous ink composition containing a water medium and an aqueous medium by an ink jet method, and applying a treatment liquid containing an acidic compound that agglomerates the pigment in the aqueous ink composition on the intermediate transfer member A transfer step of transferring the image formed on the intermediate transfer body to a desired final recording medium after forming an image on the intermediate transfer body by bringing the aqueous ink composition and the treatment liquid into contact with each other The method of providing is mentioned.
In this case as well, other processes such as a drying removal process and a heat fixing process can be further provided in the same manner as described above.

  EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. Unless otherwise specified, “part” and “%” are based on mass.

[Synthesis of macromonomer]
(Synthesis of Macromonomer M-1)
In a 300 mL three-necked flask equipped with a stirrer and a condenser, 80 g of 2-phenoxyethyl methacrylate as a monomer, 3.7 g of 3-mercapto-1-propanol as a chain transfer agent, and 2,2-azobis (2,4 as an initiator) 160 mL of THF in which 0.3 g of (dimethylvaleronitrile) was dissolved was added and heated to 65 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere to react for 7 hours.
The resulting solution was allowed to cool, 80 mg of dibutyltin dilaurate (IV) and a catalytic amount of hydroquinone were added, and 10.0 g of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl isocyanate was added dropwise. The mixture was heated to 50 ° C. and reacted for 2.5 hours, and then purified by reprecipitation with a mixed solvent of methanol and water to obtain 71 g of macromonomer M-1. The obtained macromonomer M-1 had a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 4200 and a molecular weight distribution (Mw / Mn) of 2.02.

(Synthesis of Macromonomer M-2 to M-9)
In the synthesis of the macromonomer M-1, the monomers listed in Table 1 were used instead of 2-phenoxyethyl methacrylate as monomers, and the amount of each monomer used was appropriately changed so as to achieve the monomer mass ratios listed in Table 1. In addition, macromonomers M-2 to M-9 were synthesized in the same manner as the synthesis of macromonomer M-1, except that the chain transfer agent was changed to the chain transfer agent shown in Table 1. The weight average molecular weight and molecular weight distribution are shown in Table 1.

  In Table 1, A-9, A-11, A-15, A-18, and A-19 mean the following compounds, respectively. A-15, A-18, and A-19 are 1: 1 mixtures of meta-substituted and para-substituted, respectively.

[Synthesis of dispersant]
(Synthesis of graft polymer P-1)
To a 300 mL three-necked flask equipped with a stirrer and a condenser, 20 g of methyl ethyl ketone was added and heated to 75 ° C. under a nitrogen atmosphere. 1.16 g of dimethyl 2,2′-azobisisobutyrate, 22.8 g of the macromonomer M-1 obtained above, 1.2 g of p-styrenesulfonic acid, and 36 g of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate are dissolved in 40 g of methyl ethyl ketone. The obtained solution was dropped into a three-necked flask over 3 hours. After completion of the dropwise addition, the reaction was further continued for 1 hour, and then a solution of 0.2 g of dimethyl 2,2′-azobisisobutyrate dissolved in 0.6 g of methyl ethyl ketone was added, and the temperature was raised to 80 ° C. After stirring with heating for 4 hours, a solution of 0.2 g of dimethyl 2,2′-azobisisobutyrate dissolved in 0.6 g of methyl ethyl ketone was added, and the mixture was further reacted for 6 hours. Reprecipitation was performed with hexane to obtain 59 g of graft polymer P-1 (dispersant). The disappearance of the monomer was confirmed by ¹ H-NMR.

(Synthesis of graft polymers P-2 to P-8)
In the synthesis of the graft polymer P-1, in place of the macromonomer M-1, p-styrene sulfonic acid, and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, the monomers shown in Table 2 were used, and the monomer contents shown in Table 2 and The graft polymers P-2 to P-8 were respectively synthesized in the same manner as the synthesis of the graft polymer P-1, except that the amount of each monomer used was appropriately changed. The weight average molecular weight and molecular weight distribution are shown in Table 2.
In Table 2, PE200 is a polyethylene glycol monomethacrylate manufactured by NOF Corporation.

