Making a liquid electrophotographic (lep) paste
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorDoris Chun
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of making a liquid electrophotographic (LEP) paste is disclosed herein. A base paste is made by forming a dispersion of a pigment and a non-polar carrier, adding a transparent resin dispersion to the pigment dispersion to form a dispersion mixture, and homogenizing the dispersion mixture. The transparent resin dispersion includes a polymer dispersed in a non-aqueous carrier. The homogenizing may be accomplished by agitating the dispersion mixture at a frequency of less than 1 kHz, thereby forming the paste.
Claims18
A method of making a liquid electrophotographic (LEP) paste, comprising:
- making a silver base paste by:
- forming a silver dispersion of a colorant and a non-polar carrier, the colorant being chosen from i) a pigment having a silver appearance or ii) a combination of the pigment having the silver appearance and an other pigment having a pearlescent optical property;
- adding a transparent resin dispersion to the silver dispersion to form a dispersion mixture, the transparent resin dispersion including a polymer dispersed in a non-aqueous carrier;
- and
- homogenizing the dispersion mixture, the homogenizing being accomplished via a non-impact homogenization process operating at a frequency of less than or equal to 1 kHz;
- and
- mixing a predefined ratio of the silver base paste and a colored paste, thereby producing the LEP paste which exhibits a color that matches an industrial color standard when formed into a final printable ink.
A method of making a liquid electrophotographic (LEP) paste, comprising:
- forming a pigment dispersion of a non-polar carrier and a pigment;
- adding a transparent resin dispersion to the pigment dispersion to form a dispersion mixture, the transparent resin dispersion including a polymer dispersed in a non-aqueous carrier;
- and
- then homogenizing the dispersion mixture, the homogenizing being accomplished by agitating the dispersion mixture at a frequency of less than or equal to 1 kHz, thereby forming the paste.
A silver base paste, comprising:
- a non-polar carrier;
- a colorant dispersed in the non-polar carrier, the colorant being chosen from i) a pigment having a silver appearance or ii) a combination of the pigment having the silver appearance and an other pigment having a pearlescent optical property, the pigment having the silver appearance maintaining its original morphology in the silver base paste after processing;
- and
- a polymer dispersed in the non-polar carrier;
- the silver base paste having a non-volatile solids content ranging from about 20% to about 35%.
A silver base paste formed by:
- forming a pigment dispersion of a non-polar carrier and a pigment having a silver appearance;
- adding a transparent resin dispersion to the pigment dispersion to form a dispersion mixture, the transparent resin dispersion including a polymer dispersed in a non-aqueous carrier;
- and
- then homogenizing the dispersion mixture by a non-impact agitation process operating at frequency of less than or equal to 1 kHz;
- wherein the pigment of the silver base paste has a substantially flat morphology and particle size distribution, which is a same morphology and particle size distribution of the pigment before the homogenizing was accomplished.
A metallic liquid electrophotographic (LEP) paste, comprising:
- a silver base paste, including:
- a non-polar carrier;
- a colorant dispersed in the non-polar carrier, the colorant being chosen from i) a pigment having a silver appearance or ii) a combination of the pigment having the silver appearance and an other pigment having a pearlescent optical property, the pigment having the silver appearance maintaining its original morphology in the silver base paste after processing;
- and
- a polymer dispersed in the non-polar carrier;
- and
- a colored paste mixed with the silver base paste, the colored paste including charged pigment particles incorporated in a non-aqueous liquid vehicle;
- the metallic LEP paste having a non-volatile solids content ranging from about 20% to about 35%, and the metallic LEP paste exhibiting a color that matches an industrial color standard when diluted to form a final printable ink.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.