High-density, low-viscosity ink for use in ink jet printers
AssigneePorelon, Inc.
InventorStephanie S. Hinton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ink composition suitable for ink jet printing is made from a fatty acid ester base and a diluent, wherein the base consists essentially of a fatty acid which is liquid at room temperature, a polyalkylene glycol, and a dye which has been reacted with the fatty acid to form an ester. The base is combined with a compatible diluent, such as an alcohol having a low-viscosity and low vapor pressure, to provide an ink composition especially suited for ink jet dot printing of high-definition symbols such as bar codes. The ink of the invention resists spreading on rough surfaces, and thus can be used to print bar codes directly on the sides of paperboard cartons.
Claims20
An ink composition suitable for ink jet printing consisting essentially of a fatty acid ester base and a diluent, wherein the base consists essentially of a fatty acid which is liquid at room temperature, a polyalkylene glycol, and a dye which has been reacted substantially completely with the fatty acid to form an ester, wherein the ink composition is essentially free of water, and the water resulting from the esterification having been eliminated in order to drive the esterification reaction substantially to completion.
An ink composition consisting essentially of 30 to 70 wt. % of an oleate or isostearate base and the balance is essentially a glycol ether diluent, wherein the base consists essentially of:
- 40 to 75 wt. % of oleic or isostearic acid;
- 10 to 30 wt. % of a polyethylene glycol of the formula HO--CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 --(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O).sub.n --CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 --OH, wherein n is at least 1, and having an average molecular weight of from about 200 to 600;
- 20 to 35 wt. % of a dye which has been reacted substantially completely with the acid to form an ester;
- and
- up to 1 wt. % of an antioxidant effective to suppress heat-initiated oxidation of the acid;
- and
- wherein the ink composition is substantially free of water, the water resulting from the esterification having been eliminated in order to drive the esterification reaction substantially to completion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.