Maintenance liquid for inkjet printers
View Patent ↗A maintenance liquid for inkjet printers includes at least 50 wt % of at least one ether solvent according to Formula (I) or (II) with the wt % based on the total weight of the maintenance liquid: R 1 (CO) x (OR 2 ) y OR 3 Formula (I), and R 4 CO(OR 5 ) z OCOR 6 Formula (II), wherein R 1 , R 4 and R 6 independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R 2 rand R 5 independently represent an ethylene group or a propylene group; R 3 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; x represents an integer of 0 or 1; y and z independently represent an integer of 1 to 4; and wherein the maintenance liquid contains no more than 25 ppm of peroxide expressed as hydrogen peroxide.
1. A maintenance liquid for inkjet printers, the maintenance liquid comprising:
at least 50 wt % of at least one ether solvent according to Formula (I) or (II) with the wt % is based on a total weight of the maintenance liquid:
R 1 (CO) x (OR 2 ) y OR 3 Formula (I)
R 4 CO(OR 5 ) z OCOR 6 Formula (II);
wherein
R 1 , R 4 , and R 6 independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms;
R 2 rand R 5 independently represent an ethylene group or a propylene group;
R 3 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms;
x represents an integer of 0 or 1;
y and z independently represent an integer of 1 to 4; and
the maintenance liquid contains no more than 25 ppm of peroxide expressed as hydrogen peroxide.
2. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one ether solvent according to Formula (I) has a boiling point of at least 160° C. at 760 mm Hg.
3. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one ether solvent according to Formula (I) is selected from the group consisting of dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol n-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-propyl ether, dipropylene glycol dimethyl ether, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, diethylene glycol ethyl ether acetate, dipropylene glycol diacetate, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, and diethylene glycol n-butyl ether acetate.
4. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one ether solvent according to Formula (I) is present in an amount of at least 80 wt % based on the total weight of the maintenance liquid.
5. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the maintenance liquid has a viscosity of less than 15 mPa·s at 25° C.
6. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the maintenance liquid contains between 0.1 and 5.0 ppm of peroxide expressed as hydrogen peroxide.
7. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the maintenance liquid contains less than 10.0 mg/L of dissolved oxygen.
8. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the maintenance liquid includes a cyclic solvent selected from the group consisting of propylene carbonate, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone, and gamma-butyrolactone.
9. The maintenance liquid according to claim 1 , wherein the maintenance liquid includes a polymerization inhibitor.
10. An inkjet printer comprising:
an inkjet print head containing the maintenance liquid according to claim 1 .
11. The inkjet printer according to claim 10 , wherein the inkjet printer is a UV curable inkjet printer.
12. A method for cleaning an inkjet printer, the method comprising the step of:
cleaning the inkjet printer using the maintenance liquid according to claim 1 .
13. The method for cleaning an inkjet printer according to claim 12 , the method further comprising the step of:
cleaning a nozzle plate of an inkjet print head using the maintenance liquid.
14. The method for cleaning an inkjet printer according to claim 12 , the method further comprising the step of:
providing an interior of an inkjet print head with the maintenance liquid.
15. The method for cleaning an inkjet printer according to claim 12 , wherein the inkjet printer is a UV curable inkjet printer.