INk jet dye fixation and coating pigments

摘要

Ink jet printing is a rapidly growing method of documentation and communication, due to low equipment cost and color reproduction. Accordingly, many papermakers have developed and are developing papers that are compatble with this process. Because ink jet printing is quite new and different from established processes like offset, graviure, and flexographic printing, little mechanistic work has been published to help with paper design. A unique feature of current ink jet printing is that ink setting depends on direct fixation of colorants on the paper surface. No viscous resins are present to control colorant movement. This report describes the fixation of commercial ink jet inks using thin layer chromatography. It is shown that silica based coating prigments and specialty precipitated calcuium carbonate pigments fix ink jet ydes by different mechanisms. It is hypothexized that the differences stem from different interactions between the pigement surfaces and carboxylic and sulfonic acid groups on the dyes.