Thermal ink-jet inks having reduced black to color and color to color bleed

US5536306A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Hewlett-Packard Company, L.P. · US

Inventors

• Loren E. Johnson · San Diego, US
• Hiang P. Lauw · Corvallis, US
• Norman E. Pawlowski, Jr. · Corvallis, US
• James P. Shields · Philomath, US
• John M. Skene · Lake Oswego, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 11, 1995
• Grant date: Jul 16, 1996
• Expiry date: Jul 11, 2015

Classification

• Technology area (CPC C): Chemistry; Metallurgy
• CPC primary: C09D11/40
• WIPO field: Basic materials chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A set of thermal ink-jet inks and method for formulating the same are provided in which the cyan, magenta, and yellow inks contain a combination of surfactants and inorganic salts designed to reduce both color to color bleed as well as black to color bleed. In general, the present cyan, magenta, and yellow inks each comprise about 0.1 to 4 wt. % of at least one dye; about 3 to 20 wt. % of at least one diol; 0 to about 5 wt. % of at least one glycol ether; about 3 to 9 wt. % of 2-pyrrolidone; up to about 4 wt. % of at least one component selected from the group consisting of biocides and buffers; and water. To achieve a reduction in color to color and black to color bleed, the cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are formulated to further comprise the following combination of surfactants and inorganic salts: (a) a surfactant component comprising about 1 to 4 wt. % of a first surfactant consisting essentially of at least one secondary alcohol ethoxylate surfactant predominantly having 4 to 8 ethoxylated units and an aliphatic chain having about 12 to 18 carbon atoms; and (b) about 3 to 6 wt. % of at least one inorganic salt component.