<Example 1>
Ink set S-1 consisting of aqueous ink composition J-1 and treatment liquid 1 was obtained as follows.
[Preparation of water-based ink composition]
(Preparation of pigment dispersion D-1)
Pigment Blue 15: 3 (PB15: 3, phthalocyanine blu-A220 manufactured by Dainichi Seika Co., Ltd.), 5 parts of the graft polymer P-1, 42 parts of methyl ethyl ketone, and 5.5 parts of 1 mol / L NaOH aqueous solution. And 87.2 parts of ion-exchanged water were mixed and dispersed with 0.1 mmΦ zirconia beads for 2 to 6 hours using a bead mill.
Methyl ethyl ketone was removed from the obtained dispersion at 55 ° C. under reduced pressure, and a part of water was further removed to obtain a dispersion of pigment-containing resin particles having a pigment concentration of 10.2% by mass. Furthermore, after centrifuging at 5000 rpm for 30 minutes with a centrifuge (05P-21, manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.), ion-exchanged water was added so that the pigment concentration was 5% by mass. This was subjected to pressure filtration using a 2.5 μm membrane filter (manufactured by Advantech), and then ion-exchanged water was added so that the pigment concentration was 4% by mass to obtain pigment dispersion D-1.

Using the pigment dispersion (D-1) obtained above, each component was mixed so as to have the following ink composition, and then subjected to a centrifugal separation treatment (at 10,000 to 20,000 rpm for 30 minutes to 2 hours) to obtain a water-based ink. Composition J-1 was obtained.
~ Ink composition ~
Pigment dispersion D-1: 40 parts Glycerin: 7 parts Diethylene glycol: 9 parts Triethanolamine: 1 part Olphine E1010 (manufactured by Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.): 1 part Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether: 9 parts Ion-exchanged water: 34 parts When the pH of the water-based ink composition was measured with a pH meter-WM-50EG manufactured by Toa DKK Co., Ltd., the pH was 8.6.

[Preparation of Treatment Solution 1]
Each component was mixed so that it might become the following composition, and the processing liquid 1 was prepared. The physical properties of the treatment liquid 1 were a viscosity of 2.6 mPa · s, a surface tension of 37.3 mN / m, and a pH of 1.6 (25 ° C.).
~ Composition of treatment liquid 1 ~
・ Maleic acid: 15.0%
(Divalent carboxylic acid, manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.)
・ Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether: 20.0%
(Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.)
・ N-oleoyl-N-methyltaurine sodium: 1.0%
(Surfactant)
・ Ion-exchanged water: 64.0%

The aqueous ink composition J-1 was prepared in the same manner as described above except that the following pigment dispersions D-2 to D-24 were used instead of the pigment dispersion D-1 in the preparation of the aqueous ink composition J-1. -2 to J-24 were prepared, and ink sets S-2 to S-24 were obtained.
(Preparation of pigment dispersions D-2 to D-24)
Example 1 except that in the preparation of pigment dispersion D-1 in Example 1, the dispersants and pigments listed in Table 3 were used instead of the graft polymers (dispersants) P-1 and PB15: 3. In the same manner, pigment dispersions D-2 to D-24 were prepared.
The details of the pigments listed in Table 3 are as follows.
・ C. I. Pigment Red 122 (PR122, Ciba Japan Co., Ltd., trade name: CROMOPHTAL Jet Magenta DMQ)
・ C. I. Pigment Yellow 74 (PY74, Ciba Japan Co., Ltd., trade name: Irgalite Yellow GS)
・ Carbon black (CB, manufactured by degussa, trade name: NIPEX180-IQ)

<Comparative Example 1>
The aqueous ink composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the following pigment dispersions D-25 to D-32 were used instead of the pigment dispersion D-1 in the preparation of the aqueous ink composition of Example 1. Articles J-25 to J-32 were prepared and combined with the treatment liquid 1 to obtain ink sets S-25 to S-32.
(Preparation of pigment dispersions D-25 to D-32)
In the preparation of the pigment dispersion D-1 of Example 1, the same procedure as in Example 1 was performed except that the dispersants and pigments described in Table 3 were used instead of the dispersants P-1 and PB15: 3. Pigment dispersions D-25 to D-32 were prepared.

<Comparative example 2>
Treatment liquid 2 was prepared as follows, and combined with the water-based ink composition shown in Table 4, ink sets S-33 to S-36 were obtained.
[Preparation of treatment liquid 2]
Each component was mixed so that it might become the following composition, and the processing liquid 2 was prepared. The physical property value of the treatment liquid 2 was pH 6.5 (25 ° C.).
-Composition of treatment liquid 2-
・ Magnesium nitrate hexahydrate: 10%
(Polyvalent metal salt)
・ Glycerin: 5%
・ Diethylene glycol: 5%
・ Isopropyl alcohol: 5%
-Acetylenol EH: 0.2%
(Made by Kawaken Fine Chemicals)
-Ion exchange water: 74.8%

