Ink jet ink composition and method of printing
View Patent ↗A HAPs-free ink jet ink includes a pigment; a binder comprising vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer; and a HAPs-free solvent component comprising 1-methoxy-2-propanol acetate, a dispersing solvent selected from cyclohexanone, n-propyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, diisobutyl ketone, isobutyl acetate, amyl acetate, and combinations of these, and a diluent solvent selected from dipropylene glycol methyl ether, dipropylene glycol methyl ether acetate, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, ethylene glycol diacetate, propylene glycol n-butyl ether, propylene glycol n-propyl ether, and combinations of these. The ink has excellent stability and printing properties. Printing with the ink avoids release of HAPs while allowing long print runs with low maintenance.
1. A Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAPs)-free ink jet ink composition, comprising
a pigment,
a binder comprising poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate) and an acrylic copolymer having a glass transition temperature of at least about 50° C., comprising from about 60 to about 90 weight percent of the poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate), based on the combined weights of the poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate) and the acrylic copolymer, and
a HAPs-free solvent component comprising
1-methoxy-2-propanol acetate;
a dispersing solvent selected from the group consisting of cyclohexanone, n-propyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, diisobutyl ketone, isobutyl acetate, amyl acetate, and combinations of these; and
a diluent solvent selected from the group consisting of dipropylene glycol methyl ether, dipropylene glycol methyl ether acetate, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, ethylene glycol diacetate, propylene glycol n-butyl ether, propylene glycol n-propyl ether, and combinations of these.
2. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , comprising an effective amount of the dispersing solvent to maintain the pigment in a stable dispersion.
3. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , comprising an effective amount of the HAPs-free solvent component to provide an appropriate viscosity for ink jet printing.
4. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , wherein the HAPs-free solvent component comprises
15-25% by weight of 1-methoxy-2-propanol acetate and
12-20% by weight of the dispersing solvent.
5. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , wherein the poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate) has a weight average molecular weight of from about 15,000 to about 44,000 and a glass transition temperature of from about 40 to about 80° C.
6. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , wherein the acrylic copolymer has a glass transition temperature from about 50° C. to about 150° C.
7. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , wherein the acrylic copolymer is a methyl methacrylate copolymer.
8. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , further including a polyketone resin.
9. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , wherein the diluent solvent comprises dipropylene glycol methyl ether acetate.
10. The HAPs-free ink jet ink composition according to claim 1 , further comprising an electrolyte.
11. An ink set, comprising cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks according to claim 1 .
12. An ink set, comprising cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks according to claim 9 .
13. A method of ink jet printing, comprising printing with an ink jet printer an ink according to claim 1 onto a substrate.
14. A method of ink jet printing, comprising printing with an ink jet printer an ink according to claim 9 onto a paper substrate.
15. A method of ink jet printing comprising printing a full color image with the ink set of claim 11 .
16. A method of ink jet printing comprising printing a full color image with the ink set of claim 12 onto a paper substrate.