An apparatus is disclosed for coating a surface that is movable relative to the apparatus with a layer of metallic particles or particles having a metal-like appearance and reflectivity, the particles adhering more strongly to the surface than to one another. The apparatus comprises at least one spray head for directly or indirectly applying to the surface a fluid stream within which the particles are suspended, a housing surrounding the spray head(s) and defining an interior plenum for confining the fluid stream, the housing having a rim adjacent the surface that is configured to prevent egress of particles from a sealing gap defined between the rim of the housing and the surface to be coated, and a suction source connected to the housing to extract from the plenum the sprayed fluid and particles suspended in the sprayed fluid. In operation, the suction source extracts substantially all particles that are not in direct contact with the surface, so as to leave only a substantially single particle layer adhering to the surface on exiting the apparatus.

Provided are an image forming method including a step of preparing an ink which contains water and an organic solvent A having a vapor pressure of 0.20 kPa or less at 20° C. and in which a content of the organic solvent A is 10% by mass or greater, a step of preparing an aggregating liquid containing an aggregating agent, a step of preparing an overcoat liquid which contains a resin and an organic solvent B having a vapor pressure of 2.50 kPa or greater at 20° C. and in which a content of the organic solvent B is 10% by mass or greater, a step of applying the aggregating liquid onto an impermeable base material, a step of applying the ink to at least a portion of a region to which the aggregating liquid has been applied according to an ink jet method to form an image, and a step of applying the overcoat liquid onto the region to which the aggregating liquid has been applied in the impermeable base material, on which the image has been formed; and an ink set.

An ink set according to the present disclosure includes: a treatment liquid containing an aggregating agent; a deep ink composition; and a light ink composition, the ink compositions containing colorants, belonging to the same color system, and each being a water-based ink jet ink, the light ink composition contains an organic solvent which is a condensate of an alkanediol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms and which has two hydroxy groups, and the deep ink composition contains an organic solvent which is an alkanediol having 2 to 4 carbon atoms.

A method for manufacturing an architectural panel and an architectural panel made by the method. The architectural panel may be formed from metal, and the method may start with the processing of a flat metal sheet. The method may include punching holes in a particular pattern into the flat metal sheet, bending the flat metal sheet into a particular shape to form a panel that can be hung from an overhead grid or the like, and printing a desired printing pattern onto the panel. The method may also include a step of coating the panel with a powder coating or a liquid-applied paint finish prior to the printing step. The coating step may occur after the punching step and before the printing step.

A liquid composition includes an inorganic particle and a multivalent metal salt, wherein the liquid composition has a tacking force of 50 mN or less in an area of cast-coated paper where the liquid composition is applied in an amount of 0.12 mg/cm.sup.2 for the cast-coated paper followed by heating at 80 degrees C. for 15 seconds.

An aqueous polyurethane resin dispersion, the polyurethane resin is obtainable by reacting an allophanate based isocyanate according to general formula I or II, optionally a polyether diol, a polyol containing a quaternary N-atom or tertiary amino group and a polyol selected from the group consisting of polyester polyol, polyether polyol, polycarbonate polyol, a polyacrylate polyol, a polyolefin and a polyamide polyol. The polyurethane resin is suitable as a resin in treatment liquids of substrates and images made by inkjet printing.

##STR00001##

An image forming method includes a processing fluid applying step and an ink applying step. The processing fluid applying step involves applying a processing fluid containing a multivalent metal salt, a resin T.sub.A, a resin T.sub.B different from the resin T.sub.A, and a silicone-based surfactant to a non-permeating base material by an inkjet method, where the processing fluid is free of an organic solvent having a boiling point of 200° C. or higher at normal pressure. The ink applying step involves applying an ink containing a coloring material, an organic solvent, and a resin onto the processing fluid.

Provided is a conductive laminate including a base material and a conductive ink film provided on the base material, in which a region that extends from a position being away from a first main surface toward a second main surface by a distance equivalent to 50% of a thickness of the conductive ink film to the second main surface has a first void ratio of 15% to 50%, and a second void ratio in a region that extends from the first main surface toward the second main surface to a position being away from the first main surface by a distance equivalent to 10% of the thickness of the conductive ink film has a second void ratio which is smaller than the first void ratio.

Ink jet printing on a non-absorbent substrate involves a wet primer having a primer viscosity. The wet primer is applied on the non-absorbent substrate. An ink jet ink having an ink jet viscosity lower than the primer viscosity is jetted over the wet primer while the primer is still wet. The wet primer and ink are simultaneously cured on the substrate.

Eco-friendly signs such as wood and other natural material signs, and methods of making eco-friendly signs, including selecting a substrate as a base material having a first planar surface and an opposing second planar surface, cutting the substrate to a sign dimension, treating the first planar surface to form a smooth print surface, applying a base layer such as a layer of clear ink to the print surface, and applying a signage layer onto the base layer. The eco-friendly sign may be an ADA compliant sign in which the signage layer is a raised of ink produced using a 3-dimensional printer.