JPS6157342A - Ink jet dyeing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform stably ink jet dyeing for a long period of time by making use of aqueous ink, by providing a part having an agitating function of the ink in a transfer route of the ink up to a nozzle, in a dyeing device based on an ink jet method. CONSTITUTION:The titled device possesses a mechanism wherein an ink tank 1 is provided and ink 2 to be stored herein is agitated by a rotor 3 rotating through a magnetic stirrer 4. The ink 2 is stored once in a buffer tank 6 by passing through an ink tranfer route (piping) 5 in accordance with flying action of a nozzle 7. The ink 2 which has flown through the nozzle 7 adheres to and dyes cloth 8. An agitation mechanism can be added to the route 5 and buffer tank 6 further. The ink is such an article that contains dye capable of dyeing the cloth and water-insoluble and water-hand-soluble dyes such as disperse dye and building dye can be used beside water-soluble dyes such as acid dye, direct dye and cationic dye.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for stably inkjet dyeing using a water-based ink, particularly a dye ink in which a dye insoluble or poorly soluble in water is finely dispersed in water. It is something.

(Prior art) In recent years, in order to perform non-contact recording and printing on paper as an end device for information processing, studies have been progressing on inkjet technology, which forms images on paper by controlling printing ink ejected from narrow nozzles. ing. The dye used in inkjet recording ink is a water-soluble bundle A'3F, which has particularly high solubility in water among acid dyes and direct dyes because the target is a valve.
is used, and dye ink is used in a dissolution system. In a water-based ink using a water-soluble dye, if the auxiliary agent is used properly, the dye will not precipitate during use and cause a change in density if the ink is used for a short period of time or has a low fia degree. However, even with such a dye, if the dye 711 degree is dark, a change in density may still occur.

Recently, as an attempt to apply the inkjet recording method, studies have been made to dye color patterns directly onto fiber fabrics without using a screen. In this case, the target fibers to be dyed are synthetic fibers, semi-synthetic fibers, natural fibers, and mixtures thereof. Naturally, a wide range of dyes are required to dye these fibers, and in addition to the water-soluble dyes used for inkjet printing on paper, disperse dyes are used for polyester fibers, and gold-brown salt dyes are used for wool. For cotton, dyes that are insoluble or soluble in water, such as vat dye 11, are used, and the amount of ink used for dyeing is large and the period of use is long.1q of dye ink is made from these dyes. To do this, the raw dye must be made into fine particles and dispersed and emulsified in water using a dispersant.Regardless of the type of dispersant used or Coagulation and precipitation may occur in the container, causing the dye concentration to gradually change over time, and in extreme cases, clogging may occur in the middle of the piping from the ink container to the nozzle.Therefore, conventional dyes that are poorly water-soluble It was thought that forming and dyeing designs on textiles using the inkjet method would be impossible in the industrial world.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention uses a water-based ink, particularly a water-dispersed ink consisting of a dye that is insoluble or poorly soluble in water, in an in-jet dyeing apparatus, so that dye density changes can be prevented over a long period of time. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can stably perform inkjet dyeing without any problems.

(Means for Solving the Problems) (1) An inkjet dyeing device using an inkjet method, characterized in that a portion having an ink stirring function is provided in the ink transfer path up to the nozzle.

(2) The inkjet dyeing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the portion having an ink stirring function has an ink storage function.

A feature of the present invention is that an ink stirring function is actively added to the inkjet dyeing apparatus, and this function may be added to either the ink transport path or the ink storage section. With such a device, 81% of the dye ink can be
Temperature changes and ink clogging are completely prevented.

Dyes in ink may coagulate or precipitate due to dispersion destruction or decreased solubility. This phenomenon tends to occur with water-dispersible dyes, but even water-soluble dyes can cause precipitation when used at high concentrations. - In particular, ink dispersed with a dispersant is prone to coagulation and precipitation of the dye due to time factors (long-term use), and dyeing defects are likely to occur due to changes in dye concentration.

Such drawbacks cannot be essentially improved even if the amount of dispersant is increased. In other words, when the amount of dispersant increases, new problems arise, such as image blurring due to the dispersant, nozzle clogging, and the need for saw pink after dyeing. Must not be.

The present invention is intended to rationally solve the above-mentioned problems that occur characteristically in inkjet using physical means.

That is, an ink stirring function is provided in the ink transport path leading to the inkjet nozzle and/or the ink storage portion. This stirring function is
Items that have the effect of stirring liquids in the J5 and manufacturing chemical industries, specifically: (1) items that move the container itself, (2) items that slow down the rotation of stirring blades (rotors), (a) I-plates. Something that vibrates the stirring blade, (4)
There are various methods such as those that cause the liquid itself to flow, and (5) those that vibrate the liquid itself.

However, in the present invention, a system in which bubbles are generated during stirring is not preferred. In other words, air bubbles not only cause pressure loss between the ink paths and disrupt ink transport, but also form voids within the inkjet nozzle, resulting in the ink not flying properly and creating a defective image that is unclear. .

That is, it is not necessary to stir the ink so vigorously that it bubbles, and it is sufficient if the ink flows to the extent that it maintains its uniformity.