<Example 2>
A UV curable aqueous ink composition J-33 was prepared as follows, and combined with the treatment liquid 1 to obtain an ink set S-37.
[Preparation of UV curable aqueous ink composition J-33]
Using the pigment dispersion (D-1) obtained above, each component was mixed so as to have the following ink composition, and then subjected to a centrifugal separation treatment (at 10,000 to 20,000 rpm for 30 minutes to 2 hours). A water-based ink composition J-33 containing a curable material was obtained.
~ Ink composition ~
Pigment dispersion (D-1): 40 parts Exemplified compound 1-1 (polymerization initiator): 3 parts Exemplified compound 2-1 (polymerizable compound): 5 parts Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (polymerizable compound): 15 parts ・ Glycerin: 7 parts ・ Diethylene glycol: 9 parts ・ Triethanolamine: 1 part ・ Orphine E1010 (manufactured by Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.): 1 part ・ Triethylene glycol monobutyl ether: 9 parts ・ Ion-exchanged water: 10 Part Regarding the obtained aqueous ink composition J-33, the pH of the aqueous ink was measured with a pH meter WM-50EG manufactured by Toa DKK Co., Ltd., and the pH was 8.6.

  In the preparation of the water-based ink composition J-33, the water-based ink composition J was prepared in the same manner as described above except that the pigment dispersions D-2 to D-24 were used instead of the pigment dispersion D-1. -34 to J-56 were prepared, and ink sets S-38 to S-60 were obtained.

<Comparative Example 3>
In the preparation of the water-based ink composition J-57, the water-based ink composition J was prepared in the same manner as described above except that the pigment dispersions D-25 to D-32 were used instead of the pigment dispersion D-1. -61 to J-68 were prepared, and ink sets S-66 to S-73 were obtained.

<Comparative example 4>
Ink sets S-68 to S-72 were obtained by combining the treatment liquid 2 and the water-based ink composition shown in Table 5.

<Example 3>
By combining the aqueous ink compositions J-1, J-7, J-13, J-19 and the treatment liquid 1 obtained above, an ink set S-73 comprising the four color aqueous ink compositions and the treatment liquid is obtained. Obtained.
Ink sets S-74 to S-80 and S-84 to S-91 were obtained by combining the water-based ink composition described in Table 5 below and the treatment liquid 1, respectively.

<Comparative Example 5>
Ink sets S-81 to S-83, S-92 comprising a water-based ink composition described in Table 5 below and the treatment liquid 1 or the treatment liquid 2 in combination to form a four-color aqueous ink composition and the treatment liquid. -S-94 were obtained, respectively.

<Evaluation>
[Evaluation of pigment dispersion]
(1) Particle size About the pigment dispersion obtained above, using a Nanotrac particle size distribution analyzer UPA-EX150 (manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), the volume average particle size by dynamic light scattering method under the following measurement conditions Was measured and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in Table 3.
Measurement conditions: 10 cc of ion-exchanged water was added to 10 μl of the dispersion to prepare a measurement solution, which was measured at 25 ° C.
~Evaluation criteria~
◎: Volume average particle size is 70 nm or more and less than 100 nm ○: Volume average particle size is 100 nm or more and less than 130 nm Δ: Volume average particle size is 130 nm or more and less than 200 nm ×: Volume average particle size is 200 nm or more

(2) Stability over time The pigment dispersion obtained above was allowed to stand at 65 ° C. for 20 days in a sealed state, and then the volume average particle diameter and viscosity of the pigment dispersion were measured. Changes in volume average particle diameter and viscosity before and after standing were evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in Table 3.
~Evaluation criteria~
A: No change in volume average particle diameter / viscosity of pigment particles was observed.
◯: Slight changes in the volume average particle diameter and viscosity of the pigment particles were observed.
Δ: Changes in the volume average particle diameter and viscosity of the pigment particles were observed, but there was no practical problem.
X: Changes in the volume average particle diameter and viscosity of the pigment particles were observed, which became a practical problem.
The volume average particle diameter was measured in the same manner as (1) above. The viscosity was measured at 25 ° C. using a TV-22 viscometer (manufactured by Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.).

[Evaluation of water-based ink composition]
As an ink jet recording apparatus, an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a trial print head of 600 dpi and 256 nozzles was used, and the following evaluations were performed on the aqueous ink compositions (J-1) to (J-64) obtained above. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 4 and 5.

