A water-based ink for ink-jet recording includes dyes and water. The dyes include a blue dye having a hue angle of 220 to 280; a yellow dye having a hue angle of 70 to 120; and a copper phthalocyanine dye. A mass ratio (C/B) of a content (C) of the copper phthalocyanine dye to a content (B) of the blue dye in an entire amount of the water-based ink is equal to or more than 0.5, and a total content of the dyes in the entire amount of the water-based ink is equal to or more than 6% by mass.

This invention relates to a process for preparing color dispersions comprising a first step of contacting water, a first colorant, and a polysaccharide selected from methylcellulose, hydropropylmethylcellulose, hydroxyethylmethylcellulose, hydroxybutylmethylcellulose, hydroxyethylethylcellulose, and the mixture thereof, to form a first colorant dispersion; a second step of contacting the first colorant dispersion with a protective composition comprising an aqueous dispersion of polymer particles, clay, and a peptizing agent to form a dispersion of protected first colorant particles; an optional third step of repeating the first step and the second step with a second colorant that is different from the first colorant to form a dispersion of protected second colorant particles; and an optional fourth step of mixing the dispersions of protected first and second colorant particles to form a multi-color dispersion. This invention also relates to a color dispersion comprising the first colorant dispersion, and a color coating comprising the color dispersion.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a conductive support, a charge generation layer disposed on the conductive support, and a charge transport layer disposed on the charge generation layer. The charge generation layer includes a charge generating material and a vinyl copolymer. The vinyl copolymer includes a structural unit including a chlorine atom, a structural unit including an acyloxy group, and a structural unit including two or more carboxyl groups. The proportion of the structural unit including an acyloxy group to all of the structural units is 13.4 mol % or more and 20.0 mol % or less. The charge transport layer includes a charge transporting material and a binder resin.

Provided is a pigment dispersion liquid used in a curable composition capable of manufacturing a film having fewer foreign matters. Provided are a curable composition capable of manufacturing a film having fewer foreign matters, a film, a near infrared cut filter, a solid-state imaging element, an image display device, and an infrared sensor. The pigment dispersion liquid includes a near infrared absorbing organic pigment having an maximum absorption wavelength in a wavelength range of 600 to 1,200 nm; two or more kinds of pigment derivatives having different structures; and a solvent.

An ink jet ink includes water, a water-soluble organic solvent, a resin, and an anionic heptamethine cyanine dye including a substituted or unsubstituted five or six membered ring in the heptamethine chain, the dye having a maximum absorption between 800 and 1200 nm to increase drying speed and improve image quality when dried with NIR or CIR dryers.

An object of the present invention is to provide a colored photosensitive resin composition capable of forming a color filter having a higher brightness than that of the color filter formed from the conventionally known colored photosensitive resin composition. The colored photosensitive resin composition according to the present invention comprises a colorant, a resin, a polymerizable compound, and a polymerization initiator, the colorant comprising a compound represented by formula (1) and an ?-type and/or ?-type copper phthalocyanine pigment, ##STR00001##
wherein M.sup.r+ represents an r-valent metal ion; k represents the sum of the number of SO.sub.3.sup.? and the number of SO.sub.2N.sup.?SO.sub.2R.sup.f in the compound represented by formula (1); r represents an integer of 1 or more; R.sup.f represents a fluoroalkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms; and the compound represented by formula (1) has at least one SO.sub.3.sup.? or SO.sub.2N.sup.?SO.sub.2R.sup.f.

Edible colorant compositions containing a monoacylated anthocyanin of Compound I and methods of use are provided. The colorant compositions include at least the monoacylated anthocyanin colorant of Compound I extracted from red cabbage and a metal ion, and have a pH from about 6.0 to about 8.0. The colorant compositions can be derived from a non-artificial product and provide a stable, blue colorant that can be used in food products. Specifically, the monoacylated anthocyanin colorant provides color characteristics similar to those provided by the artificial blue colorant, FD&C Blue No. 1.

The present invention addresses the problem of providing: a pigment dispersion liquid with which an optical filter layer having the functions of both a color filter and a near-infrared cut filter can be formed by performing a development step once, and with which a thin filter achieved by using a single-layer configuration instead of a conventional two-layer configuration can be fabricated; and a colored resin composition containing the pigment dispersion liquid. The present invention provides a pigment dispersion liquid containing one or more organic color pigments selected from the group consisting of pigment red, pigment green, pigment blue, pigment yellow, and pigment violet, an infrared absorbing dye having a maximum absorption wavelength in a wavelength range of 750-2000 nm, and an oil-soluble organic solvent or an aqueous medium, and a colored resin composition containing the dispersion liquid.

A magenta dye-based ink composition and a method for improving the print qualities of a magenta dye-based ink composition. The magenta dye-based ink composition includes one or more red dye(s) and a minor but effective amount of black dye. A weight ratio of red dye(s) to black dye in the ink composition ranges from about 20:1 to about 100:1.

[Problems] An object of the present invention is to provide: a thermochromic color-memory composition which effectively expresses a property of being able to interchangeably memorize and retain colors and which is thus applicable to various fields; and a thermochromic color-memory microcapsule pigment encapsulating the same. [Solution] Provided is a thermochromic color-memory composition including: (a) an electron-donating color-developing organic compound; (b) an electron-accepting compound; and (c) an ester compound represented by the following Formula (1), as a reaction medium which controls color reaction between the component (a) and the component (b): ##STR00001##
(wherein, R represents an alkyl group having 3 to 18 carbon atoms, a cycloalkylalkyl group having 6 to 11 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 7 carbon atoms or an alkenyl group having 3 to 18 carbon atoms; each X independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms or a halogen atom; and each Y independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a methoxy group, an ethoxy group or a halogen atom).