Methods to suitably exhibit these characteristics include a magnetic stirrer that uses rotation and magnetism, a mechanism that gently vibrates or rotates the container, a mechanism that uses an ultrasonic R pendulum at the bottom of the container, and a mechanism that uses a magnetic stirrer that uses rotation and magnetism. Suitable mechanisms include a mechanism that applies mechanical pulses using a means such as a bellows, and a mechanism that divides and merges the liquid to mix and flow it (static mixer mechanism).

The ink agitation structure of the present invention has a weight of at least 1 g, and can be stacked in multiple stages if necessary. In particular, a mechanism in which a stirring mechanism is added to a mechanism for storing ink exhibits an excellent effect on ink dispersion stability.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the inkjet dyeing apparatus of the present invention. In this example, an ink tank 1 is provided, and a separate structure is provided in which ink 2 stored therein is stirred by a stirring bar 3 rotated by a magnetic stirrer 4. The ink 2 passes through the ink transfer path (piping) 5 in accordance with the ink flying behavior of the nozzle 7 and is temporarily stored in the puff 7 tank 6. The ink ejected from the nozzle 7 adheres to and dyes the fabric 8.

In FIG. 1, a stirring structure can be added to the path 5 and the buffer tank 6.

The ink referred to in the present invention contains dyes capable of dyeing fabrics, such as water-soluble dyes such as acid dyes, direct dyes, reactive dyes, cationic dyes, and reactive dyes, as well as disperse dyes. , vat dyes (vat dyes), metal complex dyes, insoluble azo dyes, oxidation dyes, tlX dyes, and other water-insoluble or poorly water-soluble dyes are used. The present invention is particularly effective when using water-insoluble or poorly water-soluble dyes.

Such ink may contain physical property adjusting agents (viscosity, surface tension, electrical conductivity, etc.), fungicides, bactericides, Ili!, etc. as necessary. Additives such as an I-layer absorbent, a chelating agent, and an ink drying inhibitor are added.

The term "fabric" used in the present invention refers to sheet-like materials such as woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, and nonwoven fabrics, and also includes paper, films, and the like. There are no particular limitations on the material, but various synthetic fibers, natural fibers,
All textile materials such as these d products can be applied.

The inkjet method in the present invention is about 10 to 15
Any method may be used as long as the dyeing is carried out by ejecting ink droplets from a thin nozzle (slit) of 0μ, but representative methods include (1) pressure vibration type, (2)
) Electrostatic acceleration type, (3) Pressure pulse type, etc., and drip type, continuous injection type, intermittent injection type, on-demand type, etc. Furthermore, as high-speed inkjet methods, there are also methods such as bubble jet or slit jet in which multiple nozzles are arranged in a horizontal row. Among these, those having a mechanism that can change the amount of ink discharged are preferably applied.

(Example) Examples 1 to 3, Comparative Examples 1 to 2 In order to form a pattern on a plain woven fabric made of polyester fibers, a dye ink having the following composition was prepared.

(Ink composition) TerraSeal Blue X-2R Liquid 10 parts (Ciba Geigy's chin; blue disperse dye) Propylene glycol 20 parts Ion
70 copies total
As the 100-part dyeing device, an on-demand inkjet dyeing device shown in FIG. 1 was used. The ink tank 1 and piping 5 are made of polyvinylidene fluoride, and the bottom of the tank 1 contains a rotor 3 made of a piece of iron covered with glass. It can be rotated by a cooler. This rotor was rotated continuously at 500 rpm.

Inkjet dyeing conditions (1) Inkjet method: On-demand type (2) Nozzle diameter: 60μ (3) Distance between nozzle and fabric 11i: 1mm (4) Applied voltage: 40V First, ink is loaded and an image is immediately formed by inkjet. did. The same image was formed 1 hour, 6 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours after loading the rough ink.

After image formation, each of these treated products was heated with moist heat at 180°C
It was fixed for 10 minutes to develop color.

The vividness and color density (L value) of the dyed products were compared according to the following evaluation method, and both showed the same image performance, forming dark and sharp patterns. There was no clogging of piping or nozzles during operation.

However, when stirring was stopped, the color density of the design gradually increased after about 1 hour, and after about 2 hours the piping became clogged and no ink came out.

In addition, instead of the magnetic stirrer in the ink tank, an ultrasonic optical pendulum was used to vibrate the ink in the tank, and dyeing was carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1.
The results were still good.

Sharpness: Judged by the sharpness of the design when observed with the naked eye.

[Values: Values measured using a digital side difference meter manufactured by Suga Test Practice Co., Ltd. Dark colors have very small values.

(Effects of the present invention) In dyeing by an in-jet method, the present invention shows that even if a water-based ink, particularly a water-dispersed ink consisting of a water-insoluble or sparingly soluble dye is used, the dye IIj remains unchanged for a long period of time.
I degree change heart change, stable and clear inkjet staining can be achieved. According to the present invention, it is possible to stably produce high-quality printed products with deep colors and sharp designs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an inkjet dyeing apparatus of the present invention. In the diagram: 1: Ink tank 2: Ink 3: Rotor 4: Magnetic cooler 5; Piping 6: Buff 1 tank 7: Nozzle 8
:Fabric

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An inkjet dyeing device using an inkjet method, characterized in that a portion having an ink stirring function is provided in the ink transport path up to the nozzle. (2) The inkjet dyeing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the portion having an ink stirring function has an ink storage function.