(1) Discharge stability When solid printing was performed using the above-described ink jet recording apparatus, the printed matter was observed for the occurrence of ink flight bending and mist from the start of printing to the end of printing, and evaluated according to the following criteria.
~Evaluation criteria~
A: Ink was bent, and mist was hardly generated.
○: Occurred but low in frequency so that there is no practical problem.
Δ: Although not frequent, the frequency of occurrence is higher than that given for the above evaluation of ○, and there is a possibility that a problem may arise when a high-quality image is obtained.
X: Occurred frequently and had practical problems.

(2) Ejection recovery property After performing solid printing using the above-described ink jet recording apparatus, the head portion was left uncovered for 3 weeks at a temperature of 25 ° C. and 65% RH without being covered with a cover. Thereafter, the ink was discharged again, and the ink discharge state at that time was observed and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. In addition, x evaluation is a level which has a problem in practical use.
~Evaluation criteria~
A: Discharge was possible without maintenance.
○: The discharge can be performed again by performing the predetermined maintenance once.
(Triangle | delta): It became possible to discharge again by performing predetermined maintenance twice.
X: As long as predetermined maintenance was performed three times, ejection could not be performed.
The predetermined maintenance refers to an operation for eliminating the clogging of the head by ejecting ink by applying a pressure of 15 Pa.

[Evaluation of ink set]
The ink sets S-1 to S-36 obtained above were evaluated for (3) image quality, (4) scratch resistance, and (5) blocking resistance as follows. The evaluation results are shown in Table 4.
(3) Image quality OK top coat (recording medium) manufactured by Oji Paper Co., Ltd. is fixed on a stage that operates at 500 mm / second, and the processing liquid (1 or 2) contained in the ink set is about 1 with a wire bar coater. The film was applied to a thickness of 2 μm, and immediately after that, dried at 50 ° C. for 2 seconds.
Thereafter, solid printing was performed by a line method with a resolution of 1200 × 1200 dpi, a droplet ejection amount of 2.4 pL using a Ricoh GELJET GX5000 printer head arranged and fixed obliquely (75.5 degrees) with respect to the scanning direction. Immediately after printing, it was dried at 60 ° C. for 3 seconds.
Next, as a fixing step, a pair of fixing rollers heated to 60 ° C. were passed through, and a heat fixing process was performed with a nip pressure of 0.25 MPa and a nip width of 4 mm (heat fixing step) to obtain a print sample.
About the obtained printing sample, the printing state was observed visually or with a magnifier and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. In addition, x evaluation is a level which has a problem in practical use.
~Evaluation criteria~
A: It was difficult to find a white portion with a loupe.
○: Although it was difficult to visually check the white spots, the white spots were found with a loupe.
(Triangle | delta): The white spot part was looked for visually (without a magnifying glass).
X: A white spot was easily confirmed visually (without a magnifying glass).

(4) Abrasion resistance The above printing sample was obtained by wrapping an Oji Paper Co., Ltd. OK top coat + around a paperweight (weight 470 g, size 15 mm × 30 mm × 120 mm, equivalent to a load 260 kg / m ² ). The sample was rubbed three times and the image peeling was visually observed and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria.
In addition, when the image peeling was not confirmed by 3 reciprocations, it rubbed to 6 reciprocations. Moreover, x evaluation is a level which has a problem in practical use.
~Evaluation criteria~
A: Image peeling was not visible even after 6 reciprocations.
○: No peeling of the image was visible on the surface of the print sample after 4 reciprocating rubs, but it was confirmed with 6 reciprocating rubs.
Δ: No peeling of the image could be visually recognized on the surface of the print sample by two reciprocating rubs, but it could be confirmed by four reciprocating rubs.
X: Image peeling was visually recognized on the surface of the print sample after two reciprocations.

(5) Blocking resistance Two evaluation samples obtained above are cut into a size of 3.5 cm × 4 cm, and the evaluation samples are placed so that the printed screens face each other on a 10 cm × 10 cm acrylic plate (thickness 7 mm). 10 sheets of unprinted Tokuhishi art double-sided N (Mitsubishi Paper Co., Ltd.) cut on the same size and cut onto the evaluation sample, and 10 cm x 10 cm acrylic plate (thickness 7 mm) And left under environmental conditions of 25 ° C. and 50% RH for 12 hours.
After standing, a weight of 1 kg was placed on the uppermost acrylic plate and left for another 24 hours (corresponding to a load of 700 kg / m ² ).
Further, after being stored for 2 hours under environmental conditions of 25 ° C. and 50% RH, the unprinted special rhizo art (unprinted paper) superimposed on the evaluation sample was peeled off. The ease of peeling at this time and the adhesion after peeling were visually observed and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria.
~Evaluation criteria~
○: It did not adhere to the seal screen.
X: Adhesion occurred on the stamp screen, and adhesion of paper could be confirmed visually.

