Recording liquid and ink jet recording method

1. A recording liquid comprising at least:

a pigment (a);

a polymer (b) having one or more types of bond selected from the group consisting of urethane bond and urea bond in the molecule, having a weight-average molecular weight of 7000 to 300000 and having an acid value of free acid of not less than 55 mgKOH/g and less than 150 mgKOH/g, and

a polymer (c) other than polymer (b); wherein polymer (c) is a copolymer,

wherein the ratio of polymer (b) to polymer (c) ranges from about 6:1 to about 2.5:1; and

wherein the surface tension of said recording liquid ranges from 25 to 54 dyne/cm.

2. A recording liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer (b) is a urethane-based resin.

3. A recording liquid according to claim 1 , whose surface tension is not less than 25 dyne/cm and less than 37 dyne/cm.

4. A recording liquid according to claim 3 , wherein the polymer (b) is a urethane-based resin.

5. A recording liquid according to claim 1 , whose surface tension is not less than 37 dyne/cm and less than 54 dyne/cm.

6. A recording liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer (c) is an anionic water-soluble polymer.

7. A recording liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the acid value of free acid of the anionic water-soluble polymer is not less than 150 mgKOH/g.

8. A recording liquid according to claim 6 , wherein the anionic water-soluble polymer is an (α-methyl) styrene/(meth) acrylic acid copolymer.

9. A recording liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the pigment (a) is carbon black.

10. A recording liquid according to claim 9 , wherein the carbon black has a DBP oil absorption of not less than 100 cm 3 /100 g.

11. A recording liquid according to claim 1 containing 0.5 to 50% by weight of a nonionic surfactant.

12. An ink jet recording method comprising using the recording liquid as defined in claim 1 on a recording sheet having an ink receiving layer on at least one side of the support.