JPH09302294A - Edible ink for inkjet printing - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide an edible ink suitable for printing on foods, pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, cosmetics, feeds, or containers and packaging thereof. SOLUTION: An edible ink for inkjet printing containing an edible dye and an edible stabilizer, which contains as a edible stabilizer vitamin C groups such as bayberry extract, flavonoids, organic acids, ascorbic acids and erythorbic acid. By using the dye, discoloration and fading after printing can be prevented, characters and patterns can be printed clearly, and can be maintained even after printing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an edible ink suitable for inkjet printing on foods, pharmaceuticals, quasi drugs, cosmetics, feeds or containers and packaging thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Edible inks are edible inks widely used for printing foods, pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, cosmetics, feeds, containers and packaging that come into direct contact with them, and are all composed of edible materials. Ink. Printing methods for foods, pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, cosmetics, feeds, and containers and packaging that come into direct contact with these include inkjet printing, gravure printing, screen printing, flexo printing, transfer printing, electrostatic printing, etc. . As an example of gravure printing and flexographic printing, an edible ink characterized by containing a shellac resin and an edible dye (JP-A-59-108).
078), and as an example of screen printing, an edible ink obtained by emulsifying water, an edible pigment, an edible oil and fat with an edible emulsifier (JP-A-57-179263), water, alcohol, a surfactant, and a hiding power. An edible insoluble inorganic fine powder having and a thickener and a resin as necessary as a stabilizer,
An edible ink composition characterized by containing an edible polymer substance (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-63363) has been proposed, and these stabilizers function as a binder or an auxiliary agent for improving physical properties in the ink. . However, with these printing methods, it is difficult to print on an uneven surface, a soft surface, or an irregular shape. Further, in these printing devices, it cannot be said that printing can be performed hygienically because the printing device and the substrate for fixing the printed characters are in contact with each other.

Thus, inkjet printing allows printing without contact between the printing device and the substrate that secures the printed characters. Since it is possible to print on the surface of unevenness, soft surface, fragile surface, or irregular shape, any object can be printed. Moreover, since it can be printed hygienically, ink jet printing has attracted attention for printing foods, pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, cosmetics or feeds.

Regarding the method of inkjet printing on foods, pharmaceuticals, etc., there has been proposed a method of printing using an ink composition for inkjet printing which comprises an edible colorant, an aqueous solvent and, if necessary, an edible resin. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-34593). However, these inks have a drawback that discoloration or fading occurs due to photodecomposition or oxidation due to light irradiation. In particular, recently, there is a tendency to reduce the amount of dye used to express naturalness and print thinly, and as the degree of printing becomes thinner, discoloration and fading due to light irradiation and air oxidation become more prominent. It was very difficult to keep the letters and patterns clear.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, even if the amount of dye used is reduced and the degree of printing is reduced, characters and patterns are printed clearly without discoloration or fading due to light irradiation or air oxidation. The object is to provide an edible ink that can be processed.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies to solve these problems, the present inventors have found that the addition of an edible stabilizer does not cause discoloration or fading by light irradiation or air oxidation. They have found that a stable edible ink for inkjet printing can be obtained, and completed the present invention. The details will be described below.

Ink jet printing is a method in which printing ink is guided to a nozzle made of metal or glass and having an inner diameter of about 20 to 100 μm, and the ink is pressurized to eject uniform fine ink particles from the tip of the nozzle, which is arranged in front of the nozzle. This is a printing method in which fine ink particles are electrostatically deflected by the deflecting electrode and an image is drawn on a substrate to be printed, which is several mm away, according to a predetermined dot matrix.

The ink jet printing method is roughly classified into an acceleration vibration type and an electrostatic acceleration type. The nozzle diameter of the former is significantly smaller than that of the latter and is 50 μ or less, and has a nozzle diameter of about 20 μ in order to increase the resolution. Inkjet has also been developed. In addition, since the printing process is electronically controlled compared to other printing methods, operating noise is extremely low and high-speed printing is possible, and food, medicine, paper, plastic, metal, etc. can be freely printed on the printing object. You can choose. Furthermore, since it is a direct printing method, it has the flexibility of not requiring a plate making process at all and freely setting the size and format of characters.

The ink jet printing method differs depending on the method and performance of the printer. An important characteristic of the ink for ink jet printing is that fine nozzles are not clogged and solid matter adheres to a part of the nozzles. It is necessary not to change the ink jetting direction. This is required not only during continuous operation for a long time but also when printing is resumed after the printing is interrupted.

