Printed material, image recording method, and image recording apparatus

An image recording method for a printed material, the mage recording method comprising:

• applying a reaction liquid on a recording medium;
• applying an ink containing a pigment on the recording medium;
• applying an auxiliary liquid containing spherical particles having an average particle diameter of 110 to 400 nm to the reaction liquid and the ink on the recording medium;
• and
• forming an image having a fine irregular layer as an outermost layer by treating a surface of a region to which the auxiliary liquid is applied to have convex portions having an average height of 0.04 to 0.15 μm and an image definition C(2) of the image of 50% or more at an optical comb width of 2 mm.

An image recording method comprising:

• applying a reaction liquid on a transfer member;
• applying an auxiliary liquid containing spherical particles having an average particle diameter of 110 to 400 nm to the reaction liquid on the transfer member;
• forming an intermediate image by applying an ink containing a pigment to the reaction liquid and the auxiliary liquid on the transfer member;
• transferring the intermediate image on the transfer member to a recording medium by bringing the intermediate image on the transfer member into contact with the recording medium;
• and
• forming an image having a fine irregular layer as an outermost layer by treating a surface of a region to which the auxiliary liquid is applied of the intermediate image on the recording medium obtained after transferring the intermediate image to have convex portions having an average height of 0.04 to 0.15 μm and an image definition C(2) of the image of 50% or more at an optical comb width of 2 mm.

An image recording method comprising:

• applying a reaction liquid on a transfer member;
• forming an intermediate image by applying an ink containing a pigment to the reaction liquid on the transfer member;
• transferring the intermediate image on the transfer member to a recording medium by bringing the intermediate image on the transfer member into contact with the recording medium;
• applying an auxiliary liquid containing spherical particles having an average particle diameter of 110 to 400 nm to the intermediate image on the recording medium obtained after transferring the intermediate image;
• and
• forming an image having a fine irregular layer as an outermost layer by treating a surface of a region to which the auxiliary liquid is applied to have convex portions having an average height of 0.04 to 0.15 μm and an image definition C(2) of the image of 50% or more at an optical comb width of 2 mm.

An image recording method comprising:

• applying a reaction liquid on a transfer member;
• applying a first auxiliary liquid containing spherical particles having an average particle diameter of 110 to 400 nm to the reaction liquid on the transfer member;
• applying an ink containing a pigment to the reaction liquid and the first auxiliary liquid on the transfer member;
• forming an intermediate image by applying a second auxiliary liquid containing a water-soluble resin reactable with the reaction liquid to the reaction liquid, the first auxiliary liquid, and the ink on the transfer member;
• transferring the intermediate image on the transfer member to a recording medium by bringing the intermediate image on the transfer member into contact with the recording medium;
• and
• forming an image having a fine irregular layer as an outermost layer by treating a surface of a region to which the first auxiliary liquid is applied of the intermediate image on the recording medium obtained after transferring the intermediate image to have convex portions having an average height of 0.04 to 0.15 μm and an image definition C(2) of the image of 50% or more at an optical comb width of 2 mm,
• wherein a temperature (Tc) of the intermediate image to be brought into contact with the recording medium is a temperature equivalent to or more than the glass transition temperature of the water-soluble resin contained in the second auxiliary liquid, and a temperature (Tr) of the intermediate image is a temperature less than the glass transition temperature of the water-soluble resin contained in the second auxiliary liquid.

An image recording apparatus comprising:

• a reaction liquid application means for applying a reaction liquid on a recording medium;
• an ink application means for applying an ink containing a pigment to the reaction liquid on the recording medium;
• an auxiliary liquid application means for applying an auxiliary liquid containing spherical particles having an average particle diameter of 110 to 400 nm to the reaction liquid and the ink on the recording medium;
• and
• a fine irregular layer forming means for forming an image having a fine irregular layer as an outermost layer by treating a surface of a region to which the auxiliary liquid is applied to have convex portions having an average height of 0.04 to 0.15 μm and an image definition C(2) of the image of 50% or more at an optical comb width of 2 mm.

An image recording apparatus comprising:

• a reaction liquid application means for applying a reaction liquid on a transfer member;
• an auxiliary liquid application means for applying an auxiliary liquid containing spherical particles having an average particle diameter of 110 to 400 nm to the reaction liquid on the transfer member;
• an ink application means for applying an ink containing a pigment to the reaction liquid and the auxiliary liquid on the transfer member to form an intermediate image;
• a transfer means for transferring the intermediate image on the transfer member to a recording medium by bringing the intermediate image on the transfer member into contact with the recording medium;
• and
• a fine irregular layer forming means for forming an image having a fine irregular layer as an outermost layer by treating a surface of a region to which the auxiliary liquid is applied of the intermediate image on the recording medium obtained by the transfer means to have convex portions having an average height of 0.04 to 0.15 μm and an image definition C(2) of the image of 50% or more at an optical comb width of 2 mm.

An image recording apparatus comprising:

• a reaction liquid application means for applying a reaction liquid on a transfer member;
• a first auxiliary liquid application means for applying a first auxiliary liquid containing spherical particles having an average particle diameter of 110 to 400 nm to the reaction liquid on the transfer member;
• an ink application means for applying an ink to the reaction liquid and the first auxiliary liquid on the transfer member;
• a second auxiliary liquid application means for applying a second auxiliary liquid containing a water-soluble resin reactable with the reaction liquid to the reaction liquid, the first auxiliary liquid, and the ink on the transfer member;
• a transfer means for transferring an intermediate image on the transfer member to a recording medium by bringing the intermediate image on the transfer member into contact with the recording medium;
• a fine irregular layer forming means for forming an image having a fine irregular layer as an outermost layer by treating a surface of a region to which the first auxiliary liquid is applied of the intermediate image on the recording medium obtained by the transfer means to have convex portions having an average height of 0.04 to 0.15 μm and an image definition C(2) of the image of 50% or more at an optical comb width of 2 mm;
• and
• a temperature adjustment means for adjusting the temperature of the intermediate image so that a temperature (Tc) of the intermediate image to be brought into contact with the recording medium is set to a temperature equivalent to or more than the glass transition temperature of the water-soluble resin, and a temperature (Tr) of the intermediate image to be peeled away from the transfer member is set to a temperature less than the glass transition temperature of the water-soluble resin.