High Speed Ink Absorption using microporous RC Based Photomedia. Fundamentals, Status and Challenges

Abstract

In the last couple of years printing images using Inkjet technologies got faster and faster whereas the total volume of ink jetted to the media seems to stay stable. The absorption capacity of actual microporous Inkjet media can cope with these volumes but what about the kinetics? Low absorption speed manifests itself in problems like bronzing and bleeding. If the ink laydown per time and area is still increasing we may face a situation where media can be the bottleneck of higher printing speeds.In this article an investigation with focus on aqueous dye based inks regarding the development of next generation Inkjet media is presented. Key factors like total pore volume and average pore size distribution is studied using Mercury porosimetry. Measuring absorption speeds with respect to “real life demands” is quite challenging. High speed camera systems are widely used to investigate ink absorption kinetics, a technique mainly focused on single drop analysis. Looking for a more practical way of evaluating and differentiating absorption speeds of a variety of inkjet media using a modified Bristow Wheel technology is presented.