The physical properties of ink for ink jet printing are severe conditions such as viscosity, surface tension, specific electric conductivity, absorption spectrum, specific gravity, foamability, cohesiveness, particle size distribution, wettability / resolubility, permeation rate and temperature stability. Is required. For example, it is necessary to make the physical properties usable as an ink for inkjet printing, such as setting the viscosity at room temperature to about 1 to 7 (cp), the surface tension at room temperature to about 25 dyne / cm or more, and the specific resistance at room temperature to about 1500 Ωcm or less. is there. These greatly influence the stability of particle formation at the time of jetting the ink from the nozzle, the cutting distance, the charging time or the voltage, and are important factors in producing an ink for inkjet printing.

The edible ink for ink-jet printing of the present invention comprises an edible dye, an edible stabilizer, an edible solvent and, if necessary, an edible resin and other edible additives. The food dye referred to in the present invention can be appropriately selected from conventionally known synthetic food dyes and natural food dyes. Examples of synthetic food dyes include tar-based dyes, natural dye derivatives, and natural synthetic dyes. Examples of tar-based dyes include food red No. 2, food red No. 3, food red No. 40,
Food Red No. 102, Food Red No. 104, Food Red No. 105
No. 6, food red No. 106, food yellow No. 4, food yellow No. 5,
Food Blue 1, Food Blue 2, Food Red 2 Aluminum Lake, Food Red 3 Aluminum Lake, Food Red 40 Aluminum Lake, Food Yellow 4 Aluminum Lake, Food 5 Aluminum Lake, Food Blue 1 Aluminum Lake Examples of natural pigment derivatives such as Edible Blue No. 2 Aluminum Lake include copper chlorophyll, sodium copper chlorophyllin, and norbixin potassium, and examples of natural synthetic pigments include β-carotene and riboflavin.

Examples of natural food dyes include anthocyanin dyes, carotenoid dyes, quinone dyes, flavonoid dyes, betaine dyes, monascus dyes, and other naturally occurring dyes. The anthocyanin pigments include red radish pigments, red cabbage pigments, red rice pigments, elderberry pigments, cowberry pigments, gooseberry pigments, cranberry pigments, salmonberry pigments,
Perilla pigment, Sim blueberry pigment, Strawberry pigment, Dark sweet cherry pigment, Cherry pigment, Hibiscus pigment, Huckleberry pigment, Grape juice pigment, Grape skin pigment, Black currant pigment, Blackberry pigment, Blueberry pigment, Plum pigment, Whittle Berry pigment, boysenberry pigment, mulberry pigment, purple potato pigment, purple corn pigment, purple yam pigment, raspberry pigment, red currant pigment,
Examples include Loganberry dye and other anthocyanin dyes. Examples of carotenoid pigments include annatto pigment, gardenia yellow pigment, and other carotenoid pigments. Examples of the quinone dyes include cotinyl dyes, shikon dyes, lac dyes, and other quinone dyes. Examples of flavonoid pigments include safflower yellow pigment, korian pigment, onion pigment, and other flavonoid pigments. Examples of betaine dyes include beet red dyes. Examples of monascus pigments include Benikouji pigments and Benikouji yellow pigments. Other naturally occurring pigments include turmeric pigment, heron pigment, gardenia red pigment, and spirulina blue pigment.

Examples of the edible stabilizer referred to in the present invention include bayberry extract, flavonoid-based substances, organic acids, vitamin C groups such as ascorbic acid and erythorbic acid. Characters and patterns can be printed clearly without discoloration or fading due to air oxidation. The timing and method of adding the edible stabilizer to the edible ink for inkjet printing are not particularly limited. The amount of the edible stabilizer added to the edible ink for inkjet printing varies depending on the dye and is not generally determined, but is 0.01 to 5%.
(Weight, the same applies hereinafter).

The bayberry extract is obtained by removing tannins from the bayberry family and extracting it with one or more species selected from water or an extract with a lower aliphatic alcohol organic solvent having 1 to 5 carbon atoms. It is an ingredient.
The amount of bayberry extract added to the edible ink for inkjet printing is particularly preferably 0.05 to 1%.

Flavonoid substances include flavonols (eg, quercetin, morin, fisetin, etc.),
Flavones (eg, apigenin, luteolin, etc.), flavanones (eg, hesperitin, naringenin, etc.), enzyme-treated rutin, etc. are preferable, and one or more kinds selected from these are used. The amount of flavonoid-based substance added to the edible ink for inkjet printing is particularly preferably 0.01 to 1%.