For the ink sets S-37 to S-72 obtained above, the heat fixing step in each of the evaluations of (3) image quality, (4) abrasion resistance, and (5) blocking resistance is as follows. (3) Image quality, (4) Abrasion resistance, and (5) Blocking resistance were each evaluated in the same manner as described above except that the process was changed to the curing and fixing step. The evaluation results are shown in Table 5.
(Curing and fixing process)
Using a UV lamp, the fixing process was performed by irradiating ultraviolet rays so that the exposure amount was 2.5 J / cm ^2, and a print sample was obtained.

(6) Color blur (color bleed)
Using ink sets S-73 to S-94 containing four color aqueous ink compositions, color bleeding was evaluated as follows.
Oji Paper Co., Ltd. OK Top Coat + (Recording medium) is fixed on a stage operating at 500 mm / second, and the treatment liquid (1 or 2) contained in the ink set is about 1.2 μm thick with a wire bar coater. And immediately after drying at 50 ° C. for 2 seconds.
Thereafter, using a GELJET GX5000 printer head manufactured by Ricoh Co., which is arranged obliquely (75.5 degrees) with respect to the scanning direction, yellow, magenta, and ink included in ink sets S-73 to S-94 A 100% solid image was printed with a water-based ink composition of each color of cyan at a resolution of 1200 × 1200 dpi and a droplet ejection amount of 2.4 pL. At the same time as printing the solid image, a black aqueous ink composition was used to print characters on the solid image. Immediately after printing, it was dried at 60 ° C. for 3 seconds to obtain a printing sample. The obtained print sample was allowed to stand for 24 hours in an environment of 25 ° C. and 50% RH, and then the print sample was visually observed and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 6 and 7.

~Evaluation criteria~
A: Smudge could not be confirmed.
○: There was almost no blur and the characters could be read clearly.
Δ: Slight blurring was observed, but the level was not problematic for practical use.
X: The color boundary was not clear, and it was a practically problematic level.

  From Tables 4 to 7, it can be seen that the water-based ink composition contained in the ink set of the present invention is excellent in ejection stability and ejection recovery property. In addition, it can be seen that the image formed using the ink set of the present invention suppresses the occurrence of color blurring and shows excellent results in any of image quality, abrasion resistance and blocking resistance.

Claims (11)

An aqueous ink composition containing a pigment, a graft polymer having an aromatic ring group in the side chain, and an aqueous medium;
A treatment liquid containing an acidic compound that aggregates the components of the water-based ink composition;
Ink set containing.   The ink set according to claim 1, wherein the graft polymer further has an anionic group.   The ink set according to claim 2, wherein the anionic group is a carboxyl group.   The ink set according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the acid value of the graft polymer is 5 mgKOH / g or more and less than 500 mgKOH / g. The ink set according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a side chain of the graft polymer includes a repeating unit represented by the following general formula (1).

[Wherein, R ¹ represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. L ¹ represents a single bond, —COO—, —OCO—, —CONR ² — (R ² represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms), or a substituted or unsubstituted phenylene group. L ² represents a single bond or a divalent linking group formed by combining one or more selected from the following linking group group. Ar represents a group containing an aromatic ring.
(Linked group group)
Alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkenylene group having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, alkyl ether groups having 1 to 12 carbon ^{atoms, -CO -, - NR 3 -} (R 3 is a hydrogen atom or a carbon number of 1 to 6 Alkyl group), —O—, —S—, —SO—, —SO ₂ —]   Ar in the general formula (1) is a group derived from benzene, a condensed aromatic ring compound having 8 or more carbon atoms, a heterocyclic compound in which an aromatic ring is condensed, or a compound in which two or more benzenes are linked. The ink set according to claim 5.   The ink set according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least a part of a surface of the pigment is coated with the graft polymer.   The ink set according to claim 1, wherein the water-based ink composition further includes a water-based UV curable material. A treatment liquid application step of applying the treatment liquid contained in the ink set according to any one of claims 1 to 8 onto a recording medium;
An ink application step of applying the aqueous ink composition contained in the ink set according to any one of claims 1 to 8 onto a recording medium by an inkjet method;
Forming an image by bringing the aqueous ink composition and the treatment liquid into contact with each other.   The image forming method according to claim 9, further comprising a heat fixing step.   The image forming method according to claim 9, further comprising a curing and fixing step.