Ink set and ink jet recording method

An ink jet recording method comprising the step of ejecting and depositing droplets of ink compositions onto a recording medium to perform printing, wherein

• said ink compositions are a black ink composition and at least two chromatic color ink compositions that, when used in combination, can realize achromatic color printing,
• said black ink composition comprises a surface-treated pigment dispersible and/or dissolvable in water without any dispersant, two or more types of resin particles, and water as a main solvent,
• at least one type of resin particles among the two or more types of resin particles have a film forming temperature below 0° C., and at least one type of resin particles among the two or more types of resin particles have a film forming temperature of 30° C. or above, and
• said chromatic color ink composition comprises at least a pigment, a polymer, which includes said pigment and renders said pigment dispersible in the chromatic color ink composition, and water as a main solvent, wherein said polymer contains hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups and is substantially insoluble in the chromatic color ink composition, or said polymer is a vinyl polymer prepared by polymerizing
• A) 5 to 45% by weight of at least one monomer selected from monomer A1 represented by formula (I):
• wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R2 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and n is 1 to 30,
• monomer A2 represented by formula (II):
• wherein R1, R2, and n are as defined in formula (I), m is 1 to 30, and the oxyethylene groups and the oxypropylenes group within [ ] may be added to each other as blocks or randomly, and
• monomer A3 represented by formula (III):
• wherein R1, R2, and n are as defined in formula (I),
• B) 3 to 40% by weight of a monomer containing a salt forming group,
• C) 5 to 40% by weight of a macromonomer having a number average molecular weight of 500 to 500,000, and
• D) 0 to 87% by weight of a monomer copolymerizable with monomers A), B), and C), and
• when ink dots printed by a combination of said chromatic color ink compositions are an achromatic color or a chromatic color having a low lightness, ink dots are printed by ejecting said black ink composition instead of the combination of said chromatic color ink compositions.