In particular, the edible ink containing the anthocyanin dye can be prevented from discoloring and fading by adding one or more organic acids as a stabilizer. Organic acids include citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, succinic acid,
Oxalic acid, acetic acid and the like are preferable, citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid are more preferable, and citric acid is the most preferable among them. The amount of the organic acid added to the edible ink for inkjet printing is particularly preferably 0.1.
About 5% is suitable.

In addition, especially for edible inks using carotenoid pigments, vitamin C such as ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, ascorbic acid salts and erythorbic acid salts are used.
The effect of preventing discoloration and fading can be obtained by adding at least one selected from the group as a stabilizer. The amount of the vitamin C group added to the edible ink for inkjet printing is particularly preferably about 0.1 to 5%.

Examples of the edible solvent include water, ethanol, glycerin, propylene glycol, and other edible solvents. One kind or a combination of two or more kinds is used. Examples of the edible resin include shellac, gum arabic, starches, ester gum, methyl cellulose, vinyl acetate resin and other edible resins, and one kind or a combination of two or more kinds is used.

In addition to these, edible additives such as flavoring agents, preservatives, antifoaming agents, bacteriostats and surfactants may be used. Furthermore, if necessary, a pretreatment such as heating or a posttreatment can be performed. Further, the edible ink for inkjet printing of the present invention is a viscosity, surface tension, specific electric conductivity, absorption spectrum, specific gravity, foamability, cohesiveness, particle size distribution, wettability which are important as physical properties of the above-mentioned inkjet printing ink. -Strict conditions such as re-solubility, permeation rate and temperature stability are satisfied.

The edible ink for ink jet printing of the present invention can be printed on foods, pharmaceuticals, quasi drugs, cosmetics, feeds, containers and packaging that come into direct contact with them, and the like. Examples of foods include Japanese sweets such as rice cakes, rice crackers, okoshi, manju, and candy, cookies, biscuits, crackers, pies, sponge cakes, castella, donuts, waffles, cream puffs, chocolate, chocolate sweets, caramel, candy, chewing gum, pudding. , Various confectioneries such as jelly, pancakes, bread, snacks such as potato chips, puffed snacks, pretzel, ice cream, ice candy, frozen desserts such as sorbet, dairy products such as cheese, ham, sausage, bacon, dry sausage, etc. Examples include food products such as meat products, fish ham, fish sausages, kamaboko, chikuwa, starches, and tempura, and dried products thereof. In addition to the above foods,
Lactic acid drinks, lactic acid bacteria drinks, concentrated lactic acid drinks, fruit juice drinks, fruit juice drinks, pulp drinks, functional drinks, clear carbonated drinks, carbonated drinks with fruit juice, fruit drinks such as soft drinks such as soft drinks, wine, wine Alcoholic drinks such as soda, liqueur, cocktails, soybean processed foods such as soymilk, marmalade, jam, conserve, fruit syrup pickling,
Pastes such as flower paste, peanut paste, fruit paste, sea urchin, salted squid, various delicacies such as dried shellfish, seaweed, small fish, shellfish, spices, vegetables, wild vegetables, mushrooms, kelp, etc. Curry such as instant curry and retort curry, various seasonings such as ketchup and mayonnaise, various range foods, containers and packaging for foods such as frozen foods.

Examples of pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, and cosmetics include
Examples include tablets, capsules, gauze, masks, and containers and packaging for tablets, capsules, drinks, troches, mouthwashes, toothpastes, mouthwashes, breath fresheners, skin lotions, creams, lipsticks, and the like. As feed,
Examples include pet food such as cat food and dog food, food for ornamental fish, food for cultured fish, and livestock feed.

Examples of containers and packaging include paper, plastic, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, steel cans, gauze, masks, medicine wrapping papers, or written attachments such as cautionary notes.

[0023]

EXAMPLES Next, it will be described in detail with reference to examples that the edible ink for jet printing of the present invention exhibits a remarkable effect on the stability of the material to be printed. In the examples, “parts” means parts by weight.

Example 1 10 kg of methanol was added to 1 kg of a crushed dried product of bayberry bark.
After adding 5 g and extracting at about 60 ° C. for 5 hours, it is filtered, and the residue is washed with 3 kg of methanol, and the methanol extract solution
0 kg was obtained. The extract was concentrated, transferred to another container, and dried under reduced pressure at a vacuum degree of 5 mmHg and a bath temperature of 60 ° C. to obtain 250 g of a yellow solid. After crushing the obtained solid, it was suspended in 5 L of water at room temperature and then filtered, and the remaining solid was mixed with water 5
Washed with L. Then, the solid content was dried under reduced pressure at a vacuum degree of 5 mmHg and a bath temperature of 80 ° C. to obtain 130 g of a bayberry extract composed of a yellowish white solid.

