Ink, ink set, ink jet recording method, ink jet recording apparatus, recording unit and ink cartridge
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsKoromo Shirota, Shoji Koike, Makoto Aoki, Mariko Suzuki, Hideki Takayama, Yasuhiro Nito
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Abstract
Provided is an ink which comprises an aqueous medium and a coloring material dispersed in the aqueous medium with a dispersant, where the coloring material is contained in an amount of at most 1% by weight with respect to the total weight of the ink, and the ratio (B/P ratio) of the dispersant to the coloring material is larger than 1.
Claims8
An ink jet recording method comprising a step of discharging at least one of a first ink and a second ink constituting an ink set using thermal energy in response to a recording signal,
- wherein the first ink is an ink for thermal ink jet recording comprising an aqueous medium and a coloring material dispersed in the aqueous medium with a dispersant, the coloring material being contained in an amount of at most 1% by weight with respect to the total weight of said ink, wherein a ratio (B/P ratio) of the dispersant to the coloring material is larger than 1, wherein the dispersant is a resinous dispersant that comprises a block polymer, and
- wherein the second ink is for thermal ink jet recording, forms an image having the same or substantially the same hue on a recording medium as that formed with the first ink, and has higher coloring ability than that of the first ink.
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising an ink container containing an ink and a thermal ink jet head for discharging the ink,
- wherein the ink is an ink for thermal ink jet recording comprising an aqueous medium and a coloring material dispersed in the aqueous medium with a dispersant, the coloring material being contained in an amount of at most 1% by weight with respect to the total weight of the ink,
- wherein a ratio (B/P ratio) of the dispersant to the coloring material is larger than 1, and
- wherein the dispersant is a resinous dispersant that comprises a block polymer.
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising ink containers containing a first ink and a second ink constituting an ink set respectively, and thermal ink jet heads for discharging the respective inks,
- wherein the first ink is an ink for thermal ink jet recording comprising an aqueous medium and a coloring material dispersed in the aqueous medium with a dispersant, the coloring material being contained in an amount of at most 1% by weight with respect to the total weight of the ink, wherein a ratio (B/P ratio) of the dispersant to the coloring material is larger than 1, wherein the dispersant is a resinous dispersant that comprises a block polymer, and
- wherein the second ink is for thermal ink jet recording, forms an image having the same or substantially the same hue on a recording medium as that formed with the first ink, and has higher coloring ability than that of the first ink.
A recording unit comprising an ink container containing an ink and a thermal ink jet head for discharging the ink,
- wherein the ink is an ink for thermal ink jet recording comprising an aqueous medium and a coloring material dispersed in the aqueous medium with a dispersant, the coloring material being contained in an amount of at most 1% by weight with respect to the total weight of the ink,
- wherein a ratio (B/P ratio) of the dispersant to the coloring material is larger than 1, and
- wherein the dispersant is a resinous dispersant that comprises a block polymer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.