Kouryan pigment 3 parts bayberry extract 1 part gum arabic 2 parts ethanol 20 parts ion-exchanged water 74 parts ───────────────────── total 100 parts above The formulation was sufficiently stirred, dissolved, and filtered to prepare an edible ink for inkjet printing using a flavonoid dye. An ink containing no bayberry extract was prepared using this ink and the above-described formulation, and used as a control product. Inkjet printing was performed on a gelatin capsule as a material to be printed, irradiation was carried out for 8 hours by a UV carbon arc light resistance tester, and the discoloration rate of the ink was evaluated by visual comparison with a standard product which was not irradiated.

[0026]

[Table 1]

As is clear from Table 1, the product containing the bayberry extract, which is the product of the present invention, had an effect of preventing fading and was excellent in stability as compared with the control product.

Example 2 Food Blue No. 1 3 parts Enzyme-treated rutin 1 part Ethanol 20 parts Deionized water 76 parts ───────────────────── Total 100 parts Above The edible ink for inkjet printing using Edible Blue No. 1 was prepared by sufficiently stirring, dissolving and filtering with the above formulation. An ink containing no enzyme-treated rutin was prepared using this ink and the above-mentioned formulation, and used as a control product. Ink-jet printing was performed on a mask as a material to be printed, irradiation was performed for 8 hours using an ultraviolet carbon arc light resistance tester, and the color fading rate of the ink was evaluated by visual comparison with a standard product that was not irradiated.

[0029]

[Table 2]

As is clear from Table 2, the enzyme-treated rutin-added product of the present invention, which was the product of the present invention, had an effect of preventing discoloration and was excellent in stability as compared with the control product.

Example 3 Red radish dye 3 parts Citric acid (crystal) 1 part Ethanol 20 parts Ion-exchanged water 76 parts ────────────────── Total 100 parts The above formulation Was sufficiently stirred, dissolved and filtered to prepare an edible ink for inkjet printing using an anthocyanin dye. An ink containing no citric acid was prepared using this ink and the above-mentioned formulation, and used as a control product. Ink-jet printing was performed on chocolate as a material to be printed, irradiation was carried out for 8 hours by an ultraviolet carbon arc light resistance tester, and the color fading rate of the ink was evaluated by visual comparison with a standard product which was not irradiated.

[0032]

[Table 3]

As is clear from Table 3, the citric acid-added product of the present invention had an effect of preventing discoloration and was excellent in stability as compared with the control product.

Example 4 Gardenia yellow pigment 3 parts L-ascorbic acid 1 part Ion-exchanged water 96 parts ──────────────────── Total 100 parts The above formulation was thoroughly stirred. , Dissolved and filtered to prepare an edible ink for inkjet printing using a carotenoid dye. An ink containing no L-ascorbic acid was prepared using this ink and the above-mentioned formulation, and used as a control product. Inkjet printing was performed on an egg shell as a material to be printed, irradiation was performed for 8 hours using an ultraviolet carbon arc light resistance tester, and the color fading rate of the ink was evaluated by visual comparison with a standard product that was not irradiated.

[0035]

[Table 4]

As is clear from Table 4, the ascorbic acid-added product of the present invention had an effect of preventing fading and was excellent in stability as compared with the control product.

[0037]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY When the edible ink for inkjet printing stabilized by the present invention is used for printing on foods, pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, cosmetics, feeds or containers and packaging thereof, light irradiation or air oxidation Characters and patterns can be printed clearly without worrying about discoloration or fading.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An edible ink for inkjet printing, which comprises an edible dye and an edible stabilizer. 2. The edible ink for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the edible stabilizer is a bayberry extract. 3. The edible ink for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the edible stabilizer is a flavonoid-based substance. 4. The food dye is an anthocyanin dye,
The edible ink for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the edible stabilizer is an organic acid. 5. The edible ink for inkjet printing according to claim 4, wherein the organic acid is at least one selected from citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid. 6. The edible food for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the food dye is a carotenoid dye, and the edible stabilizer is at least one selected from ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, ascorbic acid salts, and erythorbic acid salts. ink.